466 [Assembly 



vers, couch grass, and various flowers; when pure it is colorless 

 and devoid of smell. The other variety, known as grape sugar, 

 consists of 48 carbon and 84 water, and is found in grapes, cur- 

 rants, gooseberries, plums and nearly all fruits : it is less soluble 

 than cane sugar, and not so sweet. Cane sugar, cellular libre, 

 gum, and starch, are identical, consisting of the same elements 

 united in precisely the same proportions. 



There is another collection of matters necessary to plants, called 

 the fatty group ; these are composed of oils, turpentines, waxes 

 and resins ; they are mixtures of three compounds ; stearine^ 

 oleine, and margarine. If you boil corn, oats, wheat, hay or Straw 

 alcohol, wax, oil or resin, is immediately separated. 



Wax forms the coat always discovered on flowers, leaves of 

 numerous trees and fruits. It is not soluble in water ; and is both 

 tasteless and combustible. 



Turpentine and resins are universally found in pine timber; 

 they are soluble in alcohol, and far more combustible than fat. 



Then we have gluten, which is the representative of another 

 very important group of substances ,containing nitrogen, as well 

 as carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Gluten is not soluble in water, 

 but is readily so in vinegar, or caustic potash. Connected with 

 gluten, there is a substance known as glutine, which is a coagu- 

 lated albumen, insoluble in alcohol. 



Albumen is a vegetable matter, resembling much the white of 

 an egg; it is soluble in water, until heated, when it becomes in- 

 soluble, take the sap from any plant, and heat it, you will find a 

 coagulated albumine will result, presenting the appearance of 

 white flakes. 



Caseine is the solid part of milk wJien separated from the whey 

 with an acid. It is found in the meal of beans and peas when 

 slightly boiled, and may be obtained from potato or turnip juice 

 by first applying heat and afterwards an acid, 



Caseine, gluten, albumen, emulsine, fibrine and legumine, owe 

 their existence to a substance known in chemistry as proteine; 

 and this is composed of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, 15 per cent of 

 nitrogen, and two per cent of sulphur. 



