[Vor. 3 
480 ANNALS OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 
tilled water, cracked, and the embryos removed. The hemi- 
cellulose thus prepared was autoclaved in distilled water at 
12 pounds pressure for 20 minutes to kill all enzymes present. 
The water was again decanted off, and the endosperms rinsed 
and allowed to remain in distilled water with toluol to pre- 
serve for future use. 
Van Tieghem cells were prepared, and very thin slices of 
hemicellulose were suspended in hanging drops of enzyme dis- 
persion, as follows: 
(1) Eight cells with hanging drops of mycelial dispersion. 
(2) Eight cells with hanging drops of sporophoral disper- 
sion. 
(3) Four cells with hanging drops of autoclaved mycelial 
dispersion. 
(4) Four cells with hanging drops of autoclaved sporo- 
phoral dispersion. 
(5) Four cells with hanging drops of distilled water. 
In the bottom of each cell was placed enough of the solu- 
tion of the same vapor tension as the hanging drop, so that 
evaporation of the drops was prevented. A drop of chloro- 
form was added to each cell as an antiseptic. These cells were 
examined from time to time, but no sign of the erosion of the 
hemicellulose was noticed until after 25 days. There was a 
slight indication of erosion in five of the drops of mycelial 
dispersion. The other three were contaminated with bacteria 
and showed slight erosion. There was no erosion in the con- 
trols except in one contaminated with bacteria. After 40 days 
three of the five drops of mycelial dispersion observed 2 weeks 
before were still perfectly aseptie, and two had dried down. 
The pieces of hemicellulose in the three cells were strongly 
eroded. In places only a granular substance was left. 
When the cover glasses were removed from these three cells 
there was a strong odor of chloroform still remaining in each. 
That they were perfectly aseptie was proven by removing from 
the drop what remained of the slice of hemicellulose, drying 
down the hanging drops on the cover slips, and flaming and 
staining the smear with gentian violet. There were no bac- 
teria or fungi present. There was no erosion in any of the 
