STUDIES ON FERMENTATION. 161 



ferment ; and in the course of September the number of tubes 

 that fermented increased progressively. In each series of 

 tubes, however, we always found a few in which there was a 

 complete absence of fermentation. 



Here are a few actual examples. In the beginning of 

 September we placed grapes in thirteen tubes, into some whole, 

 into others crushed ones, taken from bunches of the variety 

 known as the ploussard, the fruit being already sufficiently ripe 

 to be very pleasant to the taste. All the tubes of this series 

 failing to give us any trace of fermentation, or anything besides 

 ordinary moulds — which indeed appeared in all our experiments, 

 whether there was or was not fermentation — we began a new 

 series of experiments, under similar conditions, on September 

 28th, as follows : — 



Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 tubes containing one uncrushed grape. 



!No. 5 tube containing two uncrushed grapes. 



No. 6 tube containing two crushed grapes. 



No. 7 tube containing two crushed grapes, in 2 c.c. of water 

 previously boiled. 



No. 8 tube with a fragment of a bunch from which grapes 

 had been cut, and occupying the entire depth of liquid. 



No. 9 tube with a fragment of wood from a branch. 



Nos. 10, 11, and 12 tubes with a fragment of leaf. 



On September 29th and 30th there was no appearance of 

 fermentation in any of the flasks, but all contained flakes of 

 fungoid mycelium. On the 1st of October fermentation more 

 or less marked and active occurred in 2, 3, 4, and 5, in which 

 uncrushed grapes were, accompanied by a general turbidity of 

 the liquid, and a suspension of the development of the fungoid 

 growths. It was still absent in 1, 6, and 7, of which the 

 first contained an entire, the latter crushed grapes. No. 8, 

 containing the woody part of the bunch, was in active fer- 

 mentation. Nos. 9, 10, 11, and 12, with fragments of branch or 

 leaves, showed no signs of fermentation. The following day 

 No. 1 was fermenting ; but from October 5th onwards there 

 was no alteration in the number of fermenting tubes. 



M 



