^68 .vfi-5««)%oM 



.i^nH tlof^^ll-.i^oceedings of Learned SocieHe$*-Z 9i,pL 



-filBl JsBrioiM (.( )•„. ^^^^^ SOCIETY. - -J ^0^^'S\0-a ^H 



.^,, , . rCpntinued from p. 5q1[^'\:'^ .-J-O-tl paa^^ab 

 iK the Ashes of Whea^, ,,,, Jy^5f{|i^^|[iar^^^ 



May 29, '< 

 1845. \^ F.U.S. , . ,.,,^ 



The eJcperlRiei^t? reporded \i\ this paper were undertaken prinqi- 

 pally with the ultijqaatq view pf ascertaining with exactness what' 

 qpftntjty of ingrganic piatter is removed from the soil by the seeds 

 of ^ crop pf whj^at^ The author first inquires what is the avcrq,ge 

 amount of the inorganic or incombustible portion of a given quanr. 

 tity of wheat;, a question to. which no satisfactory answer has yet 

 been given. The result of the author's experiments is, that wheat 

 yields, by slow combustion, a residue of from 1^ to If per cent. He 

 then proceeds to determine by experiment the degree in which this 

 result is influenced by previous drying at different temperatures, 

 varying from 230° to 260° Fahr., and finds that a heat of 245° is 

 flot sufficient to expel all the moisture contained in wheat ; for while 

 the loss of weight is then about 8 per cent, by a heat of 260°, the 

 amount of this loss is 10 per cent. When the heat is so great as to 

 occasion decomposition, the saline matter contained in the wheat 

 fuses, and a portion of the carbon becomes so entangled or firmly 

 adherent to it, as to be incapable of separation by burning. Hence 

 he recommends, in order to obtain greater uniformity in the results, 

 that the wheiat subjected to these experiments should be dried at a 

 low temperature, such as that of a room in summer, and be allowed 

 to remain a few days under its influence. The author tried the 

 eflvect of the addition of nitric acid, with a view to save time by ac- 

 celerating the combustion ; but found that the results could not bp 

 relied upon when this plan was adopted, and he was therefore obliged 

 to relinquish it. He next directed his inquiries to the ascertaining 

 whether the quantity of inorganic matter was in proportion to the 

 specific gravity of the grain, that is, to its weight per bushel ; and 

 this he found in general to be the case. The conclusion he deduces 

 from this investigation is, that the mean amount of inorganic matter 

 removed from the soil by the grain of a crop of wheat is exactly one 

 pound per acre. .,,!, , . . , , 



'<0n Benzoline, a n«w organLp Salt-base obtained (from Oil of 

 Bitter Almonds." By George Fownes, Esq., F.R.S. 



Pure oil of bitter almonds is converted, by the action of a strong 

 solution of ammonia, into a solid white substance having a crystalline 

 form, and which was termed by M, I^aurent hydrobenzamide. The 

 author found that this substance, by the further action of alkalies, 

 became harder and less fusible than before, and not differing in che- 

 mical composition from the original substance, but exhibiting the 

 properties of an organic salt-base. To this substance the author 

 gives the name of benzoline. He finds that the salts which it forms 

 by combination with acids are, in geneml, remarkable for their spa- 

 ring solubility ; and that many of them, as the hydrochlorate, thp 

 nitrate and the sulphate, are crystallizable. Of the properties of 

 these salts the author gives a detailed account. 



