AGRTCULTUKAL CHEMISTEY AGEOTECHNY. 407 



is then evaporated repeatedly uuder diminished pressure to remove most of the 

 hydrochloric acid, and the residue taken up with water. Ammonia gas is then 

 passed through the solution until saturation has taken place, or if no ammonia 

 bomb is at hand the residue is dissolved in an excess with ammonium hydroxid 

 solution in water. The solution is then again evaporated to dryness, and if 

 silk waste was employed the solution is extracted with cold water. Tyrosin 

 remains in the residue. A still better way is to boil the residue with water 

 containing some animal charcoal, the tyrosin being allowed to crystallize out 

 from the extract. The mother liquors obtained are then evaporated to dryness 

 and esterified in the usual manner. The undissolved ammonium chlorid may 

 be filtered off, while the remainder of the process is the usual one. 



For preparing the glutaminic acid ammonia gas is passed through the aque- 

 ous solutions and these evaporated to dryness. The residue is then recrystal- 

 lized from hot water. The greater portion of the glutaminic acid can be 

 obtained by fractional crystallization, and the remainder from the mother 

 liquors by precipitation with alcohol. 



The identity cf the guanin pentoKid prepared from molasses with reference 

 to vernin, E. Sciiulze and G. Trier {Hoppc-Seyler's Ztschr. Physiol. Chem., 76 

 (1912), No. 2-3, pp. lJf5-147; ahs. in Zentbl. Biochem. u. Diophys., 12 {1912), 

 No. 23, p. 901; Zenthl. Physiol., 26 {1912), No. 1, p. 9). — The guanin pentosid 

 obtained by Andrlik (E. S. R., 26, p. 116) from molasses residues is thought to 

 be identical with the compound known as vernin. The authors believe that 

 guanin-d-ribose is the only guanin pentosid occurring in nature. 



The complete extraction of alcoliol and water-soluble phosphorus com- 

 pounds from plants, H. Uleich {Arch. Expt. Path. u. Pharmakol.. 68 {1912), 

 No. 3, pp. 171-185). — The 3 principal groups of phosphatids can be extracted by 

 treating the dried plant tissue, etc., 24 hours with absolute alcohol, being care- 

 ful to exclude all extraneous moisture during the process. This is followed by 

 extracting the material with dilute nitric acid (0.5 per cent) for about 20 

 successive times at room temperature. The work was done with oats and 

 wheat bran. 



The mode of action of phosphatese, I, H. Eulee and S. Kullberg {Hoppe- 

 Seyler's Ztschr. Physiol. Chem., 74 {1911), No. 1, pp. 15-28).— The enzym phos- 

 phatese (the authors propose using the termination "ese" for synthesizing 

 enzyms), in the presence of phosphates during the fermentation of sucrose with 

 yeast juice or with extract of dried yeast will bring about the formation of 

 carbohydrate-phosphoric acid esters. The authors now find that this enzym is 

 much more readily absorbed by kaolin than was invertase from a neutral solu- 

 tion, and is much more quickly destroyed by precipitating with alcohol. Phos- 

 phatese shows its greatest activity in alkaline solutions, and at 30° C. its activity 

 is one and three-fourths times greater than at 20°, but it is much less resistant 

 to heat than invertase. It was also noted that unaltered dextrose does not 

 react, or only very slowly reacts with the phosphate. 



An ester obtained by treating a partially fermented solution of dextrose or 

 levulose with a phosphate was optically inactive, nor was an optically active 

 product obtained when the ester was decomposed with an acid or alkali. The 

 ester is in all probability produced from a substance which is formed and 

 decomposed again during the action of yeast on dextrose. This holds good for 

 levulose and sucrose also. Aspergillus niger (when cultivated in sucrose and 

 yeast water) and ripe oats contain phosphatese. Two enzyms are apparently 

 concerned in the above process, one which converts the sugar into an ester- 

 forming carbohydrate, and another which synthesizes the ester from the phos- 

 phate and carbohydrate ions. 



62189°— No. 5—12 2 



