LACTIC ACID. 141 



hence a fenfible enlargement takes place in (he moon as well™ 1110 " 5 * it then 



i • >• ,•,!•••„ i "' i - i • r appears largeft. 



as other bodies, which dmiiniihes as the altitude increales, 



and the light lei's interrupted. 



I am, Sir, 

 ' Your mo ft obedient, 



J. HUDDART. 

 Highbury Terrace, Jan. 0,$^ 1805. 



XVII. 



A Memoir on Milk and the Lactic Acid^ By Cit. Bouillon 

 Lagrange *. 



SECTION I. 



The prefent State of our Knowledge ref peeling the Ladtic Acid. 



^CHEELE and Deyeux, and Parmentier, are the chemifts Hiftory of expe- 

 who have mod contributed to our knowledge of the acid of ^Ttfe au5£' 

 milk. of discoveries, 



The experiments made before the time of thefe fkilful phi- &c * 

 lolophers, are thofe of Hoffman, Boerhaave, Homberg, Geoff- 

 roy, Rouelle the younger, and Baume. But the analylls of 

 animal matters was then in fuch an imperfect ftate, that little 

 can be gathered from their experiments. 



Scheeie directed his labours with very different views. HisScheele. 

 well conducted experiments led him to determine the chara&ers 

 and properties of an acid afforded by the ferum of milk But ► 



not withftanding the labours of this celebrated man, we have 

 •fome fubje&s of inquiry left for examination. 



Befides the great number of its faline compounds, as Four- Imperfect (Hte 

 croy remarks, which are ftill wanting to the fcience, Lehale has jjj "^ Jjj* 



* Annates de Chemie, No. 150. vol. 50. 



The author in a note mentions his having learned on the even- 

 ing when his Memoir was read, that Maffrs. Vauquelin and The- 

 nard had each been feparately employed on the fame fubject : and 

 on that occafion he then finds its neceflary to fay, that' molt of the 

 experiments he defcribes, are the refult of obfervations made by 

 feveral pharmacians, at the fitting of the fociety of pharmacy, the 

 15 Nivofe, in the year 12. The verba! procefs of that day, figned 

 by Parmentier, president, and Delunel, fecretary, of which an ex- 

 tract was fent to the Philomathic Society, afcertains the experiments 

 he had then made, and the obfervations of of the feveral members 

 of the fociety of Pharmacy. 



not 



