504 



HANAI 



E. Schulze found further that during the germination of seeds 

 the quantity of cholin increases/ 0 and that in wheat cholin and 

 bctain w hich are closely related to each other, are localised in 

 the germ of the grain but not in the endosperm. This is certain- 

 ly of physiological interest because the young developing germ 

 must carry on an energetie respiration and therefore be capable 

 of easily forming lecithin, in which process the presence of cholin 

 is required. It may further be mentioned in this connection that, 

 according to Miintz, the amount of free fatty acids increases 

 during germination. 



For my investigation I selected the leaves of Then chinensis, 

 an evergreen plant, and the bark of Primus Cerasus, which ob- 

 jects contain during winter time much reserve material ; especial- 

 ly the tea leaf is rich in fatty matter. Kcllner, Makino, and 

 Ogasaward-^ observed that while in May and June young tea 

 leaves contain 6.32-6.82% of fat, in November they contain as 

 much as 22 % in the dry matter. I determined the lecithin after 

 the method of E. Schulze by which after the extraction with ether, 

 a second extraction is made with absolute alcohol. <:i) In these 

 united liquids the phosphoric acid is determined in the usual way, 

 after heating the evaporation-residue with a mixture of sodium 

 carbonate and some potassium nitrate. 



I made four determinations, one with the old leaves in 

 November (1895), the second with the old leaves in Ma)- 1896, 

 the third with the young leaves at the beginning of April 1896 

 and the fourth with the young leaves at the end of May (1896), 

 with the following result : 



(1) Landw. Vers.-Stat.. Vol. 46, 23. 



(2) Lnndw. Vers.-Stat. 1886. p, 370. 



(3) The mixture of these two extracts contains, nf course, besides fat and lecithin 

 a certain amount of other compounds. 



