VOL. LXI.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. iSS 



increasing every day, till the 8th of July, when, on account of a journey, I 

 could not observe it any longer. I had left the mouth of the receiver open ; and 

 on iiiy return the 1st of August, I found an exceedingly putrid smell ; I covered 

 the vessel ; and the 2d, examined the fluid, but it did not effervesce any more. 

 I then filtrated the liquor; but the flesh was so rotten, that a great many par- 

 ticles passed through the linen, and rendered it turbid. I put it into a retort, 

 adapted a receiver, and luted it, as before mentioned ; the heat was also the 

 same, between 108° and 11 6°. In this warmth it continued for about 4 days, 

 when the fluid was distilled over. On opening the vessels, the smell was again 

 entirely changed, not near so disagreeable as before. In the receiver I obtained 

 a fluid, which turned the syrup of violets green, effervesced very smartly with 

 the very same spirit of vitriol I had used before ; gave the smell of a volatile al- 

 kali, on adding to this the fixed alkali ; precipitated the calces of metals dissolved 

 in acids, and showed itself by all proofs a true volatile alkali. In the retort re- 

 mained a yellowish matter, almost without any smell. I put to it some water ; 

 and after 24 hours it gave the herbaceous smell, but showed no signs of any 

 alkali. I let it stand 4 days longer: the herbaceous smell continued; but there 

 was no alkali to be discovered. I distilled it with a gentle fire : but neither then 

 did there appear an alkali ;* and by applying a stronger fire, I got nothing but 

 a kintl of empyreumatic oil. 



The 3d of August, I had poured some fresh water on the putrid matter ; its 

 putrid smell continued; the 7th I decanted the fluid, filtrated it, and made it 

 undergo the same operation, with exactly the same effect as before; which I did 

 again the 1 I th, with the very same eflect. I did not repeat it oftener, as I had 

 occasion for this putrid flesh for some other purpose. 



These experiments show I think that the volatile alkali is present, as long at 

 least as the putrid smell continues ; and that this volatile alkali is the basis of it, 

 because, as this was distilled over, the residuum, being still in intestine motion, 

 got only the herbaceous smell. The reason why the volatile alkali has been dis- 

 tinctly observed at a certain period of putrefaction, and not in others, is I believe 

 this ; the volatile alkali has it seems a tendency to disentangle itself, by intestine 

 motion, of all such matter as it is involved with ; but if it is not combined with 

 such fixed matter as retains it till it has gone through all its evolutions, it is, 

 being itself volatile, carried off by the still more volatile phlogistic matter with' 

 which it is commonly joined. For this reason, I suppose the putrefying matter 

 shows in its beginning no sign of a volatile alkali; because its smell depends only 



* What this herbaceous smell depended on, I did not inquire any further, as not relating to me- 

 dicine, since a living body never was found in such a state: but very likely it depends on some vo- 

 latile alkali, which is perhaps in so very small a quantity, as not to be perceptible by experiments. 

 — Orig. 



