PROPERTIES OF BACTERIOLYSANTS 



487 



tion factor did not appear to be essential for when the culture 

 was diluted with saline to the same opacity as a three hour 

 culture it was not lysed. That the organisms were not all 

 dead and "resistant" was demonstrated by the fact that sub- 

 cultures of this old culture grew and also contained a few "irregu- 

 lar" colonies. The fact that the culture when diluted with 1 

 per cent peptone water was lysed by the bacteriolysant may be 

 explained by the fact that the organisms grew in the peptone 



TABI.IO 7 



Compariscm of bacteriolytic activity of bacteriolysant against saline and peptone 

 water siispensions of agar cultures of normal dysentery bacilli (Flexner Y, 



Hiss and Russell) 



water which was added, and it was then a young culture that 

 was being attacked. The most probable explanation for the 

 greater bacteriolytic activity of bacteriolysatits when tested 

 against young cultures, is that many of the organisms in any 

 culture older than twenty-four hours, are dead and act hke 

 kaolin in enzymatic phenomena and adsorb the bacteriolytic 

 principle. 



EFFECT OF SODIUM HYDROXIDE UPON A BACTERIOLYSANT 



One cubic centimeter of normal sodium hydroxide was added 

 to 4 CO. of a bacteriolysant and after eighteen hours incubation 



