252 



with, I feel sure that at a later date, ]ust as much amylase would 

 hâve been found as m ail the other séries. Unfortunately I had 

 not enough cultures and did not hâve the tlme to grow them. 



A large number of facts, which I got from totally différent ob- 

 servations seem to confirm this view; or at least they can be explai- 

 ned by it in a very reasonable way. 



I hâve already mentioned that after, had done the above obser- 

 vations, I saved what was left of ail the culture solutions. Daily 

 or M^eekly tests were regularly performed to see, whether their 

 concentration of diastase was diminishing and if so, how. It is 

 hardly possible to give ail my results, as there are some hundreds 

 of observations. There is also no necessity to do so, because i can 

 state in a few words what can be learnt from them. 



The culture solutions of the three séries, grown on 0.5^o starch, 

 seemed to préserve their enzyme concentration for an indefinite 

 time, The hydrolysing power of thèse solutions was as great after 

 about ten months as it had been on the first day when the solution 

 had been filtered from the mycélium ^ There are a few exceptions 

 to this however in the case of the A G séries. The reader will 

 remember that the development of mycélium was the greatest 

 in this séries of the three and reached its maximum between the 

 9 and 13 days. The culture solutions which had been ob- 

 tamed on thèse four days showed a decrease in the enzyme concen- 

 tration. After 34 days there was found to be left of the original 

 concentration : 



in the liquld of the 7*'' day 50 % 



9**^ „ 60% 



11*^ „ 78% 



13'»^ „ 82% 



So there were enough of the inhibitory substances in thèse solutions 

 to retard the action of the enzyme. 



Of the A A séries I allowed one culture to grow for 1 75 days and 

 then I proceeded with it in the usual way. I expected that the 



^ This makes clear that the influence of the electric light during the hours of the 

 experiments, has been none. 



