[Vor. 3 
484 ANNALS OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 
distilled water there was no diminution of coherence of the 
tissues. Thus, the presence of pectinase may be demonstrated 
in the mycelium of L. saepiaria, while there are no indications 
of the presence of pectase. 
The effect of the cyto-hydrolyzing enzymes as demonstrated 
by microchemical observations on the sound and decayed 
wood.—Pine wood is composed of tracheids with one row of 
bordered pits in the radial walls. The annual rings are 
usually well differentiated into spring and summer wood, 
especially in the heart. Resin ducts occur among the 
tracheids, extending longitudinally, as well as radially, in the 
medullary rays. The resin ducts are surrounded with wood 
parenchyma. The sap-wood is lighter in color than the heart, 
probably due to oxidation, since the lumen of the heart 
tracheids are well aérated, as well as to the presence of tan- 
noid bodies which become darker with continued exposure to 
air. The sap-wood, of course, is not so thoroughly lignified 
as the heart-wood, and often the inner lamella gives the cellu- 
lose test with zine chloriodid. 
The wood that has been attacked by L. saepiaria is darker 
in color than the sound wood; it is also very brittle and when 
crushed between the fingers breaks into a fine powder. It is 
evident that marked changes take place in the wood due to 
the action of enzymes produced by the fungus. To determine 
what some of these changes are and something about their 
sequence, I resorted to microchemical tests. To this end sec- 
tions of sound wood and wood in various stages of decay were 
examined. Free-hand sections were made longitudinally, but 
in the later stages of decay it is impossible to cut transverse 
sections because of the brittle character of the tissues. Small 
pieces, carefully cut down to 0.5-се. cubes, were imbedded in 
celloidin, and from these then the free-hand, transverse sec- 
tions were cut. 
The sound sap-wood gave the following tests: 
(1) An alcoholic solution of phloroglucin with an addi- 
tion of hydrochloric acid gave a deep red in the middle 
lamella, dark red in the secondary, and pink in the tertiary 
lamella. 
