600 REPORT — 1901. 



to him the facts of the case. In the second case the question becomes more 

 complicated. 



Mv view — a view shared by many eminent chemists present at this meeting — 

 is that it would be hij^hly advantageous to appoint a small committee to consider 

 the question and to report on it. 



The intention of this article has been to again call attention to a subject which, 

 though frequently the object of fruitless endeavours, yet by its very reasonable- 

 ness deserves success. Organic chemists will find that they will have to present a 

 very strong case, influentially backed, before they can persuade such officials of 

 the Treasury and Board of Inland Revenue as do not possess the scientific mind 

 to recognise the importance of the subject ; yet the time is coming when 



' the thoughts of men are widen'd with the process of the suns.' 



2. The Coal Tar Industry. 

 By Dr. A. G. Green. — See Reports, p. 2.'52. 



Report on a New Series of Wave-length Tables of the Spectra 

 of the Elements. — See Reports, p. 79. 



FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13. 

 The following Papers were read : — 



1. Enzyme Action. By Adrian J. Brown. 



The author has already shown ^ that in alcoholic fermentation a constant 

 weight of sugar is decomposed in imit time by a constant amount of yeast in solu- 

 tions containing different amounts of sugar, and has called attention to the fact 

 that in this respect the action of fermentation differs essentially from that of inver- 

 sion, which, according to C. O'Sullivan and Tompson, follows the law of mass 

 action." 



So long as the phenomenon of fermentation was believed to be a life function 

 inseparable from the living yeast cell, it did not appear remarkable that the order 

 of progression of its action should differ from that of inversion ; but since Buchner 

 has shown that fermentation, like inversion, is an enzyme action, this point of 

 difference required further investigation. 



The author has examined the action of invertase on cane sugar experimentally, 

 and demonstrates that the action as usually studied does not follow the law of 

 mass action, but resembles that of fermentation. 



The curve of action of invertase found bj C. O'Sullivan and Tompson does not 

 instance mass action, but, as suggested by Duclaux,^ its form is due to the arresting 

 influence of inversion products. J. O'Sullivan's experiments ' on the power of 

 inversion of living yeast cells are referred to, and it is shown that the results of 

 his experiments also confirm the author's conclusion. 



But although the action of inversion as studied by C. O'Sullivan and Tompson, 

 J. O'Sullivan, and the author does not follow the law of mass action, the author 

 does not regard the action, however produced, as independent of mass influence, 

 and considers that the influence of mass in inversion changes as it has hitherto 

 been .studied is restricted by some other influence. This influence he believes 

 exists in the time factor of molecular change. 



» J. Chem. Soc, 61, 1802, ?,S0. - Ibid., 67, 1890, S65. 



• Ann. Inst. Pasteur, 1?9S. ♦ J. Chem, Soc, 61, 1892, 926. 



