1921] CHOATE—WHEAT GERMINATION 419 
protein present, and accordingly in order to obtain more exact 
knowledge on this point macrochemical analyses were made. 
Miss ECKERSON (10) has shown that in ripening wheat aspara- 
gine, arginine, histidine, and leucine are present. As the formation 
of the proteins proceeds during desiccation, these amino acids 
disappear almost entirely, and only a trace of asparagine is left in 
the ripened grain. LEHMAN and OLTENWALDER (15) stated that 
unripened seeds frequently germinate more readily than wholly 
ripened ones because of the presence in the former of amino acids 
and active proteolytic enzymes, while in fully ripened seeds these 
enzymes which hydrolyze the storage proteins into more available 
forms are not always present in an active state. All investigations 
thus far indicate an increase in the amino acid content of seedlings 
during germination. Undoubtedly the most important work on 
this subject has been done by Scuu1zeE and his associates (19, 20) 
on the seedlings of Lupinus luteus and other leguminous plants, 
although in most cases on seedlings older than the wheat under 
consideration. In general he found that the first amino acids to 
appear are leucine, tyrosine, and the hexone bases, and concluded 
that the asparagine-found somewhat later is a secondary product, 
formed from the mono-amino acids which serve as a storage sub- 
stance to be used again in protein building. As the growth of the 
seedling advances, the asparagine content increases, while the 
amounts of the earlier formed acids decrease. The earlier theory 
of DETMER’s (9) that asparagine is a primary product of protein 
hydrolysis, and that its accumulation in seedlings grown in the 
dark is due to the absence of carbohydrates to unite with it to 
form new protein, seems improbable, as ScHULZE found almost as 
much in seedlings grown in the light as in the dark, and micro- 
chemical analysis clearly shows large quantities of sugar present 
in the coleoptile together with the asparagine in the seedlings 
over four days old. 
The object of the analysis recorded in table V was not to 
isolate individual amino acids, but simply to determine the total 
amount of such substances. Determinations were made at three 
stages: (A) the ungerminated grain, (B) seedlings 3.5 days 
old, and (C) seedlings 6 days old. The temperature of the 
