The new century opened with new ideas. A book deal-
ing with experimental research on alcoholic fermentation,
and relating the results of laboratory experiments dating



174 MODERN SCIENCE READER

from 1896, appeared in the year 1903. It is entitled '^Die
Zymasegdrung : Untersuchungen uber den Inhalt der Hefe-
zellen und die biologische Siefe des Gdmngsproblems." The
authors' names are Eduard Buehner, Hans Buchner, and
Martin Hahn ; and it became evident something noteworthy-
had happened. It was briefly this : Buchner, unhampered
by any prejudice concerning the connection of vitality with
fermentation, betook him to see what was really inside the
yeast cell. Accordingly, he mixed a small quantity of
barm with very fine sand, and he then subjected the whole
to enormous pressure. This hard quartz crushed the little
yeast cells to merest pulp, and therefrom flowed a wonder-
working fluid. It was found that Buchner 's liquor effected
exactly the same fermentation in a saccharine solution as
did yeast itself. This research of Buchner 's actually
proved what was long ago conjectured by Liebig, Traube,
Berthelot, and Hoppe-Seyler, namely, that the intra-molec-
ular transformation of sugar into alcohol and carbon
dioxide is due to an enzyme secreted within the yeast cell.
This capital demonstration forms a fitting climax to a
long series of speculations on collateral fermentations. We
will call to mind the main results achieved by toilers in
these different fields of research. In the year 1841 two
French chemists, Payen and Persoz, succeeded in isolating
from germinating barley a substance which seemed to
possess an unlimited capacity for saccharifying starch.
