428 Miss J. White. The Ferments and [Mar. 3, 



Erepsin Ferments. 



Kind of S66(ls 



A 



Method. 



Time 

 acting on 



-Li y puu 



phane 



1VQ t*t"1 All 



1 CUKjIiLKJII. 



Per- 

 centage 

 germina- 

 tion. 



Percentage 

 germination 



with 

 pancreatin. 



Place 

 of origin. 



Wheat 



2\ years 



D. 



65 hours 



Good 



100 



98 



S. Australia. 



„ (Marshall's 



8 to 10 years 



D. 



65 „ 



>> 



14 



11 



Victoria. 



Prolific) 

















Barley (English)... 



4| years 



J). 



65 „ 





44 



44 





,, (Algerian) 



8 to 10 years 



D. 



65 „ 

















\\ years 



T>. 



65 „ 





92 



73 







8 to 10 years 



D. 



65 „ 



>> 













%e 



6 months 



D. 



65 „ 





100 







8 to 10 years 



P. 



65 „ 

















4J years 



D. 



64 „ 



» 



34 



30 







6 months 



D. 



65 „ 



Fairly good 



100 







„ (Golden King) 



4£ years 



D. 



65 „ 



?) 



60 



60 



New South 

















Wales. 



D. = Dean's method of extracting erepsin, ' Botanical Gazette,' vol. 39, May, 1905, p. 331. 



30 per cent, germination after treatment with pancreatin, so that the 

 apparent rise was of accidental origin. 



In concluding this section of the paper, the net results may be briefly 

 summarised as follows : — 



1. Although the germinating power continually decreases with advancing 

 age, the enzymes persist comparatively unaffected. 



2. Diastase is present in fairly large quantities in both fresh and old 

 resting seeds of wheat, barley, oats, rye, and maize, being least active in the 

 latter. 



3. A fibrin-digesting ferment is present in traces in all the above-mentioned 

 seeds. 



4. Erepsin is present in considerable amount in all the above-mentioned 

 seeds. 



5. All these ferments are destroyed by being raised to the temperature of 

 boiling water in the presence of moisture, but they are not destroyed by the 

 immersion of the seeds for about five minutes in strong chloroform. 



6. The maximum quantity of all the enzymes occurs in rye, and the 

 minimum quantity in the maize. 



7. The addition of dissolved ferments does not increase the percentage 

 germination of old seeds, and where any effect at all is produced tends to 

 lower it. 



