CHEMISTRY. 



I' r ; .1- 

 lion. 



Bile of the 

 call, dog, 

 Ac. 



Bile of the 



teparated ; and by filtering and evaporating the liquid to 



rumcl Us obtained in a separate 

 bile, mixed with muriatic acid and filter, J, is set 

 aside for tome months in an open vessel, I have seen th- 

 .el .-eparate of its own accord. It is white solid 

 . uli I. iiu i- iii small globules. It has a tweet, and at the 

 same time an acrid tasti , and i > often somewhat bitter 

 :ng a portion of the resin. It facilitates the 

 . in water ; three parts of picrorocl and 

 one part of resin dissolve in w. 



By evaporating a quantity of bile to dryness, calcining 

 it, and proceeding in the usual way, Thenard ascertain- 

 ed the proportion of salts which it contained. The fol- 

 lowing was the result of his auaKb.s of Mn> j> iris of 

 bile: 



7iK).() water. 

 JI.O resin. 

 00.3 picromel. 

 4.5 yellow matter. 



i) soda. 

 2.0 phosphate of sod;. 



I muriate of soda. 

 0.8 sulphate of soda. 

 1 .'2 phosphate of lime, 

 oxide of iron, a trace-. 



800.0 



2. Such are the properties and the constituents of ox 

 bile, as far as they have been examined by Thcnard. 

 From the experiments of the same chemist, it appears 

 that the bile of the calf, the dog, the sheep, and the cat, 

 resemble that of the ox exactly, both in their properties 

 and-their constituents. 



3. The bile of the sow differs entirely from that of 

 all these animals. It contains neither albumen, nor ani- 

 mal matter, nor picromel, but is merely a soap, as it con- 

 tains a great quantity of resin and of soda, and is decom- 

 posed with facility by all the acids, even by vinegar. It 

 contains traces also of several salts ; but Thenard did not 

 ascertain their nature. 



4. The bile of the common hen, of the turkey, and 

 the duck, has a good deal of resemblance to that of qua- 

 drupeds. But it differs in the fol'owmg particulars : 1. It 

 contains a considerable quantity of albumen ; '2. The pi- 

 cromel has no sensible sweet uate, but is very acrid and 

 bitter ; 3. It contains very little soda ; 4>. The reein is not 

 precipitated by common superacetate of had ; but su- 

 peracetate, boiled with one-fourth of its weight of li- 

 tharge, occasions it to precipitate. 



The bile of the thornback and salmon is yellowish 

 white. When evaporated, it leaves a matter which has 

 a very sweet and slightly acrid taste. It appears to con- 

 tain no resin. The bile of the carp and the eel is very 

 green, very bitter, contains little or no albumen, but yields 

 soda, resin, and a sweet acrid matter similar to that which 

 may be obtained from salmon bile. 



(i. Human bile differs considerably from that of all 

 other animals examintd. Its taste is not very bitter. It 

 is seldom completely liquid, but usually contains some 

 yellow matter suspended in it. When evaporated to 

 dryness, it leaves a brown matter amounting to about 

 T ' r th of the original weight. All the acids decompose 

 human bile, and throw down a copious precipitate con- 

 sisting uf albumen and resin. The following were the 

 proporti< MS of the constituents obtained by Thcnard 

 from 1 KX) pur* of human bile. 



1000.0 water. 



from 2 t 10 yell >w insoluble matter. 



yellow matter in solution, a trace. 



Bile of (he 



hen, &.c. 



Rile of the 

 ihurnlwck 

 and ill- 

 men. 



Human 





 1 



tli'll of 



Nature. 



42.0 albumen. 

 41.0 resin. 



5.6 soda. 



!.."> phosphate of soda, sulphate of soda, miniate 

 of soda, phosphate of limo, oxide of iron. 



SECT. XIII. Of the Cerumen of the Ear. 



Cerumen ia a viscid yellow-coloured liquid secreted by Cerunw* 

 the glands of the auditory canal, which gradually be- of *' le cir> 

 comes concrete by exposure to the air. 



It has an orange yellow colour, and a bitter taste, iis pro. 

 When slightly heated upon paper, it melts, and stains pertit*, 

 ,iit like an oil ; at the same time it emits a slight- 

 tiatic odour. On burning coals it softens, ~nd emits 

 a white smoke, which resembles that given out by burn- 

 ing fat ; it afterwards melts, swells, becomes dark co- 

 loured, and emits an ammouiucal and empyrcumatic odour, 

 lit coal remains behii.d. 



i agitated in water, cerumen forms a kind of 

 cmulsk.n, which se.on putrefies, depositing at the same 

 time white flakes. 



Alcohol* when assisted by heat, dissolves five-eighths 

 of the cerumen ; the three eighths which remain behind 

 have the properties of albumen, mixed however with a 

 little oily matter. When the alcohol is evaporated, it 

 leaves a deep orange residuum of a very bitter taste, hav- 

 ing a smell and a consistence analogous to turpentine^ It 

 melts when heated, evaporates in a white smoke without 

 leaving any residuum, and. in short, resembles very 

 strongly the rain of bile, lither also dissolves this oily 

 body ; but it is much less bitter, and much lighter co- 

 loured. When the albuminous part of cerumen is burnt, 

 it leaves traces of soda and of phosphate of lime. From 

 these facts, Vauquclm considers cerumen as composed of 

 the following substances : 



1. Albumen. 



2. An inspissated oil. 



3. A colouring matter. 



4. Soda. 



5. Phosphate of lime. 



Competi- 

 tion. 



SECT. XIV. Of Tears and Mucus. 



1. The liquid called tears is transparent and colourless Tears, 

 like water ; it h.. scarcely any smell, but its taste is al- 

 ways perceptibly tall. Its specific gravity is somewhat 

 greater than that of distilled water. It gives to paper 

 stained with the juice of the petals 'of mallows or violet 

 a permanently green colour, and therefoie contains a fix- 

 ed alkali. It unites with water, whether cold or hot, in 

 all proportions. Alkalies unite with it readily, and ren- 

 der it more fluid. The mineral acids produce no appa- 

 rent change upon it. Exposed to the air, this liquid 

 gradually evaporates, and becomes thicker. When near- 

 ly reduced to a state of dryness, a number of cubic cry. 

 stals form in the midst of a kind of mucilage. These 

 crystals possess the properties of muriate of soda ; but 

 they tinge vegetable hides green, and therefore contain 

 an excess of soda. The mucilaginous matter acquires a 

 yellowish colour as it dries. 



When alcohol is poured into this liquid, a mucilaginous 

 matter is precipitated in the form ot large white flakes. 

 Tht alcohol leaves behind it, when evaporatid, trai 

 muriate of soda and soda. The residuum which n mains 

 behind, when it.spia .atcd tears are burnt in the open air, 

 exhibits some traces of phosphate of lime, aud phosphate 

 of soda. 



Thus it appears, that tears are composed of the fol- 

 lowing ingredients ; 



