BOTANY. 113 



The following are given by tlie author as the more striking chemical 

 differences between active and passive albumen: 



"(1) Tlie power of combining with water is greater with the active than with the 

 passive albumen. 



"(2) Cott'eiu and aiitipyrin exert action upon the active, not ni)on the passive, 

 albumen. 



"(3) Alcohol of 10 to 20 per cent, va.pors of ether, very dilute acetic acid, change 

 the active b fc not the passive albumen. 



"(4) Active albumen absorbs ammonia and turns thereby insoluble, while passive 

 albumen remains indifferent. 



"(5j Active albumen reduces highly diluted alkaline silver solutions ; passive albu- 

 men does not."' 



The role of carbohydrates in intramolecular respiration in the 

 higher plants, W. Palladine {Rcr. gen. Bot., {is!)4)., pp. .201-20!)). — 

 M. Diakonow lias shown' that certain of the lower fungi are able to give 

 off carbon dioxid when confined in an atmosphere deprived of oxygen, 

 provided they are furnished with some fermentable substance. The 

 same experiments conducted upon phanerogams faded unless the plants 

 contained more or less glncose, a fermentable substance. The author 

 in the pre -ent paper proposes to show in what respect the intramolecular 

 respiration of etiolated leaves is dependent on the carbohydrates. One 

 lot of leaves Avas placed in an atmosi)here of hydrogen, while a corre- 

 sponding lot was detached from the plants and placed in a 10 to 15 per 

 cent solution of sugar after the method of Bohm.^ Experiments were 

 conducted with etiolated leaves of Viciafaba, Alliuin cepa, and L^qrinns 

 luteus, the details of each of the 10 experiments being given. 



The result of the author's experiments agree with those described by 

 Diakonow for fungi. The amount of carbon dioxid given off by etiolated 

 leaves in an atmosphere deprived of oxygen depends on the richness of 

 the solutions of carbohydrates used. The leaves of the bean and lupine, 

 which contain but a^ trace of carbohydrates, gave off' a very insignifi- 

 cant amount of carbon dioxid when placed in the oxygen free-air, and 

 quickly j)erished. The artificial introduction of sugar into their tissues 

 increased very considerably the amount of carbon dioxid given off, as 

 well as prolonged their life Avhile under these conditions. The very 

 small quantity of gas given off in the first case may not have been 

 normal respiration, but due to the presence of microorganisms in the 

 plant, which, as has already been shown', can begin to liberate carbon 

 dioxid within 1 hours after the death of the plant. 



Botany of the Death Valley Expedition, F. V. Coville ( U. 8. 

 Dept. A(ji\, Dhnsion of Botany^ (Jontribiitions from U. 8. National Herba- 

 rium., vol. 4, pp. 363, 2)Is. 22, map 1.) — A report on the botany of the 

 expedition sent out in 1891 by this Department to make a biological 

 survey of the region of Death Valley. 



'Ber. deut. Bot. Ges., 1886, p. 411. 

 '^Bot. Ztg., 18><3, pp 33, 19. 

 ^JoUannsen, Bot. Ztg.. 1886, p. 762. 



