May 29; 1914] 



SCIENCE 



799 



the mouths of cows and 42 cultures from milk ob- 

 tained by selecting cultures showing chains in 

 lactose bile at 37°. The morphology varied under 

 different conditions but the udder cultures showed 

 the most uniform and consistent chain formation. 

 The cultures from the several sources differed in 

 the amount of acid formed in dextrose broth, those 

 from the mouth giving the highest acidity and 

 those from the udder the lowest. The milk cul- 

 tures were slightly higher than those from the 

 udder. The udder cultures would be divided into 

 two distinct groups, one of which fermented dex- 

 trose, saccharose and lactose and occasionally man- 

 nite and agreed with the published descriptions of 

 strep, pyogenes. The second group frequently 

 liquefied gelatin and in addition to dextrose, 

 saccharose and lactose, usually fermented the alco- 

 hols mannite and glycerine. The cultures from 

 feces were particularly uniform in their reactions, 

 fermenting dextrose, saccharose, lactose and raifi- 

 nose and frequently the polysaccharides starch and 

 inulin, but failing to ferment the alcohols or 

 liquefy gelatin. The cultures from the mouth dif- 

 fered from those from the udder in the higher 

 percentages of rafifinose, inulin and mannite fer- 

 menters and in less action on glycerine and gela- 

 tin. They are sharply differentiated from the 

 feces organisms in their general failure to fer- 

 ment starch and in the much higher percentage of 

 mannite fermenters. Two of the milk cultures evi- 

 dently belong with the feces group. All others 

 may be placed in one of the two udder groups. 



The Significant Characters of the Colon Group Iso- 

 lated from Cow Feces: L. A. Rogers, Wm. M. 

 Clark and Alice 0. Evans. 

 Previous work on a collection of the colon type 

 from milk demonstrated that the gas ratio and 

 volume are constant under uniform conditions; 

 that, on the basis of the gas ratio and volume, the 

 cultures may be divided into two distinct groups 

 and that the correlation of the fermentative abil- 

 ity with the gas ratio makes this distinction 

 sharply defined. 



This paper records the results of a similar study 

 on 150 cultures isolated from bovine feces. None 

 of these cultures liquefied gelatin and all but one 

 found indol from tryptophane. By the use of a 

 simple medium and exact methods of analysis it 

 was found that in 149 cultures the CO.:H, ratio 

 varied from 0.98 to 1.20 only. One culture only 

 gave a ratio identifying it with the high ratio 

 group which made up 48 per cent, of the milk 

 series. The 149 low ratio (0.98-1.20) cultures 



were readily divided into two groups, one of which 

 fermented dextrose, saccharose, lactose, raffinose, 

 mannite, glycerine and dulcite, but almost invari- 

 ably failed to ferment starch, inulin and adonite, 

 while the second group ferments dextrose, lactose, 

 mannite and glycerine, occasionally ferments 

 adonite and dulcite and fails to ferment saccha- 

 rose, rafSnosBj starch and inulin. 



These groups agree almost perfectly with two 

 groups which may be formed from the low-ratio 

 cultures isolated from milk. Special methods 

 failed to give evidence, vrith the exception of the 

 single culture mentioned, of the presence in bovine 

 feces of the high ratio group which made up about 

 one half of the milk collection. 



Studies on the Classification of the Colon Group: 



I. J. Kligler. 



Eighty organisms generally classed under the 

 colon group were subjected to a series of fermen- 

 tative and other tests with a view of determining 

 their natural grouping as based on biometrie 

 principles. The following tests were employed: 

 (1) Morphology, Gram. (2) Fermentation of dex- 

 trose, lactose, saccharose, raffinose, glycerine, man- 

 nite, dulcite, salicin and inulin. (3) Coagulation 

 of milk. (4) Liquefaction of gelatin. (5) Pro- 

 duction of indol. (6) Reduction of nitrates. (7) 

 V. & P. reaction. Fifty-seven of the strains fell 

 into the lactose fermenting division; twenty did 

 not ferment lactose but fermented dextrose; three 

 failed to ferment. 



Acid production as determined by titrating ali- 

 quot portions of the broth with phenolphthalein 

 as an indicator was found to be a more constant 

 and a more reliable differential test than gas pro- 

 duction, as ordinarily determined. The degree of 

 initial acidity had no appreciable effect on the 

 final acidity, which was quite constant, reaching 

 its maximum on about the fourth day. The fifty- 

 seven lactose fermenters attacked mannite, gly- 

 cerine, saccharose, salicin raflSnose, dulcite and 

 inulin in the order named. Mannite, raffinose and 

 inulin were found to be of minor or doubtful 

 classifieatory importance. Saccharose divides the 

 lactose group into two distinct subgroups. 



On subdividing the saccharose groups on the 

 basis of dulcite and salicin fermentation respect- 

 ively, it was found that the saceharose-salicin 

 groups gave better correlations with indol produc- 

 tion, V. & P. reaction and gelatin liquefaction, than 

 did the saceharose-dulcite groups. 



The saccharose positive, salicin positive group 

 corresponds to B. aerogenes. 



