2£ ©S THE FECULA OF GREEN PLANTS. 



Separation hf gluten. The fmall houleleek, as we (hall' fee prefently, yields 



exclufive cha- an abundant fecula of a deep colour, and particularly rich in 



rafter of albu- wax. 



VI II. But it will be faid, that the albumen being the only 

 product in which the property of coagulating by heat has been 

 noticed, it would appear natural to conclude that, &c. But 

 the milk of almonds alfo feparates by heat, alcohol, acids, &c\ 

 Thisis a fad which has been always known in pharmacy, and 

 neverthelefs a conclufion has never been formed from this 

 flender appearance that emulfions contained white of egg, be- 

 caufe even if the characters of animalifation had been per- 

 ceived in the principles of the emuliions, they ought likewife 

 to have exhibited other ftriking marks of refemblance before 

 they could have been coniidered as albuminous *. 



The characters It is alfo in this point of view that the gluten of fecula mull 



of fecula and fo e regarded, becaufe it is neither tenacious, nor elaftic, nor 



gluten are not 1,11, 



the fame fermentable, like that of cheele f. In announcing it to che- 



throughout, &c. m ]ft s as a product analogous to that from wheat, Rouelle only 

 brought forward part of the chara&eis which conftitute the 

 agreement, thofe alone which belong to the nature of the com- 

 ponent parts, becaufe the external marks of refemblance do 

 not exit! ; for the fame reafon, my object, in defending the 

 labours of this great matter, is much more to retain in the ca- 

 talogue of his difcoveries that of an animalifed matter found 

 more immediately in the leaves, than of gluten properly fo 

 called, becaufe this in fa6t, is the difcovery which the author 

 of the " Syftem" has rendered doubtful in his work. Break 



* Rouelle had a much better foundation than he was aware of, 

 for comparing the green juice of plants to an emulfion. Thecheefe 

 feparated from the milk of almonds, by fome one of thefe means, 

 being warned and dried, yields an oil by expreflion, and afterwards 

 all the produces of cafeum, by diftillation. This, without doubt, 

 is the reafon why almonds and all forts of nuts, afford fo great a 

 quantity of nitrogen, with nitric acid. 



The thin milk of almonds contains gum, a little extractive mat- 

 ter, and fugar, which is either that of the cane, or that which I 

 difcovered in the grape, and which I fhall defcribe when treating 

 of fermentation. 



t The gluten of wheat is fufceptible of a fermentation which is 

 peculiar to it. The gafes difengaged are carbonic acid and tolerably 

 pure hidrogcn in abundance, I lhall hereafter refume this fubjecl:. 



the 



