314 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERT. 



flour, and baked into bread, and is known among the Turks by the 

 name ofkerdertboghdasi, which means wonder-corn or grain. It con- 

 tains more than 65 per cent of oxalate of lime, and 25 of amylaceous 

 matter. 



THE DECOMPOSITION OF CARBONIC ACID GAS. 



The decomposition of carbonic acid gas by the leaves of plants is 

 the subject of a note by M. Cloez, recently laid before the Academy of 

 Sciences at Paris. Numerous experiments have proved that plants 

 possessed of leaves and under the influence of light assimilate carbon 

 by the reduction of carbonic acid, giving cause to the disengagement 

 of oxygen. The parts of the plants exposed to the light have various 

 colors. Of these green is predominant, being the normal color of the 

 larger plants, and, as M. Cloez asserts, should be considered as essen- 

 tial to the parts which decompose carbonic acid. M. Cloez main- 

 tains, in opposition to the opinion of M. M. Saussure and Corenwinder, 

 that certain parts of the plant such as the brown, yellow, and purple 

 leaves, although apparently deprived of green, still retain it partially, 

 and that it is by virtue of this part alone that they decompose carbonic 

 acid. In vol. 57 of the Comptes Rendus will be found details of ex- 

 periments which lead M. Cloez to affirm that leaves decompose car- 

 bonic acid under the influence of light by reason of the green matter 

 which they contain, and that the yellow and red parts do not give rise 

 to this decomposition. 



RESPIRATION OF FRUITS AND FLOWERS. 



M. Tremy, in a paper lately read before the French Academy, gives 

 some interesting details concerning the ripening process in fruits. In the 

 development of the latter there are three stages, which are distinguished 

 not only by physical but chemical features. The first is that of develop- 

 ment par excellence. The fruit during this stage is generally of a green 

 color, and acts on the atmosphere in the same manner as the leaves ; that 

 is to say, it causes the decomposition of carbonic acid and the liberation 

 of oxygen under the influence of light. In the second period, which is 

 that of maturation, the green color of the fruit is replaced by yellow, red, 

 or brown ; the vegetable matter no longer decomposes carbonic acid but 

 absolutely develops it by the combination of its carbon with the oxygen 

 of the air. Slow processes of combustion take place in the cells of the 

 pericarp, which cause the disappearance of the soluble matters usually 

 found there, the tannin is first destroyed and the acids follow. At this 

 stage, the fruit is eaten. The third period is that of decomposition ; its 

 final object is the destruction of the pericarp and the liberation of the 

 seed. At this time, the air enters the cellules, and, acting in the first 

 instance upon the sugar, it gives rise to alcoholic fermentation, marked 

 by the disengagement of alcohol, which in operating upon the acids of the 

 fruit gives rise to ethers, thus producing the peculiar aromas. This action, 

 when continued, destroys the structure of the fruit and terminates in 

 complete destruction of the tissues. 



Respiration of Flowers. The following is a resume of the re- 

 searches- on this subject laid before the French Academy of Sciences 

 by M. Cahous. 1. Flowers left in a limited atmosphere of common 

 air consume oxygen and give off carbonic acid in proportions varying 



