﻿92 
  

  

  PROCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  FOURTH 
  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
  MEETING 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Htisain. 
  

  

  Sir. 
  Andrews. 
  

   Mr. 
  Sen. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Andrews." 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Sen. 
  

  

  Tea-seed 
  bug 
  infects 
  the 
  seed. 
  The 
  fungus 
  is 
  an 
  ordinary 
  Penicillium. 
  

   Mr. 
  Misra 
  suggests 
  germination 
  tests 
  to 
  discover 
  the 
  amount 
  of 
  damage, 
  

   but 
  these 
  would 
  prove 
  nothing. 
  In 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  Tea-seed 
  bug 
  germina- 
  

   tion 
  results 
  of 
  attacked 
  seed 
  showed 
  results 
  of 
  from 
  100 
  per 
  cent, 
  to 
  40 
  

   per 
  cent.; 
  the 
  percentage 
  of 
  germination 
  is 
  purely 
  accidental, 
  depending 
  

   on 
  the 
  course 
  taken 
  by 
  the 
  fungus 
  in 
  growth 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  position 
  of 
  the 
  

   puncture, 
  also 
  of 
  the 
  time 
  since 
  this 
  was 
  made. 
  If 
  only 
  the 
  cotyledons 
  

   are 
  infected, 
  the 
  seed 
  germinates 
  and 
  you 
  get 
  a 
  plant, 
  but 
  if 
  the 
  fungus 
  

   has 
  attacked 
  the 
  growing 
  point, 
  you 
  do 
  not. 
  Tests 
  only 
  show 
  the 
  damage 
  

   done 
  by 
  the 
  accidental 
  growth 
  of 
  the 
  fungus 
  to 
  the 
  growing 
  point. 
  The 
  

   dark 
  discoloured 
  area 
  around 
  a 
  puncture 
  is 
  due 
  to 
  precipitation 
  by 
  the 
  

   enzyme. 
  

  

  I 
  found 
  that 
  these 
  areas 
  were 
  caused 
  by 
  cork 
  formation. 
  

  

  Cork 
  forms 
  eventually, 
  but 
  at 
  first 
  there 
  is 
  precipitation. 
  

  

  Could 
  it 
  not 
  be 
  a 
  definite 
  compound 
  and 
  not 
  an 
  enzyme 
  which 
  causes 
  

   precipitation 
  ? 
  In 
  the 
  human 
  saliva; 
  the 
  chief 
  enzyme, 
  Ptyalin, 
  converts 
  

   starch 
  into 
  sugar. 
  Is 
  it 
  not 
  more 
  likely 
  that 
  the 
  action 
  of 
  the 
  enzyme 
  

   in 
  the 
  insect 
  saliva 
  should 
  be 
  associated 
  with 
  similar 
  conversion 
  ? 
  

  

  Whatever 
  is 
  injected 
  behaves 
  as 
  an 
  enzyme 
  ; 
  it 
  starts 
  a 
  reaction 
  and 
  

   carries 
  it 
  on. 
  Many 
  enzymes 
  are 
  chemical 
  compounds 
  of 
  which 
  we 
  

   do 
  not 
  know 
  the 
  formula. 
  In 
  this 
  case, 
  whatever 
  it 
  is, 
  its 
  action 
  is 
  enzy- 
  

   matic 
  and 
  goes 
  on 
  after 
  the 
  insect 
  has 
  departed. 
  You 
  cannot 
  say 
  a 
  

   thing 
  of 
  unl^nown 
  composition 
  is 
  not 
  a 
  chemical 
  compound. 
  

  

  I 
  thought, 
  in 
  practice, 
  the 
  line 
  of 
  demarcation 
  between 
  definite 
  

   chemical 
  compounds 
  and 
  enzymes 
  was 
  considered 
  sharp. 
  

  

  