Newcombe.— Cellulose-Enzymes. 73 
in the second place, much care has been taken to secure 
considerable accuracy. The number of tests made has been 
large, amounting to at least ten with each ferment-solution ; 
the sections used were all taken from a small cube of 
endosperm, not more than 1 mm. in diameter, and so cut 
as to include the same kinds of cells in each section ; the 
sections were selected by the aid of the microscope, and 
all over two cells in thickness were rejected. 
The fact will be recalled that in the solution of Barley- 
endosperm-walls in an enzyme, the inner lamellae of the 
starch-bearing cells first dissolve, next the middle lamellae 
of the same cells, and last of all the walls of the aleurone- 
bearing cells. In the ferment-solutions now under con- 
sideration, the inner lamellae dissolved in fifteen to twenty- 
four hours, and the middle lamellae in twenty-four to 
forty-eight hours. In a few tests the middle lamella required 
more than forty-eight hours for solution. Of all the ferments, 
that of Aspei'gillus was perhaps most active, and that of 
Hordeum the least ; the other three were very closely alike. 
With the ferment-solutions thus brought nearly to the 
same strength respecting their action on reserve cellulose, 
tests were made of their behaviour toward starch. Sections 
from the Barley-endosperm were prepared just as for the last 
series of experiments, except that for this series the starch 
was only partially brushed out of the sections. The sections 
were then selected under the microscope so as to have 
all as closely as possible alike in size and in the amount 
of starch contained. The preparations were made on glass 
slides as before ; chloroform was at all times present, and 
a temperature of 32 0 to 34 0 was maintained. Several series 
were carried through, each series containing preparations 
with all the kinds of ferments. In all cases the starch 
disappeared first of all in the Barley-extract, the time being 
twenty-four to thirty hours. With the Aspergillus-ex tract, 
the starch was dissolved in eight days ; with Phoenix- coty- 
ledonary-enzyme, in ten to fifteen days ; with Lupinus- 
enzyme, in about thirty days ; and with Phoenix-endosperm- 
