LINEZE. O41 
odour. On exposure to the air, especially after having been 
heated with oxide of lead, it quickly dries up to a transparent 
 yarnish, consisting chiefly of linoxyn, C** H** O”. 
_ erude oil increases in weight 11—12 per cent., although at — 
the same time its glycerine is destroyed by oxidation. 
“By saponification, Linseed oil yields glycerin, and 95 per 
cent. of fatty acids, consisting chiefly of linoleic acid, C16 H?6 
02, accompanied by some oleic, palmitic and myristic acid. 
The action of the air transforms linoleic acid into the resinoid _ 
_. oxylinoleic acid, C'® H% O05. Linoleic acid appears to be 
contained in all drying oils; notably in that of poppy seed. 
It is not homologous either with ordinary fatty acids, or with 
the oleic acid of oil of almonds, C!® H** O*% 
“The viscid mucilage of Linseed cannot be filtered till it : 
has been boiled. It contains in the dry state more than 10 per 
cent. of mineral substances, when freed from which and dried i 
at 110° C., it corresponds, like altheea mucilage, to the ‘3 
formula G1? H2° 01°, The seeds by exhaustion with cold or 
warm water afford of it about 15 per cent. By boiling nitric 
_ acid it yields crystals of mucic acid. Its chemical relations 
_ “are therefore those of gum and not of soluble cellulese. Lin- 
_ seed contains about.4 per cent. of nitrogen, corresponding to- 
_ about 25 per cent. of protein substances; after expression of 
the oil, these substances remain in the cake. 
In the ripe state, Linseed is altogether destitute of starch, ; 
though this substance is found in the immature seed in the — 
_ very cells which subsequently yield the mucilage. The water — 
_ retained by the air-dry seed is about 9 per cent. The — 
- mineral constituents of Linseed, chiefly phosphates of potas- — 
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ian eae ae 
sium, magnesium, and calcium, amount on an average to 3 per 
_ cent. and pass into the mucilage. By treating thin slices of 
the testa and its adhering inner membrane with ferrous 
- sulphate, it is seen that this tegument contains a small 
tity of tannin.” A. Jorisseu has pointed out that am 
