514 C. A. LAUBACH, J. L. RICE AND W. W. FORD 



crowding out the other microorganisms with which it was asso- 

 ciated in soil, rather than to its original presence in greater 

 numbers. 



In a subsequent investigation 520 cultures were obtained from 

 8 soils, 5 of them from the vicinity of Baltimore and 3 from Naza- 

 reth, Pennsylvania. The heating of the soil to temperatures of 

 60° and 80°C., and the incubation of the sample was abandoned 

 owing to the inconsistency of the results obtained and the over- 

 growth by Bacillus cereus. All samples were boiled for 20 min- 

 utes and plated immediately. Of the 520 cultures 306 were 

 from Baltimore and 214 from Nazareth. The cultures included 

 the following previously described types: 



Baltimore Nazereth 

 Soil Soil 



B. petasites Gottheil 73 116 



B. cereus Frankland 134 41 



B. megatherium De Bary 29 13 



B. subtilis (Ehrenberg) Cohn 24 9 



B. mesentericus (Fliigge) Migula 9 11 



{Bacillus mesentericus Juscus Fltigge.) 



B. vulgatus (Flugge) Trevisan 12 6 



(Bacillus mesentericus vulgatus Flugge.) 



B. mycoides Fltigge 15 2- 



B. mesentericus var. flavus 9 



B. cereus var. fluorescens 3 



B. fusiformis Gottheil 3 2 



B. brevis 3 



B. simplex Gottheil 1 



B. cohaerens Gottheil 1 2 



304 214 



One new species (Bacillus agri) belonging to the Cohaerens- 

 simplex group was isolated from the Baltimore soil on two 

 occasions. 



In the results obtained from Baltimore it is interesting to note 

 the predominance of Bacillus cereus, the large number of isola- 

 tions of members of the Megatherium-petasites group and the 

 small number of Bacillus mycoides. Bacillus mycoides indeed is 

 a rare organism in Baltimore and soil conditions here apparently 

 differ markedly from those in other locahties. Bacillus subtilis 

 and the members of the mesentericus group are also uncommon 



