NOTES. 
THE ACTION OP CHLOROFORM ON C0 2 - ASSIMILATION. 
— In 1878, Claude Bernard 1 observed that chloroformed water-plants 
ceased to evolve bubbles of oxygen in the light but that they recovered 
this power if the chloroform was at once removed. In Schwarz’s 2 ex- 
periments, however, the evolution of bubbles ceased only when the plants 
were fatally affected and had lost the power of recovery, and similar 
results were obtained by Pringsheim 3 . Bonnier and Mangin 4 found 
that in certain Phanerogams, by using measured quantities of ether, 
C 0 2 -assimilation might be stopped without the respiratory activity 
being affected, and I have recently 5 shown that the prolonged action 
of ether-vapour causes the chloroplastids to become temporarily or 
permanently inactive. Ether may therefore not only directly render 
C 0 2 -assimilation impossible, but may also finally induce a condition 
in the chloroplastid during which it is unable to assimilate even when 
returned to normal conditions. As regards the effect of chloroform 
further research was evidently necessary, especially since Kny states 
that filaments of Spirogyra crassa immersed for 5 hours in a mixture 
of one part of saturated chloroform-water to five parts of tap-water 
showed clear signs of death, but nevertheless were still capable of 
C 0 . 2 -assimilation 6 . 
Spirogyra nitida (?) was entirely killed after being kept for 8 hours 
in a saturated solution of chloroform in water, and no evolution of 
1 Claude Bernard, Lefons sur les phenomenes de la vie, 1878, p. 278. 
2 Schwarz, Bot. Unters. aus Tubingen, 1881, p. 102. 
3 Pringsheim, Sitzungsb. d. Akad. d. Wiss. zu Berlin, 1887 : * Die Abhangigkeit 
der Assimilation griiner Zellen von ihrer Sauerstoffathmung.’ 
4 Bonnier and Mangin, Ann. Sci. Nat., Ser. vii, t. iii, 1886, p. 14. 
5 Ewart, Journ. Linn. Soc. Bot., Vol. xxxi, 1896, p. 408. 
6 Kny, Ber. d. D. Bot. Ges., 1897, Bd. xv, p. 401. 
[Annals of Botany, Vol. XII. No. XLVII. September, 1898.] 
