201 
O' Brien . — The Proteids of Wheat. 
It is next to be considered whether the treatment of flour 
with other reagents than water throws light on the composition 
of gluten. Dilute potash hardly seemed likely to do so : for 
it would have no discriminating power between gluten and 
the globulin and proteose of flour ; all of which it would dis- 
solve as well as such other parts of the cell-protoplasm as 
might still persist. Salt-solution (NaCl) and dilute alcohol 
seemed more likely, and were therefore used, with the fol- 
lowing results. 
B. Action of Salt- Solutions. 
Weyl 23 had found in 1877 that by solution of salt 
(NaCl, io-i5°/J a globulin (myosin) is extracted from flour. 
In 1 880 28 he tried to trace the connexion of this with 
gluten, and, failing to obtain gluten from flour after extraction 
with salt-solution, he concluded that myosin is the mother- 
substance of gluten. 
I found, however, that salt-solution extracted exactly the 
same proteids as water, and these in exactly the same amount, 
about i°/ o — an amount quite out of proportion to the 
amount of gluten. As mentioned (page 190) in describing 
the formation of gluten (2), the salt-solution was added in the 
way considered most likely to prevent gluten-formation. 
1. Flour treated with a io°/ o salt-solution behaves in the 
same way as when treated with water. That is, gluten is 
formed in about the same quantity, and a globulin and a 
proteose occur in the washings. 
2. If a concentrated salt-solution be added to flour, no 
gluten at first forms, and a small amount of globulin (vitellin) 
may be extracted. On dilution of such a mixture, or on addi- 
tion of water to the residue after the salt-solution is poured 
off, gluten forms in the usual quantity and more globulin 
(myosin) passes into solution. 
The proteids extracted by salt are the same in nature and 
amount as those extracted by means of water ; and after 
exhaustion of flour by water, salt-solution extracted nothing 
further. In both cases, however, alcohol 75°/ 0 subsequently 
