560 ZOOLOGY— BATRACHIANS AND REPTILES. 



mal or insect remains ; being exclusively composed of vegetable matter, con- 

 sisting chiefly of the cellular tissue of plants ; and no traces of animal diet, 

 like the undigested legs or wings of insects, can be detected, which fact 

 leads to the supposition that neither bats nor mice could have made the 

 deposit. The mass is brittle, sticky when moistened with water, swells up 

 at a high temperature, and bums with a smoky flame. Heated in a tube, 

 ammoniacal vapors are evolved, an empyreumatic substance is formed, and 

 a voluminous charcoal remains. 



" This substance contains — 



" Hygroscopic moisture 7.25 



"Organic matter GC.32 



"Ash 26.43 



"In one hundred parts of ashes were found — 

 " Sulphates, phosphates, chlorides, and carbonates of potassium and 



sodium 15.46 



"Carbonate and phosphate of lime and magnesia, oxide of iron 66.54 



" Insoluble in hydrochloric acid, principally fine sand 18.06 



"Note. — The carbonic acid of the carbonates was produced by the 

 incineration of the organic matter. 



"As lithia had been so often found by me in soils and ashes of plants, I 

 thought it worth while to make a spectroscopic test for it. The result was 

 negative. The organic matter is partially soluble in water, less so in alco- 

 hol ; the aqueous solution having a neutral reaction. Upon boiling it, a 

 very disagreeable odor is evolved, resembling that of earth mold and guano ; 

 the taste of this solution is intensely bitter. A portion (a) was treated with a 

 considerable quantity of boiling water, and the filtrate evaporated; the evap- 

 orated residue treated with a little alcohol, and a small portion of it was dis- 

 solved. This gave, after evaporation and treatment with nitric acid, the 

 characteristic crystals of urea. The undissolved poition was treated with 

 a small quantity of water, when a substance remained easily soluble in 

 hydrochloric acid, and precipitated therefrom on the addition of an equal 

 volume of water. The portion separated from this by the treatment with 

 water resembled somewhat a salt of glycocholic acid. The portion of 



