go 



K. ASO. 



DISCUSSION OF RESULTS. 



A. THE ORGANIC CONSTITUENTS, 

 i. Water. 



The high percentage of water is a striking feature ; it 

 indicates the presence of a very hygroscopic substance, which in 

 other kinds of spores is absent. Thus, Reinke found that the 

 spores of Aethalium septicum contain only 7.13% water in the 

 air-dry state. According to Cramer, Penicillium spores contain a 

 very high percentage of dry matter, and give up all the water 

 on drying, which they again take up in moist air. Planta found 

 that a fresh sample of the pollen-grains of hazelnut gave up 

 4.21% of water on drying over sulphuric acid, and then 4.98% 

 more on drying at I00° C, making a total of 9.19%. 



2. Carbohydrates. 



Glycogen is very widely spread as reserve material (1> in the 

 higher as well as the lower fungi, forming as much as Z°% °f 

 the dry matter of beer-yeast. Starch is never formed in spores. 

 Further, trehalose and mannit have been found in a number of 

 fungi, either together or separately/ 10 It is of interest to observe 

 the differences in the chemical activities of the higher plants and 

 fungi: thus, the starch of green plants is replaced by glycogen 

 in the fungi and the cane sugar of phanerogams is here replaced 

 by trehalose. The chief difference between trehalose (C^tlwOn 

 + 2H 2 0) and cane sugar (C^H^On) is that the former is split by 

 hydrolysis into two molecules of glucose, and the latter into 

 glucose and fructose ; trehalose is also le^s easily invertible than 

 cane sugar. (3) Remarkable in this respect is the high percentage 

 of cane sugar in the pollen-grains of pine {11.24%) an d of 

 hazelunt (14.70^), as found by Planta. (1) Of special interest is 



(1) PfefFer : Pflanzenphysiologie, I Bd. 1897. S. 474. 



(2) According to Miintz, Penicillium glaucum, Agaricus campestris &c. contain 

 always mannitol, but no trehalose, -while Agaricus muscaris produce trehalose, but no 

 mannit. (The same book.) 



(3) Zeit. Physiol. Chem., 1S94., Winterstein : Zur Kenntniss der Trehalose. 



(4) Landw. Versuchs-Stat. 1885. XXXI. and 1886 XXXII. 



