ON THE FORMATION OF ARGININ IN CONIFEROUS PLANTS. 39 



Nitrogen in phospho- 



tungstic precipitate. 0.17 

 Other nitrogen. 0.44 



0.49 



1.21 



0.30 



0.56 



0.60 



1.06 



During the experiment, the shoots treated with the am- 

 monium sulphate solution grew rapidly, in consequence of which 

 much decomposition of proteids and accumulation of asparagine 

 must have taken place. Therefore the considerable increase of 

 asparagine both in the dark and in day-light may be due partly 

 to the decomposition of proteids and partly to the direct assimi- 

 lation of the ammonium salt. Only a little increase of organic 

 bases in the shoots treated with the ammonium salt was 

 observed. 



The above four experiments suffice to prove that the plants, 

 not belonging to the Coniferae, can not produce arginin from 

 ammonium salts, and asparagine alone seems to play an import- 

 ant role in the metabolism of nitrogen compounds. This result 

 agrees exactly with that of my former investigation (Compare 

 my article, " On the Formation of Asparagine in Plants, etc." 

 Bull. Agr. Coll., Tokyo. Vol. II. No. 7.) 



II. On the Influence of Light and Mineral Nutriments 

 upon the Formation and Transformation 

 of Arginin. 



Since the investigation of E. Schulze and of myself have 

 shown that in the shoots of Coniferae, a considerable amount of 

 organic bases, especially arginin, is formed, and since further 

 my last investigation has demonstrated that the bases are not 

 only formed by the decomposition of reserve proteids, but also 

 synthetically from ammonium salts, it seems highly probable 

 that arginin in Coniferae plays an important role in the formation 

 of proteids. So I tried to observe more closely the behaviour 

 of it in the shoots during the germination process, and 

 further the influence of light and mineral nutriments on it. 

 As the object of the experiment, young shoots of Pinus 

 Thunbergii were used. The seeds were soaked with water 

 for 3 days and then sown in purified sea sand moistened 

 with distilled water, and kept in a warm house, where the 

 temperature ranged between 15 0 C. and 30 0 C. The sand was 



