316 Dr. Smith on the Composition of Spermaceti. 



maceti ought properly to be classed with cholesterine and athal, 

 although approaching nearer to the fats than either of these sub- 

 stances ; and that both the athalic acid and athal resulting from 

 the saponification, are simply products of decomposition, brought 

 about by the action of an alkali, neither of them existing ready 

 formed. 



The first reason for so believing, is based upon the extreme 

 difficulty with which spermaceti is saponified, it requiring to be 

 digested for a number of days in a strong solution of potash or 

 soda, or to be fused with the same alkalies at a temperature of from 

 212° to 220° Fah. before this change takes place. Now from the 

 experiments of Dumas and others, it will be seen that the action of 

 hydrated potash upon organic substances, at a temperature more 

 or less elevated, is to decompose them, by changing their mole- 

 cular arrangement, and that among the products formed, acids 

 play the most conspicuous part ; the atom of water in the alkali 

 is often important in bringing about this change, by furnishing 

 oxygen, hydrogen gas being evolved ; but the action of this wa- 

 ter appears to be but a secondary thing, and its influence is only 

 felt where oxygen does not exist in suflicient quantity in the 

 substance acted upon by the alkali, to furnish the products that 

 are found with the quantity that they exact. 



The above would appear to apply exactly to the case in ques- 

 tion. The spermaceti contains oxygen enough, which when 

 combined with one half of its other elements, serves to giv^e rise 

 to an acid; it is quite possible that the action of the alkali, al- 

 though not sufficiently strong at the temperature of 212° Fah. to 

 determine the elements of the spermaceti, to appropriate the atom 

 of water in the alkali to its complete conversion into athalic acid; 

 (I say complete conversion into athalic acid, for it will be shown 

 that the action of an alkali at a high temperature is to convert 

 spermaceti entirely into athalic acid ;) still it is of sufficient en- 

 ergy to disturb its atomic arrangement, most of its oxygen com- 

 bining with one half of the other elements, to form an acid which 

 unites with the potash. 



It may be said, that if this explanation of the saponification 

 of spermaceti be true, we should apply the same to the saponifi- 

 cation of all fats, no longer considering them composed of acids 

 and glycerine, but simply of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, in 

 the proper proportions to form them. But there appears to me 



