OF ARTS AND SCIKNCKS. 



113 



Levy aud Kooelmann were by no means the first to experiment on 

 this j-ubject. Blondlot,* as early as 1872, found tliat he could obtain 

 alcoholic fermentation in milk simply by shaking it. Pirotta investi- 

 gated this fermented fluid, and found a yeast, wliich he named Sur- 

 charomyces galacticola, identical with Succharomyccs ccrevisice in 

 appearance, size, spore formation, and in the fact that both ferment 

 sour milk. It is not improbable, therefore, that this yeast may be 

 nothing more nor less than Saceharomyces cerevisice itself, and that 

 ordinary beer yeast is one of the micro-organisms which sprung up in 

 Levy's kephir, of which he unfortunately omitted to make a microscop- 

 ical examination. Hence De Bary's objection that sour milk, simply 

 shaken, veill give alcoholic fermentation, loses its significance. 



Throughout Germany and Russia kephir has become a very cele- 

 brated drink, simply because a considerable portion of the albuminoids 

 of the milk are peptonized. For persons of weak digestion, for chil- 

 dren, and for dyspeptics generally, it is an excellent diet, since it re- 

 lieves the stomach of much of its work. Hence the fame of kephir 

 has spread far and wide, and a kejihir factory has been started at 

 Hamburg. The following table, taken from J. Biel's " Ueber die 

 Eiweisstoffe des Kefirs," shows this peptonization very neatly. 



In 100 parts of kephir were obtained : — 



From the table it is evident that the casein and albumen decrease 

 during fermentation, while the peptone, peptonized albumen, and acid 

 albumen increase. This is shown still better by another table. 



* Comptcs Rciidus, LXXIV. 5-34. 



VOL. XXVI (n. S. XVIII.) 8 



