14.] 



ETHYL ALCOHOL 



51 



alcohol from sugars is brought about in 

 some cases by symbiotic associations of 

 yeasts and bacteria. The ' kephir ' 

 ferment used for preparing- an effer- 

 vescent beverage from milk is some- 

 times considered to be of this nature. 

 The bacterium of kephir grains is 

 Disporci (Bacillus] caucasica of Kern. 

 There are also present two species of 

 Streptococcus and a yeast. The latter 

 can produce feeble fermentation in wort, 

 but cannot attack lactose (Kern, Bot. 

 Zeit. 1882; Biol. Centr. 1882; Freu- 

 denreich, Centr. Bakter. II, 3, 47 ; 87 ; 

 135). According to Jorgensen (' Mi- 

 kroorganismen/ p. 92) a true Sacckaro- 

 myce* is present in Russian kephir grains 

 which is capable of fermenting lactose 

 independently of other organisms. 

 Among the yeasts recently identified in 

 kephir grains are 8. cartilaginous of 

 Lindner and S.fragili* of Jorgensen. 



Among the organisms which ferment 

 milk and convert it into the alcoholic 

 beverage ' koumiss ' is a Bacillus which 

 produces alcohol from milk-sugar 

 (Schipin, Centr. Bakter. II, 6, 775). 

 Ethyl alcohol is among the products 

 of fermentation of milk-sugar by lactic 

 acid bacteria (Barthel, Centr. Bakter. 

 II, Q, 417). The species experimented 

 with was possibly Bacterium lactis 

 acicli of Leichmann (Ibid. II, 5, 344). 



The ' ginger-beer plant ' consists of 

 a symbiotic association of Sacckaromyces 

 pyriformis and Bacterium vermiforme 

 (Marshall Ward, Phil. Trans. 1892, 

 183. B, 125). A similar ferment found 

 as a parasitic growth on the sugar-cane 

 (Madagascar) consists of a yeast and 

 Bacterium, and can ferment saccharose, 

 maltose, d-glucose, and d-fructose (Mar- 

 shall Ward and Green, Proc. Roy. Soc. 

 65, 65). The industrial production of 

 alcohol from starch by Amylomi/ces 

 rouxii of Calmette (see above for refer- 

 ences to process of Boidin and Collette) 

 is regarded as a case of symbiotic 

 association between the Amylomyces and 

 the yeast (' gentil ') which is subse- 

 quently added (Marbach, Abst. in Journ. 

 Fed. Inst. 5, 479). 



Giycerol gives alcohol among the 

 products of its fermentation by various 

 bacteria in appropriate nutrient solu- 



E 



tions in presence of chalk (Fitz, Ber. 

 0,1348; 10,266: 11,42; 1892; 12, 

 481 ; 13, 1311 ; 15, 873; Morin, Bull. 

 Soc. [a] 48, 803). The glycerol fer- 

 menting organism obtained from hay 

 infusion by Fitz is Bacillus fitzianus of 

 Zopf, and the butyl alcohol producing 

 organism obtained from cow-dung by 

 this author is B. butylicns (see Emmer- 

 ling, Ber. 30, 451). These organisms, 

 or bacteria associated with them, are 

 said to give small quantities or traces 

 of alcohol among the products of their 

 fermentation of erythritol, mannitol, 

 starch, dextrin, inulin, lactose, dulcitol, 

 calcium citrate and malate (during 

 propionic fermentation), calcium lactate 

 (propionic fermentation), calcium gly- 

 cerate, calcium tartrate, gelatine, and 

 albumin (Fitz ; erythritol, Ber. 11, 45; 

 1890 ; 12, 475 5 mannitol, 1O, 280 ; 11, 

 1895; 15, 875; 16, 845; starch, 1O, 

 282 ; 11, 44; dextrin, 1O, 282 ; inulin, 



11, 45 ; lactose, Ibid. ; dulcitol, Ibtd. 

 Ca-citrate, 11, 1895; Ca-malate, 11, 

 1896; 12, 481 ; Ca-lactate, 11, 1898 ; 



12, 475; 13, 1509; Ca-glycerate, 12, 

 474; 13, 1312; 16, 844; Ca- tartrate, 

 12, 475 ; gelatine and albumin, 12, 

 480). Bacteria from blue pus produce 

 alcohol among other products from 

 glycerol (Fitz, Ber. 11, 1 893). Glycerol 

 gives alcohol among the products of its 

 fermentation by Pneumococcus (Grim- 

 bert) and by Bacillus acidi leevolactici 

 (Schardinger : see Emmerling's ' Die 

 Zersetzung, &c/ p. 61). 



The Granulobacler saccharobutyricum 

 obtained by Beyerinck from grain 

 (Centr. Bakter. 15, 171) produces alco- 

 hol from glycerol (Emmerling, loc. cit. 

 453). Glycerol gives alcohol when fer- 

 mented by the Bacillus etfiaceticus of 

 Frankland and Fox (Proc. Roy. Soc. 

 46, 345). The latter produces alcohol 

 also from mannitol, arabinose, glucose, 

 lactose, saccharose, and calcium gly- 

 cerate (Frankland and Fox, loc. cit. 

 Frankland and Lumsden, Trans. Ch. 

 Soc. 61, 432; F. and MacGregor, 

 Ibid. 737 ; F. and Frew, Ibid. 59, 81). 



The Bacillus b^ttylicus of Fitz pro- 

 duces alcohol (trace) also from saccha- 

 rose (Ber. 15, 876) and from glucose 

 (Emmerling, Ber. 30, 451)- 



