of the Endosperm during Germination. 
453 
closing membranes, (the “aggregated threads” of Kohl) which are 
concerned with the translocation of the cellulose-dissolving enzymes 
of the seed. In support of this view he brings forward the case of 
the endosperm of Phoenix reclinata, which, he says, possesses pit 
threads only; and here he finds that enzymes do not travel by 
means of the threads, but attack the thick cell walls which are 
devoid of any threads and leave the pit-closing membranes un- 
altered. 
But an examination of the endosperm of species of Phoenix 1 
by our methods proved as Pfurtscheller discovered that both pit 
and wall threads occur 2 , though the latter are usually found only 
in special parts of the endosperm, viz. in the walls of cells near 
the periphery of the seed and of those immediately surrounding 
the embryo. 
In the course of germination the thick walls undoubtedly 
appear to be attacked by the ferment and dissolved independently 
of the threads, but further examination seems desirable to deter- 
mine whether the initial stage of the conduction of the ferment is 
or is not similar to that of Tamus , where it would appear that the 
contagion of ferment action having been once communicated by 
the threads, the subsequent rapid disorganisation and solution 
extends over the whole area of the wall independently of them. 
The pit threads are still visible after enzyme action has pro- 
ceeded for some time, but we do not find that the pit-closing 
membrane remains unaltered, since it swells considerably and 
finally becomes disorganised like the rest of the wall. 
A similar state of things was noticed in the endosperm of 
Galium, where well-marked threads can be seen in the cell walls 
around the cotyledonary cleft, though the walls have been so 
altered by the enzyme that they no longer give the reactions of 
the normal unaffected walls of the seed. 
The manner of disorganization of the cell walls of the endosperm 
of Phoenix, which seems to have so little relation to the presence of 
threads, appears to us to offer additional proof that the connecting 
threads are not concerned primarily with the translocation of 
enzymes, for those portions of the thick cell walls, which do not 
possess “ connecting threads,” can be dissolved by ferment action 
in the absence of pores by which it might be conveyed into the 
substance of the walls. Where, however, threads are abundantly 
distributed throughout the walls they do no doubt afford convenient 
channels along which the ferment may pass, and by means of 
which it may reach the older layers of the cell wall, but it seems 
1 The species used were P. sylvestris and P. dactylifera. 
2 Pfurtscheller, N. Jahrb. KK. Franz-Jos.-Gymn., Wien, 1883, p. 63. Kohl, 
loc. cit., p. 367, mentions that “solitary threads” occur in the endosperm of 
Phoenix. 
32—2 
