AGRICULTURAL BOTANY, CHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF PLANTS 961 



region of Ussurijsk, in Siberia ; two samples were also taken of the rye in 

 question, infested with F. siibulatum App. and Woll., and originating one 

 from the province of Tula, European Russia, and the other frcm the region 

 of Ussurijsk ; there were also utilised two samples of " Vasa " rye, infected 

 with the pure culture of the above mentioned Fusarium, and finall}-, two 

 uninfected and two sterilised samples of the same rye. 



From the moment of inoculaticn with Fusarium, the culture w^as in 

 a separate room away from the direct light cf the sun, and kept at a constant 

 temperature of 18-20'^ C. The analyses were made at the end of 10, 20, 30 

 and 60 days after the beginning of the experiment. 



Results, i) The vital activity of the two forms of Fusarium on the rye 

 grains is accompanied by a large reduction of dry matter. Thus, in the 

 analysis of the culture of Fusarium roseum made after 10 days, the loss of 

 dry matter is about % of the total quantity : when the experiment is 

 further prolonged, the loss of dry matter increases, amounting to ^/^ 

 of the total on the 60th day. Fusarium subulahim in a 30 days culture ex- 

 hibits an activity lower than that of the first Fusarium, but the difference 

 afterwards disappears. 



2) The dry substance lost is chiefly starch and albumin. 



3) The loss of starch in one month is 61 to 80 %, and in two months 

 80 to 89 % of the initial quantity. 



4) The vital activity of Fusarium is accompanied by the decom- 

 position of albumin with loss of nitrogen. Tliis loss is not so large as in the 

 case of starch, being about 5 % in the culture of F. roseum iox the first ten 

 days. It is still less, (2.7 %) in a culture of F. suhulatum one month old. 

 At the 60th day, however, the losses of nitrogen for both forms of Fusarium 

 increase, with an average of 12 to 16 % common to both. 



5) Both forms of Fusarium act equally on the rye, reducing the 

 starch and decomposing the albumin, with production of ammonia. 



6) The products of splitting up of albumin, asfcund from the analy- 

 ses made, are the following : albumoses, peptones, amino-acids, organic 

 bases, ammonia and a toxin (presumed to be a nitrogenous glucoside). The 

 process of decomposition of albumin was most energetic in the cultures of 

 F. roseum and a little less sc in those of F. subulalum. The numerical data 

 in relation to the quantit}^ of decomposition products formed allow of the 

 following description of the h^^droh'sis cf albumin produced by Fusarium : 

 during the first month of the experiment there are cliiefl}^ formed amino- 

 acids, organic bases, peptones, nitrogenous glucosides, and a small quantity 

 of ammonia, while in the second month the hydrolysis grows more en- 

 ergetic with formation of a considerable quantity of ammonia. The prac- 

 tical bearing of these observations is that, for the purpose of isolating and 

 studying the poisonous principles cf '' intoxicating bread ", the amino- 

 acids and organic bases, a 3 to 4 weeks old culture of Fusarium may be used 

 witli absolute certainty of success. 



7) The pentosans disappear fairly quickly, chiefl} during the first 30 

 days ; during the subsequent 30 days, the loss only increases 6 to 7 "„ ; 

 the total loss being 75 % of the initial quantity. 



