BON 



BON 



almoft every part of the animal creation. See the articles 

 Shell, Horn, &c. 



The enamel of the tooth is a fi-.i^ular variety of the bone, 

 being entirely dcllitute of the albuminous membrane. Wbe.n 

 an entn-e tuotli is immerfed in dilute nitrous acid, the enamel 

 totally uiiTolves without rcfidue ; but tl;e core of tht tooth is 

 afted oil like otiier bone, ledvuig a cartilage of the fame 

 (hape. The tolution of enamtl is found to be ahnoil en- 

 tirely pholphat of lime, by the tells already mentioned, 

 being precipitable by pure ammonia, giving phofpiiat of 

 lead, by adding the acetite of this metal, &c. 



Fifh-hones Mr. Hatch.elt found to contain rather a larger 

 quantity o! cartilage, m proportion to tlie pholphat of lime, 

 than the bones of quadrupeds. Of the dillcrcnt kinds of horn 

 and defenlive weapons, the (lag's horn, elepbant's.tufl<s, and 

 theotherhard and heavy defences, entirely reiemble bone; but 

 the horns of cattle, rams, and the fofter ipecies, contain fo 

 little earthy rthdue, that they owe their folldity tntii'elv to 

 the extreme condenfatiou of the other conlHtuents, the ge- 

 latin and albumen. 



Bones may be foftened by a fhort immerfion in a weak 

 acid. This arifes from the partial abllraftion of the earthy 

 bafis ; and advantage may be taken of this property in the 

 working of bone, for the various purpofcs of manufacture 

 to which this article is applied by the turner, comb-maker, 

 cutler, &c. Bone, thus foftened, is again made hard, by 

 being fteeped in alum-water. Alkalies alfo foften bone, as 

 they do every other animal matter, by beginning to att 

 upon the fottcr pjrts. See Ivory. 



Bones readily take various colours, which, if diffblved in 

 an acid, fink deep into the fubilance of the bone, and pro- 

 duce a pleafmg effetl. Tb.e metallic fohitions are generally 

 preferred for this purpofe. To give a gr^en, diffolve vcr- 

 degris in diililled vinegar, immeife the bones in the folution, 

 put the whole in a velfel, very well clofed, and bury it in a 

 dunghill, or give it a flow and uniform warm.th in any other 

 way for about ten or twelve days. The bones are then 

 found very deeply and permanently dyed green, and capable 

 of a good polilh. The once prized Turquoifc ftone is foffile 

 bone of various animals, accidentally impregnated with ful- 

 phat of copper whilfl buried in the earth. To give the 

 artificially c'.yed bones a finer colour, boil them in nut-oil, 

 and they will then take a very high polilh. 



A permanent black is given to bone, either by nitrated 

 filver, or in the following manner: boil equal parts of li- 

 tharge and quick-lime in water, and the bones along with 

 them for lome hours, llirring them frequently. Other 

 metallic folutions may be ufcd tor different colours. 



Or the dye may be given by preparing the vegetable 

 coloured lakes, or concentrated dyes ; and by rubbing the 

 bone, firll with dilute nitrous acid to open its texture, and 

 then rubbing in the dye for {onie time. This may be ap- 

 plied in various ways, hrft foftening the bone by a weak acid, 

 whereby it is made fit to receive the colour. 



Bones are whitened by fimple expofure to fun, wind, 

 and weather, being firit thoroughly cleaned, and particularly 

 by occafional immerfion in brine : thus the bones of fea- 

 birds and filh, left for forae time on the (hore, are found 

 beautifully white and clean. The fame effect is produced 

 much more fpecdily, but perhaps lefs permanently, by the 

 oxymuriatic acid, the bone being expofed for fome hours to 

 this acid gas in clofe veffels, as Mr. Smith of Briftol has 

 obferved. The acid firll makes the bone yellow, which, by 

 expofure to air, goes off, and leaves the bone beautifully 

 white. This colour a little fades, when the bone is kept 

 in clofe cafes excluded from the light. See Skeleton. 



From all that has preceded, it will appear obvious that, 



to the ehemiil and manufafturer, bone is one of the moil 

 curious and valuable of the animal fubllances, though con- 

 fidered vulgarly as little better than rcfiife, and fcattcred 

 about without care. Bcfides its ufe as a hard and good 

 material for turnery and workmanlhip of various kinds, it 

 gives, by chemical decompofition, a large quantity of ufeful, 

 nutritive jelly, fit for human food, or the fame, in the form 

 of glue, for the arts. When fubjeC^ed to fire, it yields a 

 vaft quantity of ammonia, and is Jictually the material ufed 

 in very many manufatturcs of the ammoniacal falts; and the 

 rtfidue, Itrongly calcined in clofe veffels, (and therefore re- 

 taining its carbonaceous ingredient,) produces ufeful and 

 fine black pigments ; or, burned with accefs of air, leaves 

 an earthy fait, neceliary to fome important chemical pro- 

 ceffes. 



Some of the preparations from bone are only ufed in 

 medicine. Of thefe, are Dippcl's oil, and the lefs reftified 

 oleum cornu cervi, (oil of hartfhoni,) both powerful ludo- 

 rifics, and fuppofed antifpalmodics ; ihc fplrltus cornu cervi, 

 (fpirits of hartlhorn), fo univerfally known as a llimulant 

 and cordial ; and the carbonat of ammonia, often called fait 

 of tiartlhorn. The white calcined earth of bones, cornu cervi 

 cnlcinatiim, enters into the compofition of one or two phar- 

 maceutical preparations, but without exhibiting any obvious 

 properties. In dlftafes of tiie bones, where the loftening 

 and fpontaneous deformity fliews an evident want of their 

 earthy bafis, this calcareous phofphat has been given with 

 apparent advantage. Of the unprepared bones, the elk's 

 tooth, rhinoceros's horn, and ihavings of the dried human 

 flcuU, &c. are medicines entirely exploded only within a few 

 years from the European pharmacopsias, and iU!l maintaining 

 high credit in the countries whole charatlerillic credulity 

 and fuperftition in medicine firll brought them into repute. 

 The only real utility of unprepared bone in medicines is 

 found in furnifhing, v/hen boiled in water, a light and nutri- 

 tive jelly for the invalid ; and for this purpofe, hartfhoni 

 (havings are employed with advantage. Memoires de Pel- 

 leticr, torn. ii. Proull in the Journal de Phyfique, tom. liii. 

 Hatchett in the Pliil. Tranf. for 1799 and iSco. Smith 

 in Beddoes's Well of England Contributions. Johnfon's 

 Animal Chemiftry. Encycl. Method. Arts and Metiers, 

 (Article Eca'dlt:), Sec. &c. 



Bones, D':fcdfes of the, in Surgery. As bones are organized 

 parts of the animal bodv, they are liable to molt of the 

 difeafes with which the fofter organs are affecled. Thefe 

 are either fpontaneous, or accidental ; but, from the hard- 

 neffi of their compofition, and the fmall degree of vafcularity 

 and fenfibility they poflcls, there mull neeeffarily be a con- 

 fiderable difference between the phenomena and fymptoms 

 of difeafed bones, compared with thofc of the foft parts. 

 They are naturally endowed with little or no fenfation ; 

 but are extremely painful in an inflamed Hate, when the 

 blood-veffels, which enter thiir fubllanct:, are dillended, 

 and the nervous filaments are kept upon the ftretch, as in 

 the cafe of venereal nodes, &c. 



Bones may be wounded with a (harp inllrumcnt or con- 

 tufed with a blunt one, in the fame manner as the mufeles, 

 or integuments ; and they will re-unite again, if the injury 

 they fuffer be not fo extenfive as to intercept the circula- 

 tion, or dellroy their vitality. But, if a bone be fo in- 

 jured as to perilh, its fubilance will either be gradually 

 comminuted and diffolved, or call off in a larger portion, by 

 the procels we denominate exfoliation. If any two ulcerated 

 furfaces of ficfh (fuppofe two contiguous fingers) be ap- 

 plied together, and allowed to heal, they will coalefce, and 

 the veffels from one part will (hoot into the other : in like 

 manner, if the articulating furfaces of two contiguous bones 



(fuppofe 



