RECENT WORK IN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE. 



CHEMISTRY. 



The quantitative separation of wheat proteids, G. L. Tellee 



{ArMnsas Bta. Bui. 42, pp. 81-104).— The autbor reports a series of 

 noteworthy investigations to devise a method for the (luautitative 

 separation of the proteids in wheat, especially for deteriuiniug the 

 glnten. Tlie work is based largely upon the characteristics of wheat 

 proteids as described by Osborne and Voorhees.' 



The anthor started out with the proposition that ''all non-glnteu 

 nitrogen will be dissolved from wheat meal by thoroughly extracting 

 with lO per cent salt solution and that the ghiten nitrogen will remain 

 undissolved;" but his investigations showed that a 1 per cent salt 

 solution is preferable to a 10 per cent solution for this separation, and 

 that this salt solution dissolved a small amount of gliadin (one of the 

 gluten proteids), making it necessary to correct the result for nou- 

 gluteu nitrogen by subtracting 0.27 per cent. It is shown that " the 

 so called true gluten obtained by mechanical washing away of the 

 starch and computing the remaining proteids from the nitrogen content 

 of the crude gluten obtained gives results which are much too low when 

 compared with the sum of the gliadin and glutenin." The explanation 

 offered is that "an indefinite amount of gliadin is dissolved and washed 

 away. In view of this fact, the mechanical method of determining 

 gluten in wheat and flour is even more unsatisfactory than has formerly 

 been thought." 



The investigations made in determining non- gluten nitrogen, gliadin, 

 proteose, edestin and leucosin, and amids are described and tables 

 given showing the nitrogen iu different compounds soluble in 1 per 

 cent sodiuiu chlorid solution. 



From his investigations on proteose the author believes that " the 

 proteose and proteose-like body found by Osborne are really the alcohol 

 soluble proteids (gliadin), small quantities of which have been carried 

 into solution and exhibit their characteristics unchanged, Fnrther- 

 more, these alcohol-soluble proteids possess certain properties which 

 have been thought to be characteristic of proteoses," 



The " official method " for the determination of albuminoid nitrogen 

 (with cupric hydrate and alumina) was found deficient for wheat, and 



' Connecticut State Sta. Rpt. 1893 (E, S. E., 5, p. 1079), 

 854 



