ALBUMINOUS MATTER. 261 



If the albuminous matter present in wine be small, 

 such components of ferment as are soluble in weak 

 spirit, will be found in great abundance, for out of the 

 albumen much ferment has been formed, and this 

 gives its soluble constituents to the wine. In other 

 words, what we have hitherto called ferment extract, 

 may exist in the wine, so much at least as is 

 not precipitated by alcohol. 



This ferment extract, if obtained by treating fer- 

 ment with cold water, is insoluble in alcohol,* and 

 not quite insoluble in weak spirit. It is a substance 

 which has lost every characteristic by which albu- 

 minous bodies are distinguished, but may be preci- 

 pitated by tannic acid, or mineral acids. 



I found this extract to have the following com- 

 position in four different kinds of ferment : 



I have added the composition of albumen as found 

 in eggs, in order to show how great the difference is 

 between this ferment extract and albumen and vege- 

 table gluten. The amount of oxygen is much in- 

 creased. 



But the substance which is here exhibited in an 

 impure state, as the figures prove, is unknown to us 



* Scheik. Onderz. d. II. p. 458. 



