668 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



nitrogenous food substance, can support the growth of Penicillium 

 glaucum, \n\t that a similar solution in which the thiocyanate is replaced 

 by thiocarbamide cannot do so ; the thiocarbamide is, however, not 

 poisonous to the fungus. Potassium thiocyanate is equally ineffective ; 

 hence, in the case of the ammonium salt, it is the nitrogen of the radicle 

 which is available for food. Similar results were obtained with the various 

 micro-organisms of putrid cheese, and also with yeast. Thiocarbamide, 

 although unable to supply the nitrogen required for the growth and 

 reproduction of the yeast, does not prevent alcoholic fermentation. 

 Ammonium thiocyanate slowly undergoes nitrification by the organisms 

 of the soil, whilst thiocarbamide is either acted on very slowly or not 

 at all. 



Transpiration.* — A. Burgerstein contributes what he terms a 

 " physiological monograph " on the subject of transpiration. It is a 

 useful account of the work which has been done, and should prove 

 invaluable to students. The author has brought together in a com- 

 paratively small volume the results of work spreading over many years, 

 and embracing the contributions to knowledge of very various workers. 

 He also includes observations, hitherto unpublished, of his own. The 

 chapter on methods of investigation contains useful sketches of appara- 

 tus. At the end of the book is a bibliography occupying more than 

 thirty pages. 



Accumulation of Water in the Leaf-sheath of Musa Ensete.f — 

 P. Baccarini describes the accumulation of an amount of water in the 

 lacunar system in the leaf-sheath of a cultivated specimen of this species 

 of Musa (a native of Abyssinia). It recalls the similar water accumu- 

 lation in another member of the Musaceae, Ravenala madagascariensis. 

 The accumulation which occurred at the close of the vegetative season 

 evidently represented the difference between the amount of water 

 absorbed by the roots, and that lost by transpiration during the previous 

 season of growth. The limpid solution was without colour, taste or 

 smell, did not reduce Fehling's solution, but responded to reaction for 

 nitrates. 



Chemical Changes. 



Germination of Oily Seeds. $ — Maurice Nicloux has previously 

 demonstrated the remarkable lipolytic action of the cytoplasm in the 

 castor-oil seed, which alone of all the other cell-contents has the power 

 of saponifying. This action of the cytoplasm is comparable to a diastatic 

 action, and the author proposes the name Jvpnseidin for the lipolytic sub- 

 stance, of which the cytoplasm is probably only the carrier. An essential 

 condition of the process is the presence of a small quantity of mineral or 

 organic acid, and the author suggests that the carbon-dioxide known to 

 be present in the cell in association with water fulfils the condition. 

 This is proved by performing the lipolytic process in vitro ; the cyto- 

 plasm of the seed of Ricinus, when isolated in the presence of oil and 



* Die Transpiration der Pflanzen. By Dr. Alfred LJurgerstein. 8vo., x. and 

 253 pp., 24 figs, in text. Fischer, Jena, 1904. 

 t Bull. Soc. Bot Ital., 1904, pp. 276-80. 

 I Comptes Itendus, cxxxix. (1904) pp. 143-5. 



