SCIENTIFIC NEWS. ■ ^21 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 

 AbJiraSl of Cit. Seguin's Inquiries concerning Fermentation'^. 



IN his firft paper Cit. Seguin explains the plan of inquiry he Fermentation 

 has undertaken concerning fermentation in general ; and more "" eculiar^** ^^ 

 particularly concerning the making of beer, wine, cid«r, malt fubftance, but 

 and melaffes fpirits, &c. In his fecond his objea is to prove, V ** combina- 



, r ■ ■ r 1 n °" °' CirCUm- 



that fermentation is not produced by ,a fubnance fui generis, fiances. 

 but by a combination of circumftances. 



He fliows, that, in the cafe of clear liquors fermenting, the "^^^^^ the true 

 true folvent of the fermentefcible caufe, whatever it be, is fermentative 

 water, and not the faccharine matter; that the continuance caufe, 

 of contact, and the prefence of fugar, are by no means necef- ^^^ with ^^t the* 

 fary for the folution of any fermentefcible principle in the prefence of 

 yeaft ; that this folution is made by water in a very fmall n'|.f/fl-^f "* 

 quantity, it is true, but almofi: fuddenly, and even in the 

 ordinary temperature of the air ; finally, fuppofing fugar alfo 

 to poffefs the property of diflblving any given fermentefcible 

 principle, it would be impoffible to demonflrate this, fince, 

 to render it perceptible, the fugar muft previoufly be diflblved 

 in water. 



Additional Experiments of Mr. Ritter, of Jena, on Gahanic 

 Phenomena-^' . 



NATURAL philofophers will learn with pleafure, that 

 Mr. Ritter continues his elegant experiments on a fubjedl, to 

 the progrefs of which he has fo greatly contributed. As they 

 .all relate to a known theory, we fhall content ourfelves with 

 .giving the refults as communicated to us by Mr. Orfted, 

 leaving to the experamentalifl the talk of proving them with 

 all the requifite .minutenefs. 



The objea of Mr. Ritter being to compare the elearlcity Mr. R's objeft 

 of Voltas' pile with that of eledrical machines, he confiders Vok°aTpile with 

 fucceffively the intenfity of eledricity, chemical adion, fpark, elearicalma- 

 and fliock, in the pile. 



* Bulletin des Sciences, No. 75: 

 t Bulletin des Sciences, No. 77. 



As 



