60 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



which it is left to ferment until it is completely soft, and has lost its 

 elasticity, and until the greater portion of the water which it has 

 taken up during the operation of kneading is combined with it ; 

 when the gluten has undergone the requisite fermentation or mod- 

 ification, it offers no resistance to the finger, or to any article 

 which may be passed through the mass, and the modified gluten 

 should also adhere to the object with which it is brought in con- 

 tact. The gluten, so modified, is then ready for use ; but, as it has 

 been brought, by the process of fermentation, into a very thin paste, 

 it is necessary to place it in moulds for drying. 



The process of fermentation may be performed either with or 

 without the aid of artificial heat; when artificial heat is applied, 

 the process is considerably expedited, and the heat found most bene- 

 ficial is about 20 to 30 Fah. above the temperature of the sur- 

 rounding atmosphere. During the fermentation, it is requisite to 

 stir the gluten frequently, and to remove the water which rises to 

 the surface. With the above temperature, and in operating upon 

 about fifty or sixty pounds of gluten, placed in a vessel, the fermen- 

 tation will be sufficiently advanced in three or four days, and the 

 fermented gluten or vegetable albumen will then be in the proper 

 state for being made into thin plates and dried. The greatest care 

 must be taken that the fermentation is stopped at the proper point, 

 for if it is allowed to proceed too far the gluten is converted into a 

 noxious mass. 



When the gluten is converted into vegetable albumen, it is divided, 

 and formed into plates of about one-quarter to three-eighths of 

 an inch in thickness; this is effected by spreading the albumen in 

 metal or other moulds, by means of a spatula ; it is then left to dry, 

 either in the open air or by the aid of a gentle heat, and the plates, 

 when dry, are about one-eighth of an inch in thickness. One pound 

 of the so-called vegetable albumen to one pound and a half of water 

 will give a solution which may be used as a substitute for the strong- 

 est glue or gelatine, and which resists moisture to a great extent, 

 and is not influenced by heat. 



The solution may be used cold, and will retain its properties for 

 from ten to fifteen days in summer, and twice as long in winter, that is 

 to say, if it is kept cool, and, if possible, in a current of air. 



THE LARGEST CHIMNEY IN THE WORLD. 



Mr. Duncan Macfarlane, of Glasgow, C. E., an architect, has pub- 

 lished a description of the colossal chimney recently completed at 

 Messrs. Townsend's Chemical Works, Port Dundas, Scotland. It 

 is described as being not only the largest structure of the kind, but 

 the loftiest building in the world, excepting the Great Pyramid of 

 Ghizeh, the spire of Strasburg Cathedral, and that of St. Stephen's, 

 Vienna. This chimney is circular in plan. 



Total height from foundation 4G8 feet. 



Height above ground 454 " 



Outside diameter at level of ground 32 " 



Outside diameter at top 14 " 



Thickness at level of ground 7 bricks. 



Thickness at top 1 " 



