OF THE COCOANUT DURING GERMINATION 345 



There appeared to be only a very slight amount of an albumin 

 in our extracts — a coagulable substance which was not precipitated 

 from its neutral solution when the latter was half-saturated with 

 ammonium sulphate.* 



Osborne's methods of extracting glutenin and gliadin f in dilute 

 alkali and acid, and in dilute alcohol, after the removal of globulin, 

 proteose and albumin as above described, gave mere traces of pro- 

 teid substances in solution, derivatives, doubtless, of the proteids 

 already referred to, which perhaps had not been completely re- 

 moved from the residual tissue ; or possible nucleoproteid. 



Peptone could not be detected in any of our extracts. | 



As/i. — Composition is referred to on pages 331 and 335. 

 Qualitatively our results were the same as those there given. 



Erizymcs. — Water, salt solution and glycerin each failed to 

 extract appreciable quantities of either proteolytic or adipolytic 

 enzymes from the endosperm of the fresh, ungerminated nut, 

 although an active amylolytic ferment was extracted by all of 

 these fluids. The large quantities of fat and fatty acid in the endo- 

 sperm suggest that an emulsifying ferment may be present. This, 

 however, may be localized in the germ, increasing to physiolog- 

 ical quantity and activity only in the process of germination (see 

 page 358). The proteoses present in the endosperm seem to 

 imply the presence of a proteolytic ferment. Possibly, however, 

 the proteoses represent a residue from which the globulin was 

 derived by reverse process. § 



We have already referred to the fact that oxidase has been de- 

 tected in the milk. Traces of it are also contained in the endo- 

 sperm. 



Average Composition. — The average results of our analyses of 

 the endosperm are summarized in the following table, which pre- 

 sents the data obtained for the composition of the fresh tissue and 

 the dry solid matter derived from it (constant weight at 100- 

 105° C). 



* Cohnheim : Chemie der Eiweisskorper, 150. 1900. 



f Osborne and Campbell : American Chemical Journal, 15 : 392. 1893. 



X Small quantities of non-proteid nitrogenous substances were detected by Ritt- 

 hausen : Chemisches Centralblatt, 230. 1880. Compare, also, with recent results 

 respecting proteoses obtained by Bokorny : Chemisches Centralblatt, i : 1167. 1902. 



I See recent papers in the Zeitschrift fiir physiologische Chetpie by Schulze and 

 Kutscher and their associates. 



