BACTERIOLOGY OF THE OYSTER. 17 



Cleaning of Oysters: — 



"The outside of the oj^ster shells was Avell scrubbed with soap and 

 water, and cleansed as thoroughly as possible under running water; 

 the shells were then well washed in running main water, and finally 

 with sterile water. 



Cleansing of the Hands : — 



"The hands of the experimenter were thoroughly cleansed with a 

 hard scrubbing brush, soap and water, then rinsed first with 1:1000 

 corrosive sublimate solution, and finally with sterile water. 



Subsequent Procedure : — 



"The 03'sters were laid out upon a sterile towel, the flat shell 

 uppermost. They were opened in this position with a sterile knife, 

 held in the right hand, while they were held in this position with a 

 corner of the sterile towel grasped in the left hand. Great care was 

 taken to avoid any loss of liquor in the shell. This liquor was poured 

 into a sterile 100 c. c. cylinder, the oyster was then partly cut with 

 sterile scissors and the liquor thus freed allowed to run into the 

 cylinder. Ten oysters were thus treated in each experiment. The 

 volume of the oyster plus the oyster liquor was read off, and usually 

 varied bew^een 80 and 120 c.c. so that the oysters, being of medium 

 size and containing a medium amount of liquor, 100 c.c. might be 

 considered a fair average of the total shell contents of the ten oysters. 

 Sterile water was then poured into the cylinder up to the 1,000 c.c. 

 mark, and the whole well stirred with a sterile rod. 



"An Alternative Quantative Method for the Bacteriological 

 Examination of Oysters. 



''An alternative method for the bacteriological examination of 

 oysters may be given here, although the routine work, except where 

 otherwise stated, has been carried out by the foregoing method. 



"The oysters are cleansed and opened, with the same precautions 

 already noted. Then the body of the oyster is cut into small pieces 

 with sterile scissors : this process should be carried out in such a way 

 as to insure the thorough mixture of the gastric juice of the oyster 

 and the liquor. The oyster, meanwhile, is carefully held with the 

 concave shell do"\vnwards and the flat shell bent back or altogether 

 removed. To examine the liquid contents of the shell without this 



