446 SOIL SCIENCE 



Potato agar, 5 days. 

 Form : Round. 

 Size : 2 to 3 mm. 

 Elevation : Convex. 



Consistency : Soft, colonies from 15 to 20 days old become brittle. 

 Chromogenesis : Semi-transparent white, with pearl-like luster. 

 Internal structure: Granular. 



11. Filter paper broths, 15 days. The paper is reduced to a thin, filmy 



grayish white mass which readily breaks up on slight agitation. 

 The paper is readily attacked in solutions supplied with ammonium 

 sulphate or peptone; but is much slower in solutions containing 

 potassium nitrate or casein as the source of nitrogen. 

 III. Biochemical Features. 



12. Dunham's solution, 10 days: No ammonia produced; no nitrite pro- 



duced. 



13. Starch nitrate broth, 10 days: No ammonia produced; no nitrite pro- 



duced. 



14. Peptone nitrite solution, 10 days : No indol produced. 



15. Carbohydrate broths, 12 days: No gas produced. Per cent of acidity 



(Fuller's Scale) with: Dextrose, .50; Lactose, .20; Saccharose, 

 .10; Malthose, .10; Glycerine, .10; Mannite, .10; Starch, .10. 



Bacillus almus, n. sp. 



Source: Soil from Arlington, CaUfornia; Bonito, California, and Pasadena, Cali- 

 fornia. 



I. Morphology. 



1. Vegetative cells : Average dimensionsl.2 x .5 fi. 



2. Endospores : None observed. 



3. Flagella : 1 to 5 in number ; 3 to 4 yi^ in length. 



4. Staining reactions: Gram negative. Stains readily with the aniline 



dyes. 



II. Cultural Characteristics. 



5. Agar strokes, 5 days. 



Beef agar: Scant, white to grayish white growth. On slopes from 10 



to 15 days old the growth becomes yellowish white. 

 Potato agar: Moderate, glistening, grayish white growth. After 10 



days, the growth becomes yellowish. 

 Peptone starch agar: Moderate, glistening, grayish white growth, 



which becomes yellowish on old slopes. 



6. Potato cylinders: No growth in 30 days. 



7. Gelatin stab: Scant growth at surface and along track of the needle, 



in 5 days. No liquefaction in 30 days. 



8. Beef broth, 5 days. Lightly clouded. 



9. Litmus milk: Reddened in 6 days; neither coagulated nor digested in 



30 days. 

 10. Plate cultures. 



Ammonia cellulose agar, 15 days. 

 Form : Round. 



Size : 4 to 6 mm. in 15 days ; 6 to 8 mm. in 30 days. 

 Enzymic zone : 1 to 1.5 mm. in 15 days ; in 25 days 3 to 4 mm. 

 Elevation: Saucer shaped. 



