THE VITAMINES IN THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM 57 



It was of greatest importance to this entire subject that the 

 presence of vitamines in typhus bacilli was detected by Pacini and 

 Russel (139). They proceeded from the observation that in the 

 typhus convalescence period there is often noticeable quite an increase 

 in growth. The bacilli were grown on the usual vitamine-free 

 Uschinsky nutritive medium, and consequently they must have been 

 able to synthesize the necessary vitamine. Both the remaining 

 medium and an acid-alcoholic extract of the bacteria were admin- 

 istered to rats on an artificial diet, whereupon normal growth took 

 place. Since the presence of vitamines in bacteria was demonstrated 

 in this way, it was plausible to assume that for certain types of 

 bacteria, a vitamine-containing medium would be of value. Such a 

 preparation was introduced by Mackenzie Wallis (140) ; it consisted 

 of casein, peanut flour and soda, and served as a substitute for nutrose 

 in the composition of Conradi-Drygalski medium (for the typhus 

 coli group) . The bacteria grew well on the medium and the success 

 was attributed to the presence of vitamine in the globulin fraction 

 of the flour. A similar preparation, introduced by Huntoon (141) 

 was made from meat and eggs. In the description of this preparation 

 it was stipulated that all filtration, whether through filter paper or 

 cotton, must be avoided. A yeast extract as culture medium was 

 also described by Ayers and Rupp (142). 



Meningococcus. The conditions for the growth of this micro- 

 organism were systematically studied by Miss Lloyd (143). She 

 found that growth was* impossible without vitamines. Although 

 amino acids were the chief components of the nutritive medium, it 

 could not be utilized except when a voluminous inoculation had 

 been made. In this way it was possible to note a difference in the 

 behavior of different laboratory stock toward vitamines older 

 laboratory stock needed no special vitamine addition when a sufficient 

 amount of amino acids was available, while newly isolated bacteria 

 could not be cultivated without vitamine. Between the necessary 

 amounts of vitamine and amino acids, some relationship is apparent, 

 and therefore it is held that the role of the vitamines in the nutrition 

 of the meningococcus is traceable to the acceleration of the reaction 

 velocity of the proteolytic processes. A further function is attributed 

 to the vitamines in that the assimilation of iron, calcium, phosphorus 

 and iodine is facilitated. The vitamine in question was soluble in 

 water and alcohol and somewhat thermo-stable; it could stand heat- 



