Pflanzenchemie. — Angewandte Botanik. 63 



'S 



Bertrand, C. et M. Holderer. Recherches sur la cellase, 

 nouvelle diastase dedoublant le cellose. (Ann. Inst. 

 Pasteur. XXIV. p. 180—188. 1910.) 



II existe une diastase specifique du cellose. Cettc diastase, la 

 Cellase, sc trouve plus ou moins meUangee avec d'autres especes 

 diastasiques, dans des organcs appartenant ä des vegeiaux divers 

 amandes de l'abricotier et de l'amandier, graines de Torge, m} T ce- 

 lium de V Aspergillus niger\ les auteurs n'en ont pas trouvö, en pro- 

 portion appreciable, dans le serum de cheval, ni dans la levure 

 haute, ni dans la maceration glycerinee de Russula Qiieletii. 



H. Colin. 



Wolff et de Stoecklin. Sur un nouveau mode de preparation 

 de la catalase du sang et sur ses proprietes. (C. R. Ac. Sc. 

 Paris. CL1I. p. 729. 13 mars 1911. 



Les auteurs preconisent une technique empruntec pour une part 

 au mode de preparation classique de l'oxyh^moglobine. En posses- 

 sion de produits parfaitement isoles, ils etudient l'action de la cata- 

 lase sur l'oxyhemoglobine en presence d'eau oxygenee. II resulte de 

 leurs experiences: 1° que l'eau ox3^genee seule detruit rapidement 

 l'oxyhemoglobine; 2° que la catalase protege le pigment sanguin contre 

 l'action noeive du peroxyde; 3° qu'en decomposant l'eau oxygenee, 

 la catalase permet la regeneration de roxyhemoglobine, en fournis- 

 sant ä l'hemoglobine de l'oxygene moleculaire. H. Colin. 



Hall, A. D., Opening address to the agricultural sub- 

 section of B., British Association at Sheffield. (Nature 

 LXXXIV. 2132. p. 309-312. 1910.) 



The various ideas as to the causes of the fertility of the soil 

 are dealt with from a historical point of view. The progress of 

 thought is traced from the beginning of the seventeenth Century 

 up to the present day. After the failure of some promising begin- 

 nings the work of Liebig and Daubeny in the nineteenth Century 

 first began to put the question on a realty scientific basis. At the 

 present time much work is being done, and numerous hypotheses 

 are being put forward. The work of modern investigations is sum- 

 med up, and the position of affairs is clearly indicated. Special pro- 

 minence is given to recent work dealing with the effects of heating 

 and treating soils with volatile antiseptics, reference being made to 

 the possible correlationship between the bacteria and protozoa in 

 the soil. W. E. Brenchley. 



Hooper, C. H., Notes on the pollination of fruit. (Journ. Board 

 Agric. XVIII. 1. p. 24—29. 1911.) 



The study of the pollination of fruit blossoms is now realised 

 to be of economic importance, and recently a good deal of work 

 has been done on the different aspects of the question, e. g. on the 

 relations of insects to flowers, and the effect of seif and cross 

 pollination. The author has collected Information on several of 

 these points with regard to several of the common hardy fruits — 

 nuts, gooseberries, currants, plums, cherries, pears, apples and straw- 

 berries, the diversity in the manner of pollination of different va- 

 rieties of the same fruit being indicated in several cases. The 



