254 U. SUZUKI ; ox THE BEHAVIOUR OF ACTIVE ALBUMIN 



ed with a saturated caffeine solution, under the microscope. 

 After ten minutes, I observed in a number of cells numerous 

 little globules which graduallj' united to a lager one, while in 

 cells, into which perhaps the caffeine entered more slowly, I 

 observed a large globular formation formed at once, within 

 which again small globules gradually made their appearance. 

 After one hour's action, I treated the sections with o.i% ammonia 

 for about half an hour, when I observed that the smaller globules 

 formed directly by the action of caffeine had become insoluble 

 and in most cases vacuolised, as while such globules as were form- 

 ed within the large globules, and alter some time, disappeared 

 by bjing dissoh'ed. Some of these cells, however, were then 

 still alive and remained transparent, others died off, and showed 

 then dense granulations, evidently formed by the action of am- 

 monia. The former produced the characteristic globules again 

 by the action of caffeine, which proves that the appa7-ent solu- 

 tion by aiiiinonia was simply the effect of the extraction of caffeine 

 which effect is produced also by water alone. Evidently two 

 phenomena had taken place depending, perhaps, on the quicker 

 or slower entrance of caffeine ; one phenomenon was the formation 

 of proteosoines by the action of caffeine upon the active albumin 

 in the vacuole, the other consisted in the formation of normal or 

 anomalous plasmolysis in which case the proteosomes were after- 

 wards produced much more slowly because the entrance of caffeine 

 into the vacuole was retarded. In those cells into which the 

 ammonia could enter more quickly than the caffeine previously 

 applied was extracted, the proteosomes became solidified by the 

 action of the dilute ammonia ; in such cases, however, in which 

 the extraction of caffeine proceeded more quickly than the en- 

 trance of ammonia, the proteosomes disappeared again, as if the 

 object had been treated with water, thus producing an apparcntl) 

 contradictory phenomenon."' The section treated with ammonia 

 was now treated with absolute alcohol, whereby the plasmolysis 

 disappeared at once, giving rise to irregular coagulated masses, 

 whilst the proteosomes produced by caffeine and solidified by 

 ammonia remained intact. 



(i) A much more characteristic result is obtained wlien we allow the caffeine solution 

 to act for 8-IO hours before the treatment with ammonia. In this case all the proteo - 

 somes solidify, some also become hollow. 



