NARCISSUS. 



549 



I'lic figure is not always a cross, but sometimes has the 

 form of a conjugate hyperbola, or of a long line bisected 

 at both ends. 



The degree of polarization varies from low to high 

 (value 35). There are very few grains which have as 

 high a degree of polarization, most of them being low 

 or moderate. Tbere is a little variation in the same 

 aspect of an individual grain. 



With selenite the quadrants are usually not clean- 

 cut, and arc unequal in size and often irregular in shape. 

 The colors are rarely pure and there are very few which 

 have a greenish tinge. 



Comparison of the polariseopic properties between 

 N. poeticus poetarum and N. princess mary shows: 



The figure is as distinct, but not so often well de- 

 fined. The lines cross at an acute angle, of more variable 

 size, and are more apt to be bent and bisected. There 

 are also more figures which have the forms of a conjugate 

 hyperbola, or a long line bisected at both ends. 



The degree of polarization is somewhat more nearly 

 moderate (value 40), there are more grains with a high 

 and a moderate degree of polarization than in N. princess 

 mary, and there is some variation in a given aspect of 

 an individual grain. 



With selenite the quadrants are less often clean-cut 

 and are more irregular in shape. The colors are more 

 often pure and there are more grains which have a 

 greenish tinge. 



Iodine Reactions. 



With 0.25 per cent Lugol's solution the grains all 

 color a light to moderate violet tinged with blue (value 

 42), and the color deepens with moderate rapidity until 

 all the grains are very deeply colored and bluer in tint. 

 With 0.125 per cent Lugol's solution the grains all color 

 a light violet, and the color deepens with moderate 

 rapidity until the grains are deeply colored and have a 

 bluish tint. After heating in water until all the grains 

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

 tion, the gelatinized grains color a deep or a moderate 

 indigo, and the solution a moderate indigo. If the 

 preparation is boiled for 2 minutes and then treated 

 with an excess of a 2 per cent Lugol's solution, the 

 grain-residues color a moderate or a light to moderate 

 indigo, the capsules a reddish violet, and the solution 

 a deep indigo. 



Comparison of the iodine reactions between N. poeti- 

 cus poetarum and IV. princess mary shows : 



With 0.25 per cent Lugol's solution the grains color 

 somewhat more than in N, princess mary (value 45), 

 and so also with 0.125 per cent solution. After heating 

 in water until the grains are all gelatinized and then 

 adding a 2 per cent Lugol's solution, the gelatinized 

 grains color less and the solution more than in N. princess 

 mary. After heating for 2 minutes and then adding a 

 2 per cent Lugol's solution, the grain-residues are less and 

 the solution is more deeply colored than in N. princess 

 mary. 



Aniline Reactions. 



With gentian violet the grains all color very lightly at 

 once, and in 30 minutes they are light to moderately 

 colored (value 37). The grains are all equally stained 

 and there is no variation in depth of color in different 

 parts of the individual grains. 



With safranin the grains all color very lightly at 

 once, and in :i<) minutes they are moderately colored 

 (value 50), more than with gentian violet. The grains 

 are all equally stained and there is no variation in depth 

 of color in different parts of the individual grains. 



Comparison of the aniline reactions between N. poeti- 

 cus poetarum and N. princess mary shows : 



With gentian violet the grains are somewhat more 

 lightly stained (value 35) than in N. princess mary, and 

 with safranin, they are stained to the same depth 

 (value 50). 



Temperature Reactions. 



The temperature of gelatinization of the majority of 

 the grains is 70° to 72° C, and of all is 74° to 76° C, 

 mean 75° C. 



Comparison of the temperature reactions between 

 N. poeticus poetarum and N. princess mary shows: 



The temperature of gelatinization is much lower than 

 that of N. princess mary, 71° to 73° C, mean 72° C, 

 a difference of 3° C. mean. 



Effects of Various Reaoents. 



The reaction with chloral hydrate begins in 2 min- 

 utes. Complete gelatinization occurs in less than 0.5 per 

 cent of the entire number of grains and 2 per cent of 

 the total starch in 5 minutes; in about 2 per cent of 

 the grains and 5 per cent of the total starch in 15 min- 

 utes; in about 3 per cent of the grains and 6 per cent 

 of the total starch in 30 minutes; in about 6 per cent 

 of the grains and 8 per cent of the total starch in 45 

 minutes; in about 11 per cent of the grains and 15 per 

 cent of the total starch in 60 minutes. (Chart D 299.) 



The hilum is not distinct unless a bubble appears 

 there, and a rather large bubble is formed in about one- 

 third of the total number of grains. The lamellas are not 

 visible at any time during the reaction. The grains 

 become more refractive after the addition of the reagent, 

 and in many grains the first portion to show this is a 

 rather narrow band of starch at the margin, but many 

 other grains show at once all over the surface an in- 

 creased refractivity. Gelatinization begins at one or two 

 points on the margin, usually at the distal end. In the 

 slender ovoid, lenticular, and elliptical grains, which are 

 less resistant than the broader forms, gelatinization 

 spreads from the initial points until the whole distal 

 margin is gelatinized and the reaction proceeds toward 

 the hilum, preceded by longitudinal Assuring of the un- 

 gelatinized starch and by separation of particles of this 

 material, which float off and are gelatinized ; the hilum 

 when reached swells rapidly, and the bubble if present 

 swells, then shrinks, and finally disappears, and the 

 proximal portion gradually gelatinizes last. In the 

 broad, more resistant forms gelatinization proceeds 

 toward the hilum from the initial points, so that great 

 cup-shaped depressions are hollowed out of the ungela- 

 tinized starch. These depressions draw nearer to one 

 another until they finally coalesce; when the hilum is 

 reached it swells rapidly, and the bubble, if present, 

 swells, then shrinks, and finally disappears, and the 

 proximal starch, which is the last to be gelatinized, 

 is then rapidly gelatinized. 



The gelatinized grains are much swollen and have 

 moderately thick capsules. They are considerably dis- 

 torted, and do not bear any resemblance to the form 

 of the untreated grain. 



