230 REPORTS OP INVESTIGATIONS AND PROJECTS. 



proteins which are present in the seed. The extensive use that has been 

 made of the globuHn edestin for establishing many points of protein chem- 

 istry makes it important to know all that can be learned of the proteins of 

 this seed. It has become evident that edestin is one of the most available 

 proteins for such studies and the need of the information which is sought in 

 the present investigation is evident from questions that have arisen in con- 

 nection with the work previously done and now in progress in this laboratory. 

 Much of importance has been established by the work already done, but the 

 results are not yet ready for publication. 



A detailed investigation of the methods at present available for deter- 

 mining the quantity of the several mono-amino-acids which proteins yield on 

 hydrolysis has been undertaken and is nearly completed. The main purpose 

 of this work is to obtain more definite information respecting the large deficit 

 which even the most successfully conducted analyses always show. It was 

 thought, by gaining more definite information as to the losses incident to the 

 determinations of the products of hydrolysis already known, that the amount 

 of substances of still unknown nature could be brought within narrower 

 limits than is now possible. It was also thought that information could be 

 obtained which would permit of a better judgment than has heretofore been 

 possible of the real value of the analyses from a quantitative standpoint. 



Like all other analytical processes, those now in use can only be perfected 

 by long experience and careful study and the results of the work already 

 done along these lines have shown that many minor improvements are possi- 

 ble. By the use of a new method of esterifying, the completeness of this 

 process has been improved and the labor greatly diminished. The separation 

 of leucine and valine has been greatly simplified by the application of the 

 method of Levene and Van Slyke. Much has been learned concerning the 

 isolation of glutaminic acid and important data obtained respecting the be- 

 havior of proline ester on distillation. Although much time has been spent 

 on this work the results obtained have evidently justified the undertaking. 



Much time has also been devoted by the writer to making the results of his 

 past work more available for others. During the past year he has prepared 

 a detailed account of the methods employed in making preparations of the 

 different vegetable proteins. This account is to form a chapter in Bioche- 

 mische Arbeitsmethoden, edited by E. Abderhalden. He has also just com- 

 pleted a monograph on the vegetable proteins which forms one of the series 

 of monographs on biochemistry edited by Hopkins and Plimmer in England. 

 This work includes a practically complete bibliography of all the papers re- 

 lating to vegetable proteins. A detailed account of what is at present known 

 of the dififerent vegetable proteins has also been prepared for publication in 

 the Ergebnisse der Physiologie. A chapter has also been contributed to the 



