FORMATION OF ORGANIC MATTER 7 



C02+H20=CH20+02. 

 From formaldehyde glucose might be derived by a 

 simple process of condensation — 



The formation of carholujdrates in the plant is 

 plainly dependent on the presence of nitrogenous 

 matter, phosphates, potash, and the other essential 

 ingredients of plant food ; a plant poorly provided with 

 these substances produces only a small quantity of 

 carbohydrates, however much it be exposed to light. 

 The formation of carbohydrates is therefore regarded 

 by some as due to a splitting up of the nitrogenous 

 protoplasm, the nitrogenous residue left combming 

 with formaldehyde, and thus reconstituting the original 

 nitrogenous matter. 



Cane sugar {0-^^^fi^^ and starch (CgHi^Og) are 

 among the earHest products ; by enzymes these are 

 converted respectively into glucose (CgHi206) and 

 maltose (C12H22O11)) fo^ the nourishment of distant 

 parts of the plant, to which they are conveyed by the 

 movement of the sap. In parts where growth is taking 

 place, and new cells are being formed, the sugar of the 

 sap is converted into cellulose, the substance which 

 forms the cell walls, and of which the whole skeleton 

 of the plant primarily consists. In seeds, roots, and 

 tubers, where matter is to be stored up for future use, 

 the glucose is generally again converted into starch or 

 cane sugar. The transformation of these substances 

 presents no chemical difficulties, as all of them are 

 carbohydrates — that is, they are composed of carbon 

 and the elements of water. 



The mode in which albuminoids are formed in the 

 plant is not certainly known; possibly the nitrates 



