78 MICRO-ORGANISMS AND FERMENTATION. 



top-fermentation beers. He found that lager-beer, when so 

 attacked, soon yielded a considerable sediment, and developed 

 a bad odour and taste. The Berlin white beer often assumed 

 a red colour, and it was then always found to be infected with 

 many Sarcina forms, the growth of which increased 

 considerably after a few days at a somewhat higher tempera- 

 ture; temperatures between 10 and 14 C. are stated by 

 Reincke to be particularly favourable in this case. However, 

 he correctly lays stress on the fact that it is not certain 

 whether Sarcina or the rod bacteria, which are also present, 

 are the actual cause of the disease ; it is only known that in 

 red beer the presence of Sarcina is a symptom of abnormal 

 conditions ; whether it is the cause or the result can only be 

 determined by exact investigations. 



In the fresh residues from the distillation of spirit, which 

 are employed as fodder, Brdutigam found a sarcina-like 

 micrococcus, which possesses pathogenic properties. It has 

 not yet been determined by direct experiments whether the 

 so-called " malanders " or " greasy heels " of domestic animals 

 is caused by this organism. 



Lindner examined a series of sarcina-like organisms, and 

 contributed largely to our knowledge of the life-histories of 

 these organisms. The so-called Pediococcus cerevisice appears 

 in cultures in the form of cocci, diplococci, or tetrads. 

 Cultures made on meat broth with peptone gelatine, and 

 partially covered with thin plates of gypsum, showed that 

 the access of air is favourable to the growth of the colonies 

 of this bacterium ; during the first days all the colonies were 

 found to be colourless ; subsequently a yellowish, or yellowish- 

 brown, tinge began to appear. The gelatine was not liquefied. 

 On meat-broth gelatine this organism gave, in streak cultures, 

 a greyish white, moist streak, with nearly smooth borders, 

 and which, in thin layers, was strongly iridescent. In 

 puncture-cultivations it developed throughout the length of 

 the puncture, forming a white tuft on the surface of the 

 gelatine, which spread out like a leaf. On boiled slices of 



