The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-09

vegetable kingdom, does nature
when her purposes demand tie
change, actually transform then,
the one into the other. in the ire-
rior of plants? The answer nay
now safely be given unquestDna-
bly, she does. What We en- so
readily perform BY our rude art,
may be more easily effected IN the
living plant, or tree. That which
Is starch, or gum, IN one part Of
the plant, may become cane or
grape sugar In another, ard woody
fibre IN the third, simply BY a re-
arrangement of the same kind and
quantity of the several elements.
viz: {. i, III. 10 Il. II. @. water
C. i, II. L. Dry grape sugar
or honey.
Nutrltlve matters arr those sub
stances which, when presented from
without, are capable Of sustaining
the life and all the functions of an
organism, by furnishing to the diff
ferent parts of plants The materials
for the production of their peculiar
constituents. But if we could in
troduce into "a tree woody fibre IN a
state of solution, it could only be
about the same thing as placing a
potato in a paste of starch to vege-
tate. The office of the leaves is to
form starch, woody fibre and sugar;
consequently, if We could convey
these substances through the roots,
the vital functions of the leaves
must cease, and if the process of
assimilation cannot take another
form, the plant must die. Other
substances must be present in a
plant besides the starch, sugar and
gum, if these are to take part in
the development of the germ, leaves
and first radical fibres. A seed con-
tains, within itself, the component
parts of the germ and of the radi-
cal fibres, and we may justly con
clude, from various experiments,
exactly in the proportion necessary
for their formation. These compo-
nent parts are starch and gluten !:
and it is evident that neither of
them alone, but that both stimuli
taneously assist IN the formation Of
the first roots, for they both under
go changes under the action of air
moisture and a suitable temporal
ture. The starch is converted into
sugar, and the gluten also assumes
Il new form, and both acquire the
capability Of being dissolved in
water, and of thus being conveyed
to every part of the plant. Both
the starch and gum are consumed
completely, in the formation Of the
first part of the roots and leaves.
The conversion of starch into SUI
gar during the termination of grain,
is owing to the presence of Il yegeta-
bic principle known as disasfa$e,
which is generated during the pro-
cess of termination. But, this
same mode of transformation can
also be effected by gluten, though
it requires more time. Seeds which
have terminated always contain
more disastose than is necessary fol
the conversion of their starch into
sugar as may be seen from the effect
produced by matted barley, one
part of it being sufficient to con.
vert five parts Of starch into sugar
This excess of of disastase is by ne
means accidental, Tor, like the
starch it aids in the formation O
the first organs of young plants
and disappears with the sugar: thi
disastose contain nitrogen and fur
nishes the elements of yegHabl,
albumen.
Carbonic acid, water, and ammo
MIA, I the food of fully developer
plants; starch gum and sugar, serv
when accompanied by an azotise'
substance, to sustain the embryo
until its first organs of nutrition ar
unfolded.
The formation of sugar in maple