BY R. GREIG SMITH. 591 



Viscosity of the Culture Compared with other Solutions. 



Time in 

 Seconds. 



Viscosity ratio. 

 Water = 100. 



It is at once evident tliat the organism has produced a decided 

 viscosity in the liquid medium, and had the culture not been 

 filtered, the viscosity would have been greater. The organism is, 

 therefore, capable of producing a viscous substance in nutrient 

 solutions containing cane sugar. 



The bacterium was subsequently grown in a saline medium 

 containing 10 % saccharose and 0*1 % peptone. The viscosity 

 of a three weeks' culture was determined, but the temperature 

 was lower (18° C), and the apparatus was probably different 

 from that used before, although tlie volume was about the same, 

 viz., 100 c.c. 



Time in 

 Seconds. 



Viscosity 

 Ratio. 



Three weeks' culture at 37^ C. 

 Culture medium 

 Distilled water 



530 

 303 



280 



189 

 108 

 100 



The Nature of the Viscous Substance. 



To obtain some idea of the nature of the viscous substance, a 

 portion of the filtered culture was treated with alcohol, when 

 amorphous flakes were precipitated. These adhered tenaciously 

 to the glass vessel in which the precipitation was conducted, and 

 were easily washed with fresh alcohol. When treated with water 

 the flakes appeared to partly dissolve and partly swell up : on 



