22S 
ON ALCOHOLIC FERMENTS. 
2. Nitrogenous matter, soluble in alcohol. 
3. Solid fat. 
4. Liquid phosphuretted fat. 
5. Lactic acid, lactate of lime and soda. 
6. Acid phosphate of lime, and acid phosphate of soda. 
Elementary Composition. 
The proteic animal substance, which forms the essential 
part of the ferment, differs from casein, albumen, and fibrin 
by an excess of oxygen, which is not less than 2 per cent. 
Action of Hydrochloric Acid at 0.001. 
Water containing TB ~^ of hydrochloric acid dissolves 
with facility, as I have shown, albumen, casein, &c. ; the 
alcoholic ferments completely resist this solvent action : 
they are partially dissolved in it when the globules are torn 
by pulverization : these experiments prove to us that the 
proteic matters of the globules of the ferment are constituted 
of two different substances : the one enclosed, soluble in 
acidulated water ; the other enveloping, insoluble in that 
solvent. 
I will describe an experiment which shows us the analo- 
gy of ferments with the globules of animals. 
Action of the brain of an adult man on a solution of 
sugar. 
I took 25 grammes of the brain of an adult man, and put 
it into a quart of water, and added to it 250 grammes of 
sugar. After 48 hours, the temperature being about 77° 
F., the alcoholic fermentation commenced, and continued 
to progress regularly. 
At first sight, one would be tempted to perceive here 
only a fact analogous to those noticed by M. Colin. This 
chemist, indeed, proved that the albumen of the egg, and 
several other organic matters, might become alcoholic fer- 
ments. But this is the difference between M. Colin's re- 
