- 136 - 



products, the opposite applying to the anorganic substances. The 

 content of soluble organic matter in the leaf now soon begins to in- 

 crease, and finally reaches an upper limit which is higher than in the 

 other organs. Contrary to this, the content of organic substance in 

 the inflorescences decreases very rapidly. It is remarkable that in 

 the leaf the quantity of soluble substances does not fluctuate perceptibly, 

 except at the period when the first inflorescences occur; about that 

 time a large decrease takes place. With regard to the solubility of 

 the anorganic substances the following facts were established: In the 

 root, after an initial increase, a decrease of solubility is observed during 

 the blossoming and also during the fructification, but in the end an 

 increase occurs again. The solubility of the mineral substances present 

 in the stalk diminishes up to the blossoming period, but increases again 

 up to the end of the vegetation. In the leaves and inflorescences, the 

 changes are imperceptible. 



The authors established by comparative examinations of control 

 plants growing up under normal conditions, and etiolised plants, that 

 the latter are much richer in water than the former. The absence 

 of light has this effect, that the dry substance shows a constantly 

 increasing content of soluble products, not only of bodies of an 

 anorganic, but also of those of an organic character. 



In plants deprived systematically of their inflorescences, the weight 

 of the system formed by the leaves and stalks is almost doubled. 

 The cause of this may be looked for in the fact that the plant has 

 been spared the loss of substance due to the work of fructification. 

 The change in the solubility of the vegetable substance occurs in the 

 same manner, both in the control plants and in those which have been 

 systematically deprived of their inflorescences. 



Two publications by E. Charabot and G. Laloue 1 ), on the 

 formation and distribution of the essential oil, and on the migration 

 of the odoriferous substances, in Artemisia Absyrithium and Verbena 

 Iriphylla, have already been discussed in our April Report 2 ). 



Hydrocarbons. 



Pin en e. The residual mixture of liquid chlorides obtained in 

 producing pinene hydrochloride from American oil of turpentine has 

 been examined by O. Aschan 3 ). By decomposing the chlorides with 

 bases at increased temperature and by prolonged fractionating, finally 

 over sodium, he obtained a terpene C 10 H 16 of the b. p. 145 to 148 , 



*) Bull. Soc. chim. IV. 1 (1907), 280 and 640; Compt. rend. 144 (1907), 

 808; comp. Bericht Roure-Bertrand Fils, October 1906, 1. 

 2 ) Report April 1907, 126 and 127. 

 8 ) Berl. Berichte 40 (1907), 2250. 



