GENERA 8TERNBERGIA AND NARCISSUS. 665 



The reaction with chromic acid begins in IJ^ minutes and is over in 7 minutes. The grain be- 

 comes covered by fine striiB which grow larger, and a bubble is formed at the hilum, which swells, 

 then decreases in size, and then disappears. The whole of the inner part of the grain out to the mar- 

 gin now passes into a gelatinous mass, and a band of the more resistant non-gelatinized starch 

 forms at the margin. As this process proceeds, the grain swells and the thin gelatinous capsule that 

 is formed is dissolved, usually at the proximal end, and the inclosed gelatinized starch escapes and is 

 dissolved, followed by solution of the capsule. 



With pyrogallic acid the reaction begins in some grains in 2 minutes. About one-third are 

 partially and two-thirds completely gelatinized in 14 minutes and all are completely gelatinized 

 in 25 minutes. The reaction begins with a slight swelling of the hilum and the appearance of fine 

 striae which radiate throughout the grain. The whole grain is now changed into a gelatinous mass 

 without any sharp division of the inner gelatinous substance and the thick marginal ring. As the 

 process goes on the grain swells, and finally a large, distorted, and folded, thin-walled gelatinous 

 mass is formed. 



The reaction with ferric chloride begins in a few grains in 2 minutes. About three-fourths are 

 completely gelatinized in 20 minutes and all in 65 minutes. The reaction generally begins at the 

 distal end, where the starch becomes gelatinous and swells. The reaction progresses around the 

 margin of the grain, the starch near the margin often becoming first divided from that of the 

 interior of the grain by a line of ungelatinized starch, which line later gelatinizes. When the whole 

 of the marginal starch is gelatinized the process moves inward. The ungelatinized starch is in- 

 vaded by fissures, dividing it into several, irregular pieces, which are moved apart by the gelatini- 

 zation of the substance between, and later themselves gelatinize. The gelatinized grains are very 

 large, wrinkled, folded, and distorted, and do not retain much of the original form. 



Reaction with Purdy's solulion begins in some grains in IJ^ minutes. About one-fourth are 

 partially gelatinized in 15 minutes, one-half in 30 minutes, and only one-third of the grains are com- 

 pletely gelatinized in \% hours. The reaction is the same qualitatively as that to pyrogallic acid. 



GENUS NARCISSUS. 



Baker states that this genus includes 16 species, but according to horticulturists there are thrice 

 this many. The number of garden forms is very large. Most of the narcissi are natives of south- 

 western Europe and the Mediterranean region. Starches from 13 sources were studied: N. hors- 

 fieldii Burb., a form referred to the Pseudo-narcissus Linn., or common daffodil; N. maximus Hort., 

 a form also referred to the Pseudo-narcissus; N. bulbocodium Linn., the hoop-petticoat daffodil; N. 

 bulbocodium var. conspicua Hort.; N. bulbocodium var. nionophyllus Baker (N. monophyUus Moore; 

 N. clusii Dunal); A'', incomparabilis Mill.; A'^. odorus Linn.; A'^. poeticus Linn., the pheasant's eye 

 narcissus; N. biflorus Curt., the primrose peerless narcissus; N. jonquilla Linn., the jonquil; N. 

 jonquilla var. ruguhsus Hort.; N. jonquilla var. campemelli rugulosus Hort.; and N. tazetta var. 

 orientalis Hort., the Chinese sacred lily. 



According to Baily's classification these narcissi are grouped as follows: 

 I. Magnicoronati or large-crowned — N. horsfieldii, N. maximus, N. bulbocodium and its 

 varieties. 

 II. Mediocoronati or medium-crowned — A^. incomparabilis and N. odorus. 

 III. Parvicoronati or small-crowned — N. poeticus, N. biflorus, N. jonquilla and its varieties, and 

 N. tazetta var. orientalis. 



STARCH OF NARCISSUS HORSFIELDII. (Plate 58, figs. 345 and 346. Chart 228.) 



Histological Characteristics. — In form the grains are usually simple. There are a few compound 

 grains and a few small aggregates. The surface of the grains is somewhat irregular, owing to un- 

 equal development, with a tendency to nipple-like projections and shallow depressions. The con- 

 spicuous forms are irregularly ovoid, oval to elliptical; other forms are also lenticular, quadrilateral 

 with rounded comers, irregularly rounded, pyriform, bottle- or gourd-shaped. The broader forms 

 are about half as thick as wide, and the narrower forms have about the same thickness as width. 



The hilum is small and fairly distinct. It may be eccentric, but is usually eccentric about 

 two-fifths to one-fourth of the longitudinal axis. It is fissured, the fissure generally being small, 

 transverse or diagonal, and clean-cut or ragged. It may be 3-armed or irregularly stellate. The 

 hilum is often double or multiple, and usually arranged linearly in a non-lamellated space. The hila 



