Putrid Antisera and Sera 



121 



the organisms had sunk to the bottom, leaving the supernatant fluid 

 clear. When necessary the fluids were filtered through filter-paper. 

 All were slightly alkaline or neutral in reaction. 



Control. No organisms 

 Putrefactive ) ,, , 



organism / ' ' 

 No. II. 

 No. III. 

 Streptococcus 

 Putrefactive ) >, jy 



organism j 

 B. anthracia 

 Hofmaim's bacillus 

 B. subtilis 

 B. typhosus 

 B. diphtheriae 

 Putrefactive \ ^ y 



organism j 

 Staphylococcus albus 

 B. coli 

 V. of cholera 



In considering the above table in detail it is seen that the effects of 

 various organisms on ox and human serum agree fairly closely with a 

 few exceptions. The most striking are the putrefactive organisms 

 I, II, and V. These differences may be due to the fact that growth in 

 nearly all cases was less marked in the undiluted human, than in the 

 diluted ox serum, the latter moreover was a year old and had been 

 preserved in sealed tubes after filtration through porcelain. The 

 effects on horse serum of the action of specific organisms combined 

 with general putrefaction for 10 days agree with those of putrefactive 

 organisms I, II, and III, on ox serum, in that the capacity for forming 

 precipitum is increased. 



It appears then from the few quantitative experiments we have 

 made that the results of bacterial growth on sera differ, some reducing 

 the quantity of precipitum produced and others raising it, neither 

 action being however very marked. Such slight changes as do occur 

 do not alter the specific character of the reaction. 



Experiments were also made on human and other sera which had 

 undergone natural putrefaction. Most of the materials had been 



