454 Proceedings of Philosophical Societies. [JuxE, 



its bulk of oxygen gas. Sir H. Davy conceives that the chloric 

 acid of Gay-Lussac contains hydrogen, and oues its acid properties 

 to the presence of this principle. 



At the same meeting of the Society, a paper by Dr. Philips was 

 read, giving an account of the remains ot a foetus founfl witiiin the 

 abdomen of a child. The child was aged two years and a half, and 

 had a swelling in the belly, which had been considered as dropsical, 

 and aperient medicines had been administered. Tlie ssvelling did 

 not diminish ; and the child at last was obliged to be kept always ia 

 a recumbent posture. Dr. Philips, on examining the abdomen, 

 found a circumscribed swelling on the left side, which at first he 

 considered as an enlarged spleen, but afterwards laid aside that 

 opinion, without being able to form any one in the least satisfactory. 

 The child died on the fourth day after having been seen by Dr. 

 Philips. On opening th6 abdomen, the intestines were all found in 

 a sound state, except the liver, which was indurated. The tumor 

 consisted of a large mass of matter not connected particularly with 

 any of the intestines, weighing eight or ten pounds, and inclosed in 

 a very vascular bag. On cutting into it, some serous liquid oozed 

 out. The dissection, from the situation of the medical men, was 

 necessarily hurried and imperfect ; but unequivocal traces of a foetus 

 were found, particularly the bones of the tibia and talus, and some 

 others, which were found adliering together, and covered with 

 muscle. 



On Thursday, the 11th of May, a paper by Mr. Porrett, jun. 

 was read, containing experiments to determine the composition of 

 prussiate of mercury and of the prussic acid with the application of 

 the atomic theory to both, and to the constitution of ferrureted and 

 sulpliureted chiazic acids. He dissolved 40 grains of prussiate of 

 mercurv in water, and decomposed it by hydro-sulphuret of potash. 

 He obtained 37'^ grains of black sulphuret of mercury. To deter- 

 mine the quantity of prussic acid present in this salt, he dissolved 

 ten grains of it in water, and mixed an hydrogureted sulphuret 

 ' with the solution, which he had previously ascertained to have the 

 propertv of converting prussic acid into sulphuretcd chyazic acid. 

 This acid was then thrown down by means of two parts of sulphate 

 of iron and three parts sulphate of copper; and the sulphureted 

 chyazate of copper being dried and weighed, he was able, from his 

 previous analysis of this salt, and of sulpliureted chyazic acid, to 

 determine the quantity of prussic acid which it contained. The 

 result of the analysis was, that prussiate of mercury is composed of 



Prussic acid 13*2 



Red oxide of mercury 86-S 



100-0 



To analyze prussic acid he employed the methods pointed out by 

 Thena«l and Gay-Lussac and Berzelius; but he simplified them 

 conside^ably. He used prussiate of mercury, and mi.\ed it with a 



