90 



HISTORY OF GEINE. 



was enough. When, a few years after, his attention was 

 accidentally called to soil, the name of Berzelius, geine, was 

 given by him to the whole organic matter of mould, or 

 humus, and that matter was also, as a convenient practical 

 division, separated into soluble and inscluble, including the 

 various geic salts which he detected in soil. In the edition 

 of Berzelius above cited, two other organic compounds are 

 noticed, as being among the general products of putrefaction, 

 traces of which Berzelius noticed in soil. These were called 

 crenic and apocrenic acids, from "Arewe," Greek, for foun- 

 tain, having been first detected in spring water. 



The presence of nitrogen was detected by Berzelius, in 

 crenic and apocrenic acid. This sufficiently distinguished 

 them from geine, extract of, and carbonaceous mould. Though 

 these acids were detected after the name of geine had been 

 applied, yet the presence of nitrogen in these, would at 

 once have led Berzelius to examine geine anew, if he had 

 any suspicion that it contained that element, or that he had 

 mistaken the chemical nature of that substance. Unless we 

 suppose, with Raspail, that nitrogen in these acids exists and 

 acts only as he supposes it does in gluten, as an accident, or 

 as an ammoniacal salt, it cannot be supposed that geine and 

 these acids are identical, or can ever pass into each other. 

 Nor has the progress of chemical discovery led to the aban- 

 donment of geine as a distinct principle. The whole doc- 

 trine of naming the elements of soil may be tabulated. 



THE ORGANIC ELEMENTS OF MOULD, OR HUMUS, BY BERZELIUS'S MBTTHOD. 



1832. 

 1. Extracl of mould, 



2. Geine,. 



S. Carbonaceous mould,.. 



4. Crenic acid, 



5. Apocrenic acid, 



1840. 

 1. Extract of mould. 



2. Huraic acid. 



3. Humin, 



4. Crenic acid, \ 



Apocrenic acid, j 



Vegetable extract of 



authors, apotheme of 



Berzelius. 

 Uimic of Bouliay and 



others, sacchulniic of 



Liebig. 



Ulmin of authors, sac- 

 chulmin of Liebig. * 



Admitted by most au- 

 thors. 



