426 A Tomato Canker 



organism produced 61 mg. of reducing sugar in three days, and at the 

 end of five days the culture contained 159 mg. of reducing sugar. 



Gas formation. No gas was produced in fermentation tubes con- 

 taining nutrient broth and 2 per cent, of following substances : dextrose, 

 laevulose, saccharose, maltose, lactose, mannite, dextrin, galactose, 

 glycerine. In no case was any growth observed in the closed end of the 

 tube. There was a small amount of alcohol in the distillate from cultures 

 in dextrose bouillon. In tube cultivations in iron and lead peptone 

 solution and broth, there was a slight discolouration of the precipitate 

 after three weeks, showing that traces of sulphuretted hydrogen are 

 liberated. 



Acid 'production. The behaviour of the organism in the various sugar 

 broths very closely resembles that of Bacterium campestre and other 

 organisms of this group, that is to say, it produces a small amount of 

 acid from certain sugars but the acid production is very rapidly obscured 

 by the formation of alkali, probably in the form of ammonia, which has 

 shown to be produced in appreciable quantities in peptone broth. 



In dextrose bouillon the acidity is more marked than in any of the 

 other media, the greatest acidity being observed about the fifth day; 

 the acidity of the medium gradually decreases and after three or four 

 weeks it becomes neutral or slightly alkaline. 



The same may be said of cultures in nutrient bouillon with 2 per cent, 

 laevulose, saccharose, lactose, galactose, glycerine, and dextrin, but less 

 acid is produced with any of these substances than with dextrose. No 

 definite acid formation was observed in flasks containing mannite and 

 maltose. 



Indol and phenol production. Cultures in nutrient bouillon and 

 Dunham's solution were repeatedly tested for indol on the third, fifth and 

 tenth day, but with negative results. No reaction was obtained with a 

 nitrite and sulphuric acid, nor with the Rosindol test. 



Cultures in nutrient bouillon tested on the tenth day also gave a 

 negative reaction for phenol. 



Reducing agent formation: colour destruction. A number of tube 

 cultivations were prepared in nutrient bouillon tinted with litmus, 

 rosolic acid, neutral red, methyl orange, and methylene blue: no colour 

 reduction was observed. 



Nitrate reduction. A number of tube cultivations in nitrate bouillon 

 were tested after three, five and ten days. Some of these showed a trace 

 of nitrite but in others no reaction was obtained. The controls gave no 

 reaction for nitrite. 



