226 THE PHILOSOPHY 



to the adion of which they were fully expofed by the numerous 

 Iioles in the balls, had made the fmalleft impreffion upon them. 

 They fuffered no duninution of fize, and exhibited no marks of 

 diflblution. Thefe experiments he often repeated upon a number of 

 fowls provided with mufcular Romachs, and the event was uniform- 

 ly the fame : In no inftance did the gaftric juice produce any fol- 

 vent cffeQ. upon the grain contained in the balls. After thefe un- 

 fuccefsful attempts, he fufpedted, that, though the gaftric juice was 

 unable to diffolve grains in their entire ftate, it might ait as a men- 

 ftruum upon them when fufficiently maflicatcd or bruifed. To af- 

 certain this point, he afterwards filled his balls with bruifed grains, 

 and introduced them into the flomachs of different fowls, as cocks, 

 ducks, turkeys, wood-pigeons, &c. In all the numerous trials he 

 made with bruifed grain, he invariably found, that the grain was 

 more or lefs diffblved in proportion to the time the balls were allow- 

 ed to remain in the ftomach. 



Reaumur and Spalanzani, in the courfe of their experiments upon 

 the digeftion of birds with mufcular ftomachs, difcovered a won- 

 derful comminuting force which thefe ftomachs poflefs. When tin 

 tubes full of grain were thrown into the ftomachs of turkeys, and 

 allowed to continue there a confiderable time, they were found to 

 be brok-en, ciufiied, or diftorted, in a moft fingular manner. ' Ha- 

 ving found,' fays Spalanzani, 'that the tin tubes which I ufed for 

 common fowls were incapable of refifting the ftomach of turkeysj 

 and not happening at that time to be provided with any tin plate 

 of greater thicknefs', I tried to ftrengthen them, by foldering to the 

 ends two circular plates of the fame metal, perforated only with a 

 few holes for the admiflion of the gaftric fluid. But this contri- 

 * vance was ineffedual ; for, after the tubes had been twenty hours 

 ' in the ftomach of a turkey, the circular plates were driven in, 



' and 



