Sacramento daily record-union., 1882-01-28
alkalies or acids are numerous, and vary &C.

strong explosive comp0uEd. IL cellulOse
is treated with sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol)
of a certain strength. it is converted into a
tough, bladdery substance which forms the
vegetable parchment of commerce. The
cellalose group of amyloids of which eel
lulose is the type, consists of celiulose,
starch, inuline, dextrine gum. cane sugar,
fruit sugar and grape sugar. Almost seven
eights of the dry matter of vegetation is
made up of the cellulose group. In nature
these are converted one into the other, and
sometimes back again, in the organiza-
tion and growth OF plant and animal life.
Some of these changes can be made to take
place artiticially, but not in so general a
manner as in nature. By prolonged action
of some of the acids and alzalies, ce.lulose
is transformed into dextrIne, which in its
turn is changed into sugar. The acids of
the stomach act upon cellulose in the same
way. The cellulose of young and succulent
stems, leaves and fruit ere easily and to .
large extent digestible, especially by herb
ivorous animals; but the denser and more
impure forms of celiulose, as in wood and
straw, are so slowly acted upon by the
acids as to make them digestlbIe only to a
slight extent. This solubility, and hence
digestibility, of different forms OF cellulose
constitutes one OF the differences between
hay and straw. While ii to l3 per cent.
of the cellulose of hay is dissolved and as
simulated while in the stomach, straw gives
up only from to per cent. of its cellu
lose to the action OF the acids. Cellul0se
is composed of the three elements, carbon,
hydrogen and oxygen. The amount of eel
lulose contained in different vegetable mat,
ter is very various it forms | l per cent. OF
the potato, 3 per cent. of wheat grain, 5 8
per cent, of a grain of corn, S per csnt. of
grain barley, Is per csnt. of kernel of buck
wheat, 40 per cent. of oat straw, As per
cant. of wheat straw, and "a per cent. OF
rye straw.
Next to cellulose, starch is probably the
most abundant product of vegetable growth.
Starch, as general;y seen, is white owder,
consisting Of small, various-shaped grains,
which, when viewed through microscope.
present series of concentric circles around
a point or eye. Starch is contained IN
large quantities in the cells of all of the
grains, in potatoes, and is found in the
wood Of all trees, especially during the fall
and winter. 1t accumulates in very large
quantities in the pith of some trees, as in
the sage. palm of the Malay Islands, the
pith of one of these trees sometimes fur
nishes as much as 600 or 500 pounds of
starch. The starch grains are inclosed in
the minute cells of woody fber and unless
these grains are broken the starch is un-
acted upon by cold water. Starch can
be extracted from potatoes by simply graf
ing them to pulp, which breaks the cells
of woody fiber and sets the starch grains
free. Ii now the pulp be washed on a
fine seive with cold water, the starch grains
will run through and the cellulose will be
left in the seive. The water which has
passed through the seive must be allowed
to set until the starch grains settle to the
bottom, when the water may be poured
off. After the grains have dried, you have
a specimen of the pure starch Starch is
now principally manufactured from Indian
corn. This is in very general use as corn
starch 1t is also prepared from rice, pota-
toes, wheat, se-chestnuts, and various
other vegetable products. Arrow root is
the starch obtained from the root of
plant which is native of the West Indies.
The size of starch grains vary from one thaee
huudredth of an inch in diameter, in the
potato, to less than one three thousandth
of an inch in the beet. When starch is
heated nearly to the boiling point it swels
up and forms pasty mass. This is the
method OF preparing starch for laundrying
purposes. If this paste be allowed to dry,
it forms a hard horny mass. Tapioca and
sago are simply prepared starch. The
starch, before II has been thoroughly dried,
is heated until a part of it has been con-
verted into paste, it is then dried aud
forms the sago and tapioca of commerce.
Tspioca was originally manufactured in the
West Indies, and sago in the East Indies,
but they are now made both in Europe and
the United States, from potato starch.
The chemist Identifies starch by the char
acteristic purple or blue color which is i'm
parted TO a solution of it by iodine. This
is very delicate test and may be used where
only microscopic quantities of starch are
present. Starch is converted into dextrine
and finally into sugar by the action of dry
heat, hot water, acids and alkalies also by
the action of yeast, and in the termination
of seeds. In man and plant eating animals
the starch is converted into sugar by the
saliva at blood heat, and by the liquids of
the larger intestines. Starch constitutes
one of the principal ingredients of the food
of man and the domestic animals.
Inuline is a substance closely resembling
starch, which exists in the liquid
form in the roots of the danlia,
artichoke, chicory and other plants
of the composite family. Inulne is
insoluble in alcohol, and gives no coloration
with iodine. When boiled for long
time with water it is slowly converted
into levulose or fruit sugar. Starch, it will
be remembered, was converted by contin-
ued boiling into glucose or grape sugar.
The chemical composition of inuline has
been found to be identical with that of
starch.
Dextrine is formed from starch by
heating it for some hours in an oven, or
by heating it for thirty minutes at tenn
perature of 4l5'. The crust of bread is
due to coating of dextrine formed from
the starch of the -four by the heat of the
oven. Dextrine is soluble in water, while
starch is not neither is pure dextrine col
ored by iodine. Its principal use in the
arts is as substitute for gum arabic in
calico printing, and is sold under the name
of British gum. This commercial dextrine,
on account of the starch not having been
all changed into dextrine, gives purplish
red color with iodine. Dextrine is pro-
duced from starch and cellulose by the
agencies of heat, acids and fermentation.
1t is a constituent of the malt of grains,
and also of animal flesh. The chemical
composition of dextrine is exactly the
same as that of cellulose, starch and inu-
Ens.
A number of bodies exist in the veg
etable kingdom which, from the similarity
of their properties. have received the name
of "gums." The principal gums are: Ara
bine (gum arabic), cerasiLe (gum of cherry
and plum), bassorine (gum tragacanth and
bassora gum, and vegetable mucilage.
Arabine, or gum arabic, is obtained from
several species of the acacias, principally
from acacia arabica, the bark of which in
dry seasons is stung by insects, and ball
of gum exudes from the bark, which, after
being gathered by the natives, forms the
crude gum arabic of commerce. When
pure it consists of transparent. tear-ike
drops. Gum arabic dissolves readily in its
own weight of water, forming mucilage