IN THE SEED WHICH ACCOMPANY GERMINATION. 
4.9 
r>i 
D 3 
d 3 
After 
24 hours 
No apparent change 
No apparent change 
Digestion beginning. 
Turbidity setting in. 
Digestion begin¬ 
ning. About as D 3 . 
After 
54 hours 
No apparent change. 
Quantity of fibrin 
not lessened at all. 
Liquid quite clear. 
No apparent change. (Iun- 
fortunately broke this tube 
in removing it, so did not 
measure the fibrin. To the 
eye there was no change.) 
Liquid very turbid. 
About a quarter of 
the fibrin remained. 
About one-fifth of 
the fibrin re¬ 
mained. 
From this set of experiments it becomes evident that alkalis destroy and do not 
merely suspend the active power of the ferment. From the slowness with which the 
digestion began, and the rate at which it proceeded, it seems that neutral salts in 
the solution have a deterrent effect upon it. Some previous experiments which I had 
made upon the behaviour of pepsin showed that it was similarly interfered with. 
The experiments made upon the tube F were somewhat differently arranged. From 
the behaviour of the D set, the filtering seemed to make no difference to the result, so 
that it was omitted, but the control tubes were varied a little. 
F contained the ferment in a '5 per cent, solution of Na 2 C0 3 . It had been exposed 
to the action of the alkali for more than two days. As in the case of D, it was care¬ 
fully neutralised and made up with HC1 to a strength of '2 per cent, of the acid. A 
measure of fibrin as before was put into it. and it was labelled F L . 
The controls were prepared as under :— 
To 50 c.c. of Na 2 C0 3 '5 per cent., 5 c.c. of the dialysed ferment extract were added, 
and the whole neutralised at once. 
Another 50 c.c. of Na 2 C0 3 ’5 per cent, were neutralised, and then 5 c.c. of the same 
ferment extract were added. Both were made up to ‘2 per cent. HC1, and a measure 
of fibrin placed in each. These were labelled respectively F 3 and F 3 . All three were 
then placed on the water bath. 
F x then contained the ferment extract that had been acted on for a time by the 
alkali, and some NaCl resulting from the neutralisation of the alkali. 
F 3 contained the ferment that had been exposed to momentary contact only with 
alkali, and that at the ordinary temperature of the room; and the same amount of 
salt as F 1? similarly caused. 
F 3 contained ferment that had not been exposed to even momentary contact with 
the alkali, and the same amount of salt as.the others. 
The subjoined Table gives the result of the action. 
M DCCCLXXXVII.—B. 
H 
