HIPPEASTRUM. 



397 



arranged may be seen. The grains tend to be regular 

 in form though rarely is a perfectly regular form seen, 



the rest havingvery numerous slight irregularities. These 

 irregularities are due to the following causes: (1) Small 

 nipple-like and larger pointed protuberances from either 

 end and occasionally from the sides; (2) shallow de- 

 pressions in and flattening of the margin, probably not 

 in the nature of pressure facets; (3) a greater develop- 

 ment of one part of the distal end or of one side. The 

 conspicuous forms are ovoid, elongated or broad, pointed 

 at one end or blunt at both ends, elliptical and nearly 

 round. There are also plano-convex, dome-shaped, round, 

 triangular, irregularly quadrilateral with rounded cor- 

 ners, reniform, finger-shaped, and lenticular forms. 



The hilum, when not fissured, is not very distinct and 

 appears of a round or elongated lenticular shape. In 

 the latter ease it is situated in the longitudinal axis of 

 the grain. The hilum is often fissured, and the fissures 

 take the following forms: (1) A single fissure which 

 is not long but which is deep and usually not straight 

 but angled, from which single fissure other small fissures 

 sometimes branch out; (2) an irregularly cruciform or 

 Y-shaped fissure; (3) a small, straight horizontal or 

 oblique fissure. When more than one hila occur they 

 are usually separated by small straight fissures, or they 

 may be connected by a straight fissure between the two. 

 The hilum is often centric, but is more frequently eccen- 

 tric, the range of eccentricity being from 0.45 to 0.29, 

 commonly 0.35. 



The lamellae are often indistinct, but when they can 

 be seen they appear as rather coarse bands which are 

 always continuous near the hilum and sometimes through- 

 out the rest of the grain, but in other cases they become 

 discontinuous. Near the hilum they are round, oval, 

 or have the form of the outline of the grain ; throughout 

 the rest of the grains they have in general the form of 

 the contour, in some cases, however, considerably modi- 

 fied. The number counted on some of the common size 

 and larger grains varied from 8 to 12. 



The size of the grains varies from the smaller, which 

 are 5 by 5/i, to the larger elongated forms, which are 40 

 by 30/t, and the larger broad forms, which are 40 by 36/t 

 or even, rarely, 24 by 40/* in length and breadth. The 

 common sizes are 23 by 14/*, 24 by 20/i, and 20 by 24/*. 



Polariscopic Properties. 



The figure is centric to very eccentric, the mean is 

 nearly centric ; it is usually distinct and clean-cut. The 

 lines vary from fine to moderately coarse and usually 

 intersect obliquely, but they may be so arranged as to 

 form a median line with bisected ends or intersect at 

 right angles. In the greater number of grains the lines 

 are straight with broadening at the margin, yet they 

 are sometimes either bent or bisected. Double and multi- 

 ple figures are moderately frequent. 



The degree of polarization is high to very high (value 

 83). The range of polarization in the individual grains 

 is from moderately high to very high, but not many of the 

 former, and there is also frequent variation in the same 

 aspect of a given grain. 



With selenite the quadrants are generally well de- 

 fined, usually unequal in size, and regular in the majority 

 of grains, yet irregularity is moderately frequent. The 

 colors are usually pure. 



Iodine Reactions. 

 With 0.25 Lugol's solution the grains immediately 

 color a moderate blue-violet (value 52), and the color 

 deepens quickly, becoming bluer in tint. With 0.125 

 per cent Lugol's solution the grains become light to mod- 

 erate blue-violet, and the color deepens quickly to mod- 

 erately deep. After heating in water until the grains 

 are gelatinized and then adding a 2 per cent Lugol's 

 solution the gelatinized grains color very light to deep 

 blue, a few with reddish tint, since a majority of grains 

 are light; the mean is moderately light. The solution 

 colors a deep indigo-blue. If the preparation is boiled 

 for 2 minutes and then treated with an excess of 2 per 

 cent Lugol's solution, the grain-residues color from light 

 to deep blue, frequently tinged with red ; most of the 

 grain-residues are moderate in depth, and most of the 

 capsules color a light to deep heliotrope, a few old rose, 

 the mean being moderate in depth. The starch solution 

 colors a very deep indigo-blue. 



Aniline Reactions. 



With gentian violet the grains stain very lightly at 

 once, and in half an hour become moderately light to 

 moderate in depth (value 45). 



With safranin the grains color very light at once, 

 and in half an hour become moderate in depth (value 50). 



Temperature Reactions. 

 The majority of the grains are gelatinized at 74° 

 to 75° C, and of all but rare grains at 77° to 77.5° C, 

 mean 77.25° C. 



Effects of Various Reagents. 

 The reaction with chloral hydrate begins in a few 

 grains in 1 minute. Complete gelatinization occurs in 

 about 3 per cent of the entire number of grains and 6 per 

 cent of the total starch in 5 minutes; in about 17 per 

 cent of the grains and 21 per cent of the total starch in 

 15 minutes ; in about 27 per cent of the grains and 31 per 

 cent of the total starch in 30 minutes; in about 31 per 

 cent of the grains and 34 per cent of the total starch in 

 45 minutes ; little further change — about 36 per cent of 

 the total starch in 60 minutes. (Chart D 22.) One or 

 more small bubbles, more frequently the former, appear 

 at the hilum; and a fissure at the hilum frequently be- 

 comes enlarged and more refractive. The bubble is very 

 persistent, it usually does not expand much, but occasion- 

 ally considerable expansion occurs followed by rapid 

 gelatinization. The lamellae do not become more distinct 

 at once but occasionally a few are more sharply defined 

 previous to gelatinization. The entire grain becomes 

 very refractive, and a border of greater refractivity is 

 formed around the margin; this may broaden consider- 

 ably and become very well defined. The methods of gela- 

 tinization are quite varied. In the most rapidly gelatin- 

 ized grains a delicate fissure either proceeds from or in- 

 tersects the hilum, followed by gelatinization of the 

 mesial region before the refractive border ; if the hilum 

 is eccentric the most resistant portion of this border 

 is a narrow band at the proximal end ; gelatinization may 

 start either at the distal margin when the hilum is quite 

 eccentric, or at both ends if the hilum is centric or but 

 slightly eccentric, in the former a narrow band at the 

 proximal end and sides nearby is the most resistant and 

 in the latter a narrow band on either side of the centric 



