218 



Mr. S. H. Vines on the 



[Dec. 19, 



Even those who are content to work at the development of the low- 

 lier types, snch as the worm and the cray-fish, are helping at this 

 good work, for they are throwing light upon the evolution of the 

 Vertebrates. 



VII. " On the Chemical Composition of Aleurone Grains." By 

 Sydney H. Vines, B.A., B.Sc, F.L.S., Fellow and Lecturer 

 of Christ's College, Cambridge. Communicated by Dr. 

 Michael Foster, Prelector of Physiology in Trinity Col- 

 lege, Cambridge. Received October 22, 1878. 



I. The Aleurone Grains of the Blue Lupin. (Lupinus varius.) 



The proteids stored np in the seeds of certain plants, more especially 

 of Leguminosse, have been stated by various observers to exist in the 

 form of the vegetable caseins such as Legumin and Conglutin, and 

 this view has been advocated of late years more particularly by 

 Ritthausen (" Die Eiweiss-Korper der Gretreidearten, &c, 1872 "). In 

 1877, Weyl published some observations (" Zeitschr. fur Physiol. 

 Chemie, Bd. I), which tend to show that the proteids exist in the 

 seeds of these plants in the form of globulins, and. that the caseins, 

 extracted by Ritthausen and others, are the products of the alteration 

 of the globulins effected by the reagents (alkaline solutions) used in 

 their extraction. 



In order to be in a position to form a decided opinion upon the sub- 

 ject, I first repeated Weyl's experiments, using the seeds of the blue 

 lupin. I found that on treating the ground seeds with 10 per cent. 

 NaCl solution, I obtained a fluid which gave all the reactions charac- 

 teristic of fluids which hold globulins in solution. On dilution with 

 water it gave a precipitate of a substance soluble in 10 per cent. 

 NaCl solution (vitellin); and on saturating it with ISaCl (rock-salt), 

 a substance (myosin) was precipitated which was soluble in 10 per 

 cent. NaCI solution. 



With the view of ascertaining the value of Weyl's suggestion, that 

 the casein (conglutin, Ritthausen) contained in the lupin was a pro- 

 duct of the alteration of the globulin under the action of an alkaline 

 solution, I made the following experiment : — About 50 grms. of 

 the ground lupin-seeds were placed on a filter, and 250 cub. centims. 

 0T per cent. NaHO solution poured over them. The fluid ran through 

 in a few minutes, and was found to give the reactions characteristic of 

 alkaline solutions of vegetable casein (see " Sachsse, Chemie und 

 Physiologie der Farbstoffe," &c, 1877, p. 267). The residue on the 

 filter was then well washed with distilled water until the washings 

 ceased to give an alkaline reaction. It was then treated with 250 cub. 

 centims. 10 per cent. NaCl solution, and on testing the filtrate it was 



