[SADLER] A SLIME-PRODUCING ORGANISM 67 



Note: It is obvious that the relation of the organism to 

 temperature has an important practical bearing when con- 

 sidered in relation to milk. Should a milk supply become 

 infected, it will be seen that thorough cooling would prevent 

 the rapid multiplication of the organism; further, the organ- 

 ism would effectiveh^ be destroyed during pasteurisation at 

 the usual temperatures adopted under commercial condi- 

 tions - 145°F. for 20 - 30 minutes. 



Vitality on Culture Medium: Culture survives several months on 

 artificial media. On beef peptone agar after three months no 

 sliminess can be noted. On re-inoculation into milk and beef 

 peptone agar, pronounced sliminess again appears within eight 

 to twelve hours. It is evident that artificial sub-culturing does 

 not inhibit the tendency to produce slime. 



Relation to Oxygen: The organism is a facultative anaerobe. 



Biochemical Reactions: 

 Indol production 

 Reduction of Nitrates 

 Voges-Proskauer reaction 

 Methyl Red reaction 



Indol not produced. 

 Nitrates reduced. 

 Negative. 

 Acid. 



Fermentation of Carbohydrates:^ 



With the exception of dulcite and starch all the test substances 

 are fermented to acid and profusely to gas within 24 hours at 

 37°C. The action upon dulcite is variable; the acid reaction is 

 but feeble, and gas does not make its appearance, if at all, until 

 after 3 days' incubation. Starch is fermented to acid and to 

 gas in 24 hours; but gas production is not profuse and continues 

 to increase until the end of 2 ^/^ days. No quantitative determina- 

 tions of gas were made, but comparative results have been 

 obtained by the use of the Durham tube. To insure that the 

 results should be truly comparative the inoculations into the 

 fermentation substances were made from a young peptone broth 

 culture; 2-3 drops of the culture being added to each tube from 

 a 1 cc. pipette. 



The action upon the sugar solutions was most characteristic 

 in the degree to which sliminess appeared. All the solutions were 

 decidedly syrupy in consistency, and a pronounced sliminess was 



*The carbohydrate solutions were prepared as previously noted. See "Bac- 

 terial Soft Rot of Turnips." Harrison and Sadler, 1913. Trans. Roy. Soc, Canada, 

 3rd Ser., Vol. VII, Page 98. 



