104 The Botanical Gazette. (March, 
ganization of the simplest kind, and this I call the elementary 
structure.” The visible structure of living beings may be 
studied up to a certain point, as it has been, yet it become 
almost necessary to have a further theoretical basis for the 
explanation of the many important results reached in the phys | 
iology of the vegetable cell, and this is furnished by the | 
‘‘plasome” of Wiesner. His theory has its foundation in th 
phenomena of division in the vegetable kingdom. Organized 
individuals, like nuclei, chlorophyll grains, plastids, etc., a 
not the elementary organisms in his mind, but, as all visible 
organic units in the cell are propagated by division, it ® 
assumed that the elementary organs or plasomes are ef 
formed and propagated this way. These plasomes “hold the 
specific properties of the living substance, undergo divisio 
grow, and assimilate.” Wiesner’s book is written in ade 
able language, and will be of interest to both botanists @ 
zoologists. It contains many useful notes, and may be rega” 
as being, in many respects, as important a contribution ® 
Nigeli’s ‘‘Stiirkekérner” was. 4 
Loew and Bokorny published! a very interesting pape 
,, Zur Chemie der Proteosomen, ‘‘ which claims the correctnes 
of earlier investigations against Klemms’ objections. In 7 
Biologisches Centralblatt x1, 5, and in Nature XLVI, 49h 
brief articles have been published on the same subject. . 
present paper deals almost exclusively with the ee 
teosomes,” 7. ¢., globular masses formed in the living pare 
fap | 
; ’ i - 
with a 0.5 per cent. solution of coffein or antipyt® 
proteosomes consist of ‘‘active albumen’ h shows 
plants keep alive for a number of days. ‘ rhe 
ever, the proteosomes have not the same properties zs 048 
mentioned above; while the globules of living cells ar 
dissolved in water of 25°-30° C., those of the dead © 
main unchanged, and ‘‘display all the properties a oa 
coagulated albumen.” This latter form of proteos? 
sist of ‘‘passive albumen.” 
3 
% 
whiieniaetincmtal ec oes, - 
1°Flora, 1892, Erganzungsband, p. 117-129. 
