r44-6 PURE CULTURE STUDY OF BACTERIA 



a Committee on Methods for the Identification of Bacterial Species 

 of which Prof. Chester was made chairman. This committee drew 

 up the first descriptive chart with which the Society of American 

 Bacteriologists had any connection. 



This chart was put before the Society at its 1905 meeting. It was 

 presented at this time as a preliminary effort and no endorsement of 

 it was given by the Society nor apparently was such endorsement re- 

 quested. The committee was instructed to continue its work and a 

 second chart was prepared during 1906 and presented at the Society 

 meeting in December that year. At this meeting it was decided that 

 the chart should call for more complete data concerning bacteria than 

 provided for by either of the two charts already submitted; so the 

 committee was instructed to do further work along this same line. 



The committee at this time was composed of F. D. Chester, F. P. 

 Gorham, and E. F. Smith; but Prof. Chester was largely responsible 

 for the first two charts presented at Society meetings. Before the 

 committee undertook a further revision, however, he had left bac- 

 teriological work and hence was no longer active on the committee. 

 During 1907, therefore. Dr. Smith acted as chairman of the Commit- 

 tee and under his supervision the committee drew up another chart 

 which was presented to the Society at its meeting in December that 

 year. This chart was officially endorsed by the Society and was put 

 on sale by the secretary of the Society. 



For several years following no changes were made in the chart. 

 The next step in its development was brought about by H. A. Harding 

 (1910), who published a paper in which he outlined the complete 

 history of the chart, with copies of the early charts, and discussed 

 improvements that might be made. This paper is available for 

 those desiring more detail concerning this early history than is given 

 here. 



As the Society felt that further modifications were now needed a 

 new committee was appointed in 1911 consisting of F. P. Gorham, 

 C. E. A. Winslow, Simon Flexner, H. A. Harding and E. O. Jordan. 

 This committee gave a report at the 1913 meeting, presenting a 

 chart which was put on sale by the Society, but was not officially 

 endorsed. As this committee was unable to continue the work, an 

 entirely new one was appointed at this time, consisting of H. A. 

 Harding, H. J. Conn, Otto Rahn, W. D. Frost and I. J. Kligler. This 

 committee soon lost Dr. Ilahn, who left the country in 1914, and 

 M. J. Prucha was added in his place. The committee was called 

 the Committee on Revision of the Chart for the Identification of 

 Bacterial Species. 



