360 
ammal charcoal, yields us by filtration and 
evaporation pure crystals of aposepedine. This 
substance has the following properties: it is 
somewhat bitter to the taste, very slightly so- 
luble in alcohol, soluble in water, and of 
ter specific gravity than that fluid. It sub- 
imes when heated strongly, but always un- 
dergoes a papers decomposition. It contains 
sulphur. In addition to aposepedine, cheese 
when decomposing has been found to contain 
acetic acid, acetates of ammonia and potassa, 
chloride of potassium, ammoniaco-phosphate 
of soda, margarate and phosphate of lime, and 
a peculiar extractive matter. 
I shall now proceed to consider the sugar of 
milk which is left in the whey after the sepa- 
ration of the cheese by rennet, and exists in 
solution with the salts of the milk, lactic acid, 
and animal extractive matter. 
Sugar of milk may be obtained from whey 
by evaporating it to the consistence of a syrup, 
and setting it aside for a length of time, when 
small granular crystals of the principle are 
observed to deposit. The following are the 
principal qualities of sugar of milk. It hasa 
Sweetish taste, the grains crushing with dif- 
ficulty between the teeth; its specific gravity 
is 1.543. It contains about 12 per cent. of 
water, which may be separated by carefull 
fusing it; when fused it is still quite white if 
the heat be not too strongly urged. It is solu- 
ble with difficulty in water, requiring three 
parts of boiling water and six of cold for that 
purpose. It is very slightly soluble in alcohol, 
and quite insoluble in ether. When acted on 
by concentrated nitric acid it becomes trans- 
formed into a mixture of oxalic, malic, and 
muric acids. By the action of caustic potassa 
it is changed to a brown-coloured bitter mass, 
which is insoluble in alcohol. 
Sugar of milk has been stated to be in- 
capable of undergoing the alcoholic fermen- 
tation; but late experiments by Hess (Poggen- 
dorff, Annalen der Physick) shew that such 
will occur, and an intoxicating liquor has been 
long known among the Tartars, which is pre- 
pared from the milk of the mare, and to which 
they give the name of Koumiss. Sugar of 
milk has been analysed by Berzelius: including 
its 12 per cent. of water, its composition is as 
follows : 
Carbon.... 40.125 or 1 atom, 
Hydrogen,. 6.762 or 2 atoms, 
Oxygen.... 53.113 or 1 atom: 
or deducting the 12 per cent. of water, 
Carbon,... 45.94 or 5 atoms, 
Hydrogen.. 6.00 or 8 atoms, 
Oxygen.... 48.06 or 4 atoms. 
It will be observed, on comparing the ana- 
lysis of hydrous sugar of milk with that of 
starch, that they accord very nearly, and sugar 
of milk is convertible, as is the case with starch, 
into true sugar, by the action of sulphuric acid ; 
these facts strongly point out the curious ap- 
proach to vegetable matter which is made by 
this constituent of an animal secretion. 
After the crystallization of the sugar of milk 
from the whey, we have left in solution, accord- 
ing to the experiments of Berzelius, lactic acid 
MILK. 
and lactates, chloride of potassium, an alkaline 
phosphate, phosphates of lime and magnesia, — 
and traces of oxide of iron, a 
I shall not here enter upon the question — 
whether or not lactic acid be the iar acid 
the 7th volume of the French edition 
zelius’ Chemistry. For my own part I can 
only wish that one quarter of the animal acids 
mentioned in our modern chemical works had 
the same right to be distinguished as peculiar — 
animal principles. Mons. Lassaigne, in his 
ee bearing date 1836, wae speaking of © 
actic acid, says, “ regardé pendant temps — 
comme de I’acide acétique modifié une 
matiére organique, M. Berzelius a établi d’une 
maniére incontestable sa véritable nature.” 
Anhydrous lactic acid has the following ulti- 
mate composition. 
Car Meceveocsssesessees 50.50 
Hydrogen Seen eeeertce 3.60 
Oxygen .ccc.svces sees 43.90 
Berzelius’ analysis of skimmed cow’s milk is 
as follows: 
- . 
Caseous matter with some butter 2.600 
Sugar of milk . cee s0ciosieeuee 3.500 ‘a 
Extractive, lactic acid, and lactates 0.600 
Chloride of potassium ........ 170 
Alkaline phosphate.... ....... 0.025 ~ 
Earthy phosphates, trace of oxide evs? 
of ITOD 0. c's oie pie ce ee 0.220 Ww 
Waters «0s: oe de daellicee ~~ 92.875 2) 
The cream from this milk yielded the follow- 
ing result: as 
Butter oso «sce sv.0.00eh wee 
Caseous matter ....ce0e-- 3.5 
Whey eee e ewe eee eee eeae 92.0 + 
The specific gravity of this milk was 1.0348, 
and that of the cream 1.0244. 
A specimen of cow’s milk which I lately 
examined was of sp. grav. 1.0338, and its solid’ 
contents 121.85 in 1000 pre t eed? 
The ashes of cow’s milk, according to Pfaff 
and Schwartz, are composed of phosphates of 
lime, magnesia, and iron, phos of soda, 
chloride of potassium, and soda, which, before — 
incineration, had existed in combination with 
lactic acid. They found 1000 parts of the 
milk yielded 3.742 parts of ash. 108 
According to the experiments of Van Stip- 
trian, Luiscius, and Bondt, the proportion of — 
cream which separates from cow’s milk is 
about 4 per cent. of its weight. They ob- 
tained from milk 2.68 per cent. of butter, 8.95 
of casein, and 3.60 per cent. of sugar of milk. — 
The first milk which is observed in the breast 
afier parturition has received the name of colos- 
trum ; it differs somewhat from ordinary milk.» 
It has been stated by some authorities that ~ 
scarcely any cream can be obtained from the 
colostrum, and that no butter can be obtained — 
by churning. According to Stiptrian, Luiscius, 
and Bondt, however, the colostrum from the 
cow yields 11.7 per cent. of cream, 3 of butter, 
and 18.75 of cheese. They state the specific — 
gravity of the colostrum at 1.072; dried and in= — 
cinerated it yielded 54 per cent. of ash. They 
ae Ss 
