138 AN ASCOBACTERIUM FROM THE SUGAR-CANE, 



The bacterium was grown in the presence of various sugars, 

 and it was found that either dextrose, levulose maltose, or saccha- 

 rose would serve equally well as a source from which the asci 

 could be formed. Starch and lactose were useless for this purpose. 

 In the presence of a suitable sugar, salts such as calcium chloride, 

 magnesium sulphate, did not show any advantage over potassium 

 phosphate in accelerating the growth in gelatine media. 



There are many races of the bacterium, and these may be 

 classified into two groups. The bacteria of one of the groups 

 form a pale yellow growth on gelatine and agar media; they 

 liquefy gelatine slowly, and produce many asci. The organisms 

 of the other group are deep yellow on agar and gelatine; they 

 liquefy gelatine quickl}^, and produce few asci. The gummy 

 substance of the asci from both groups is identical. On continued 

 cultivation in the laborator}^, the ^''ellow rapidly liquefying races 

 become paler yellow or cream-coloured, and, losing the greater 

 part of their liquefying power, they become identical with the first 

 or normal type whose specific characters are given at the end of 

 this paper. 



When the growth was scraped from the surface of saccharose- 

 agar and heated with water, a slimy emulsion, like unbeaten 

 white of egg, was obtained; and as I was at that time searching 

 for the gummosis bacterium, this organism seemed to be very 

 promising. But as the slime had to be tested chemically, and its 

 relation to the gum of the sugar-cane investigated, a considerable 

 quantity of the culture with the accompanying asci was necessary. 

 To obtain a sufficiency of material the bacteria were sown upon 

 the surface of a neutral medium contained in large covered 

 vessels. The medium contained peptone 10, saccharose 100, 

 sodium phosphate 2, potassium chloride 5, agar 20, and tap-water 

 1,000 grms. In about a week at 30° the growth seemed to have 

 reached a maximum, and after soaking in water for about a 

 quarter of an hour the culture, which had become considerably 

 swollen, was easily separated from the agar. 



The swollen emulsion was of a deep yellow colour, and had the 

 consistency of unbeaten white of egg. Numerous attempts were 



