132 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



groups. One of these is lucMlizcd in special cells, and the bodies are more or 

 less lenticular or spherical and of uniform contour. These are the chlorophyll 

 grains or chloroplasts of literature. The second form he calls pseudo-chloro- 

 plasts and recognizes four forms. These are more generally distributed than 

 the chloroplasts, occurring in leaves, stems, etc., and are characterized by their 

 irregular shape. 



The chlorophyll bodies of the tirst group are held to be morphologically 

 superior to the others, but they are subordinate to the pseudo-chloroplasts in 

 their role in the assimilation of carbon dioxid gas. The second group of chlo- 

 rophyll bodies can be formed with or without starch, and during the summer 

 season they appear to be quite indifferent to starch formation. 



Synthesis and chlorophyll assimilation, J. Lefevke {Rev. Gen. Bot., 21 

 (1909), No. 2Ji2, pp. 68-15).— In a previous publication (E. S. R., 18, p. 26) the 

 author showed the possibility of growing plants in artificial media containing 

 amids with the total exclusion of carbon dioxid. These experiments have been 

 extended, cress, nasturtiums, and other plants being grown in light and dark- 

 ness in media containing various amids. 



It was found that green plants deprived of carbon dioxid but grown in amid 

 media are able to develop in the light without the liberation of any oxygen, 

 hence without any chlorophyll assimilation. On the contrary, if the plants 

 are deprived of both carbon dioxid and organic material, or placed in the 

 dark and supplied with amids, there is no development and the plants 

 quickly die. 



There appears to be a function of plants which is due to chlorophyll that is 

 entirely separate from the ordinary chlorophyll assimilation. This function 

 not only continues but completes assimilation by the plant when in contact with 

 air and obtaining its nutrition from the soil, and it suffices to bring about the 

 development of the plant through synthesis when deprived of carbon dioxid 

 but furnished with the necessary amids. This function the author calls 

 chlorophyll synthesis. 



Influence of radium radiations on the chlorophyll and respiratory func- 

 tions of plants, A. Hebert and A. Kling {Coimpt. Rend. Acad. Sci. [Paris], 1^9 

 {1909), No. 3, pp. 230-232; ahs. in Jour. Chem. 8oc. [London], 96 {1909), No. 

 563, II, p. 753). — Accoi'ding to the investigations reported, radium radiations 

 had no .appreciable influence on the composition of the atmosphere in which 

 plants were growing. Chlorophyll was found not to exercise its functions 

 under the influence of the radiation when light was excluded. The cells of 

 the plants, however, were found to undergo alteration, and respiration and 

 assimilation were considerably diminished in the case of leaves which had been 

 exposed to the radiation before being placed in daylight. The ratio between 

 respired oxygen and carbon dioxid assimilated was not affected by preliminary 

 exposure to radium. 



The relation between carbohydrates and the formation of anthocyanin, 

 R. Combes {Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot., 9. ser., 9 {1909), No. 1,-5, pp. 275-303).— A 

 study was made of leaves that are characterized by a reddish color when grown 

 in intense light, those that assume red tints in autumn, and those that become 

 red following the annular decortication of the stems, in order to determine the 

 relation between the formation of carbohydrates and anthocyanin. Compari- 

 sons were made with normal green leaves, and the sugars, glucosids, dextrins, 

 starches, and cellulose were determined. 



The results show that the red color in leaves is associated with an increase 

 of carbohydrates. The author claims that anthocyanin, which is a glucosid, is 

 not formed from preexisting glucosids but constitutes a considerable portion of 

 the increased glucosids found in the plant. In a similar way it is not derived 



