NARCISSUS. 



587 



or 7 common secondary lamellse; (3) 4 to 7 or 8 hila in 

 an amorphous-looking mass of starch which is surrounded 

 by 1 or 2 secondary lamellae. There are more compound 

 grains and fewer aggregates than in JV. leedsii minnie 

 hume. The aggregates are of 2 or 3 small grains 

 arranged linearly. There are a few grains in which a pri- 

 mary and a secondary starch formation may be seen, 

 somewhat fewer than in N. leedsii minnie hume. The 

 grains are not so irregular as in N. leedsii minnie hume 

 and the irregularities which occur are due to the follow- 

 ing causes, which are the same as those in N. leedsii 

 minnie hume: (1) Small or large rounded or pointed 

 protuberances from the sides or ends; (2) small irregular 

 elevations and depressions of the surfaces or margins of 

 the grains; (3) a greater development of one part of the 

 distal end or of one side; (4) a deviation of the long 

 axis at either end, with a consequent bending of the 

 grain. The conspicuous forms are ovoid, which may be 

 broad or narrow, and lenticular. The additional forms 

 are broad elliptical,- reniform, irregularly quadrilateral 

 with rounded corners, triangular, round, nearly round, 

 and dome-shaped. As in N. leedsii minnie hume some 

 of the larger grains are flattened, but most of the grains 

 are not flattened. 



The hilum, when not fissured, is a rather indistinct 

 small, round, or lenticular-shaped spot. It is more often 

 and more deeply and extensively fissured than in N. 

 leedsii minnie hume. The fissures have the following 

 forms, which are the same as those seen in N. leedsii 

 minnie hume: (1) V-, Y-, or cruciate-shaped; (2) a 

 single straight or curved transverse or oblique line; (3) 

 a flying-bird figure; (4) an irregularly stellate collec- 

 tion of fissures. The hilum is sometimes centric, but in 

 the majority of the grains it is eccentric from 0.45 to 

 0.18, usually 0.33, of the longitudinal axis. 



The lamellai are usually not visible, and when they 

 can be seen appear as rather fine continuous rings which, 

 when near the hilum, often do not conform to the outline 

 of the grain, but which follow this closely when, near the 

 margin. The lamellae are not so often distinct nor so 

 fine as in N. leedsii minnie hume. The whole number 

 on the grains can not be counted. 



In size the grains vary from the smaller which are 

 2 by 2fi, to the larger broad forms which are 40 by 

 40/x, and the elongated forms which are 40 by 30/*, in 

 length and breadth. The common sizes are 24 by 20/* 

 and 24 by 24/t. The grains, as a whole, are smaller 

 than in N. leedsii minnie hume. 



POLARISCOPIC PROPERTIES. 



The figure is usually distinct and is somewhat better 

 defined than in N. leedsii minnie hume. The lines 

 cross at a right angle or at an acute angle which does not 

 vary any more in size than in N. leedsii minnie hume. 

 They are not so often bent or bisected as in N. leedsii 

 minnie hume, nor are there so often 5 or 6 lines instead 

 of 4. The figure is not so often in the form of a conju- 

 gate hyperbola, or of a long line with bisected ends. 



The degree of polarization varies from low to high 

 (value 50), more than in N. leedsii minnie hume, as 

 there are a few more grains in which it is moderately 

 high, and higher than in that starch. There is also less 

 variation in a given aspect of an individual grain. 



With selenite the quadrants are more often clear-cut, 

 and are more regular in shape, but just as unequal in size 

 as in N. leedsii minnie hume. The colors are usually 

 not pure, but more often pure, and there are more grains 

 which have a greenish tinge than in N. leedsii minnie 

 hume. 



IODINE REACTIONS. 



With 0.25 per cent Lugol's solution the grains all 

 color a deep violet tinged with blue (value 65), more 

 than in N. leedsii minnie hume, and with more of a 

 bluish tint. The color deepens with great rapidity until 

 very deep and more bluish. With 0.125 per cent Lugol's 

 solution the grains color a light to moderate violet tinged 

 with blue, more than in JV. leedsii minnie hume, and with 

 more of a bluish tint. The color deepens rapidly until 

 very deep and more bluish. If the grains are heated 

 in water until they are all gelatinized and then treated 

 with a 2 per cent Lugol's solution, the gelatinized grains 

 all color a moderate indigo-blue, less than in N. leedsii 

 minnie hume; and the solution a deep indigo-blue, more 

 than in N. leedsii minnie hume. If the preparation is 

 boiled for 2 minutes and then treated with a 2 per cent 

 Lugol's solution, the grain-residues all color a light 

 indigo-blue, less than in N. leedsii minnie hume; the 

 capsules red or reddish violet, more reddish than in 

 N. leedsii minnie hume; and the solution a very deep 

 indigo-blue, the same as in N. leedsii minnie hume. 



ANILINE REACTIONS. 



With gentian violet the grains all color very lightly at 

 once, and in 30 minutes they are light to moderately 

 colored (value 35), somewhat less than in N. leedsii min- 

 nie hume. The grains are all equally colored and there 

 is no variation in color in different parts of the individual 

 grains. 



With safranin the grains all color very lightly at once, 

 and in 30 minutes they are light to moderately colored 

 (value 40), the same as in N. leedsii minnie hume. The 

 grains are all equally colored and there is no variation 

 in color in different parts of the individual grains. 



TEMPERATURE REACTIONS. 



The temperature of gelatinization of the majority 

 of the grains is 70 to 71 C., and of all is 73 to 75 C., 

 mean 74 C. 



EFFECTS OF VARIOUS REAGENTS. 



The reaction with chloral hydrate begins in rare 

 grains in 2 minutes. Complete gelatinization occurs in 

 less than 0.5 per cent of the grains and total starch 

 in 5 minutes ; in about 1 per cent of the grains and 2 per 

 cent of the total starch in 15 minutes; in about 4 per 

 cent of the grains and 7 per cent of the total starch in 

 30 minutes; in about 9 per cent of the grains and 11 per 

 cent of the total starch in 45 minutes; and in little if 

 any further advance in 60 minutes. (Chart D 335.) 



The hilum becomes distinct, accompanied by the 

 formation of a bubble in many more grains than in 

 JV. leedsii minnie hume. The lamellae are not visible in 

 any of the grains. The grains are more refractive than in 

 JV. leedsii minnie hume and the first portion to show this 

 is a rather narrow part of the margin. Gelatinization 

 begins at the distal margin and progresses in general 

 according to the two methods described under JV. leedsii 

 minnie hume. In the first, which is seen in a smaller 



