Fermentations by Organisms 803 



C. The third, weighing 35 gm., is placed in the cylindrical glass 

 apparatus, and subjected to the pressure of 10 atmospheres of air con- 

 taining 88% of oxygen; the oxygen tension therefore is 880, corre- 

 sponding to 44 atmospheres of air. 



December 26. Samples of air are taken from the three bells with- 

 out the air being renewed. 



A. The meat looks bad; the lower part is evidently putrefied. 

 The air has an insipid odor, slightly gamy. The air contains: O, 12.2; 

 C0 2 6.4. 



B. The meat has about the same appearance. Insipid odor. The 

 air contains: 2 70; CO, 12.9. 



C. The meat looks good but rather brown. No odor. The composi- 

 tion of the air has not changed. 



January 8. Samples of air are taken again, and the experiment 

 is stopped. 



A. Meat very acid, with a horrible odor; softened. The air con- 

 tains 7% of oxygen and 12.3% of CO.. 



B. Meat very acid; odor very bad, but not as strong as A. The 

 air contains 40% of oxygen and 38.2% of CO.. 



C. Meat a little acid, grayish, firm, with a slight sourish odor, 

 which is not disagreeable. Cooked, it is insipid, but without a bad 

 taste. 



The composition of the air has not changed. If we try to deter- 

 mine, in these two periods, the quantity of oxygen which has been 

 consumed, and the quantity of CO. which has been produced by the 

 meat placed in these different conditions, we get the following results, 

 in which all are reduced to an equal weight, 100 gm. of meat. 



From December 19 to 26: 



A (ordinary air, normal pressure) has consumed 2.2 liters of 

 oxygen and produced 1.6 liters of C0 2 . 



B (air with 90% of oxygen, normal pressure) has consumed 1.7 

 liters of oxygen and produced 1.2 liters of C0 2 . 



C (air with 88% of oxygen, 10 atmospheres) has consumed liters 

 of oxygen and produced liters of CO.. 



From December 26 to January 8: 



A (air with 12.2% of oxygen) consumed 1.3 liters of oxygen and 

 produced 1.4 liters of C0 2 . 



B (air with 70% of oxygen) has consumed 2.6 liters of oxygen 

 and produced 2 liters Of C0 2 . 



C (air with 88% of oxygen, 10 atmospheres) has consumed 

 liters of oxygen and produced liters of CO,. 



I call particular attention to this experiment. It shows that in 

 twenty days the meat in compressed oxygen consumed no oxygen 

 and produced no carbonic acid; it showed no sign of putrefaction. 



We see, furthermore, that the meat consumed less oxygen in 

 air with 90% of oxygen than in air with 21%, but more in air with 

 70% than in air with 12. 



