C 76 ] 



The juice of the fruit of the Ochra (Hibiscus 

 e$culentus\ according to Dr. Clarke, contains a liquid 

 albumen in such quantities, that it is employed in 

 Dominica as a substitute for the white of eggs in clari- 

 fying the juice of the sugar cane. 



Albumen may be distinguished from other sub- 

 stances by its property of coagulating by the action of 

 heat or acids, when dissolved in water. According 

 to Dr. Bostock, when the solution contains only one 

 grain of albumen to 1000 grains of water, it becomes 

 cloudy by being heated. 



Albumen is a substance common to the animal 

 as well as to the vegetable kingdom, and much more 

 abundant in the former. 



5. Gluten may be obtained from wheaten flour by 

 the following process : the flour is to be made into a 

 paste, which is to be cautiously washed, by kneading 

 it under a small stream of water, till the water has 

 carried off from it all the starch ; what remains is 

 gluten. It is a tenacious, ductile, elastic substance. 

 It has no taste. By exposure to air it becomes of 

 a brown colour. It is very slightly soluble in cold 

 water but not soluble in alcohol. When a solution 

 of it in water is heated, the gluten separates in the 

 form of yellow flakes ; in this respect it agrees with 

 albumen, but differs from it in being infinitely less 

 soluble in water. The solution of albumen does not 

 coagulate when it contains much less than 1000 parts 

 of albumen j but it appears that gluten requires more 

 than 1000 parts of cold water for its solution* 



