1915] BRIEFER ARTICLES 409 
though the structure of the cell had not been seriously affected, no 
granules were formed, since the boiling had destroyed the ferment.’ 
An examination of the results summarized in the table shows that, 
so far as one is able to judge by color changes, the algae as a class possess 
a ferment capable of activating the oxidation of a limited number of 
compounds. In other words, it appears that this ferment is specific in 
its action. The condition is not surprising, inasmuch as it is char- 
acteristic, to a greater or less extent, of all ferments and has many 
parallels among the oxidases themselves. 
From the uniformity of results with the forms examined, it is ap- 
parent that the oxidases are of general occurence among the algae. 
These, and the writer’s observations on acid tissues, indicate that the 
oxidases are universally distributed in living plants, and that other cases 
of their apparent absence may be explained in ways similar to those 
herein discussed.—G. B. REED, Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Harvard 
University. 
3A more detailed account of the formation of these granules in plant cells is soon 
to be published. 
