ARTIFICIAL DIGESTION. 53 



substance was completely dissolved. The solution had 

 now the appearance of whey, and shortly afterwards a 

 precipitate resembling the meat in colour fell to the bot- 

 tom of the phial. It was now well corked up and 

 showed no appearance of change, till thirty one day? 

 afterwards, when it exhaled a putrid odour. 



On the same day, and at the same hour apiece of meat 

 of exactly the same size and kind as that placed in the 

 phial, was introduced into the stomach, with a thread at- 

 tached to it. At the end of one hour, it presented nearly 

 the same appearance as the piece in the bottle. At one 

 o'clock, the thread came away, the meat appearing to be 

 entirely dissolved. The process in each case was the 

 same for the first hour ; but afterwards the meat was 

 more quickly digested in the stomach than in the .phial. 

 In both cases, the digestion commenced at the surface 

 of the meat, and seemed stationary there for a certain 

 time. In the phial, gentle agitation seemed to quicken 

 the solution, by presenting new points of contact for 

 the gastric juice. 



Emily. Since then the gastric juice will exhibit its 

 peculiar powers in some degree, out of the body, and 

 we are acquainted with its chemical composition, why 

 may we not prepare an artificial gastric juice that would 

 produce similar effects ? 



Dr. B. It is probable that this fluid possesses vital 

 as well as chemical properties ; whereas one made arti- 

 ficially by combining its constituent?, would be destitute 

 of these vital properties. We know perfectly well the 

 composition of the blood, but all the chemists in the 

 world could never make true blood by combining its 

 constituent elements. However, experiments of this 

 kind have been tried, but they are not yet complete. 

 The German experimenters have ascertained that dilu- 

 ted acetic acid, diluted hydrochloric acid, a weak solution 

 of acetate of ammonia, and a solution of hydrochlorate of 

 ammonia, severally dissolve more or less of animal sub- 



