352      SPONTANEOUS  SAPONIFICATION  OF  OILS  IN  SEEDS. 
of  them.  This  first  series  of  experiments,  repeated  several  times, 
proved  that  seeds  at  the  moment  of  division  contained  the  whole 
of  their  fatty  matter  in  a  neutral  state.  This  agrees  with  what  is 
generally  supposed. 
At  my  desire,  M.  Bouquet,  the  director  of  M.  Menier's  large 
chemical  establishments,  caused  a  certain  quantity  of  the  greater 
part  of  the  above-mentioned  seeds  to  be  ground  to  meal  in  his  own 
presence,  and  sent  me  portions  of  this  flour,  packed  in  earthen 
vessels  stopped  with  corks.  In  a  few  days  I  found  that  the 
whole  of  these  flours  contained  considerable  quantities  of  glyce- 
rine and  fatty  acids,  which  went  on  constantly  increasing  for 
several  months.  The  bruised  seeds  being  kept  in  closed  vessels, 
there  was  every  reason  to  think  that  the  air  had  nothing  to  do 
with  this  reaction.  I  confirmed  this  supposition  by  bruising 
some  of  the  seeds  in  which  this  sort  of  spontaneous  saponification 
took  place  most  readily,  putting  them  into  glass  bottles,  which 
they  filled  completely,  and  closing  them  with  care.  In  a  few 
days  I  obtained  quantities  of  fatty  acids  which  were  always 
readily  appreciable  and  sometimes  considerable.  Thus  walnuts,  re- 
duced to  a  paste,  and  kept  for  five  days  at  a  temperature  of  50°  to 
77°  F.,  furnished  an  oil  containing  9  per  ct.  of  its  weight  of  fatty 
acids  ;  and  another  sample  which  was  kept  eight  days,  gave  15  per 
cent.  Oil  of  sesame  in  eight  days  gave  6  per  cent.,  in  a  month 
17*5  per  cent.,  and  in  three  months  47*5  per  cent,  of  fatty  acids. 
Poppy-oil  furnished  nearly  the  same  results.  Sweet  almonds, 
kept  for  three  weeks,  furnished  an  oil  containing  only  3j  per 
cent,  of  fatty  acid;  and  groundnut-oil  at  the  end  of  a  month 
contained  6.3  per  cent.,  and  in  three  months  14  per  cent.  Lin- 
seed and  rapeseed,  kept  for  three  weeks,  furnished  an  oil  con- 
taining 5  and  6  per  cent,  of  fatty  acids. 
The  saponification  in  question  appears  to  vary  in  its  intensity, 
not  only  with  the  temperature,  but  also  with  the  quantities  of 
the  bruised  seeds  imployed.  I  have  not  yet  met  with  an  oil  en- 
tirely saponified  ;  the  one  which  furnished  the  largest  quantity 
of  acid  is  poppy-oil.  I  kept  some  poppy-seeds  reduced  to  pow- 
der, for  four  months  in  an  earthen  vessel ;  they  then  furnished 
an  oil  containing  from  85  to  90  per  cent  of  fatty  acid. 
I  pass  now  from  simply-divided  seeds  to  the  cakes  produced  in 
the  extraction  of  oils  on  a  large  scale  ;  these  all  contain  fatty 
