CASE OF SAUCJINA VKNTliULLI. 3G7 



pliuric acid, and sulpliates instead of cldoiidos ; it was dij,'ested 

 on oxide of lead, until it lost all acid reaction, filtered from 

 the sulphate of lead and excess of oxide, and submitted again 

 to sulphuretted hydrogen, till a precipitate ceased to fall. 

 After being Ijoiled and liltered anew, it was evaporated on 

 the water-bath, and digested with alcohol, wliich left the sul- 

 phates undissolved. The product of these operations, which 

 contained un inorganic acid, reddened litmus strongly. 



" Other processes were followed which need not be detailed ; 

 none of them yielded an acid quite free from animal matter, 

 nor was it ever procured in largo quantity ; but it presented 

 the same properties in whatever way obtainctl I did not 

 ascertain the solubility of the acid in ether, till the inquiry 

 was nearly concluded, so that some of the experiments here- 

 after mentioned were made with the alcoholic solution, wliich 

 was less pure. 



"The following properties were ascertained by repeated 

 trials to belong to this acid. It was soluble in ether, alcohol, 

 and water, was quite destitute of odour, and neither volatile 

 nor ciystallisable. ^^^len the aqueous solution was digested 

 on phosphate of lime prepared from bones burned to white- 

 ness, and freed from carbonate of lime by boiling with acetic 

 acid, and subsequent protracted washing with water, it dissolved 

 a large portion of the salt ; and it acted in the same way on 

 the recently-precipitated i)hosphate. It formed a soluble salt 

 with oxide of silver, which strikingly distinguishes it from 

 hydrochloric acid. It fonned soluble salts like^^^se with oxide 

 of lead, with potass, soda, ammonia, baiyta, and lime ; the 

 last soluble also in alcohol It sustained a heat of 300° with- 

 out decomposition, but when the temperature was much 

 elevated it inflamed along with the animal matter accompany- 

 ing it, and suflered destmction. It was always found, however, 

 that the animal matter gave way before it, for after chaning 

 had occurred to some extent, water still dissolved an acid 

 from the mass. 



