170 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Jail 



organism does not produce gas in any of the sugars, an 

 exposure of ten minutes to 50°C. destroys the organism. 

 There is reasou to suspect that this organism comes from 

 water. (Bull. Cornell Univ. Agrl. Exp. Sta. 165.) 



Anaerobic Development of Bacillus prodigiosus. — 

 George Ritter states as a result of his investigations that 

 peptone is not sufficient to cause the anaerobic develop- 

 ment of Bacillus prodigiosus but that it requires either 

 grape sugar, cane sugar or maltose. It never produces 

 gas. (Centralbl. Bakt. in Parasitenk. Abt. II 6 : 206.) 



Rancid Butter. — Reinmann who has investigated the 

 cause of rancidity of butter stakes that the amount of free 

 acids in butter has nothing to do withrancidity,but a high 

 percentage of casein and milk sugar is favorable for ran- 

 cidity. Of seventeen species tested not one produced ran- 

 cidity, such as Bacillus acidi lactici, B. coli-communis,B. 

 mesentericus vulgatus, B. butyricus Hueppe, B. fluores- 

 cens liquefaciens were tested. It is undetermined whether 

 rancidity is due to micro-organisms or ferments. (Cen- 

 trlbl. Bakt. in Parasitenk. Abt. II 6 : 131,209.) 



Lactic Acid Ferments and Cheese Ripening. — Freu- 

 denreich and Jensen who have investigated the ripening 

 of Emmenthaler cheese state that the so-called Tyrothrix 

 bacteria takes no part in the ripening of Emmeuthaler 

 cheese, but on the contrary act injuriously. The lactic 

 acid ferments are important since they dissolve the casein 

 and produce the characteristic products. The lactic enzy- 

 mes of Russell and Babcock are important in the ripen- 

 ing since they render soluble the casein and allow the lac- 

 tic acid bacteria to develop. (Centralbl. Bakt. u. Parasi- 

 tenk. Abt. II Z : 140).— L. H. Pammel. 



Wanted. — Microscopic preparations illustrating- the his- 

 tology of petals and sepals. Would like to get a full set for 

 John H. Lowell, Waldoboro, Maine. 



