120 
ilar conclusion, except that he attributes the formation of gum to the 
action of an unformed ferment {^Monatshefte^ vi., 592), This ferment 
he considers to belong to the starch-converting or diastatic enzymes, 
but to differ from the ordinary members of this group in that, while 
it converts starch into dextrin, it produces no sugar that reduces 
Trommer's solution. The seat of the development of the gum fer- 
ment appears to be the granular protoplasmic matter of the paren- 
chyma cells. From thence it attacks the cellulose of the cell walls, 
converting it into gum or mucilage, in the latter case disappearing 
itself from the finished product. The ferment probably converts any 
starch It may meet with into dextrin, though never into a reducing 
sugar; indeed it seems capable of arresting the action of diastase in 
this direction, when added to a solution of dextrin containing diastase. 
A Square- Stemmed Bamboo. — The great predominance of the 
cylindrical form over all others in the trunks, branches and stems of 
plants renders an exception to the rule of considerable interest. The 
existence of a square-stemmed bamboo in China and Japan has sev- 
eral times been mentioned, but the assertions of travelers in regard 
to it have been received with some incredulity. There can be no 
doubt about the matter now, however. This variety of the bamboo 
is described and figured in a Japanese book, the So Moku Kin Yd St'i* 
(Ornamental leaved Trees and Shrubs), published at Kyota in 1829. 
and in the /u Moku Shiri-yaku (Short Description of Trees) of 
Kmch, of Tokiyo. In 1880 some specimens of this bamboo were pre- 
sented to the Kew Gardens, and it seems that it had been intro- 
duced into France some time before that. Nothing has been known 
of its presence in China until within a very recent period, say in 
1882, when Mr. F. S. A. Bourne met with some specimens during the 
course of a voyage. It seems, from an extract from the ^ " "" ' 
Jferald cxitd in Nature, that the Chinese hold the plan. ... ^ 
teem, cultivate it as an ornament and put it to many uses. When 
young the stem is nearly cylindrical, but becomes square in time. It 
is, according to its age, manufactured into canes and pipe-stems. 
This peculiar variety of the bamboo is found in Chekiang, Tunnan 
and a few other regions. The Chinese attribute its form to super- 
natural power or to sorcery. 
The Lechuguilla {Agave heteracantha, Zucc), says Dr. Havard, is 
the most important of the soap or amole plants of Southwestern Texas 
and Northern Mexico. lu the process employed for extracting the 
fibre, the parenchyma or pith squeezed out constitutes about 40 per 
cent, of the green leaf; when dried it is a white-yellowish, mucilagin- 
ous powder which possesses remarkable cleansing properties princi- 
pally due to the presence of saponin. Its composition is very proba- 
bly analogous to that of the root of Yucca baccata. Rubbed with 
water, it foams and lathers, answering the purpose of good soap with- 
out, owing to its freedom from alkali, its disadvantages. It imparts a 
smooth and satiny appearance to the skin, and is used successfully in 
removing stains from the most delicate fabrics. It tends rather to 
set than to displace colors, and articles likely to fade may be washed 
with it in safety. It is also an excellent wash for the scalp and hair, 
leaving the latter soft and glossy. If this powder could be compressed 
North 
