FERMENTATION. 65 



mucus, or vegetable albumen, or both,) into a body 

 which is soluble in water, insoluble in alcohol, and 

 contains far more oxygen than the substance out of 

 which it is formed. This body may be procured from 

 ferments either by boiling them, or simply washing 

 them with cold water. 



The quantity of oxygen found in this matter is to 

 the oxygen in the substance out of which it is formed 

 nearly as 3:2. 



The formation of this matter is one of the chief 

 causes of fermentation.* As soon as sugar comes in 

 contact with yeast, the albuminous contents of the 

 ferment cells exude through the partitions of the 

 ferment cells, absorb oxygen from the air, and trans- 

 fer this chemical action directly to the sugar. 



The transformation of the contents of the ferment 

 cells into a body rich in oxygen, into which albumen 

 and gluten may also pass, is not, however, the only 

 change which occurs during fermentation, the trans- 

 formation proceeds to the formation of ammonia. 



The highly oxygenated substance, the formation 

 of which sets up fermentation, is either decomposed 

 or precipitated from the liquid by the alcohol which 

 is subsequently formed ; it is this body which is dis- 

 solved when ferment is treated with cold water. It is 

 insoluble in alcohol. 



* The primary cause of the motion of the molecule is probably 

 that the phosphorus of the albuminous group is oxydized, forming 

 phosphoric acid. 



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