INFECTIONS OF THE DIGESTIVE TRACT 133 



value of the sediments, as an indication of the well-de- 

 fined character of the bacterial conditions that give rise 

 to these individual peculiarities. A highly interesting 

 observation which has been repeatedly made is that the 

 character of the sediments may be greatly altered as a 

 patient grows better or develops a more intense degree 

 of a condition from which he is suffering. The gradual 

 reappearance of the colon bacilli in the sedimentary 

 fields, with the corresponding disappearance of an exces- 

 sive number of coccal and streptococcal forms and of 

 anaerobes, has repeatedly been noticed as a concomitant 

 of a pronounced improvement in clinical conditions. In 

 addition to the study of the mixed faBcal flora (as grown 

 upon fermentation tubes) many observations have now 

 been made upon larger volumes of media in which the 

 mixed flora has grown for relatively long periods of time, 

 usually a week. As a routine procedure in the investiga- 

 tion of many normal persons and numerous pathological 

 conditions, four flasks containing about five hundred 

 cubic centimeters each of medium have been inoculated 

 with the suspensions of the mixed flora. The media em- 

 ployed have been peptone bouillon, peptone bouillon with 

 calcium carbonate, sugar bouillon and sugar bouillon 

 with calcium carbonate. The organisms have been per- 

 mitted to grow for a period of seven days. Under the 

 conditions prevailing in these flasks a large part of the 

 growth has been anaerobic and a high degree of anaero- 

 biosis has been maintained, in part owing to the forma- 

 tion of reducing products such as hydrogen, which are 

 incidental to the development of fermentative and 



