508 



GEORGE F. REDDISH AND LEO F. RETTGER 



the above mentioned work of the British Medical Research 

 Committee has exerted and is exerting a commanding influence 

 on present-day attempts at re-classification of the anaerobes, 

 particularly those which were found in war wounds, we feel 

 prompted to defend C. putrifimm (B. putrificus) as a distinct 

 species and to attempt to place it in its proper classification 

 group. 



C. putrificum bears a more or less close resemblance to V. 

 tetani, and C. Ictanoides morphologically, but differs markedly 



a 



HfeJ:!,J,J::iu^ililiiiijgfetMfe 



;1 



PB 





MS 



8 3*5 



jisSig'iiilgJliaiifeliliiiiiigifiaiili 



6 7 8 9 

 Tla* In daj* 



5.0 



to 11 12 13 1< 



Chart 1. Plottincs of pH and Glucose Fh;ures for C. putrificum in 



Glucose Broth 



from them in certain important respects. Pure strains of C. 

 tetani and C. tetanoides are non-putrefactive, and are unable to 

 digest meat or egg-meat medium even during months of incuba- 

 lion. C. tetani is pathogenic, whereas the other two organisms 

 ii,re entirely void of this property. Furthermore, C. putrificum 

 does not attack carbohydrates or at the most exerts but a feeble 

 action. No gas was produced from anj' of the 25 carbohydrates, 

 alcohols and glucosides employed by us, and only slight amounts 

 of acid from three or four, one of these being glucose. Quanti- 

 tative estimations of the amounts of glucose consumed were 

 made, and the results expressed in plotted curves (chart 1). 



