



94 The Botajiical Gazette. [March, 



representative to the Australasian Association. The New Zealand 

 paper gives an account of his cordial reception by the association, and 

 his address in reply. An interview with Prof. Goodale is also printed, 

 in which he gives the Australasians much information concerning 

 science f in America, the American Association, and Harvard Universi- 

 ty. Prof. Goodale is travelling chiefly in the interests of the new 

 Botanical Museum at Cambridge, and will return home by way of 

 Java, China, and Japan. 



The physiological significance of calcic oxalate according to Dr. 

 G. F. Kohl 1 lies in the fact that the oxalic acid and its congeners are 

 by-products in the synthesis of proteids from amides and carbohy- 

 drates. If this is true oxalic acid and its salts ought to occur in all 

 plants. While however calcic oxalate in the higher plants is very 

 wide-spread, in the thallophytes it is strikingly rare. Kohl shows that 

 nevertheless oxalic acid is abundantly produced by both fungi and 

 algae, and that it will readily combine with calcium when under proper 

 conidtions. The production of oxalic acid by the recently described 

 Saccharomyces Hansenii has been designated as oxalic acid fermenta- 

 tion which is reckoned as one of the oxidative fermentations, in con- 

 trast to the splitting fermentations. Fermentation is in all cases, he 

 says, nothing but a nutritive process of the ferment-inducing organism, 

 with its consequences. Colorless organisms must decompose — fer- 

 ment — carbohydrates, alcohols, etc., obtained from without; color-bear- 

 ing and therefore mostly CO .-assimilating organisms on the contrary 

 decompose — ferment — self-formed carbohydrates, etc. Logically we 

 must say: all plants are fermenting agents; for if we call the formation 

 of oxalic acid by a fungus " oxalic-acid fermentation " we must extend 

 this designation to all plants in which the formation of oxalic acid 

 occurs. We can arrange plants in two series according to the main 

 product of the fermentation, the first including those which induce 

 oxidative fermentations, the second including the agents of splitting 

 fermentations. 



Plants. ' Oxidative fermentation. Splitting fermentation. 



Schizoraycetes \ acetic acid j Alcohol, lactic acid, 



f \ butyric acid. 



M *.*. c ^ oxalic acid i . , „ - 



Numerous other fungi J carhonic add j Alcohol. 



AWa; \ oxalic acid 



8 ) carbonic acid 



Bryophyies, Pterido- fo^nic acid 



phytes, I'hanero- °xahc acid 



gams. rar anc a S ld 



9 I malic acid 



The lower plants thus induce chiefly splitting fermentations, the 

 higher exclusively oxidative. 



>Bot. Centralb.. xliv. 887. 



