540 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIII. No. 849 



fermenting capacity are greatly reduced, both in 

 about the same ratio. Increase of temperature 

 stimulates growth and fermenting capacity. The 

 comparison of a milk culture and a lactose broth 

 culture showed a higher rate of growth in milk, 

 a higher fermenting capacity in broth. Oxygen 

 reduced the total amount of acid produced and in 

 the two strains under study, the fermenting 

 capacity is more influenced than the growth. It 

 was found that transferring in sugar-free broth 

 for 32 days in succession did not influence the 

 fermenting capacity at all. 



The frequent statement that in young cultures 

 growth takes place without fermentation is not 

 based on actual experiments. The amount of 

 products formed by a small number of cells must 

 necessarily be so insignificant that it can not 

 possibly be detected by chemical analysis. From 

 the time when a chemical proof is possible, the 

 parallelism is evident. There is no indication of 

 a discontinuity. This is proved, however, only for 

 true products of fermentation. Toxins may be 

 secondary products and follow other laws. 

 A Salophytic Diplococcus : T. D. Beckwith. 



During the summers of 1907 and 1910 the prin- 

 cipal cause of the reddening during preparation 

 for market of salted codfish and other gadoid fish 

 appeared to be a diplococcus which could not be 

 isolated by use of standard media. Special media 

 were devised, the first being an infusion of ordi- 

 nary salted and unpreserved shredded cod flesh 

 (100 parts) with distilled or rain water (1,000 

 parts) with the addition of 2 per cent, agar-agar. 

 The second medium was made by using pickle 

 from the butts diluted once with distilled or rain 

 water and with 2 per cent, agar-agar added. The 



easily with all common formulae such as carbol- 

 fuchsia and methylene blue. It is Gram positive; 

 non-motile, although having a very marked brown- 

 ian motion. No capsule could be demonstrated, 

 although the colony on immersion in water showed 

 slight zoogloea-like characteristics. It is an ob- 

 ligatory aerobe. Colony is 1-2 mm. in diameter 

 with edge slightly raised. In chromogenesis the 

 colony is salmon pink but color is somewhat les- 

 sened after repeated transfer, becoming pinkish 

 white. In pure culture feeble growth appears on 

 standard neutral beef agar but is not fostered by 

 the other common media in vogue. 



No description could be found of this diplo- 

 coccus and it is thought to be a new species. As 

 it appears on the salt flesh of practically all mem- 

 bers of that family, the name of Diplococcus gadi- 

 darum n. s. is proposed. 



Later it was demonstrated that sometimes the 

 form may be isolated on A.P.H.A standard beef 

 agar plus 7-10 per cent. NaCl. Such a method is 

 not at all certain in result, however. 



On account of the fact that fish acted upon 

 by this form undergo rapid decomposition due to 

 its effects, and its characteristics are so halo- 

 phytio tests were made to compare its growth in a 

 saline medium with two most common forms of 

 albuminous disintegration, B. subtilis and B. fluo- 

 rescens liquefaciens. The sets of media were pre- 

 pared by the addition of various per cents, of 

 NaCl to A.P.H.A. standard beef agar with neu- 

 tral reaction. Plates were incubated 9& hours at 

 30° C. The following table shows the points of 

 repression of growth of these microorganisms 

 upon such media and demonstrates the strong 

 halophytism of this diplococcus. 



Per cent, of NaCl 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 12.5 15 20 



Diplococcus gadidarum + + + + + + + + + + + 



Bacillus subtilis + + + + + 



Bacillus fluorescens liquefaciens + + + + + 



NaCl content of these media averaged 5.25 per 

 cent. 



Upon these media at 30° 0. in 96 hours salmon- 

 pink colonies appeared upon plating out pinkened 

 fish fiesh. The predominant colony form was a 

 diplococcus. This coccus is 0.4-0.5 fi, in diameter 

 in freshly isolated cultures; later upon repeated 

 transfer during two years' time, it showed swollen 

 involutionary forms sometimes 1.0 /j, in size. The 

 adjacent sides of the units of the diplococcus are 

 slightly flattened like the gonococcus. It stains 



Optimum condition for Diplococcus gadidarum 

 n. s. is indicated to be 5-10 NaCl, for B. subtilis 

 and B. fluorescens liquefaciens 0-1 per cent. 



At Gloucester and afterwards in our labora- 

 tories, repeated smear preparations made from 

 particles of fish flesh taken from the most red- 

 dened portions along the vertebrEB where the color- 

 ing is most prominent and generally makes its 

 first appearance, showed this diplococcus to be the 

 most prominent form. It seems likely then that 

 this diplococcus is one of the most destructive 



