on the Nature of Sugar. 46 
friuft have weighed 2% dr.: fome of it being examined, was 
found to confift of carbonic acid gas and hydro-carbonat. 
Two ounces of gum arabic treated in the fame manner 
yielded 7 dr. 40 gr. pyromucous acid containing a little more 
empyreumatic oil, and required only 118 gr. of the fame fo- 
lution of potafh to faturate it; 3dr. 45 gr. refiduum ; 5 dr. 
of gas confifting like the former of hydro-carbonat and car 
bonic acid gas. 
As fugar yields more acid than gum in the proportion of 
150 to 118—as oxygen is the univerfal acidifying principle 
—and as the acid from both is the fame, viz. the pyromu- 
cous, fugar muft, therefore, contain the greateft proportion 
of oxygen; for the carbonic acid and hydro-carbonat were 
hot produced in any quantity till near the end of the opera 
tion, and therefore were probably formed by the decompo- 
fition of the water, 
To obferve the changes and decompofitions that take 
place during the procefs of malting, which fomehow con- 
verts vegetable mucilage and fecular into fugar, the follow- 
ing experiments were made : 
Barley foaked in water for 24 hours was introduced in a 
wine glafs into a jar containing common air, inverted over 
water and kept in a temperature between 60° and7o0’. In§ 
days it began to grow, and in 4 weeks the fhoots were half 
an inch long. At the end of 10 weeks vegetation was ftill 
going on, and the air in the jar had fomewhat diminifhed < 
the barley was very fweet, and nearly malted. The air was 
found to confift of azotic and carbonic acid gas, in the pro- 
portion of 20 to 6, the whole of the oxygen being either ab- 
forbed or united to carbon. 
Barley foaked for 48 hours introduced as in the laft, expe- 
riment into a jar containing oxygen gas, inverted over wa- 
ter to which fulphuric acid had been added, began to grow 
at the end of 3 days. In £0 days the water had rifen in the 
jar, the gas being diminithed about one third. . The barley 
finelled like malt, and was fweet, The gas was found to con- 
fitk 
