The surface characteristics of cotton fibers were investigated by a microelectrophoretic t echnique. Samples of dewaxed cotton, cotton which had been depectinized by treatment with a boiling I-percent solution of sodium hydroxide for various lengths of time, and pectic substance from cotton gave widely different pH-mobility curves. The curve for pectic subst ance is characteristic of a highly a...

Kinetin and CaCl(2), in the presence of indoleacetic acid, promoted lateral expansion of epicotyls of decapitated and derooted Alaska pea seedlings (Pisum sativum L.) and inhibited their elongation. This growth response was correlated with the development of cell walls unusually rich in pectic uronic acids. Epicotyls in calcium-auxin solutions continued to enlarge and to add new wall material l...

Four enzymes were separated from an extracellular preparation of Bacillus polymyxa by carboxymethylcellulose column chromatography. The pH optima were 8.3 to 8.5, 8.7 to 8.9, 9.2 to 9.4, and 9.5 to 9.6. All of the enzymes required calcium ion for maximum activity, whereas strontium ion was only partially effective in stimulating activity. Cobalt was the only other cation tested which was effect...