[Vor. 5 
246 ANNALS OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 
*amide" compounds. Increased inhibition accompanied 
greater doses. Similar results are reported to have been ob- 
tained with barley and with bulbs of Crocus. 
For data bearing on the effect of anaesthetics on ripe or 
resting organs, a series of tests were made on onion bulbs. 
Etherization for a protracted period had the effect of check- 
ing the loss of ‘‘amide’’ nitrogen compounds. Crocus bulbs 
showed a loss in reducing sugars corresponding with the 
length of exposure to ether; the after-effect indicated sugar 
accumulation much in excess of the slower increase in con- 
‘trol bulbs. Johannsen does not account for sugar decrease 
during the time of narcosis. A lengthy discussion of the re- 
sults, very briefly summarized elsewhere (’96), concludes the 
paper. With respect to protein metabolism, Johannsen con- 
siders the alternative possibilities of the action of ether 
directly upon enzyme action or upon the condensation pro- 
cesses. The theory of the effect of the anaesthetic as a stim- 
ulus converting zymogen into an active proteolytic enzyme, 
—as Green (’87) believed was effected by acids,—is not ac- 
cepted. To Johannsen the effect upon the condensation proc- 
esses seems the satisfactory explanation. According to his 
view, two directly opposing changes take place simultaneously 
in ripening and resting organs,—a condensation of ‘‘amide”’ 
substances into proteins, and the reverse. Etherization re- 
duces or stops the first of these processes, so that the second 
is more effective. The absence of direct proof of this rela- 
tion is, however, admitted. 
For carbohydrates the conclusion is reached that weak 
dosages accelerated loss of sugar in ripening organs by ac- 
celerating condensation processes; medium and strong con- 
centrations retarded and probably inhibited condensation and 
resulted in the increased sugar content. Where such increase 
occurred without etherization, the treatment strongly accel- 
erated it. Very strong doses caused a relative reduction of 
sugar accumulation during and after narcosis. The general 
after-effect is a reversal of chemical changes, so that hydro- 
lytic action predominates. In many organs this results in the 
