6 



It is interesting to note, besides this production of hj'drocj^anic acid 

 from complex glucosids, that proteids, when subjected to oxidation 

 under certain conditions, also yield it.^ In fact, hj'drocj'anic acid may 

 exist in plants in two forms, either as the acid or as one of its salts, or 

 in the form of complex glucosids.'-^ Under the circumstances, the 

 conclusions of Briinnich''' should be held in mind, viz, that " all fodder 

 plants related to sorghum must be used with discretion in either the 

 green or the dried state, and should not be given in large amounts to 

 animals which have fasted for some time." 



In reference to other forage plants, Avery ^ says that "Kafir-corn 

 leaves also contain this poison, but other forage plants — clover, alfalfa, 

 grasses, and corn — give no test for prussic acid," and Briinnich also 

 found it in Guinea grass or Panicmn maxhnmn and P. muticnm. Manj' 

 facts have been collected relative to the distribution of hydrocyanic acid 

 in plants, yet its exact significance in their metabolism is unknown." 

 The question as to the relationship of parasites'' to the production of 

 hydrocyanic acid remains to be solved. 



Later investigations will be carried on to determine the nature of this 

 cyanogenetic compound, to determine whether hydrocyanic acid is 

 present in all stages of its growth, but disappears on drying the plant, 

 whether the hydrocyanic acid production occurs under all conditions or 

 only when grown on certain soils, and the amount produced. Hydro- 

 cyanic acid will also be looked for in other members of this genus. 



1 Plnmnier, R. H. A. The Formation of Prussic Acid by the Oxidation of 

 Albumins. Jour. Physiol., vol. .".1, 1904, p. 65; vol. .S2, 1904, p. 50. 



■- Les Nouveaux Reniedes, vol. 14, 1S9S, p. 272. 



3 Loc. cit., p. 792. 



^ Avery, S. Laboratory Notes on Poison in Sorghum, Jour. Compar. Med. 

 and Vet". Arch., vol. 23, 1902, p. 705. 



■""■Czapek, F. Biochemie d. Ptlanzen, 1905, vol. 2, p. 259. 



'' Literature on some parasites of the sorghum family can be found in Bot, Gaz., 

 vol. 28, 1899, p. 05. Also in Busse, W., Untersuch. u. d. Krank. der Sorghum 

 Hirse, Arb. a. d. biol. Abtheil. f. Land u. Forstw. am kaiserl. Gesundheitsamt, 

 1904, vol. 4. 



O 



