6 GRACE E. COOLEY ON 



lose"^; the second that of Lupinus, Balsaiiiina, Tamarindus, Paeonia, and Sabadilhi, 

 which lie terms " amyloid," as other botanists'- have done, the distinguishing mark being 

 its behavior with iodine, in the presence of which reagent it turns blue, as starch does. 



Tschirch* considers that the reserve on the cell walls of the endospenn cc'lls of 

 Phoenix and Phytelephas is pure cellulose. 



Reiss has shown that mannose-yielding reserve cellulose is present in Paris qua- 

 drifoUa and Foeniculum officinale as well as Phoenix, Phytelephas, and a number of 

 other seeds. On the other hand Paris and Foeniculum seeds are exceptional, in that 

 reserve cellulose of the endosperm cells is not dissolved by cuprammonia.''' 



In the following experiments the material used, unless otherwise noted, is from 

 dry, ripe seeds. Control tests were made with cotton-fibers, and 3'oung succulent 

 shoots. 



Behavior toward Weak Mineral Acids. The action with hot, weak, mineral 

 acids is perhaps the most important, as it is universal. In order to determine the 

 behavior of reserve cellulose with sulphuric acid, sections of seeds of Polygonatwn 

 multiflonim were boiled in one part concentrated sulphuric acid to five parts water. 

 At the end of half a minute, the thickening on the walls had greatly swollen, and 

 much had dissolved away, and after one minute the solution was complete ; the 

 primary membrane with haemotoxylin took the strong coloring of pure cellulose, 

 and with iodine remained colorless. With Asparagus officinalis, the ret^erve cellulose 

 was entirely dissolved from the cells in one half minute's action of the hot acid. 

 The same was the case with Allium cejja, Iris pseudacorus, and others. 



Sections of Scilla sibirica show swelling oi the cell walls with one minute's 

 treatment with hot acid, and in two minutes the solution is effected. The reserve 

 from cells of Tulipa seeds is also a little more slowly dissolved than from Polygonatum, 

 and shows, during the process, the gradual separation of the cells from one another, 

 by the solution of intercellular substance. When iodiue is applied, before the solu- 

 tion is complete, the bounding walls of the separating cells are yellow, whereas the 

 intercellular masses are brown. 



PI. 2, fif. 1, shows a, portion of the eudosperm of Polygonatum multijhtrum 

 after one minute's boiling in sulphuric acid of the strength noted above. The 

 reserve has disappeared from the cell walls, nnd the couteats of the cells are not 

 entirely removed. In (ig. 2 the action of the acid has removed the cell contents as 

 well. 



' A. Tscliircli, iliiil, s. 171. 'Reiss, l.anihvirtlischat'tliche jalirbiicUer. 18. 



-' Schleiden, I'eber dtis iuiiylniil. Beitrilge zur botanik, 

 1844. Frank, .Ji.urii. f. prakt. iliciuie, ISiir,, s. 470, etc. 



