AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY AGROTECHNY. 803 



iiot serve as a resei'vo mnteriiil. The irsultH also have a direct practical 

 bearlnj; in deterniiiiiiij; \vlietlier a molasses feed with a liaseed base has added 

 sugar or not. 



A reaction for j)rotein was jjiven in the cotyledons, and it was very definite in 

 the aleurone grains. 



Studies on enzym action. — XII, The esterase and lipase of castor beans, 

 K. G. Falk and K. Si'ciura (Jour. Ainvr. Clinn. ,S'oo., 37 {1915}, No. 1, pp. 

 217-230). — The results regarding extraction, describe<l in the paper previously 

 reported (E. S. II., 31, p. 711), were coulirnied with a new castor bean 

 preparation. 



" The action of the castor beau preparation on triacetiu in the presence of 

 some neutral salts is described. The activity of the preparation was tested 

 after drying and heating under different conditions. An esterase preparation, 

 active toward ethyl butyrate, was separated by extraction with water, and ils 

 properties studied in solution and in the solid form. Its probable identity with 

 glj'cero-phosphatase was suggested. A lipase preparation, active toward tri- 

 acetin, was separated by extraction with 1.5 normal sodium chlorid solution, 

 and its properties studied. The forms of combination of the nitrogen in the 

 preparations are determined. The pi'obable protein nature of the esterase and 

 lipase is discussed." 



The thermoregeneration of sucrase, G. Bebtband and M. Rosenblatt ( Compt. 

 Rend. Amd. Sci. [Paris], 158 (Wilt), No. 20, pp. lJf55-l/f5S; abs. in Jour. Chem. 

 Soc. [London], 106 U9U), No. 621, I, pp. OO'J, 910).— This is a study of the 

 hydrolyzing properties of invertase, prepared from yeast by different processes, 

 after exposure to varying temperatures. 



A maceration of dried yeast heated at 70 or 80° C. for one minute loses all 

 its hydrolyzing power, whereas if heated at 90 or 100° for one minute it regains 

 a large part of its hydrolyzing power. "A sample of fresh baker's yeast, ground 

 with sand and water, does not show this regeneration of hydrolyzing power at 

 the higher temperature. Successive treatment of this yeast with alcohol and 

 ether yields a powder which shows no sign of regeneration, whereas two suc- 

 cessive treatments with acetone, followed by rapid filtration and dehydration, 

 give an invertase which exhibits the above phenomenon of thermoregeneration. 

 A samjjle of the yeast which has undergone autolysis for from one to two 

 days or even four days, when putrefaction has set in, yields, by subsequent 

 maceration with water, a solution of invertase which shows very marked 

 regeneration when heated to 90 or 100° for one minute, whilst being almost 

 inactive after heating to 70 or 80° for the same time." 



The relationship between the protein substances of yeast and sucrase, 

 P. Thomas (Compt. Rend. Acad. Sai. [Paru], 158 (1914), No. 22, pp. 1597-1600; 

 abs. in Jour. Chcm. Soc. [London], 106 (191Jf), No. 621, I, p. 909).— Cevevisin, 

 obtained from yeast after contact with water, was found to hydrolyze sucrose. 

 This hydrolyzing power increased with the fineness of the powder and the 

 temperature used in maceration. Similar phenomena were not noted with the 

 proteins obtained in a coagulated condition from yeast, and Invertase therefore 

 is apparently formed from cerevlsln through the agency of water. The hydro- 

 lyzing iKjwers of cerevlsln were greater with autolyzed than with fresh yeast. 

 This is of Interest In connection with Bertrand and Rosenblatt's work on the 

 thermoregeneration of lutervase, noted above. 



On soy bean urease. — The effect of dilution, acids, alkalis, and ethyl 

 alcohol, E. K. Marsuall, Jr. (Jour. Biol. Chem., 17 (191 ff). No. 3, pp. 351- 

 361). — By this work it is shown that the hydrolysis of urea by urease is prac- 

 tically proportional to the enzym concentration. The velocity increases with 

 dilution to a maximum, and with further dilution decreases slightly. " The 



