Fermentations by Organisms 825 



B, clear; odor quite fresh; normal acidity. The Yvon process 

 gives 6.1 cc. of nitrogen for 1 cc. of urine; the Grehant process gives 

 6.0 cc, that is, 1.6 cgm. of urea. 



May 17. Urine B, which was closed with a flame, is neutral, with 

 hardly any smell; there is a thick vegetation on its surface. Analysis 

 by the Grehant process gives 1.5 cc. of nitrogen for 1 cc. of urine, 

 corresponding to 0.4 cgm. of urea. 



Experiment CCCCXXXVII. May 20. Fresh urine, in three tubes; 

 to each of them I add a small piece of Musculus paper, laden with 

 urinous ferment, which M. Pasteur sent me; this paper, prepared 

 more than six months before, is still very powerful: 



A, in open air; 



B and B', at 21 atmospheres of air with 81% of oxygen. 



May 24. Decompression. 



A, strong odor; very alkaline. 



B, B', slight odor; B neutral, B' very slightly alkaline. 



Experiment CCCCXXXVIII. May 28. Fresh urine, in two mat- 

 rasses closed with a cork stopper which is hollowed out; 



A, in open air; 



B, at 23 superoxygenated atmospheres, which fall slowly to 5. 

 June 26. Decompression. 



A has been foul and turbid for some time. 



B, clear with a slight deposit, no odor, closed with wax. 



June 28. Presented to the Institute, closed without care, and taken 

 back to the laboratory. 



July 11. Is covered with a green mold, but has no odor of 

 ammonia. 



So urine is preserved with all its qualities, its color, its odor, its 

 normal acidity, and urea is kept in it in its original proportion. 

 Experiment CCCCXXXVI, which was performed with particular 

 care, is quite conclusive in reference to all of these properties. The 

 agreement of the figures given by the Grehant process and the 

 Yvon process for the quantity of nitrogen extracted from the com- 

 pressed urine shows that there was no carbonate of ammonia 

 formed in it, whereas there was much in the urine left at normal 

 pressure. 



But if, as in Experiments CCCCXXXV and CCCCXXXVII, a 

 considerable quantity of ferment is added to the fresh urine, altera- 

 tion will begin. That evidently, as we have already decided in 

 regard to blood and milk, is the result of the fact that the oxygen 

 does not have time to kill the ferments before they have begun 

 to act upon the fermentable matter; however, even in these cases, 

 their action is delayed. 



I must say, however, that these experiments on urine should be 

 resumed with special persistence; when the Musculus paper is used, 



