74 SIXTH REi'ouT — 183G. 



On the /Inalysis of Wheat, a peculiar Volatile Fluid, and a Soluble Modi- 

 fication of Gluten, Nitrogen in Lignin, S^c. By W. C. Jones. 



Having observed a peculiar liquid and soluble gluten in experiments to 

 ascertain the quantity of starch, &c. which exists in ordinary wheat, the 

 author first gives the results of his observations on t))e gluten and starch. 

 He carefully separated the starch from 100 samples of wheat.every 10 of 

 which were as nearly alike as possible, and the analysis given below is the 

 mean of every 10 of the similar samples. Every one of the 100 sam- 

 ples was separated in two ways : the quantity of water was ascertained 

 in one set of experiments by heating the meal at a temperature of 1 60° 

 until no more was given off, the quantity of gluten by washing away 

 the starch in the usual way, the quantity of soluble matter by digesting 

 with water at a moderate temperature, and evaporating to dryness before 

 fermentation was produced. In the other method of operating, which 

 has been found the most accurate, the meal was mixed with four parts 

 of water at a temperature of 68° Fahrenheit ; the fermentation was allowed 

 to go on, until the saccharine matter was converted into alcohol and the 

 alcohol to acetic acid, which eventually dissolves every particle of gluten 

 in the wheat. When the ingredients, viz., the meal and water, have 

 been mixed 12 hours, the mass will swell up considerably, and the 

 temperature will increase ; in 12 hours more the solid parts will subside 

 and the supernatant liquid will have a sweet taste, slightly acid, s. g. 

 rOl 8. When all the alcohol and other principles are converted into acetic 

 acid (more acetic acid being formed than the alcohol would produce), 

 and when the gluten is dissolved, the liquid will have an acid, bitter 

 taste, and a gravity of 1"047 ; this change will occur in about 15 days. 

 On evaporating this solution to dryness a peculiar form of gluten is ob- 

 tained in reddish brown transjjarent gummy masses, smelling like the 

 brown part of roasted beef, very soluble in water and alcohol. The acetic 

 acid still contained in this gluten has some effect in rendering it so so- 

 luble in water, but only to a Umited extent, as an alkali added to the 

 aqueous solution causes jgths of the gluten to subside, the precipitate 

 being soluble in alcohol. 



By treating this gluten in a peculiar manner a series of azotizcd 

 bodies may be obtained, peculiarly interesting in their projjerties and 

 brilliant in their api^earance. 



Having obtained the gluten in this way the author inferred the quan- 

 tity of saccharine matter by the alcohol and acid jiroduced, the starch 

 by the usual separation, and the bran by a hair sieve, drying carefully 

 at a temperature of 1 00° : the results of both sets of experiments did not 

 materiallj' differ, and most of them were further corroborated by a third 

 series performed in a very large way. Chemists in analysing wheat have 

 included the starch under one head, and taken no notice of a low-quality 

 starch which exists in wheat, and which must be separated to render 

 starch fit for its ordinar}' uses. This low starch gives a reddish brown 

 colour with iodine, and a brown jelly with water, but when torrified the 

 amidine approaches to that from the usual starch. In the following 

 analyses the small quantity of jihosphate of lime existing in wheat is 



