77 



philosopher, that truth was made known. He 

 did not claim the honour of the discovery, since it 

 was indifferent to him, if his former Instructor or 

 his Friend were supposed to have found out what 

 he, himself, had discovered ; but posterity will 

 not forget to make amends for the neglect or 

 omission of contemporaries. SCHEELE, in his 

 treatise on the fluor spar and its acid, stated that 

 bone-earth, " as was proved by a late discovery," 

 consisted of phosphoric - acid and lime, and this 

 expression gave rise to the mistake, for the disco- 

 very was made by GAHX. 



FOTJRCROY, a long time afterwards, proved, 

 that the bones of herbivorous animals contained 

 phosphate of magnesia, which he, in vain, sought 

 after in those of man ; and at last MORICHINI, 

 .an Italian, discovered, that ivory, as well as the 

 enamel .of the teeth, contained fluate of lime. 

 Besides the constituent parts which were al- 

 ready known, I have, by minute analysis, detect- 

 ed in human bone, fluate of lime and phosphate of 

 magnesia ; and I have proved, that the sulphate of 

 lime, 'which after combustion is found in them, 

 does not belong to them in their living state. 

 The cartilage of the bones I found to be about $ 

 part of their mass. It was somewhat less in the 



