528       Mr.  J.  A.  Wanklyn  on  Water- Analysis  and  Water. 
Moist  white  of  egg. 
Ammonia  found. 
Ammonia  calculated. 
milligrammes. 
milligrammes. 
milligrammes. 
i.     17-69 
0-210 
0-214 
ii.     17-58 
0-213 
0-2127 
iii.     41*80 
0-505 
0-5058 
iv.     27-87 
0-350 
0-337 
v.     12-20 
0-145 
0-1476 
vi.       7*47 
0-095 
0-0904 
vii.     23-065 
0-275 
0-279 
The  "*  moist  white  of  egg  "  used  in  these  experiments  was 
prepared  and  divided  in  this  way  : — The  egg-shell  having  been 
broken  and  the  white  separated  from  the  yelk  by  mechanical 
means,  a  quantity  of  the  white  (without  any  drying)  was  weighed 
out  and  dissolved  in  water  to  which  a  little  carbonate  of  soda 
had  been  added.  To  the  solution  sufficient  water  was  added 
until  the  weight  of  the  whole  solution  was  equal  to  one  hundred 
times  the  weight  of  the  white  of  egg  originally  taken.  In  this 
manner  a  solution,  whereof  one  part  by  weight  contained  one 
hundredth  of  white  of  egg,  was  prepared.  The  weighed  quan- 
tity of  the  solution  was  placed  in  a  retort  containing  400  cubic 
centimetres  of  carefully  purified  water,  and  submitted  to  the  action 
of  the  permanganate. 
In  the  above  experiments  it  will  be  observed  that  the  smallest 
quantity  operated  upon  was  7*47  milligrammes,  equal  to  about 
1  milligramme  of  dry  albumen.  The  largest  quantity  was  about 
6  milligrammes  of  dry  albumen. 
I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  by  the  ammonia  process 
there  is  no  difficulty  in  measuring  1  milligramme  of  dry  albu- 
men in  a  litre  of  water  with  considerable  accuracy  ;  and  there  is 
certainly  no  difficulty  in  detecting  ^  milligramme  of  dry 
albumen  in  a  litre  of  water. 
With  what  substances  does  the  ammonia  process  confound 
albumen  ?  With  every  description  of  organic  nitrogenous  sub- 
stance that  water  contains  •  with  the  exception  of  urea. 
We  have  named  the  ammonia  generated  by  the  action  of 
permanganate  "albuminoid  ammonia,"  adopting  a  technical 
term  based  upon  the  history  of  our  research,  and  we  hope  that 
the  name  may  be  preserved. 
One  of  the  points  to  which  attention  has  not  been  called  in 
the  various  controversies  which  have  arisen,  is  the  fact  that  there 
is  no  danger  of  nitrates  being  confounded  with  albumen  by  the 
ammonia  process.  This  is  of  more  importance  than  might  seem 
at  first  sight,  inasmuch  as  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  sample 
of  natural  water  to  contain  ten  or  twenty  times  as  much  nitrates 
as  organic  nitrogenous  matter.  The  consideration  that  the  pro- 
cess by  which  the  ammonia  is  obtained  is  an  oxidizing  process — 
