35^ Mr. Hatchett's Experiments on Zoophytes, 



When exposed to a low red heat, it resembled Alcyonium 

 asbestinum ; and a solution being subsequently made, afforded 

 some phosphate of lime, with a large portion of carbonate. 



As this phosphate had not been discovered in the first expe- 

 riment, and therefore appeared to have been* defended from the 

 action of the acid by the membranaceous part, that experiment 

 was repeated, with this difference, that the acid was made to boil. 



A complete solution of the whole was thus made, which, like 

 that of the burned Alcyonium, yielded phosphate of lime ; and 

 at the same time the liquor became of an orange colour, as soon 

 as the ammoniac was added. 



Some pieces of this Alcyonium were digested with boiling 

 distilled water, and tinged it with a pale yellow colour. % Infu- 

 sion of oak bark being then added, a large quantity of gelatin 

 was precipitated. 



The same pieces were boiled with lixivium of caustic potash, 

 and, when dissolved, formed animal soap. 



The calcareous part was separated during the boiling, and 

 subsided in the form of a fine powder. 



From the examination of the few species of Alcyonium which 

 have been mentioned, it appears, that as the Sponges resemble 

 the horny stems of Gorgonice, so these, in external and chemical 

 characters, resemble the fleshy or cortical substance which 

 invests some of those bodies ; and that they chiefly differ from 

 the Gorgonice, by being destitute of the horny stem, which in 

 the latter seems to supply the place of bone. 



§ II. OBSERVATIONS ON THE FOREGOING 

 EXPERIMENTS. 



The simplicity and uniformity of the experiments here de- 

 scribed, will not, I flatter myself, render the facts less worthy of 



