344 ANNUAL EECOHD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



like drops of fat of oval but irregular shape, somewhat like 

 mulberries. From minute to minute the shaking was inter- 

 rupted ; the globules uniformly increased, and after eighteen 

 minutes yellow butter was obtained in all the bottles, in lit- 

 tle masses like peas. According to our author, the lactic acid 

 could have had no influence in dissolving the membranes of 

 the globules, and, in fact, he doubts the existence of such 

 membranes. He thinks that shaking at the proper tempera- 

 ture combines the floating particles of butter; when the milk 

 is too cold, no butter forms ; when too warm, a kind of emul- 

 sion is obtained, which, at a low temperature, hardens, but is 

 white and less translucent than good yellow butter. Mr. 

 Baumhauer promises the best success in butter-making when- 

 ever proper attention is given to the temperature of the milk, 

 which ought to be between the narrow limits of 65 to 70 

 Fahrenheit. 



METAMOKPHOSIS OF ALBUMINOUS SUBSTANCES IN THE BODIES 



OF ANIMALS. 



In the investigations upon the metamorphosis of albumi- 

 nous substances in the bodies of ruminants by Stohmann, 

 Friihling, and Rost, it has been shown, First, that the whole 

 of the albuminoids undergoing decomposition in the organ- 

 ism appear in the form of oxidation products in the solid and 

 liquid excretions. These results were obtained with food not 

 only poor, but also rich in nitrogen. Second, the metamor- 

 phosis of albumen is dependent on the quantity of albumen 

 in circulation in the organism. As a rule, the metamorpho- 

 sis of albumen rises and falls with the albumen in the food. 

 The increase of albuminous matters above a certain quanti- 

 ty is a waste with adult animals. Third, the imbibition of 

 large quantities of water, increases the metamorphosis of ni- 

 trogenous matters. Fourth, the excretion of nitrogen quick- 

 ly adapts itself to an increase of nitrogen in the food. Fifth, 

 with an insufficiency of albumen in the food the body be- 

 comes poorer in albumen. A goat which daily consumed in 

 its food 8.27 crams of nitrogen excreted 11.1. The 2.53 

 grams lost daily correspond to 74 grams of flesh. The weight 

 of the animal sank, in the ten days of the experiment, from 

 31.54 to 29.72 kilograms. Sixth, considerable increase of 

 weight took place when, along with a sufficiency of albumen, 



