2Gi On the Definite Proportions in ivhich the [April 



bubble of carbonic acid gas made Its escape. This shows that the 

 sugar had not undergone decomposition. From this experiment it 

 appears that sugar in its ordinary state is a compound of 



Sugar 947 100 



Water 5-3 5'6 



100-0 



But 5'G of water contain 4"941 of oxygen, which is exactly the 

 half of that found in the oxide of lead with which the sugar is 

 combined in the sub-saccharate. 



I took five parts of sugar dried in a vacuum, and put them into 

 a small glass exactly weighed, the mouth of which was covered 

 with paper. I put this glass in a jar over mercury, and then filled 

 the jar with ammoniacal gas. The gas was slowly absorbed ; the 

 sugar contracted in bulk, and its surface acquired so strong a crys- 

 talline lustre as to appear liumid. The saturated combination was 

 a dense, coherent, flexible mass, which might be cut with a knife. 

 It exhaled the odour of ammonia. The absorption of ammoniacal 

 gas continued for four days; but I left the sugar in the gas 24 hours 

 after it was saturated. It had gained 0-26 of its weight. This 

 combination, which I consider as a neutral saccharate of ammonia^ 

 is composed of 



Sugar ..^ 90-000 ...... 100 



Ammonia 4-930 5-49 



Water of combination . . 5-07O 5-60 



100-00 



But 5.49 ammonia contain 2-5 of oxygen, which is half the 

 quantity that the water contains, and \i\\ of the oxygen in the 

 oxide of lead. 



0-4 of sugar dried in a vacuum, gave by combustion from 0-237 

 to 0-24 of water; and from 0-()07 to 0.(il of carbonic acid gas. 

 Hence it follows, that sugar is composed of 



Hydrogen 7*05 



Carbon 41-48 



O-xygen 5 1 '47 



100-00 



But we have seen that in these 100 parts of sugar there are 5 '3 

 of water; containing 4*67725 oxygen. Now 4.67/25 x 11 = 

 51-44975. Hence it follows, that the 947 parts of pure sugar 

 contained ten times that quantity, or 46-7725, and consequently, 

 tliat sugar contains ten times as much oxygen as the water, five 

 times as much as the oxide of lead, and 20 times as much as the 

 ammonia with which it was combined in the compounds men- 

 tioned above. 



