366 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [NOVEMBER 
first plating and continued throughout the experiments, which lasted 
six days. 
The results shown in table VII indicate that the treatment given 
caused less acceleration. In this case platings were made at shorter 
intervals. The first plating was made seven hours after stimulating; 
at this time scarcely any acceleration was shown, which indicated 
the possibility of the death of the organisms by treatment, while dur- 
ing the same period the normal nearly doubled in the number of 
bacteria. The later platings, however, made at 24, 31, and 48 hours 
respectively after stimulation, showed a greater increase than that — 
given by the normal, but the ten charges given in the latter experiment 
were evidently too strong to obtain the optimum results. In both 
the experiments enumerated (tables VI and VII) the milk was kept 
on ice. 
TABLE VIII 
Showing the influence of static electricity (positive and negative charges) upon 
the bacteria in milk. Electrical jars charged with 100 sparks each. 
NUMBER OF BACTERIA IN ICC 
DaTE OF MAKING 
CULTURE : i 
Electrical (positi Electrical (negative 
Normal sy ctor iy é charge) 
May 31, 10 A. M...... 528,000 528,000 528,000 
May st, <P 4.2. 1,546,000 568,333 601,100 
June 1, 10 A. M...... 24,885,344 1,323,333 916,666 
Joune:1,. 35 Pees 164,033,000 2,144,600 2,133,460 
june. 2, 10 A.M. <s.. 225,103,632 15,068,333 13,631,090 
June. 9) 6 Po Mca 200, 300,000 84,654,000 45,612,000 
June 3, 10 A.M... ... 149,930,000 102,032,420 83,533»22° 
In another experiment (table VIII) the number of sparks was_ 
increased to 100 and the electrically treated jars were charged at 10 
A. M. and 5 P. M. each day for a period of three days, with the result 
that a decided inhibitory effect was noticed after the first treatment, 
followed by a less increase for the succeeding periods than that given 
by the normal, and on the third day, when the experiment was dis- 
continued, the electrically treated milk showed a smaller number of 
bacteria than the normal, thus showing that electrical charges were 
too strong for the maximum development of the organisms. 
A much greater inhibitory effect is shown in table IX, where 10° 
sparks were applied at more frequent intervals—1o A. M., I P- M+ 
