Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-09-04
Why Bodies Turn in Coffins-Adipocere

paper, read by DR.. Coffin, Trail Green's,)
on so called Human Petrifcstions, before the
Scientific Convention, has a good deal Of pop
ulsr interest Ii is sort of comment upon
story extracted from the correspondence OF
the Rushville Iowal Republican, about the
body of boy who died at seven years Of age
and was buried. On being disinterred, said
the story, the skin and muscles were found in
a good state of preservation, but changed to
stone. The bones were unaltered, and those
Of the arms were movable in their stony en-
easements. The substance Of the brain wa,
found little altered, &c.
The paper of Mr.. Green presumed that this
was popular way of describing a case of the
human body changed to adipocere. The pres
ent removal of bodies from city TO country
church yards has brought to light many cases
of this sort. The properties Of adipocere are
well known. 1t is defined as that fatty and
spermaceti-like substance into which muscle
is converted bv long immersion in water or
spirit, or by burial in moist earth. The reader
exhibited a large specimen of it, and pro.
ceedei To give its history. 1t was taken from
a GOTTA that had been buried in a very damp
clayey soil, through which the water could
not soak.
In the same ground another body, in similar
condition, was found seven years after buris
the body floating in water. In one Of these
cases the lower limbs were crossed at the
thighs The specimen exhibited was part of
the body of a woman who died over seventy
years Of age, and had been inferred seven
teen years. The specific gravity of sdipoc r,
is from 762 TO S5S thoussndths. Hence 1t will
noat in water, and if coffin is filled with
water the whole corpse floats; and settles
again as the water leaks out in a position that
will be determined by the weight Of its differ
ent portions. This doubtless accounts for the
imagined turning of bodies in their cofins,
and has led TO the popular belief that burial
before death is not uncommon. The escape of
gases was formerly the theory to account for
such turnings; but ne did not think il so sat
i.factOry. The knowledge Of this fact will
prevent the occurrence Of the fresh and unne-
cessary grief often caused by the discovery Of
these " turnings." The conclusion Of Gibbs,
who experimented in 1794-5 as to the forms-
tion of adipocerc, was that it is formed from
fbrine.
DR.. Steiner reported the case Of q bod v
changed into what seemed to be adipocere,
which was found, in a Washington city grave
yard, after twenty-five years burial, but the
only organ that could be satisfactorily identi-
fed was the liver. Here was a gland, not a
ibrinous structure, undergoing this remsrks-
bic change. Possibly IT was q case of fatty
degeneration. The graveyard was very low
ground, and the graves were full of water.
Prof. HOrsford cautioned the convention TO
be slow IN admitting these reportsof what are
called human petrifactions. A communica-
tion has lately been made to the Boston Acsd-
emy, detailing how the bones Of an infant in
Illinois had been converted into phosphorus
But strict examination showed that, in all
probability, there was NO replacement at all
in the case.