Vines. — Proteolytic Enzymes in Plants (I/). 601 
in the latter. The liquefying action of both Utricularia and 
Aldrovanda was but slight, as was also that of Sarracenia 
purpurea. 
The memoir concludes with some general considerations 
as to the action of heat and light upon the enzyme, and 
as to the influence of the reaction of the medium upon its 
activity. With regard to the latter point, the general con- 
clusion arrived at is that in the large majority of cases the 
presence of acid increases the activity of the enzyme, the 
presence of alkali diminishes it. The acids employed were 
chiefly organic, the citric, tartaric, and oxalic, in i °/ o solu- 
tions: in a few instances i °/ o HC1 was used, and was found 
to promote liquefaction by Ficus, and Phytolacca abyssinica , 
but more frequently its effect was unfavourable. In only 
one case, that of Tuber aestivum , was liquefaction limited 
to an alkaline medium (3% Na 2 C 0 3 ). In certain others, 
however, such as the style and stigma of Hibiscus speciosus , 
the latex of Ficus Carica , and the unripe seeds of Phaseolus 
multijlorus , experiments of 24 hours’ duration in the alkaline 
medium showed vigorous liquefaction. It is . not impossible 
that these results may have been due to Bacteria ; the authors 
themselves do not seem to attach importance to them. 
I have thought it necessary to give this rather full account 
of the researches of Buscalioni and Fermi, because their work 
is not, I believe, as well known as it deserves to be, at least 
among English botanists ; and also because a certain amount 
of detail is necessary for the discussion of the relation of their 
results to those that I have obtained by an altogether different 
method. I am glad to find that our conclusions are in agree- 
ment so far as general principles are concerned. The demon- 
stration of the wide distribution of a proteolytic enzyme in 
the plant-body, is the outcome of their experiments as of 
my own. There is, not unnaturally, some divergence in 
matters of detail. For instance, they found such laticiferous 
Composites as the Lettuce and the Dandelion to be inactive, 
whereas I -found them to be active, and I have since found 
the leaves of the Endive to be active. The same divergence 
