24 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [oct. 20, 
CHARLES F. PRENTICE, 
by Wm. L. ELsEFFeR. 
Dr. FRANK D. SKEEL, 
by Dr. BAsHForD DEAN. 
PRESIDENT NEWBERRY nominated as Fellow of the Academy: 
Dr. BAasHForD DEAN. 
Dr. H. T. VuLTE read a few brief notes on 
THE ANALYSIS OF GRAINS AND CEREALS. 
(Abstract. ) 
The paper is a brief review of some of the well-known methods, 
but makes special reference to the Kjeldahl] method for albumen- 
oids and the Von Asboth process for starch. An outline of 
both is here given. 
Kjeldahl Method. 
Consists of two operations:— 
1st. The digestion or conversion of albumenoid bodies into 
compounds of ammonia by means of concentrated sulphuric 
acid, alone or with other suitable oxidizing agents. 
2d. The decomposition of the ammonium sulphate by caustic 
alkali, distillation, and condensation of the ammonia in standard 
acid. 
Digestion.—From 0.8 to 1.5 gms. of the substance are intro- 
duced into a long-necked, pear-shaped flask of hard glass, from 
10 to 20 c.c. of concentrated C. P. sulphuric acid, free from ni- 
trogen, and about 0.5 gm. of metallic mercury added. The flask 
and contents are then placed on a ring stand and slowly heated 
until violent action has ceased. he heat is then increased, and 
‘continued until the solution is of a pale-yellow color; this usu- 
ally takes from one-half to three-quarters of an hour. The 
heat is then removed, and finely pulverized potassium perman- 
ganate is cautiously added in small portions until the liquid as- 
sumes a green tinge (if pink, water is present, and reheating for 
some time is necessary). Heat is now applied for a few minutes, 
when the liquid will clear. This indicates the completion of 
the digestion; the heat is removed and the flask allowed to cool. 
Distillation.—The contents of the digestion flask are then 
rinsed with about 200 c.c. of cold water into an Erlenmeyer flask 
