The Culture of Albino Maize.

A number of attempts have been made to grow albino plants by means of artificial nutrition, but so far as I am aware, in none of these have plants been grown to maturity or with any material gain in dry weight. KNUDSON and LINDSTROM (6) succeeded in keeping albino maize plants alive when supplied with sugar, and noted the formation of five to seven leaves, while the check plants had only two to three leaves. But the albino plants failed to make a sustained growth or to show a marked increase in weight. By the use of a sterile culture method RISCHKOW and BULANOWA (12) were able to maintain albino seedlings of Artemisia vulgaris alive for three months with the formation of three to four leaves. The seedlings were grown in test tubes containing mineral nutrient and glucose. In the attempts just cited the experiments were so arranged that dependence was placed upon the capacity of the roots to absorb sufficient sugar for the development of the plants. However, this method in principle offers little promise of success, for it is known from earlier experiments that organic matter supplied to the roots cannot compensate for the lack of photosynthetic activity of the leaves of higher plants [CERBIAN DE BESTEIRO and MICHEL-DURAND (1) ]. The roots of plants appear to be ill adapted for the absorption of carbohydrates. At least for the practical purpose of culturing larger quantities of plants the method of organic nutrition through the roots involves an inordinate amount of labor if the culture solutions are to be kept free of infection. That albino leaves show some characteristic differences as compared with green leaves has been shown by the chemical analyses of CHURCH (2) and of GRANDSIRE (4). These analyses were made primarily on variegated leaves and albino shoots. Albino leaves seem to be characterized by a relatively high water content and high ash. The ash contains a remarkably high percentage of potassium and a striking deficiency of calcium; there appear to be no significant differences in iron. The older analyses by CHURCH of nitrogen compounds may be open to some doubt, but both GRANDSIRE (4) and SCHUMACHER (14) reported albinos as showing a relatively higher content of soluble nitrogen compounds and a deficiency of protein nitrogen. Similarly, albinos are low in organic matter, in carbohydrates and in organic acids. SCHUMACHER (14) concluded that the relative deficiency of protein was a secondary effect, because by feeding carbohydrates to these leaves a 397