68 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [JANUARY 
should not affect the rate and nature of respiration, yet it would 
be very desirable to repeat Padt’s work, studying the rate of 
respiration along with presentation time and reaction time to 
discover whether there is a parallel effect with that on the res- 
piration rate and germination power of seeds. 
ZALESK® has noted the influence of oxygen on the rate of 
protein synthesis. IvanorF? has shown that oxygen is necessary 
for the transformation of zymogen into zymase, and, as is well 
known, there are a number of oxygen carriers and oxygen absorbers 
in the living cell. Xanthophyll and other pigments absorb oxygen, 
lecithin plays a similar réle, and PaLLApIN® has now shown that 
his respiratory chromogens take up oxygen readily. All of these 
facts go to show how complex the oxygen réle may be, and suggest 
some of the possibilities of even brief exposure of seeds to oxygen. 
On the other hand, however, it would be strange if the oxygen 
effect in some cases were not due simply to its influence upon 
respiration. The influence of the amount of oxygen present on 
aerobic and anaerobic respiration, which differ so markedly in the 
amount of energy released, is well known. Anaerobic may change 
over to aerobic on access of oxygen, with a consequent rapid rise 
in energy releasal leading to germination. 
With these Xanthium seeds it has been shown that when the 
oxygen supply is increased, it in some way brings about an imme- 
diate and rapid increase in the rate of oxygen absorption. At the 
same time, the increased oxygen supply brings about an immediate 
germination of the seeds. The two effects, increased absorption 
and germination, are closely correlated as regards their relation 
to the oxygen supply. This shows conclusively, I believe, that 
the assumption made by BECKER and LEHMANN, which led them 
to reject the idea that the influence was exerted through increased 
respiration, is not correct, so far as Xanthium is concerned. Nor 
does their work throw any light on this particular point, since they 
LESKI, W., Zur kenntnis der Stoffwechselprocesse in reifenden Samen. Beih. 
Bot. Centralbl. 27:63-82. 1911. 
*IvanorF, L., Uber die sogenannte Atmung der zerriebenen Samen. Ber- 
Deutsch. Bot. Gesells. 29:563-570. 1911. 
© Pattapin, W., and Torstaya, Z., Uber die Sauerstoffabsorption durch die 
Atmungschromogene der Pflanzen. Biochem. Zeitschr. 51:381-397. 1913- 
