185 



to form on the surface of the body when it was immer- 

 sed in the warm bath : and, by means of a funnel 

 and inverted glass jar, he collected, in a few hours, 

 a considerable quantity of it, which, being examined 

 by M. Lavoisier, was found to precipitate lime-wa- 

 ter, and to suffer no diminution from the admixture 

 of nitrous gas *. Mr Cruickshank observed, in re- 

 peated trials, that the air of the glass- vessel in which 

 his hand and foot had been some time confined, ren- 

 dered lime-water turbid, and that a lighted taper 

 burned very dimly in it f. Mr Abernethy exposed 

 his hand for five hours to seven ounce measures of 

 atmospheric air, contained in a jar inverted over 

 mercury : the quantity of air diminished half an 

 ounce, and an ounce more of it rapidly disappeared 

 by agitation with lime-water, and the lime was preci- 

 pitated : the remaining air being examined by the 

 test of nitrous gas, was found to contain nearly one- 

 sixth less of oxygenous gas, than it did before the 

 experiment. In another similar experiment, conti- 

 nued for nine hours, more than an ounce measure 

 of carbonic acid was produced, and the remaining 

 air contained one-fourth less of oxygen than before |. 

 M. Jurine fixed well-dried bottles under his arm- 

 pits and round his waist, and, after they had re- 

 mained an hour in these situations, the air in them 

 was much vitiated : and on different occasions was 

 found to be diminished in bulk, and to contain from 



* Berlin Transactions for 1777, p. 35. 



f- On Insensible Perspiration, p. 81. & 82, 



J Essays, Surgical and Physiological, p. 118. 



