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the tendency to putrefa&ion ; for when, after a 
week, I took the moufe out, I perceived, to my 
very great furprize, that it had no offenlive fmell. 
Upon this I took two other mice, one of them 
juft killed, and the other foft and putrid, and put 
them both into the fame jar of nitrous air, ftand* 
ing in the ufual temperature of the weather, in 
the months of July and Auguft of 1772; and 
after 25 days, having obferved that there was little 
or no change in the quantity of the air, I took the 
mice out; and, examining them, found them both 
perfectly fweet, even when cut through in all 
places. That which had been put into the air 
when juft dead was quite firm ; and the flefh of the 
other, which had been putrid and foft, was ftill 
foft, but perfectly fweet. 
In order to compare the antifeptic power of this 
kind of air with that of fixed air, I examined a 
moufe which I had inclofed in a phial full of fixed 
air, as pure as I could make it,., and which I had 
corked v-ery clofe; but; upon, opening this phial in 
water, about a month after, I perceived that a 
large quantity of putrid effluvium had been gene* 
rated ; for it rufhed with violence out of the phial ; 
and the fmell that came from it, the moment the 
cork was taken out, was infufferably offenlive. 
Indeed Dr. Macbride fays, that he could only reftore 
very thin pieces of putrid flefh by means of fixed 
air. Perhaps the antifeptic power of thefe kinds 
of air may be in proportion to their acidity. If a 
little pains were taken with this fubjeff, this re- 
markable antifeptic power of nitrous air might, 
poffibly be applied to various ufes, perhaps to the* 
prefer vatioB 
