428 
Suzuki ; 
1. Ammonium salts, (and also urea). 
2. Nitrates. 
(2) . Asparagine is formed not only by keeping full-grown 
plants in the dark, but also can be formed in full daylight under 
certain conditions. 
(3) . Synthetic formation of asparagine is only possible, 
when sugar is present in the plant, and at the same time some 
condition for protein formation is wanting. Excess of sugar 
prevents the asparagine formation from proteids, but it does 
not prevent the synthetical formation of asparagine ; it even sti¬ 
mulates its formation. 
(4) . Ammonia is never stored upas such in plants ; it disap¬ 
pears quickly forming innocuous compounds ; but when the ne¬ 
cessary amount of sugar is wanting, the ammonia can not be con¬ 
verted and remains as such (experiments with buckwheat) to a 
small extent in the plant ; a larger amount is noxious. (1) 
(5) . Ammonium salts are generally better than sodium 
nitrate for asparagine production. 
(6) . Among the several ammonium salts, ammonium chlo¬ 
ride is the best, while the ammonium phosphate is always less 
favourable for the formation of asparagine ; very probably the 
formation of nuclein and new cells are stimulated very much by 
phosphates ; the asparagine once formed is thus easily trans¬ 
formed into proteids. 
Urea is generally better than ammonium salts for asparagine 
production (except with barley experiments). 
(7) . For the conversion of nitrates, a high temperature and 
the presence of sugar are necessary, otherwise they remain as 
such stored up in the plants for some time. 
(8) . The conversion of asparagine into proteids is only pos¬ 
sible when all conditions are fulfilled. One of the most es¬ 
sentia] conditions is of course the presence of sulphates. 
(9) . In etiolated shoots sodium nitrate can not be con¬ 
verted into asparagine but urea is capable of yielding it. 
(10). In etiolated shoots the application of sugar increases 
the amount of asparagine, when sodium nitrate or ammonium 
salts are offered. 
(1) Mr. Aoyavia in our laboratory made some experiments which show very clearly 
the poisonous action of ammonium salts, when the necessary amount of sugar is not pre¬ 
sent to transform them into asparagine. 
