68 CHEMISTRY OF THE PROTEIDS CHAP. 



the C and the N of the dissociation-products would not correspond 

 with the amount present in the native albumin we are examining. 

 "It is more probable, judging by analogy, if we take well-known 

 processes of dissociation of complex bodies into consideration, 

 that, although not in every case, yet in many instances the albumin- 

 molecule may at one time split in one direction, and at another 

 time in a different direction, so that the sum of the C-atoms 

 of all the dissociation - products may be greater than the number 

 of C-atoms of the mother substance." Facts, however, do not seem to 

 bear out this contention. Siegfried l himself found on dissociating 

 kyrin by means of hydrochloric and sulphuric acids the same values 

 for lysin, arginin, and the mono-amino-acids. Kossel and Kutscher 2 

 also found no difference when they employed either hydriodic acid or 

 33 per cent or 47 per cent sulphuric acid. E. Fischer 3 found on dis- 

 sociating casein with sodium hydrate solution approximately the same 

 amount of a-pyrrolidin-carboxylic acid as after a dissociation with 

 hydrochloric acid ; Cohnheim 4 obtained similarly on dissociating muscle- 

 albumin by means of erepsin exactly the same amount of ammonia as 

 did Hart 5 on boiling with sulphuric acid. Schulze and Winterstein, 

 Kossel and Patten, 7 and Abderhalden 8 give for the hexone-bases of 

 edestin values which closely resemble one another, although some 

 used hydrochloric acid while others used sulphuric acid. The yield 

 of tyrosin, which Reach 9 obtained after tryptic digestion of casein, and 

 Cohn 10 after treatment with acids, is in both cases identical. Within 

 the errors of experimentation, the glutamin and asparagin values of zein 

 agree perfectly, notwithstanding that Langstein 11 used hydrochloric 

 acid, while Kreusler and Ritthausen 12 employed sulphuric acid. 

 Schulze and Winterstein 13 have also pointed out that the dissociation 

 of the reserve-material of germinating plants by means of ferments, 

 yields qualitatively and quantitatively the same substances as when 

 acids are used. Only Goto 14 found certain differences when working 



1 M. Siegfried, Ber. d. Sachs. Ges. d. Wiss. zu Leipzig, 1903, p. 85. 



2 A. Kossel and F. Kutscher, Zeitschr.f. physiol. Chem. 31. 165 (1900). 



3 E. Fischer, ibid. 35. 227 (1902). 



4 0. Cohnheim, ibid. 35. 134 (1902). 5 E. Hart, ibid. 33. 347 (1901). 

 fi E. Schulze and E. Winterstein, ibid. 33. 547 (1901). 



7 A. Kossel and A. J. Patten, ibid. 38. 39 (1903). 



8 E. Abderhalden, ibid. 37. 499 (1903). 



' 9 F. Reach, Virchow's Arch. 158. 288 (1899). 



10 R. Cohn, Zeitschr.f. physiol. Chem. 22. 153 (1896). 



11 L. Langstein, ibid. 37- 508 (1903). 



12 H. Ritthausen and U. Kreusler, Journ.f. prakt. Chem. (2) 3. 314 (1871) 



13 E. Schulze and E. Winterstein, Zeitschr.f. physiol. Chem. 35. 299 (1902). 



14 M. Goto, ibid. 37. 94 (1903). 



