54 
DR. JOHN STENHOUSE ON THE NITROGENATED PRINCIPLES OF 
Wheat. 
A considerable quantity of the flour of Triticum hyhernum, or common wheat, was 
also destructively distilled. Wheat was selected as a type of the Gramineae, a most 
important order of plants, of which barley, oats, maise, &c. are those with which we 
are most familiar. 
The liquid which the wheat-flour yielded, unlike that of the two preceding sub- 
stanees, was strongly acid from the large quantity of acetic acid it contained, derived 
from the starchy matters of the grain. The amount of acetone and wood-spirit was 
also very considerable. The ernpyreumatic products had a much less offensive odour 
than those from either oil-cake or from beans. The amount of ammonia was by no 
means inconsiderable, but the quantity of organic bases was less than I expected. 
They amounted however to pretty nearly the same quantity as those yielded by oil- 
cake. They did not contain either aniline or quinoline, and closely resembled the 
two preceding series in their general characters. They seemed however to be more 
volatile, distilling over at a lower temperature. At present I shall confine myself to 
the statement, that wheat, and most probably the other Graminem when distinctly 
distilled, also yield organic bases. As the starch in wheat, the quantity of w'hich is 
so considerable, only forms acetic acid and other non-nitrogenated products, I intend 
in repeating this experiment to employ the gluten from the starch-makers, which 
contains almost the whole of the nitrogen in the wheat, and being a refuse product 
can be had for a trifie. 
Peat. 
A quantity of peat from the moors in the neighbourhood of Glasgow was also 
destruetively distilled. I selected for this purpose the densest peat I could find. It 
had a deep black colour, and was very free from earthy matters. The products of its 
distillation were very nearly neutral to test-paper, owing to the formation of a con- 
siderable amount of acetic acid. Acetone and wood-spirit were also present in con- 
siderable quantity. The crude liquor was saturated with muriatic acid and gently 
boiled for some time to drive off” the acetone, wood-spirit, &c., by which much of the 
tarry matter was held in solution. On the cooling of the liquid, the tar readily soli- 
dified and formed a soft crust on the surface, which was easily removed. The clear 
liquid was then supersaturated with carbonate of soda and distilled. The ammo- 
niacal liquor which passed into the receiver contained a considerable amount of bases, 
which fioated in it as a light oil. These were freed from ammonia and purified by 
the same means as in the preceding instances. The bases from peat bore a much 
larger proportion to the amount of ammonia than was the case with oil-cake. I 
ascribe this result chiefiy to the porous nature of peat which conducts heat but 
slowly, and also to the greater degree of moisture contained in it. The bases there- 
fore being distilled at a much lower temperature, a smaller amount of them was 
resolved into ammonia than in the instance of oil-cake. I expected to have found 
