the whole, if it is confidered, ift, That acefcent plant, plants that yield an acid in diftillation, yield very little of it when they are converted into blood or humours by the actions of the folids in an animal body; that they putrify almoft immediately, and yield in diftillation, inftead of an acid, an alkali, in a great quantity; 2dly, That an alkali is fooner brought off by diftillation from putrified fubftances than others. 3dly, Thát almoft all falts are deftroyed by the action of the bowels, and putrefcence, and that no alkali is found in the afhes of bodies confumed by fire; and, 4thly, That the humours which abound with falts, particularly the urine, afford the greateft quantity of alkali, after putrefaction; I fhall be juftified in adopting the opinion of the chymifts, who fuppofe that volatile falts owe their origin to other falts, which are thus changed, by the action of the bowels in animal bodies, by putrefaction, and by fire, and that, totally lofing their original form, they become alkalies. Upon this fuppofition it will be eafy to conceive how volatile falts refift putrefaction, as well as falts of other kinds, although putrefaction produces them. The quantity of alkaline falts produced by putrefaction, is indeed in proportion to the quantity of natural falts pre-exifting in the putrifying fubftances; but as thefe falts are not fufficient to prevent putrefaction, it is not furprifing that the alkali which refults, cannot arreft its progrefs. If the natural falts had been ftill more abundant, there is reafon to think that they might have retarded its effects; for urine, which ontains the greateft quantity of

falts, is leaft fubject to putrefaction; and when it is become putrid, its effluvia is lefs hurtful than the effluvia of any other humour, which can be attributed only to the abundance of the pre-exifting falts, and the ftrength of the alkali that is formed out of them.

17. The urine of a perfon in health will not become putrid in lefs than three days, fo as to effervefce with acids; but the urine of a perfon fick of a putrid fever, will become fo putrid as to produce that effect in four and twenty hours. The blood of a perfon fo difeafed will alfo fhew figns of alkalefcence much fooner than the blood of a perfon in à pleurify. These particulars, however, belong to another clafs of experiments, which I referve till a future opportunity, and in which, after an examination of the morbific humours, and a comparison of the phenomena which they exhibit with each other, I fhall endeavour to deduce fuch confequences as may faciliate the difcovery of the caufes of difeafes, explain their natures, and direct the method of cure.

I 2

who

who attiibuted them to the moon were of dfferent fentiments. The quality, it feems, which might be attributed to her with moft reafon, is heat; becaufe her light is that of the fun reflected, which should cause heat, as all know. Yet as no experiment, that I know of, has been made to invalidate, or fupport, the reafons one might have

make any impreffion of fenfible heat in our bodies.

-

On a fingular bone, found in the lower belly. From the hiftory of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris, for the year 1760.

Bavarian foldier, who died at

made the following, as exactly as I could, to know what should be believed herein.

In the month of October laft, the moon being in the day of her oppofition, and the fky very ferene, I expofed the burning mirror of thirty-five inches diameter, which is kept in the obfervatory, and towards the focus I laid the bowl of an air-thermometer of M. Amanton's, which is the most sensible we have; fo that the bowl, which is of two inches diameter, received exactly, throughout its whole furface, all the rays that affembled in the focus; having examined the height of the mercury in the tube, after leaving it there for fome time, I did not find it different from what it was before, though the rays were affembled in a space 306 times lefs than their natural ftate, and confequently, fhould have augmented the apparent heat of the moon 306 times.

It feems that if fuch an experiment as this (wherein not only are affembled the rays of the moon in a fpace 306 times less than their natural flate, but wherein alfo they are obliged to crofs each other as they affemble, which increases the effect of thofe united rays, as is evident by expofing the mirror to the fun) fhews no apparent heat, we should believe, that it cannot

2

tary Hofpital at Bruffels, and who had ferved at 28, enjoyed a good ftate of health till he was 50 years old; at that age he began to com. plain of a hardnefs in the belly, and to be fubject from time to time to a retention of urine, which he could eafe himself from by turning on the right fide, and inclining a little on his belly. None knew what this ailment could be attri buted to; but, having been opened after his death, occafioned by an inflammatory difeafe, it afforded no fmall aftonishment to discover what had been the cause of it. In the pelvis was found a kind of bone weighing 20 ounces, which was lodged towards the right fide, between the bladder and the os pubis. It was only connected with the mefentery, and had no adhesion with the neighbouring parts; it was inclosed by a very thin mem. brane faftened to the mefentrey by a thick and glandulur body, having the form of a cone; the point of this cone was inferted in a cavity at the upper part of the bone; have ing drawn upwards this faftening which was more membraneous than cartilaginous, the bone followed without requiring to cut any thing, or even to make any effort: by the weight and pofition of the bone it appears, why the foldier eafed himfelf of his retention of urine by

placing

placing himself on his right fide, and inclining a little forward.

A remarkable particular in this bone was, that it was marbled, and more heavy and hard than bones ufually are.

It would have been perhaps difficult to guefs, that it was fuch a caufe that produced the fenfation of hardness which this foldier had in his belly, and the retention of urine to which he was fubject: and it would have been not lefs difficult to explain how this bone could have been formed; but it is always of great importance to collect facts of this kind; they exhibit to as the deviations of nature, and may ferve skilful men for knowing a like cafe, and perhaps deliver ing the patient of his ailment, in ridding him, by a bold operation, of this foreign body.

The academy had this obfervation from M. Terence Brady, phyfician to his royal highnefs prince Charles of Lorrain, who fent with it a drawing of the bone, wherein is feen the manner of its being marbled, which is fomething very fingular. It were to be wished that this able phyfican had made a more accurate examination of this bony mafs, in order to fee whether its fubftance was really of the fame nature with that of bones; for there are substantial reasons to doubt it is.

trance of a vaft cavern, a body of real ftone, of an irregular figure, but quite porous, which he had the curiofity to open. He was very much furprised to fee the whole divided into oval cells of three lines in breadth, and four lines in length, placed all manner of ways about each other, but no where communicating, all of them lined with a very thin membrane, and what was more wonderful, each inclofing a maggot, ar a fly perfectly like a bee. The maggots were very hard and very folid, and might pafs, for petrified; but the flies were only dried up, and well preferved as ancient mummies; and small oval grains, which appeared to be eggs, were often found under them. There was at the bottom of many of the cells a thick juice, blackish, very hard, appearing red when expofed to the light, very fweet, making the faliva yellow, and inflammable as refin. It was, in fhort, real honey; but who should ever think of finding honey in the bofom of a stone?

M. Lippi conceives that this was a natural hive, which at first had been formed in a loofe light, and fandy earth, and afterwards was petrified by fome particular accident. The animals that inhabited it were furprised by the petrification, and, as it were fixed in the ftate they were then found. Their dried up mucofity had formed the membrane that lined the cells. At the time when the hive was yet foft, the bees went out of it to feek their food, and make their honey in it.

Still feeking in the fame place other particulars to clear up this fact, M. Lippi found, in feveral I 3

parts,

parts, the beginnings of a like hive. It was, as it were, the first bed, formed of a number of little cells, for the most part open, and containing the animal in all its different tates, but dried up and very hard as well as the hives. He faw befides on one of the firft beds, a fecond compofed of a heap of little hillocks of about five lines in height, and an inch diameter at their bafe. They were grumelous, easily reducible into duft, and nearly refemble the hills thrown up by moles. M. Lippi opened them by ftriking gently against them, and found in every one of them two or three oval cells, filled with a yellow maggot, and full of juice, which occupied them entirely.

which the author fubjoins ten German names.]

The ancients were unacquainted with the nature of this ftone: fome fuppofing it to be petrified bones, others a fpecies of gypfum or plafter.

The ofteocolla grows in the dutchy of Croffen, in Silefia, Pomerania, Heffe, Saxony, Poland, at Darmstadt, Heidelberg, Spire, Pena in Mecklenburgh, in the marquifate of Brandenburg, near Befkau, Sonneberg, and Droffen. The foil in which it grows is always fandy and barren, and the only trees under which it is found are poplars.

Kreuterman met with one reprefenting the figure of a house or caftle, but it seems rather to have been a tophus than an ofteocolla, And Mercatus was certainly miftaken, when he gave that name to petrefactions and calcareous phufes, Hermanus pronouncing thefe laft to be rather bolaria or cifti.

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