146 



ANALYSIS OF THE 8MUT OF WHEAT! 



XIV 



On tht Chemical Nature of the Smut in Wheat, By Messrs. 

 Fourcroy and Vauquelin*. 



£rautha« al- 

 ready been 

 examined im- 

 perfectly. 



Described. 



Prevented by 

 ■washing with 



alkalis. 



Smut 



treated with 



hot alcohoi, 



ether, 

 und water. 



JL HE smut in wheat has already occupied the attention of 

 several chemists. Parmentier has found hi it a fetid, fat, 

 and coally substance. Cornet has observed its oleaginous 

 nature. Girod-Chantraus, in 1804, announced, that it con- 

 tained also a free, fixed avid, which he supposed to be of a 

 peculiar nature. 



This discover}', announced to the Institute in the autumn 

 of that year, induced Mr. Vauquelin and ine to undertake a 

 full examination of this degenerated vegetable matter. 



It is well known, that the smut is in fact a corruption of 

 the grain, which exhibits within the husk of the seed, instead 

 of a farinaceous substance, a black, greasy, stinking powder, 

 the most decided and dangerous characteristic of which is 

 its being capable of infecting other grains by contact, and 

 imparting to them the property of propagating smutty 

 wheat. It is known too, that washing with lime and alkalis 

 is the most certain method of removing its contagious pro-* 

 perty, and preventing the disease from being reproduced, 

 which it constantly is, if this practice, now generally em- 

 ployed by all judicious farmers, be neglected. 



The smut, on which we made our experiments, was given 

 us by Mr. Girod-Chantrans. 



Triturated in an agate mortar, and separated from the 

 husk, the smut imparted to hot alcohol a yellowish green 

 colour ; and, without communicating to it any character of 

 acidity* exhibited only about a hundredth part of its weight 

 of a deep green oily matter, as thick as butter, and acrid as 

 rancid grease. 



Ether separated from it the same oil* 



After this action of alcohol, the smut retained both its 

 greasy feel, and iilthy smell. Lixiviated with d\e times its 



* La Revue Philosoque, &c, Nov. 1805. 

 at the National Institute. 



Abridged from a paper read 



weight 



