826 Stoward.—Amyloclastic Secretory Capacities of the 
was capable of inducing self-digestion of its starch contents afforded negative 
results only, and the authors adhere to the opinion of Brown and Morris 
that this tissue possesses neither vitality nor a self-digestive capacity. 
Brown and Morris recognize the existence of two amyloclastic enzymes, 
the one, the more active amylase designated c secretion ’ amylase, the 
other, a feebler type which they regard as being similar to, if not identical 
with, the c translocation ’ variety generally met with in plant tissues. 
The former readily erodes starch-grains and liquefies and saccharifies 
starch-paste ; the latter dissolves, but not by erosion, solid starch-grains 
and liquefies gelatinized starch much less readily than does the ‘ secretion ’ 
variety, which the authors contend is principally responsible for the dis¬ 
solution and digestion of the solid starch reserves of the endosperm. 
The amylase of ungerminated barley, according to Brown and Morris, 
is an unused residue of the ‘ translocation ’ variety and probably owes its 
origin to the action of an acid produced by the developing embryo upon 
a zymogen in the endosperm cells, and in their opinion plays a subordinate 
role only in endospermic depletion. 
It is to this enzyme and its augmentation that the work of Ford and 
Guthrie refers specially; extracts of finely ground ungerminated barley 
prepared under certain conditions, i. e. the auto- and papain pre-digestion 
methods of these authors, exhibit higher amylolytic activity than extracts 
prepared by the customary short method of extraction. The general con¬ 
clusion derived from their investigation appears to be that the results 
obtained are due, not to an increase of amylolytic activity, but to an 
augmentation of the enzyme itself, and the whole question implied, though 
not specifically raised, is whether the pre-existent enzyme of the resting 
grain does not contribute, in greater measure than was supposed by Brown 
and Morris, to the dissolution and depletion of the starch reserves of the 
inner endosperm. 
The experimental work described in this section, therefore, represents 
an attempt to ascertain whether the amylase, which is pre-existent in the 
inner endosperm (and which augments under the varying conditions of 
experiment selected), is capable of inducing the depletion of its starch 
storage materials. 
Perhaps no portion of the subject presents such difficulties of attack 
as the investigation of the relative amyloclastic secretory and self-depletive 
capacities of the endosperm and inner endosperm of the barley seed. 
First, the difficulty encountered in the preparation of sterile material 
is greatly enhanced by the fact that the employment of copper sulphate as 
an antiseptic steep-reagent is inadmissible because of its tendency to adhere 
in small traces to these objects even after subsequent steeping in water for 
some time, and therefore the use of absolute alcohol, which is admittedly a 
less powerful agent, has to be resorted to. 
