SCIEXTIFIC news; 333 



vegetable juices which ferment without yeast, and afford 

 a vinous liquor, this chemist was led to inquire whether 

 the albumen might not be of essential consequence t^ 

 this intestine motion which is still so little understood. 

 He assures us, that having deprived these juices of albu- 

 men they became incapable of fermenting, and that hav- 

 ing artificially supplied this principle, snch, for example, 

 as white of egg to saccharine matter, the fermentation ^^ ^^^ . 

 took place when other circumstances were suitable, and a ciple of for- 

 matter similar to yeast was deposited which appealed to "^entauon. 

 him to be only the albumen whiph was altered so as tp 

 be nearly insoluble without having lost its fermentescible 

 action. Hence he concludes that albumen, whether ani^ 

 mal or veg^etable is the true ferment. 



Mr. Seguin has further ascertained that albumen is Interesting 

 found in three different degrees of insolubility and dispo- to fermenta? 

 sition to become fibrous ; that the more it is soluble, the tion. 

 more powerful is its action; that the respective propor- 

 tions of albumen and of sugar in the different juices 

 determine the vinous or acetous nature of the product of 

 fermentation, (lie product being more spirituous, the 

 greater the quantify of sugar; and lastly, that most of 

 the fermentable juices contain a bitter principle analogous 

 to that of coffee, which is of no effect in the fermentation, 

 but contributes to the taste and preservation of the fer* 

 mented liquor. 



Tannin, the vegetable principle formerly discovered by New facts re* 

 Seguin, and of which the character is to form an insoluble »pecting taa- 

 compound with gelatine, has been again examined by 

 Bouillon la Grange, Professor at the Napoleon Lyceum. 



He has found that it has an affinity for the alkalis, the 

 earths, and the metallic oxides, and the faculty of becom- 

 ing converted into gallic acid by absorbing oxigen. 



The tannins extracted from different vegetables vary j^ 

 little in their composition ; and that which was disco- 

 vered by Mr. Hatchett, of London, in such great abun.. 

 dance in cachou is rather more oxigenated than the 

 others. 



An Italian chemist, Morichini, having discovered Fluottc acid in 

 fluoric acid in the enamel of the fossile grinders of. the ^"^^^^ *^^^^- 

 elephant, analized |he enamel of human teeth, and sup.. 



posed 



