984 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



(5) The cultures of Hansen ^ave excellent results in all respects. 



(6) The author's culture gave butter with good flavor and aroma in 

 all cases; the density was unsatisfactory in 2 causes (of a total of 6), and 

 2 samples did not keep Avell. owing, according to the author, to the 

 fact that too 30ung cultures were taken for the lirst ripening. In all 

 other cases the keeping qualities were quite satisfactory. — p. fireman. 



Grassy curd and cheese, C. E. Marshall {JSHrhujun Sf,t. Bid. 

 iSJ.jjp. I9-J-.^0o.,jig><. 0).—A stud}' was made of a bacillus resembling 

 Bacillus coli communis., isolated from gass}^ curd. The production of 

 gas in milk inoculated with this germ was very al)undant and rapid at 

 37" C. The gas contained no oxygen. In one determination 99.1 cc. 

 of the gas contained 76.96 cc. of carbon dioxid and 16.96 cc. of hydro- 

 gen. The nature of the remaining 5.18 cc. was undetermined. The 

 appearance of cheese made from milk without the use of a starter, 

 with the addition of a starter of the gas-producing bacillus, and with 

 and without the addition of a lactic-acid starter to check the effect of 

 the gas-producing bacillus is illustrated. The bacillus isolated by the 

 author measured from 2 to 5/^ in length and 0.5/< in diameter. It was 

 frequently observed in short chains and was thought to be nonraotile. 

 It stained with the common aniline stains, l)ut not )jy Gram's method. 

 The growth of the bacillus in bouillon and milk and on gelatin, agar, 

 potato, 03'ster plant, par'^nips, ruta-baga, sugar beet, onion, carrot, 

 turnip, and red beet is described. The indol reaction was o})tained. 

 The optimum temperature was about 37'-^ C. The bacillus was killed 

 by heating to 60^^ C. for 10 minutes. Subcutaneous or intraperitoneal 

 injections of 1 cc. of a bouillon culture were fatal to guinea pigs. 



The bacterial flora of American Cheddar cheese: Its con- 

 stancy and distribution, J.Weinzirl {Cejithl. Bald. a. ]\u.., 1. AM.., 

 6 {1900), No. 2Jf, 2^P' 785-791).— \Novk by the author upon this subject 

 has been previously noted (E. S. R., 11, p. -187). In the present 

 experiment 62 samples of American cheese, 50 of which were Cheddar, 

 were analyzed. These samples were from 8 States and Canada, and 

 fairly represent the cheese belt extending from New York to Dakota. 

 The ages of the known samples ranged from 2 to -150 days. The 

 number of species of bacteria was found to be cpiite limited, being 

 greatest when the cheeses were freshly made, and diminishing during 

 and after the ripening period. Cheese 3 to 12 months old was fre- 

 quently found to contain but a single species. Pure cultures of the 

 bacteria were made by the usual method of dilution, and the results 

 are reported in a table. A form which the author designates as Bacil- 

 lus lactis acidi was found present in all samples, presenting an aver- 

 age of 74.2 per cent of the total ])acterial .content. Next in number 

 was B. acidl lactici (Hueppe), with an average of 21.9 per cent, 

 though it was absent in a few samples of very old cheese. These two 

 forms constituted 96.1 per cent of the total bacteria found, and both 



