330 
SUMMARY OP CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
Absorption of Water by Leafless Branches.* — Herr L. Kny states 
that the terminal internodes of a large number of trees and shrubs which 
lose their leaves in the winter are subject to a considerable loss of weight 
from transpiration, and that this loss is replaced by the absorption of 
water in the liquid state with which they are in contact. Except in the 
case of the horse-chestnut, where the buds are protected by a resinous 
secretion, this absorption takes place more quickly through the buds, 
though even there it is very slow. 
Propagation of the Sugar-Cane-f — Dr. J. H. Wakker points out 
that the various cultivated varieties of the sugar-cane exhibit a gradual 
degeneration of the sexual organs. The pollen-grains display various 
degrees of sterility until the stamens finally disappear altogether. In 
other varieties this degeneration extends also to the female organs, the 
ovary being in some entirely suppressed. Finally, the inflorescence 
itself is reduced to a very rudimentary condition. This appears to be 
the result of the selection by cultivators of those varieties in which the 
energy is thrown into the production of sugar-producing stems. 
(3) Irritability. 
Mechanics of Twining.^ — Herr R. • Kolkwitz gives a resumb of the 
results arrived at by previous observers on this subject, especially in 
reference to permanent curvatures. His own conclusion is that the 
permanent establishment of a coiling once set up is due to the grasping 
of the support by the twining organ. 
Opening of the Flowers of (Enothera.§ — M. E. Roze describes the 
sudden opening of the flower of (Enothera suaveolens in the evening, 
the sepals being suddenly forced apart by the pressure of the petals, 
and bending back on the calyx-tube ; a proceeding which is characteristic 
also of other species of the genus. Without offering an explanation of 
the fact of the special occurrence of the phenomenon in this genus, 
M. Roze attributes it to the high temperature attained during the day, 
and the increase of moisture in the evening causing a turgidity in the 
tissues of the calyx. 
(4) Chemical Changes (including Respiration and Fermentation}. 
Formation and Assimilation of Asparagin.|| — Herr 0. Loew shows 
that asparagin is very often the result of the splitting up of proteids 
into that substance and carbon dioxide. In many cases, on the other 
hand, as in the sugar of ripe beet-roots, asparagin is a synthetic product ; 
it may be formed out of ammonia or nitric acid ; this takes place in 
barley and maize. Sugar or some substitute is indispensable for the 
transformation of asparagin into proteids ; this may take place even in 
the dark ; and the sugar need not be formed in the same cells as the 
asparagin. 
* Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Gesell., xiii. (1895) pp. 361-75. 
t Mitthl. Versuchsstat. f. Zuckerrohr in Pasoeroean. See Bot. Centralbl., lxv. 
(1896) pp. 37-42. 
% Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Gesell., xiii. (1895) pp. 495-517 (1 pi.). Cf. this Journal, 
ante, p. 89. § Bull. Soc. Bot. France, xiii. (1895) pp. 574-81. 
|| ‘ Das Asparagin in pflanzenchemischer Beziehung,’ 1896. See Bot. Centralbl., 
lxv. (1896) p. 302. 
