April 7, 1911 J 



SCIENCE 



539 



the " oblique arc." In the last two publica- 

 tions by the Coast and Geodetic Survey on in- 

 vestigations of the figure of the earth (en- 

 titled, " The Figure of the Earth and Isostasy 

 from Measurements in the United States " 

 and " A Supplementary Investigation in 1909 

 of the Figure of the Earth and Isostasy") 

 the method was adopted of using the entire 

 connected network of triangulation. 



William Bowie, 

 Inspector of Geodetic Work 

 Coast and Geodetic Suevey 



THE ITHACA MEETING OF THE SOCIETY 



OF AMEEICAN BACTEEIOLOGISTS, 



DECEMBES 28-30, 1910 



Bacteriology in General Education (president's 



address) : V. A. Mooee. 



This address is printed in full in Science, Feb- 

 ruary 24, 1911. (Secretary.) 



A Bacteriological Museum and, Bureau for the 

 Exchange of Bacterial Cultures at the American 

 Museum of Natural History, New Torlc: C. E. 



A. WiNSLOW. 



The Department of Public Health at the Amer- 

 ican Museum of Natural History has equipped a 

 laboratory to serve as a central bureau for the 

 preservation and distribution of bacterial cultures 

 of both pathogenic and non-pathogenic organisms, 

 and particularly of types of new forms and varie- 

 ties. It is hoped that the laboratories of medical 

 schools, colleges, boards of health, agricultural 

 experiment stations, etc., and those engaged in 

 biochemical work of all sorts, will furnish the 

 museum with cultures at present in their posses- 

 sion, and the laboratory is now ready to receive 

 and care for all such cultures. It is desired to 

 have the history of the organisms in as fuU detail 

 as possible and the museum will be glad, where 

 necessary, to pay for the expense of transferring 

 cultures and transcribing records. Types of new 

 species and varieties are particularly desired at 

 the present time and as they may be isolated in 

 the future. 



The laboratory plans also to keep on file de- 

 scriptions of bacterial species in print or arranged 

 in the form of the standard card and will be 

 grateful for copies of any such descriptions. 



Descriptions filed in the department will be 

 carefully preserved and living cultures will be 

 kept in good condition, so far as possible, and 

 will be supplied to corresponding laboratories and 



schools and other institutions which may desire 

 cultures. The laboratory, of course, can not 

 undertake to keep on hand difficultly-cultivable 

 organisms, such as can only be maintained for a 

 few weeks after isolation from the body; neither 

 can it at present supply virulent cultures of organ- 

 isms which rapidly lose their virulence under labo- 

 ratory conditions. It should, however, be able to 

 furnish cultures of organisms of all the ordinary 

 types, which can be maintaiaed under cultivation. 

 Pathogenic forms will only be sent to properly 

 qualified persons. 



It is hoped, further, that the laboratory may 

 offer opportunities for work in systematic bac- 

 teriology, and facilities will be offered to properly 

 trained workers who may desire to conduct such 

 work at the museum or to obtain cultures for 

 carrying it on elsewhere. 



The Proposed Microbiological Central Station in 

 Berlin: Otto Eahn. 



This paper consisted of a review of the efforts 

 put forth in Germany to establish a central sta- 

 tion for investigations and distribution of micro- 

 biological cultures. It was in line with the 

 preceding paper, but indicates that the German 

 policies are more extensive and complete. (Sec- 

 retary.) 



The Fermenting Capacity of the Average Indi- 

 vidual Cell {Bacterium lactis acidi) : Otto 

 Eahn. 



It is possible to compute approximately the 

 amount of metabolic products formed by one bac- 

 terial cell in one hour. This unit is called "fer- 

 menting capacity." Object of this computation 

 is the separation of the two vital factors of 

 microbial activity, the growth and the fermenta- 

 tion. At present, this separation can be accom- 

 plished only by a mathematical calculation. The 

 fermenting capacity of the average cell is approxi- 

 mately given by the equation: 



X= 



S log bja 

 i(b—a)\og 



where ;S is the amount of products formed during 

 the time t, a is the number of cells in the begin- 

 ning, 6 the number after t hours. The fermenting 

 capacity of the average cell of Bacterium lactis 

 acidi is about 0.000,000,001 to 0.000,000,004 mg. 

 of lactic acid per hour. This amount is of the 

 same order of magnitude as the weight of the cell. 

 Old cultures of Bacterium lactis acidi, i£ trans- 

 ferred into fresh milk, ferment very slowly be- 

 cause the power of multiplication as well as the 



