igii] Francis Ernest Lloyd 33 



point of importance remains to be dealt with, namely, that in some 

 fruits I have found that, at one end of the cell especially there 

 appears an increased number of tannin-masses, in the form of 

 spheroidal bodies of various sizes, down to granules (collected in 

 irregulär masses), the form of which must be inferred from the 

 gradations in size observable (fig. 34). Sometimes this apparent 

 additional matter appears at other points. I am unable to assert 

 that there is an addition to the total amount of tannin-mass sub- 

 stance, but I am equally unable to say that there is not. I have 

 never seen this condition in an unripe fruit, but certain appearances, 

 such as the increased lobulation, suggest the possibility that the 

 additional bodies may have arisen by constriction during shrinkage, 

 or that the shrinkage of already separate portions makes them more 

 readily observable. But it is more difficult to account for the finely 

 granulär matter in this way. In this final condition, alkaloidal tests 

 are negative, since they produce no precipitation within the tannin- 

 mass. This shrinks somewhat when acted upon by the reagent, 

 becoming less transparent, slightly yellowish in color, but otherwise 

 no result follows. Color reactions follow the use of metal salts, 

 Inasmuch as there is every reason to believe that the tannin-mass 

 is incapable of further spontaneous change, interest is now diverted 

 to the question of the nature of this substance. 



It has already been pointed out that in the very immature tannin 

 cells, the tannin-mass occupies the whole of the vacuole in which 

 it occurs, but it has also been made clear that, when such cells burst, 

 as they do in water, the escape of the tannin-mass as a fluid is ac- 

 companied by a difTusion of free or soluble tannin into the sur- 

 rounding water in which the preparation is mounted. It has been, 

 however, always possible to see that the tannin-mass itself has its 

 own integrity. While it mingles with the water, it has the appear- 

 ance of a soft gelatinous mass. Whether the swelling is indefinite 

 or restricted, I am not able to say, but my Impression is that in this 

 respect, it is analogous to swelling starch. Its behavior, however, 

 may be due to its union with tannin. This is therefore a point for 

 further investigation. 



The relatively large amount of free tannin in such cells appears 

 to be due to the relatively small amount of the associated colloid 



