14(5 Decoiiipoaitiou of Cellulose 



in peptone-carbohydrate broth, but the majority (four exceptions) 

 formed more or less acid from sugars, starch and higher alcohols. With 

 some species the principal by-products were found to consist of formic 

 and acetic acids, while others only gave rise to traces of fatty acids. None 

 of the solutions examined was found to contain any trace of aldehydes, 

 ketones, alcohols, or of carbohydrates capable of reducing Fehling's 

 solution. 



Concurrently with these American investigations, the question of 

 cellulose fermentation had been taken up by Lohnis and Lockhead^, 

 who employed an agar medium consisting of mineral salts, sodium 

 nitrate and 0-3-0-5 per cent, chemically pure cellulose. The paper 

 partakes of the nature of a preliminary communication ; so far as we are 

 aware, a description of the causative organisms of fermentation has not 

 been published. 



Experimental. 



PreHminary experiments to demonstrate the presence of aerobic 

 cellulose decomposing organisms in Rothamsted soils presented practi- 

 cally no difficulty, the usual procedure being to prepare flat bottomed 

 300 c.c. flasks containing 100 c.c. of mineral salt solution^, 0-25 grm. 

 sodium nitrate, and 1-0 grm. filter paper. Before sterilisation, the 

 latter was orientated so that it reposed in direct contact with the sides 

 of the flask, with its upper portion protruding above the level of the 

 culture Uquid. Inoculation of these flasks was carried out by the introduc- 

 tion of about one gram of field or garden soil. After incubation at 25*" for 

 upwards of 4-6 days, the filter paper at, or slightly above, the level of 

 the liquid assumed a yellowish or yellowish-brown colour and gradually 

 lost its consistency. Although it was possible to reproduce this change 

 repeatedly by transference of some of the decomposing paper to further 

 flasks, such elective culture failed to yield a culture which possessed 

 any high degree of purity, and it was decided, therefore, to attempt some 

 method of plating out. 



Prior to the publication of Kellerman and McBeth's paper, two 

 methods were in general use. The first of these consisted in the use of 

 an agar medium composed of mineral salt solution, with 0-25 per cent. 



' Lohnis, F. and Lockliead, G., Cent. Bakt. Par. n. 1913, 37, 400-492. 



- The stock mineral salt solution used was the nitrogen-free solution given by Meyer 

 (Prndicum d. botan. Bakterienkundc, Jena, 1903, p. 15) and had the following composition: 

 1-Ogrm. KHjPOj, 01 grm. CaCl,, 0-3 grm. MgSO^ -i- 7HjO, 0-1 grm. NaC'l, 0-01 grm. 

 Fe,CL, 1000 grm. H,0. 



