470 



ACTION OF ACID AND ALKALI ON GLUTEN 



The measurements on smaller quantities of gluten in distilled water 

 are accordingly disregarded. Averaging all the other values of Table 

 VIII, which appear to be fairly comparable, the last column is ob- 

 tained. This column represents more truly than the individual data 

 the effect of variation of hydrogen ion concentration upon viscosity. 

 It is graphically represented in Fig. 1. 



The marked minimum in the viscosity of the gluten seems not to 

 be dependent upon a single property. For it does not coincide with 



TABLE VIII. 



Viscosity Measurements. Time in Minutes. 



the isoelectric point — according to Wood and Hardy^ probably be- 

 tween 10~^ N and 10"^ n — and it does not correspond with the true 

 swelling, or hydration. It is, moreover, as the observations in the 

 presence of distilled water show, greatly influenced by the concentra- 

 tion of electrolytes. This last point will be fully established in a later 

 paper. Finally, it appears to be largely variable with time, so that a 

 process of "setting" may be suspected. 



<Wood, T. B., and Hardy, W. B., Proc. Roy. Soc. London, Series B, 1909, 

 Ixxxi, 39. 



