BOTANY* 829 



Invest! g-ations on the utilization of ternary compounds by plants, P. Maze; 



(Anil. Inst, /'astt'iir, V> [I'.iCi], Xos. .>', jtji. 19.',- M,'; ,7, pp. .,'4i_!~J^<S}. — Ah a result of 

 an exten(U'(l series of ex|)eriinents with }>eas, beans, lupines, peanuts, and corn, the 

 author claims that the earbohydratc or the oleaginous reserves of the jilant are util- 

 ized by being passed through a iiuiid)er of transformations whieh always result in 

 the formation of alcohol. The author believes that the combining of the ternary 

 carbohydrate compounds with the nitrogenous elements is brought about by the 

 (jxidation of the alcohol and its transformation to ethyl alcohol, l)ut the evidence of 

 tills is not deemed sutHcient for j)uhlication as yet. 



In the second i^aper the author states that peas, when deprived of o.xygen, trans- 

 form the fermentable sugar into alcohol and carbonic acid, but do not utilize it for 

 the construction of living tissue. If placed in favoraljle conditions, however, the 

 plant exercises the same action on sugar and can utilize the alcohol for plant growth. 

 In carrying on subsequent experiments it was found that these conclusions did not 

 fidly apply to yeasts, but were fully borne out by the hingns Eurotlupsls guy(jiii.. This 

 fungus not only ferments sugar with the same activity as yeast, but is able to develop 

 in a mineral solution when alcohol or dextrose is added. These 2 methods of nutri- 

 tion are, according to the investigations of the author, shown to be identical in prin- 

 cil)]e. The assimilation of ternary carlxm compounds derived from sugar is brought 

 aliout through the utilization of aldehyde by the living plant. The alcohol which is 

 formed by the })lant is not used as such, l)ut as aldehyde. The differences noted in 

 tlie nutrition of the fungus are attributed to the presence of zymase, which is neces- 

 sary for the assimilation of the <'arbon derived from sugar. 



Cane sugar as a reserve material in phanerogams, E. Boukquelot ( Cuinpt. 

 Rend. Acad. Sri. F<(ri.<<, 1S4 [1902), No. 12, pp. 718-720). — Investigations were made 

 of a number of plants representative of those whose reserve material consists of starch, 

 iiudin, mannane, galactan, oil, etc. The author claims that 18 out of 20 species exam- 

 ined showed the presence of cane sugar in the portion of the plant examined. Con- 

 tinuing his observations he claims to ha\e found cane sugar in tarol) beans, honey 

 loi'ust, onion, holly, Aucuha japonica, phellandrium, caraway seed, coriander, etc., 

 and to have isolated the cane sugar from the mature seed of the honey locust, holly, 

 lily-(if-the-valley, Aucuba, and from the root of peony. 



The starch of evergreen leaves and its relation to photosynthesis during 

 winter, K. ^Miyake {Bot. Gaz., 33 {1903), Xo. 5, pp. ^21-340). — An investigation was 

 made of various evergreen trees and shrubs, in which it was determined that the 

 starch content differs much according to the different species. Monocotyledons gen- 

 erally contain less starch than dicotyledons, gymnosperms, and pteridophytes, or in 

 some species none at all was observed. The starch in evergreen leaves normally 

 begins to decrease in November, reaching its minimum during January and the 

 beginning of FeTjruary, and begins to increase again at the end of February. The 

 starch found in evergreen leaves in winter is generally limited in amount as compared 

 with that observed at other times of the year, but in a few species of plants it was 

 found quite abundant. Starch is formed by photosynthesis during winter in small 

 amounts and is translocated during the same season. The majority of evergreen 

 leaves in the northern part of Japan almost entirely lose the starch from the meso- 

 jiliyll and guard cells in winter. In the ndddle and southern part of Japan many 

 evergreen leaves contain considerable starch in the mesophyll, altlK)Ugh the amount 

 varies with different species during the coldest part of the winter. The starch con- 

 tent of evergreen leaves is generally more abundant in spring than late in summer or 

 early in autumn. The stomata of a number of evergreen leaves were found to be 

 open during the winter. The entire absence of calcium oxalate crystals from the 

 ieavt's during winter, as claimed by Lidforss, could not be verilied. 



Photosynthesis by green leaves in light rays of diflferent wave lengths, 

 A. RiCHTER {Rev. Gen. Bot., U {1902), Nos. 160, pp. 151-169; 161, pp. 211-218).— 



