Unpublished paper, 'On the formation or secretion of alkaline and earthy bodies by animals' by Robert Rigg

Description

Rigg aims to show that alkaline and earthy bodies are secreted by animals. From the results of a comparison of the weight of the ashes obtained from a quantity of bread, equal to that which was the sole food of two mice during thirty-eight days, with the weight of the ashes of their excretions during the same period, it appeared to Rigg that the latter exceeded the former in the proportion of 1334 to 934. The amount of soluble salts was also found to be greater in the latter than in the former. From these data, Rigg infers that both alkaline and earthy bodies are formed out of their elements by the animal system, and found in their excretions.

Subject: Biology

Received 6 January 1845 / 9 January 1845.

Whilst the Royal Society declined to publish this paper in full, an abstract of the paper was published in volume 5 of Abstracts of the Papers Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London [later Proceedings of the Royal Society] as 'On the formation or secretion of alkaline and earthy bodies by animals'.

Reference number

AP/27/20

Earliest possible date

06 January 1845

Physical description

Ink on paper

Page extent

8 pages

Format

Manuscript