136 INFECTIONS OF THE DIGESTIVE TRACT 



minations have regularly been made in the case of the 

 volatile fatty acids, ammonia, indol, skatol, and phenol. 

 Alcohol and acetone have also been tested for in these 

 flasks. In the case of the sugar-bouillon flasks the 

 contents have been examined for alcohol, acetone, the 

 volatile fatty acids, and the non-volatile organic acids. 

 The molecular weight of the barium salts of the volatile 

 fatty acids has regularly been determined in order to 

 obtain a conception of the chemical nature and quantity 

 of the chief fatty acids produced. The interesting ob- 

 servation has been made that in the flasks containing 

 calcium carbonate the molecular weight obtained for 

 the volatile fatty acids has nearly always been some- 

 what higher than in the case of the molecular weight 

 obtained from the volatile fatty acids of the sugar- 

 bouillon flasks. This fact corresponds to the appearances 

 in the smears (already noted) that putrefactive anaerobes 

 are found in greater abundance in the neutral flasks 

 than in the sugar-bouillon flasks to which calcium car- 

 bonate has not been added. 



The fact that acetone has been found in many instances 

 in the flasks containing peptone bouillon and peptone 

 bouillon with the addition of calcium carbonate will be 

 referred to in reviewing the facts regarding the nature 

 of the products of fermentative putrefactive decomposi- 

 tion. 



The method employed to determine the presence of 



2 



In this case, however, alcoholic intoxication could be almost 

 certainly excluded. There were various other indications that 

 the neuritis and psychosis were due to intestinal intoxications. 



