MUCOSUS CAPSULATUS GROUP 189 



the absorption of which leads to intoxication to which 

 Metchnikoff ascribed senility and some specific dis- 

 eases. This observer believed that the health of 

 certain people of the Balkan states could be ascribed 

 to drinking fermented mare's milk (koumyss). The 

 various sour milks now on the market are made by 

 inoculating milk with organisms of this kind. They 

 are probably not superior to domestically prepared 

 buttermilk, if one has a good culture of the proper 

 organism to start with, except that they are apt to 

 be more uniform in content of lactic acid. The writer 

 prefers to give whey cultures of the Bulgarian bacillus 

 so that one can always know how many organisms 

 are being used. 



The organism, a large one, from 12 J'o'o t -,00 mcn 

 in length, grows in chains, best at 44 C. or 111 F. 

 in milk, but may be cultivated on other media. The 

 souring of milk takes place within twenty-four hours 

 if the temperature be correct (see Chapter on Milk). 



Bacillus Aerogenes Capsulatus of Welch. A very 

 important putrefactive organism in the intestine is 

 the Bacillus aerogenes capsulatus of Welch. This 

 organism gro\vs only in the absence of oxygen. It is 

 a large, straight, or slightly curved rod, from 2 5 * ' 

 inch up to g-J-Q inch long by about 30000 mcn wide, 

 non-motile, and encapsulated. It has the power of 

 fluidifying gelatin and clotting milk. It is introduced 

 to the human body by w^ounds probably, or it may go 

 out from the intestinal tract through a solution of the 

 mucous membrane. When lodging in the organs it 

 forms gases, giving an appearance to the liver called 

 a foam or sponge liver. It has an importance in 



