Arkansas true Democrat., 1858-10-06

carouncle. The larger blood vessels were all as rigid as pipe stems. and in some cases the petrlhed blood could be cracked out from the Veins' exhibiting beautiful moulding upon the valves of the latter. The lungs were noticed. on opening the cavity of the pleura, not to be collapsed at all, the usual contractibilitv due to the elastic fibrous tissue in their comnosition oelng overcome by the rigidity of the capillaries S which kept them firm and expanded. The ora oraln exhibited nothing extraordinary excent '"e ~, ,Petrlfaction of the blood vessels.
 n1 contents contents of the lower intestines were ao' so'iiinea' as might have been expected: the
 s'a1S e u1 were all remarkably free from the stain o' blood, whlch in ordinary cases transudas ''lonSn the coats Of the vessels after death. Deiofe conslsnlng to the earth the bo3v ox- hio'e!nS ths truly unparalleled patholoc;cal coiii''ion' | selected portions of the petri6ad food and bile, as we'll as of the heart lnnss ss'ae blood vessels for future investigation, and aIso as specimens for preservation. first subectsJ portion of the petrifeI blood to analysis.- The blow-ppe hal no effect whatever and almost exhausted my supply of nitric sulnhu. TIC and hvdrochlorc acids in en1eavorinr, to ma an agent that would act upon it.
 After various experiments, inasmuch as the petrltled blood exhibited q somewhat vitreons fracture, prepared a small quantity of Hno- hydflc acd, by the action of ulphuric acid or a crystal ot flour spar, which 1 carried as a stan. dafd of comparative hardness of minerals: and thIs' to my great satisfaction, acted upon it rapidly. The contents of the stomach and heart also yielded to this re- agent, and then became satlSheI that slca was at least con- tanned In the pathological specimens under ey- am'natlon. therefore adopted the plan advo- cated Tn No. xx., p. l42 of Constatt's Jthres- oe'tc1, Tor the separation of Slica from it's com, pounds. Trlturating some petrfed blood with iour parts ot carbonate of potassa. melted the whole Tn platinum crucible This compound treated with water at high temperature untli solution Is formed. ana by pouring small quantity of this into test glass. contain ing few drops of hydrochloric acid. a beauti- tul and transparent jelly was precipitated, which l at once recognized as silica acid or silica.
 The whole question now resolved itself in my mind. The pathological specim ens exhibit. ed evidence of the presence of silica. Or this there was no doubt. Bu5 silica never exhibits tsel' in the blood in large amount. thongh Hennebers (Annalen der Chemie. No. XII. n. 23O ob5alned it in small quantities from that tiuld, and traces of it have also been fonnd bv Van Laer and 5 bra in the bones and hair Ii however was not probable that silcia would collect Ia the body in such quantity as that it could De obtained for exhibition, and coDse quently some external source must have f,r. nlshed the excess.
 therefore concluded tha. the water of the geode which my companion had drank con- 'aInel an immense quantity of silicic acid, in hascent and soluable conditions; that on being swaiiowed, It had entered into an unusual com olnalioh With the conugatei acids Of ths bile (ac'lnS as an alkli) anl with the albumnose of ths ln5esta; tnlt It had also b4on absorb,l by the blood, (see Smon Chemsche das Meas. cheo,) and formed, perhaps, silicate of albu- men with that 1nd (acting in the case as q leeole acId,) an the result had been silcii c''.on or p7trtacton of those substances for winch It has most affinity.
 !" ny Shouid the silica ot the geole acquire properties unknown bstore, anl take on new h1pl'nies: have en ielvored to explain this 10 myself Tn the following m tnner. but van rure the opmoo with ditlence, and willing snom S'on 70 he criticism of the scientific world: he man. Earnest, was person of highly nerv- ouS temperament, exceedingly sensitive to mes merle influence, anl, in fact. had formerly h,ar subjected by Baron Rchembach to nnnerol,s experiments. have then thouy it possible that llcl m sh take on tn, DO yer of new com. bnatIoQS under an excess of neryons ar alaatrio force, lalent in hi, system in the same m,nnar as oxygen, according to the res,archss of Fara- day and Schonbain, through the influence of electricity, assumes new nature under inc form ot ozoae, and ac Iuires a power of enterin, ihto conDInauons which, in its ordinary condi ton, IS absent. Whether this theory be the true one or not the facts are no less astonishin, or indicative of important results.
 IL VIII pc seen that the process underyone by the di1 Tent parts was nnluestoaably a chem cal one; that new substance was produced by the chemical union of others, thus distinruisb | 'h5 thia case both from that injection, in which pts'en5es and cells arc filled up with foreign oodV, ana rom ordinary petrihcation, as it Is cNlei, where the original natter is removed particle by particle, and its place supplied by a different but unil;ered bodv This last is inc mole to which many fosls owe their form and SuosLahce. Terrifying springs are common in many countries, and so rapid Is the process or repacemeht Tn some of them not merely sub- stances winch resist composition such as wood, are thus converted to stone but even anim Il matter Is occasionally found thus transformed but very different agency was here at work. It Will De remembered by some who perase thIS paper, that over twentyyears ago an Italian caein'SI discovered methOl of preserving or game substances resembling this in the result 1T not m the process. He carried this invention 80 lar as ac.utly to pe5rfy lifsrent parts of the hun'n body, retaining in each c,se in, c,I,r and apparent texture. There is still eyb btAd in the Anatomical museum of FIoren .e 2 toss,I. lated slab highly polishsd. formsi of secSioos ol the liver, heart, lungs and muscular tissn. of the human subject, prepared in this way. The secret ot h'' art, unfortunately for science ner- lSned With Its author; but great is the anlIoov ot the cases, thlt am lel to contemolat, irs redscovery here. range if an aoad ,nt oc- currnS on this far of stream, should primo to light that which was lost by the banks of tho Arno, and the death of the excellent bnt ob- scure Pruislan miner, Fuchserspeigel. should thus be the molns of revivn5 discovery so important to chemistry and anatomy. Itwon,d indeed be monum mt to his name consoIin, to his friends. But must here close Ii is my intention to transmit these specimens to the academy Of national sciences, of Philadelphia. for examnation, and trust for decisive results