120 PHYSIOLOGY [Bot. Absts. 



813. Voegtlin, Carl, and C. N. Myers. Distribution of the antineuritic vitamine 

 in the wheat and corn kernel. Amer. Jour. Physiol. 48: 504-511. 1919. — Feeding experi- 

 ments of "degerminated" corn and wheat in contrast with whole grain upon adult pigeons 

 show that the vitamine is entirely in the embryo; and suggestions are made that the germina- 

 tion processes depend upon the presence of the vitamine, possibly due to direct relationship 

 to metabolism. — Ernest Shaw Reynolds. 



814. Zerban, F. Vv\ Progress report of Chemical Research Department of the Louisiana 

 Sugar Experiment Station for 1918. Louisiana Planter and Sugar Manuf. 62: 219-223. 

 1919. — There are various substances in sugar cane that affect the color of the cane, juice. 

 These include chlorophyll, anthocyanin and saccharetin. The different polyphenol com- 

 pounds, especially in the presence of ircn, are largely responsible for the darkening of the 

 cane juice. — C. W. Edgerton. 



METABOLISM (NITROGEN RELATIONS) 



815. Zerban, F. W., and E. C. Freeland. The color of sugar cane products and 

 decolorization in factory practice. Louisiana Agric. Exp. Sta. Bull. 165. 32 p. 1919. — The 

 coloring matter in cane juice is mostly due to anthocyanin and the different polyphenol com- 

 pounds, especially in connection with iron. — C. W. Edgerton. 



816. Koser, Stewart A., and Leo F. Rettger. Studies on bacterial nutrition. The 

 utilization of nitrogenous compounds of definite chemical composition. Jour. Infect. Diseases 

 24: 301-321. 1919. — Various amino-acids are quite similar in their ability to support the 

 growth of certain microorganisms. Urea, taurin, creatin, hypoxanthin and uric acid are 

 inferior to amino acids as immediately available sources of nitrogen. Allantoin gives results 

 similar to the amino acids. Combinations of amino-acids or of amino-acids and other nitrog- 

 enous compounds offer no advantage over any single amino-acid. Certain organisms, such 

 as B. anthracis, Proteus zeukeri, B. abortus, B. diphtheriae, B. hoffmanni, B. dysenteriae, and 

 all of the cocci studied with the exception of Sarcina lutea, in a few cases, consistently failed 

 to develop in all of the media employed. B. pullorum developed slightly in one instance only, 

 while B. typhosus exhibited a slight growth in a few media. An extensive bibliography is 

 appended. — Selman A. Waksman. 



METABOLISM (ENZYMES, FERMENTATION) 



817. Coates, C. E. Some notes on the clarification of the juice from frozen and sour cane. 

 Louisiana Planter and Sugar Manuf. 62: 40-41. 1919. — In sugar cane which has been frozen, 

 three types of fermentation develop. (1) There may be a softening of the tissues of the cane 

 with the release of gummy substances into the juice. (2) Gums may be produced by the fer- 

 mentation processes, these being induced by Leuconostoc and other organisms. (3) Acetic 

 acid fermentation may develop. Methods of treating the cane juice to counteract the fer- 

 mentation processes are discussed. — C. W. Edgerton. 



818. Diehl, Harold S. The specificity of bacterial proteolytic enzymes and their forma- 

 tion. Jour. Infect. Diseases 24: 347-361. 1919. — No proteolytic enzymes are formed by 

 bacteria on media free from organic nitrogen. On protein-containing media enzymes are 

 formed which will digest both gelatin and casein. The proteolytic enzymes are not preformed 

 in the bacterial cell, but are dependent on the content of the medium on which the cell grows; 

 the specificity of these enzymes is resident in the amino-acids composing the proteins and 

 not in the proteins themselves. Proteolytic enzymes are apparently formed to correspond 

 to the different amino-acids present in the medium whether these acids are combined or free. — 

 Selman A. Waksman. 



819. Kopeloff, Nicholas, and Lillian Kopeloff. The deterioration of cane sugar 

 by fungi. Louisiana Agric. Exp. Sta. Bull. 166. 72 p., PI. I, II; fig. 1. 1919.— Fungi are to 

 be found in practically all sugars and sugar products. Of these, species of Aspergillus and 



