[Vol. 6 



108 ANNALS OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 



BACTERIA IN RELATION TO CELLULOSE FERMENTATION AS 



INDICATED BY THE DECAY OF WOOD 



Isolation of bacteria present on decaying wood under nat- 

 ural conditions and the determination of their cellulose-dis- 

 solving properties. — It has been satisfactorily demonstrated 

 by numerous investigators that certain bacteria have the 

 power to dissolve cellulose under both aerobic and anaerobic 

 conditions. If these forms play any part in the decay of wood 

 under natural conditions they should be found present in con- 

 nection with the fungi or alone on decaying wood. To deter- 

 mine this the bacteria from numerous samples of decaying 



wood were isolated and their cellulose-dissolving properties in- 

 vestigated. 



Method of isolation. — Small samples of decaying wood were 

 placed in test-tubes containing about 10 cc. of sterile distilled 

 water and allowed to soak from five to ten minutes with fre- 

 quent vigorous shakings of the tube to facilitate removing any 

 bacteria which might adhere to the surface of the samples. 

 Transfers were made from the water blanks to tubes of melted 

 media and plated in the usual manner. 



The following kinds of media were employed : hard potato 

 agar, cotton cellulose agar, filter-paper cellulose agar, oak cel- 

 lulose agar, ash cellulose agar, Douglas fir cellulose agar, and 

 western hemlock cellulose agar. 



The hard potato agar had the following composition : 



Extract from 200 gms. potato 



Glucose 20 gms. 



Agar 20 gms. 



Distilled water to make 1000 cc. 



The filter-paper cellulose was prepared in the manner de- 

 scribed by McBeth and Scales ( 13) and later by Cooley ( 14). 

 Fifteen gins, of filter-paper were dissolved in Schweitzer's so- 

 lution and precipitated with hydrochloric acid. The mixture 

 was diluted to ten liters and tho cellulose allowed to settle. 

 After settling, the supernatant liquid was poured off and the 

 cellulose thoroughly washed with hydrochloric acid to get rid 

 of all traces of copper. It was then thoroughly washed witli 



