TESTICULAR INFUSION AGAR 345 



Torrey's strains "C," "K," "L," ''N," ''0," and "S" kindly 

 supplied by Dr. Charles Krumwiede, Jr., of the New York 

 City Board of Health, conform to the above requirements and 

 like our own were found to grow abundantly upon testicular 

 infusion agar. 



The hope that opportunity might be found for making com- 

 parative tests of this medium in the isolation of gonococci from 

 lesions has already deferred pubUcation so long that it seems 

 likely this will have to be left for some one more advantageously 

 situated. Dr. H. E. Foster,^ has however succeeded sufficiently 

 often in cultivating the gonococcus from cases of gonorrhea to 

 warrant making such comparisons. 



EXPERIMENTAL WORK 



Successful cultures were first secured with a shghtly acid 

 medium comprising aqueous infusion of beef testicle (500 grams 

 per litre of distilled water), 2 per cent Witte's peptone, 2 per 

 cent agar, 0.5 per cent glucose, and 0.3 per cent NaHa PO4, 

 nearly neutrahzed with N/1 NaOH and sterilized by intermittent 

 steaming in the Arnold steriUzer on three successive days for 

 30 minutes at 100°C. 



This formula differs from Hirschfelder's particularly in its 

 sugar content, the advisabiUty of which was shown by Elser 

 and Huntoon (1909) and by Martin (1911). In each succeeding 

 series of experiments a single factor was varied, the control 

 consisting in a combination previously found successful; as 

 the limits of variability of each factor involved were determined 

 the preferable procedure was adopted for the following experi- 

 ments. 



Thus it was quickly shown that steriHzation in the autoclave 

 at 10 pounds pressure for 30 minutes is permissible. The sub- 

 stitution of veal for testicle infusion was found to yield a less 

 vigorous growth. The optimum amount of testicle was found 

 to be 500 grams per liter although fair growth resulted when 

 the proportion was as low as 125 grams per liter of water. The 



^ Personal communication. 



