No. 1, July, 1920] PHYSIOLOGY 229 



.1 totobacter chroococcum. Some attention was given to the effect of autoolaving on wood. The 

 percentage loss in weighl in the Bawduel was taken as b criterion of 1 1n- rut •• of decay. A Mim- 

 mary of the observ.it ion-; .mikI experiments shows th.it (1) wiicn wood is subjected to iteam- 

 pressure sterilization it is changed in color and resistance to decay and is accompanied bj 

 increase in acidity and Bubstances in the extracl which reduce Pehling' olution. Under 

 natural conditions cellulose-dissolving bacteria plaj ao importanl pari in the decay of wood 

 although t he rate ol decay may be materially increased by t In- presence of ( he ordinary sapro- 

 phytic bacteria. The decay of wood by fungi, as influenced by bacteria, lendenl on 



the fungus and wood species. — S. M. '/■ ll< r. 



1519. Schmitz, Hk.vky, and S. M. Zbllbr. Studies in the physiology of the fungi. IX. 

 Enzyme action in Armillaria mellea Vahl, Daedalea confragosa (Bolt.) Fr., and Polyporus luci- 

 dus (Leys.) Fr. Ann. Missouri I3ot. Gard. 6: 193 200. 1919. — The evident presence of lad 



is the outstanding feature of the results on carbohydrates, this being the first record of its 

 presence in higher fungi. A method involving hydrogen ion concentration determination 

 is suggested for the detection of ammonia liberated by amidase. — S. M. Zeller. 



1520. Sherman, N. C, axd Dora E. Neum. The proteolytic activity of pancreatic amyl- 

 ase preparations. Jour. Amer. Chem. Soc. 41: 1855-1802. 1919. — In a previous paper the au- 

 thors showed that their purified pancreatic amylase preparations exhibited marked proteo- 

 lytic activity. The authors purified high grade commercial pancreatin by extracting with 

 50 per cent alcohol, precipitating this filtrate with alcohol-ether mixture, dissolving the pre- 

 cipitate with H 2 and precipitating with absolute alcohol, then dissolving and dialyzing in 

 50 per cent alcohol containing maltose to retard deterioration, and finally precipitating with 

 an equal volume of 1 : 1 alcohol-ether mixture. To discover whether the amylase and protease 

 activities are due to admixed substances, the authors substituted for the usual final precipi- 

 tation with 1: 1 alcohol-ether, a precipitation with an equal volume of a mixture of two parts 

 alcohol to one of ether. The products obtained are called A. Another product B was ob- 

 tained by adding more ether. A was separated by centrifugal force, the centrifuge being 

 cooled with liquid air. The solution from precipitate A was decanted. "Typically the anxi- 

 olytic activity of precipitate A was lower than that of precipitate B; but the latter was not 

 more active than our usual amylase preparations. The proteolytic activity was higher in 

 precipitate A than in precipitate B." — J . M. Brannon. 



1521. Sherman, H. C, axd Florence Walker. Influence of aspartic acid and asparagin 

 upon the enzymic hydrolysis of starch. Jour. Amer. Chem. Soc. 41: 1866-1873. 1919. — The 

 starches used were potato, maize, and rice purified by washing in cold, very dilute sodium hy- 

 droxide and water. Merck's "soluble starch according to Lintner" washed nine times with 

 ordinary distilled water and six times with triply distilled water was also employed. One 

 hundred cubic centimeters of a 1 per cent dispersion, made neutral to rosolic acid with 0.01 

 N alkali or acid, were used for each digestion. The water extract of potato was obtained by 

 letting one grated potato stand over night in 150 cc. of purified distilled water. This was 

 filtered and the filtrate boiled. Its acidity was carefully determined, rosolic acid being used 

 as an indicator. Other methods of procedure have been described in previous papers. "The 

 action of saliva, pancreatin and purified pancreatic amylase on alkali-washed potato, wheat, 

 maize and rice starches and Lintner's 'soluble' starch was accelerated by the addition of 

 small amounts of boiled, neutralized water extract of potato, while the action of the vegetable 

 amylases tested was not influenced." Neutralized aspartic acid or asparagin accelerated 

 the action of saliva, pancreatin, and purified pancreatic and malt amylases. No clear evi- 

 dence of activation was obtained from malt extract of Aspergillus Orytae. The addition of 

 sodium aspartate or asparagin produced practically the same activation. — .7. M. Brannon. 



1522. Shull, C. A. Enzyme secretion. [Rev. of: Robbins, W. .1 Influence of certain 

 salts and nutrient solutions on the secretion of diastase by Penicillium camembertii. Amer. 

 Jour. Bot 3:234-260. 1910.1 Bot. Gaz. 67: 276-277. 1919. 



