50 
MR. J. R. GREEN ON THE CHANGES IN THE PROTEIDS 
Time of 
experiment. 
Vi 
F, 
1*3 
hours 
24 
No change apparent . 
Digestion begun; more ad- 
As F 2 . 
48 
A little change in the fibrin. 
vauced than in D set of 
tubes after same interval, 
as shown by greater tur¬ 
bidity of liquid 
Digestion advanced. About 
About as F 0 . 
Liquid turbid slightly. 
Fibrin measured seven- 
eighths of original bulk 
one-fifth of the fibrin only 
remaining 
The comparison of this set with the D set confirms the view that the action of the 
ferment is retarded by salt, for, though slower than the usual rate of action, digestion 
was more rapid than in the D set. The action of the alkali on the ferment in the 
F set was distinctly deleterious, but the destruction was not complete as in the D set. 
The outcome of these experiments gives then the following answer to the question 
stated :—- 
1st. The ferment resembles pepsin in being injured by action of alkalis upon it, the 
amount of injury depending upon the amount of alkali present. 
2nd. The action is impeded by the presence of a small quantity of NaCl in the 
solution, the amount of hindrance being proportional to the amount of neutral 
salt present. The ferment is not destroyed by NaCl as it is by Na 3 C0 3 . 
Further experiments showed that so long an exposure to the action of the alkali 
was not necessary for the destruction of the ferment power. In one case an exposure 
of three minutes rendered it inert. 
4. What is ilie condition in which the ferment exists in the resting seeds; i. e., is it 
there as a zymogen or as a ferment? 
The inability of v. Gorup-Besanez to show any ferment action in the Lupin 
extract, contrasting so strongly with the experiments described above, raised the 
question of the condition of the ferment in the resting seed as compared with the 
germinating one. In his paper already alluded to he does not mention the condition 
of his seeds in this respect, but the point suggested appears to throw some light on 
the reason of the maintenance of the long period of quiescence. If the ferment is 
present in the zymogen condition during this period, there seems no difficulty in 
understanding why germination is deferred, for it would not proceed until set up by a 
development of the active ferment from the zymogen. 
The method adopted in examining this point was a modification of that recently 
described bv Langley and Edkins'" in their work on the condition of the ferment in 
* ‘ Journ. of Physiol.,’ vol. 7, pp. 371-415. 
