BLOOD

( Sang , Fr.; Blut , Germ.) The liquid which circulates in the arteries and veins of animals; bright red in the former and purple in the latter, among all the tribes whose temperature is considerably higher than that of the atmosphere. It consists 1. of a colourle transparent solution of several substances in water; and 2. of red, undi olved particles diffused through that solution. Its specific gravity varies with the nature and health of the animal; being from 1·0527 to 1·0570 at 60° F. It has a saline sub-nauseous taste, and a smell peculiar to each animal. When fresh drawn from the ve els, it rapidly coagulates into a gelatinous ma , called the clot, cruor, or cra amentum, from which after some time, a pale yellow fluid, pa ing into yellowish green, oozes forth, called the serum . If the warm blood be stirred with a bundle of twigs, as it flows from the veins, the fibrine concretes, and forms long fibres and knots, while it retains its usual appearance in other respects. The clot contains fibrine and colouring matter in various proportions. Berzelius found in 100 parts of the dried clot of blood, 35 parts of fibrine, 58 of colouring matter; 1·3 of carbonate of soda; 4 of an animal matter soluble in water, along with some salts and fat. The specific gravity of the serum varies from 1·027 to 1·029. It forms about three fourths of the weight of the blood, has an alkaline reaction, coagulates at 167° F. into a gelatinous ma , and has for its leading constituent albumen to the amount of 8 per cent. besides fat, potash, soda, and salts of these bases. Blood does not seem to contain any gelatine. The red colouring matter called hematine , may be obtained from the cruor by washing with cold water and filtering. Blood was at one time largely employed for clarifying syrup, but it is very sparingly used by the sugar refiners in Great Britain of the present day. It may be dried by evaporation at a heat of 130° or 140°, and in this state has been transported to the colonies for purifying cane juice. It is an ingredient in certain adhesive cements, coarse pigments for protecting walls from the weather, for making animal charcoal in the Pru ian blue works, and by an after proce , a decolouring carbon. It is used in some Turkey red dye-works. Blood is a powerful manure.