410 ON THE EFFECTS OF MADDER ROOT 



ance of the pails firongly militale agauift it — for, if we iri^y 



judge at all of the aaivity of the procefs in the two parts, by 



their comparative degrees of vafcularity, that employed in 



Caufe of doubt, forming the fubftitule bone far exceeds that going on in the 



OiTeous fyflem generally ; one ftriking phenomenon attending 



the regeneration of a bone being, the very high degree of in- 



creafed vafcularity which the parts employed in the procefs 



rapidly alfume. 



The bones are After this efFe61 of madder upon the bones was known, it 



by'lL'dde.t'be- '""^ remained a myftery, why fome other white parts of the 



caufe the phof- body, fuch as nerves, cartilages and periofteum, were not 



phate of lime equally liable to be coloured by it, as the bones. This fad, I 



arts as a mor- i i- " ,., . 



dent on the believe, did not receive any explanation, until Dr. Rutherford 

 madder. gave a very ingenious and fatisfaftory one. When fpeaking 



of this property of madder, he fays,* «' We have, in the fa^ 

 before us, a beautiful example of a particular cafe of chemical 

 attrafiion j fuch as in numberlefs inllauces, is obferved to take 

 place between the colouring particles of both animal and ve- 

 getable fubflances and various other bodies, efpecially earths 

 and earthy falb, and oxides of metals. So ftrong is the affi- 

 nity of the colouring matter to thefe bodies, that it is fre- 

 quently oblerved to quit the n.enftruum, in which it may 

 chance to be duToIved, to unile wiih ihem: they, in confe- 

 quence of its union, acquiring a particular tinge, whilft the 

 inenft.Lium is proportionably deprived of colour. From this 

 principle, this rau'iual attraiSion, is deduced the various ufe of 

 thofe bodies as r;iorden(s, as they are called, intermedia, or 

 means for fixing the c »!oius in dying or flaining thread or 

 cloth, whether it be compofed of animal or vegetable mate- 



The red matter rials. Upon the fame principle depends the preparation of 

 IS a kind of .t r- ' , , ' . . , , . , 



lake. '"°'^ pigments known to painters under the name of lakes; 



'■■ thefe are truly precipiiates of the colouring matter, in combi- 



nation v.'ith various mordents, as their bafis. — The colouring 

 of the bones of a living animal by means of madder, is, in 

 every circumftance, analogous to (he formation of thefe lakes. 

 The colouring matter of madder, palling unaltered through 

 the digeftive organs of the animal^ enters the general mafs of 

 fluids, and is dilfoived in the ferum of the blood, to which, 



* See Dr. Blake's inaugural DifTertation. De dentium forma- 

 tione, p. 11 J.— 1798, 



indeed. 



