MANNITOL-PRODTJCING ORGANISMS IN SILAGE 437 



Materials yielding mannitol 



The organisms that were found capable of producing mann'tol 

 in the usual test preparations were studied as to their ability 

 to produce it in a number of other materials. Two cultures 

 from different samples of silage were inoculated into sterilized 

 carrot juice'' but no mannitol was secured. Both table and 

 sugar beet juices were tried, two cultures on the former and 

 four on the latter, but with negative results. Cabbage juice 

 gave considerable quantities of mannitol with each of the three 

 organisms inoculated into it and in general there was abundant 

 gas formation. With the juices of the carrot, beet and cabbage 

 there was a change in color similar to that secured with the corn 

 and stover juices and in all cases theturbidity which developed 

 indicated that the organisms were growing well. The failure to 

 secure the production of appreciable amounts of mannitol with 

 carrot and beet juice was undoubtedly due to the lack of 

 the proper carbohydrate materials in them. A considerable 

 number of flasks of apple juice were sterilized and inoculated 

 with different cultures but there was no evidence of growth in 

 any of them and the few flasks examined showed no mannitol; 

 the same results were secured when the apple juice was neutral- 

 ized before sterilization. Considerable quantities of mannitol 

 were secured when sunflower stalks, leaves and blossoms were 

 chopped, packed in jars, sterilized and inoculated with pure 

 cultures of different mannitol-producing organisms, or when the 

 sunflower material was packed in jars and allowed to ferment 

 spontaneously. Cane yielded considerable quantities of manni- 

 tol when treated similarly to the sunflowers, as did also mixtures 

 of stems, leaves and blossoms of dandelions. 



One lot of stover juice (juice x) was found to contain only 

 very small amounts of hexose sugars and accordingly it was 

 used as a basis for testing out various materials. When 5 per 

 cent cane sugar was added to this juice and the material steri- 

 lized, tests showed no appreciable inversion of the sugar; on 

 inoculation with some of the mannitol-producing organisms 



^ The various juices were secured with a powerful press. 



