ABSTRACTS 361 



BACTERIOLOGY OF FOODS 



Food Poisoning by the Bacillus Paratyphosus B. Harry S. Bern- 

 stein and Ezra S. Fish. (Journ. A. M. A., 1916, 66, 167.) 

 Report is made of an epidemic of food poisoning at Westerly, R. I. 



Sixty persons were made seriously ill, four of whom died. Symptoms 



of gastric disorder occurred within 4| to 19 hours after eating pie 



obtained from a local restaurant. 



In an analysis of the ingredients of the pies an organism was isolated 



possessing the morphologic, serologic and cultural characteristics of 



Bacillus paratyphosus B. — G. H. S. 



Indol in Cheese. V. E. Nelson. (J. Biol. Chem., 1916, 24, 533.) 

 N. determined presence of putrefactive products, indol, skatol and 

 phenol in different cheeses. Indol present in limburger and camem- 

 bert, phenol only in former. Skatol absent in both. Cheddar, swiss 

 and roquefort are free from these substances. Lactic and bulgarian 

 bacilli and a liquefying coccus were grown in a medium containing 

 tryptophan, 4 per cent lactose and salts. First two failed to pro- 

 duce indol; last produced small amounts. N. believes that medium 

 was probably unfavorable for growth of former. He apparently 

 disregards the sparing effect of lactose. — I. J. K. 



BACTERIOLOGY OF SOILS 



Relation of Green Manures to the Failure of Certain Seedlings. E. B. 



Fred. (J. Agr, Res., 1916, 5, 1161-1176.) 



It has been observed that germination of seeds is poor on soil to 

 which green manures have been recently added. The writer reports 

 the result of an investigation to show whether this may not be due to 

 micro-organisms (bacteria or fungi) that develop in large numbers in 

 decomposing green manures. The indications point to fungi as the 

 harmful agents. Some fungi have been isolated from decomposing 

 green clover that are very destructive to seedlings. Oily seeds are 

 easily damaged by the fungi, but starchy seeds are very resistant. 

 Damage to seeds by green manures is generally confined to the first 

 two weeks after their addition to the soil. Small applications of 

 calcium carbonate seem to increase the injury. In all cases where 

 the germination is slow, a high percentage of the seedlings prove to 

 be diseased. — H. J. C. 



Relation of Carbon Bisulphid to Soil Organisms and Plant Growth. 



E. B. Fred. (J. Agr. Res., 1916, 6, 1-19.) 



It has been shown in the past that if soil is treated with carbon bi- 

 sulphid there is an initial decrease in the number of micro-organisms 

 which is followed by a large increase in their numbers and in the amount 

 of nitrate and ammonia produced, as well as by increased plant growth. 

 The writer confirms these conclusions. 



