184 COMPOSITION AND ORIGIN 



produced from the elements of vegetable albumen, 

 fibrine and caseine, either alone, or with the aid of 

 the elements of non-azotised food, or of the fat 

 formed from the latter, there is nothing absurd in 

 the opinion, that other constituents of vegetables, 

 intermediate in composition between the fats and 

 the compounds of proteine, may be applied in the 

 organism to the same purpose. 



91. According to the researches of Fremy, the 

 chief constituent of the fat found in the brain is a 

 compound of soda with a peculiar acid, the cerebric 

 acid., which contains, in 100 parts, 



Carbon 66'7 



Hydrogen ... ... ...... 10'6 



Nitrogen - : ..W 2'3 



Phosphorus 0'9 



Oxygen 19'5 



It is easy to see that the composition of cerebric 

 acid differs entirely, both from that of ordinary fats 

 and of the compounds of proteine. Common fats 

 contain no nitrogen, while the compounds of pro- 

 teine contain nearly 17 per cent. Leaving the 

 phosphorus out of view, the composition of this 

 acid approaches most nearly to that of choleic acid, 

 although these two compounds are quite distinct. 



92. Brain and nervous matter is, at all events, 

 formed in a manner similar to that in which bile is 

 produced ; either by the separation of a highly ni- 

 trogenised compound from the elements of blood, or 

 by the combination of a nitrogenised product of the 



