JAPANESE BOTANICAL LITERATURE. 



Suzuki, Shinkichi, A Study of the Proteolytic Changes 

 occurring in the Lima Bean during Germination. 

 (Journal cf Biological chemistry, Vol. III. No. 4, Sept., 1907). 

 The seeds of the lima bean {Phaseolas lunatus) were germi- 

 nated partly in light and partly in darkness. The cotyledon 

 and stem of both eliotated and green seedlings were analysed 

 separately. The analysis was also made of the dry seed. The 

 results obtained are as follows : 



I. Cotyledon. 



1) In the cotyledon, al! proteids except peptonrs show a 

 decrease at the 6-day and 12-day of growth which is most 

 conspicuous in the case of coagulable proteids. 



2) Peptones, diamino-bzdies, monoamino-bodies and am- 

 monia show an increase at the 6 days stage and after that 

 they decrease, especially in the cotyledon of green plants. 



3) The increase of these substances must be due to the 

 decomposition of higher proteids. 



4) The decrease of all nitrogenous substances at the 12 

 days stage must be due to a translocation into the stem. 

 Different amounts of decrease for the two 12-day stages, in 

 darkness and in sunlight, satisfactorily explain the different 

 degiees of growth of etiolated and of green stems. 



II. Stem. 



1) In the stem of the 12 days etiolated plant, all of the 

 nitrogen compounds show an increase, with the exception of 

 diamino-bodies, in comparison with those of the 6 days etiolat- 

 ed plants ; and the increase of insoluble proteids over the 

 amounts of this form of proteiads at the 6-day stage is most 

 remarkable. 



2) The amount of insoluble and coagulable proteids in the 

 stem of tht 12-days green plant is noticeably higher than those 



