1818.] M. Boullay on the Sweet Almond. 429 



the coagulum was separated from the emulsion, a fluid was left 

 which seemed very similar to the whey horn animal milk ; it 

 was saccharine, and after some time acetic acid was developed 

 in it ; at a still later period it became alkaline. 



One hundred parts of sweet almonds, bruised and strongly 

 squeezed, produced 480 parts of an oil, which was slightly 

 yellow, almost without smell, of a sweet taste, soluble in the 

 cold in 50 parts of alcohol and in two parts of sulphuric ether. 

 By digesting the residue in ether, 60 parts more of the oil were 

 obtained from it. The almond paste, when deprived of its oil, 

 mixed with a sufficient quantity of cold water, and then forcibly 

 squeezed, discharged a fluid which slightly reddened litmus, was 

 coagulated by alcohol, tan, chlorine, the different acids, and the 

 salts of lead and mercury. This fluid was also coagulated by 

 heat. The substance that was left after the pressure, when 

 dried by a gentle heat, became semi-transparent and brittle, and 

 remained for a long time without experiencing any change ; it 

 was nearly without taste or odour. This was the same substance 

 which had been separated from the almond cream, and also 

 from the emulsion by heat," and it was found to possess all the 

 properties of albumen. A quantity of this albumen was still 

 retained in the fluid, and it was likewise found to contain a true 

 gum, very similar to gum arabic. Alcohol separated from the 

 mass a quantity of saccharine matter, which, however, could 

 not be made to crystallize. By employing the test of iodine, it 

 appears that there is no starch in the almond. There was a 

 quantity of residuum after removing the oil, the albumen, the 

 sugar, and the gum, which seemed to be of a ligneous or fibrous 

 nature. M. Boullay states the proportion of the constituents of 

 the sweet almond to be as follows : 



Water 3 - 5 



Pellicles 5-0 



Oil 64-0 



Albumen 24-0 



Liquid sugar O'O 



Gum 3*0 



Fibrous part 4*0 



Loss and acetic acid 0"5 



100-0 



The following remarks present thj - on the above ana- 



lysis'. 1. The emulsion of almonds is almost precisely similar 

 to the milk of the mammiferffl. 2. The caseous matter, which 

 is separated from til" almond emulsion, consists Lgulated 



albumen and fixed oil, like the cheese of milk. :J. it is to the 

 great quantity of albumen which it contains thai almond emul- 

 sion p the property of clarifying fluids in th way 

 that milk <\w.x. 4. All the emulsive seeds contain albumen in 



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