of simple alimentary substances , &c. 381 
300° and 35 o° ; and at the end of this time they were found 
to have lost, per cent. 
Box. Willow. 
146 14‘4 
Analysed in this state of desiccation, they were found to 
consist of 
Box. Willow. 
Carbon - - - 5 co - - - 49'8 
Water - - - 50*0 - - - 50*2 
showing that the loss of weight arose from the escape of 
water. These latter results nearly agree with those ol 
MM. Gay Lussac and Thenard, as obtained from the ana- 
lyses of the woods of the Oak and Beech, and seem to show 
beyond a doubt, that the composition of all of them is similar, 
or that they consist of equal weights of carbon and water ; to 
which simple analogy this important principle probably owes 
its stability. 
Lignin undoubtedly exists in many other forms besides the 
woody fibre ; indeed it appears to constitute the skeleton or 
ground work on which most organic processes in the vege- 
table kingdom are carried on. To illustrate its properties as 
an aliment, the only point of view in which we have to con- 
sider it here, I shall briefly quote the experiments of Professor 
Autenrieth of Tubingen, who showed some years ago, that 
by proper management this principle might be rendered 
capable of forming bread. The following was the method he 
employed for this purpose. In the first place, every thing 
that was soluble in water was removed by frequent macera- 
tion and boiling. The wood was then reduced to a minute 
state of division, that is to say, not merely into fine fibres, 
