So. 1, July, 1920] PHYSIOLOGY 227 



into simple amino-acids. This aotivitj varies with the nature of the plant , l>ut is individual 

 r .t her I tan generic— Legumes did not , on t he w hole, show greater aei Lvity t ban aon-legumi 

 although the activity of foliage of young field pi about 2\ times thai of young oats. 



White mustard, especially in the flowering stage, was inure active than the other plant 

 cept peas. In general, activity was greater a1 the flowering stage, than earlier. -Both pro 

 ase and peptase activity of the Leave increase with maturity to the tune ,,f barvt ind 



does not frill oil when translocation of foodstuffs takes place and during dying of leaves. — 

 .1. 72. Davis. 



1609. FBDD, E. B., W. II. I'i iii: rn \. DAVBNPOBT. Acid fermentation of xylose. 



Jour. Biol. Chem. 29::5!7 384. PI. t. 1919. -Xylose is readily fermented by bacteria whieh 



found in fresh silage, sauerkraut, manure, and certain soils. These icylose fermentenj 



are easily isolated in pure culture. The ferment at ion of sylo - place either in the pr- 



ence of free oxygen or in a limited supply. The mam products formed in ' he fermentation of 

 xylose are acetic acid and laci ic acid. The fermenl a1 ion is rapid, pract ically all of the xylose 

 disappearing within 10 or 12 days after inoculation. — (!. H. R 



1510. Gurjar, A. M. Enzyme action. [Rev. of: Van' Lakr, Henri. Actions entre 

 enzymes. Zeitschr. Garungsphysiol. 6: 169 175. 1918 (See Bot. Absts. 3, Entry 2882).] 

 Bot. Gaz. 67: 515. 1919. 



1511. Hepburn, Joseph Samukl. A study of the protease of the pitcher liquor of Nepen- 

 thes. Contrib. Bot. Lab. Univ. Pennsylvania 4: 1 f'J 450. 1919.— The formol titration showed 

 that the liquor from stimulated pitchers produced proteolysis of ovalbumen, fibrin, ovomu- 

 coid, Nahrstoff-Heyden, and Witte peptone, while the liquor from non-stimulated pitchers 

 lacked proteolytic power. This method also showed that, in the presence of very dilute hydro- 

 chloric acid, edestan was digested by the liquor from stimulated pitchers, but not by that from 

 non-stimulated pitchers. Carmine fibrin was dissolved by the liquor from both stimulated 

 and non-stimulated pitchers, in the presence of 0.2 per cent hydrochloric acid. The protein 

 derived from the globulin of the castor bean was usually dissolved by the liquor from both 

 stimulated and non-stimulated pitchers in the presence of hydrochloric acid. The liquor 

 from stimulated pitchers apparently hydrolyzed glycyltryptophane, provided the period of 

 incubation was sufficiently long. The liquor from stimulated pitchers possessed proteolytic 

 power in both the absence and the presence of acid, while that from the non-stimulated pitch- 

 ers exerted no proteolytic power in the absence of acid, but had such power when acids were 

 present. The proteolytic enzyme of the pitcher liquor undoubtedly plays a highly important 

 role in the digestion of insects within the pitcher. — John W. Harshberger. 



1512. Hepburn, Joseph Samuel, and Frank Morton Jones. Occurrence of antiprote- 

 ases in the larvae of the Sarcophaga associates of Sarracenia flava. Contrib. Bot. Lab. Univ. 

 Pennsylvania 4: 460-463. 1919. — The pitcher liquor of Sarracenia flava contains a proteo- 

 lytic enzyme. The larvae of certain species of Sarcophaga (S. sarraceniae Riley, S. Rtl 

 Aldrich, and S. Jonesi Aldrich) habitually occur in the pitchers of Sarracenia flava, where they 

 are constantly bathed in the digestive liquor of the pitcher. This phenomenon suggested the 

 examination of Sarcophaga larvae from Sarracenia for the presence of anti-proteases. After 

 an account of the experiments the authors conclude: "In this study, antiproteases have been 

 found in the larvae of the Sarcophaga associates of the pitcher plant, 6 nia flava. The 

 larvae of other species of Sarcophaga, and of several other dipterous genera, are likewise able 

 to live and escape digestion in an environment rich in proteolytic enzymes: probably these 

 larvae also contain antiproteases which protect them from digestion." — John W. Harshbi rgt r. 



1513. Kopeloff, Nicholas, and Lillian Kopeloff. Do mold spores contain enzymes? 

 Jour. Agric. Res. 18: 195-209. 1919.— This is a study with special reference to invertase in 

 the spores of Aspergillus niger, A. Sydowi, A. flaws, and PeniciUivm expansum. Spores of 

 these species heated to63°C. for 30 minutes and shaken in sterilized sand caused a decrease in 

 polarization and an increase in reducing sugars in a 10 per cent sugar solution in 3 hours and 



