On the Formation of Asparagine in Plants under 

 Different Conditions. 



BY 



U. Suzuki, Nogakushi. 



Although the question of asparagine production in plants 

 has often been the object of investigation, many points are still 

 left unsettled, and in certain respects, even contradictory state- 

 ments, not only in regard to its production, but also in regard to 

 its transformation into proteids, are met with. The production 

 of asparagine from proteids during the germination process has 

 been quantitatively followed up by E. SCHULZE, but thus far, all 

 the explanations attempted have proved unsatisfactory ; therefore 

 Dr. O. LOEW has jDroposed a new view which seems to accord 

 better with various facts. (1) According to this view asparagine is a 

 synthetical product, into which the ammonia of the decomposed 

 proteids is transformed. Recently some experiments have been 

 made by Mr. Kinoshita in the laboratory of the Agricultural 

 College, Imperial University, which show that the ammonia 

 taken up by the roots may also pass into asparagine ; but as these 

 experiments were made with only two kinds of Gramiucce it 

 appeared to me necessary, in view of the importance of the ques- 

 tion, to carry out a larger number of experiments, to test whether 

 this transformation takes place in different families and in dif- 

 ferent states of development. Furthermore, I desired to compare 

 quantitatively the asparagine production from different ammonium 

 salts (2) and from nitrates, and to determine how the results are 

 affected by the increase of sugar. These experiments are des- 

 cribed in the following pages, while the analytical data follow in 

 an appendix. 



I. Experiments with sun-flower (Helianthus annuus). 



The young sun-flower plants, 30-40 ,-m ' high, were taken very 

 carefully from the field, and after washing the roots, placed in 

 the following solutions kept in a glass house : 



(1) Cf. The Energy of Living Protoplasm, London, 1896. p. 38. 



(2) In some cases I also applied urea. 



