EVOL. 29 No. 7 
BULLETIN 
OF THE 
TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB 
JULY 1902 
Cytological Changes accompanying the Secretion of Diastase 
By JOHN CUTLER TORREY 
(WITH PLATE 20) 
From the chemical standpoint, a large amount of work has 
already been done on the secretion of diastase in the Gramineae. 
For these tesearches we are principally indebted to Morris and 
Brown. These authors have determined with great care the cells 
concerned in its formation, the amount secreted and its method of 
attack onthe endosperm. Many botanists, too, have described and 
figured the pitting and ultimate dissolution of the starch grains in the 
endosperm during the progress of germination. No serious attempt, 
however, has been made to determine the nature and sequence of 
the changes occurring in the diastase-secreting cells during the 
elaboration of the enzyme. This paper, accordingly, embodies an 
attempt to throw some light on the following questions : 
I. In what part of the diastase-producing cells is the ferment 
Produced? Is it in the nucleus or in the cytoplasm? 
2. How soon after the beginning of germination is diastase 
Secreted? Is it formed intermittently or is it a continuous secre- 
tion ? 
Little attention has been paid to the action of the enzyme on 
the endosperm, except in so far as it gave evidence that diastase 
had been discharged from the cells. 
As maize has been found to be in many ways more favorable 
for study than barley, it has largely furnished the material for the 
Present paper. The latter, however, has been of value from a 
Comparative standpoint. I take pleasure in acknowledging my 
[Issued 25 July] 421 
