26 BACTERIOLOGY OF THE OYSTER. 



This result indicates that the litre consisting of oyster liquor 

 + sterile water contained coli-like (apart from slow liquefaction of 

 gelatine) microbes in amount corresponding to about 10 per c.c. 

 The whole litre could thus be considered to contain about 10,000 coli- 

 like microbes derived from 30 c.c. of oyster liquor. 



Hence, if 10 oysters yield 30 c.c. of liquor containing 10,000 coli- 

 like microbes, taking the average liquid contents of each oyster as 

 3 c.c, this works out at 1,000 coli-like microbes in the hquid contents 

 of each oyster, or about 330 coli-like microbes per c.c. of oyster liquor. 



II. OYSTERS. 



" The oysters were one by one removed from the funnel, cut up with 

 sterile scissors, and placed in the second sterile cylinder. A known 

 quantity of sterile water (100 c.c.) was then added, the total volume 

 read off, and hence after deducting 100 c.c. the volume of the oysters 

 was obtained. It was found to be 90 c.c. Sterile water was then 

 added to the cylinder until the volume of the liquid was equal to 

 1,000 c.c. 



" The cultures were then carried out in the ordinary way described 

 elsewhere. 



Results of the Examinations of the Oysters* Bodies. 



' Coli-like microbes were respectively isolated from 10 c.c. and 1 c.c. 

 of the litre consisting of a mixture of washed oyster bodies and sterile 

 water. 



" The litre consisting of sterile water-f macerated oysters might be 

 considered to contain about 1 ,000 coli-like microbes derived from the 

 bodies of 10 oysters. Therefore, each oyster body (deprived as far 

 as possible of its natural liquor) would contain coli-like microbes 

 corresponding in number to about 100. 



" The total volume of oyster bodies being 90 c.c, the volume of each 

 of the 10 oysters averaged 9 c.c; each 9 c.c. of oyster body could be 

 considered to contain 100 coli-like microbes, or, roughly speaking, 

 11 coli-like microbes per c.c of body bulk. The contrast is very 

 striking when this number is compared with that of 330 coli-like 

 microbes per c.c. of oyster liquor, i. e., volume for volume the oyster 

 liquor contains about 30 times as many coli-like microbes as the oyster 

 body. 



