March 3, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



319 



terium lacfis acidi colony. This type was 

 either lance-shaped or a small round dense 

 colony with uniform edges. A zone of cloudi- 

 ness encircling the colony was characteristic 

 of this form. The colonies of this group were 

 also often observed and isolated from plain 

 agar plate cultures. 



The fact that the colonies of these organisms 

 are very similar in many respects to those of 

 Bacterium laciis acidi is probably one reason 

 why this group has been overlooked by other 

 investigators. 



Much difference was likewise noted in the 

 morphological features of the different cul- 

 tures isolated, as well as in the same culture. 

 In size, the organisms vary from small oval 

 rods to well defined rods and filaments. 



Detailed studies of many kinds of ensilage 

 were made from the time the material entered 

 the silo and at frequent intervals until en- 

 silage was formed. The following kinds of 

 ensilage were examined: cane, kafSr, cane fod- 

 der, alfalfa, and several kinds of ensilage made 

 from the mixture of alfalfa and different ear- 



TABLE I 



Action of Buloarian Cultures in Plain and Peptone Milk 



(Temperature Incubation 35° C.) 



(Figures give No. c.c. of N/20 NaOH to neutralize 5 e.c. milk.) 



*Check. 



On glucose agar slants, the organisms grow 

 very well. The characteristic growth is beaded 

 to effuse in appearance. Glucose appears to 

 favor the growth of the group. A good growth 

 is observed in one to four days in glucose 

 broth inoculated directly from a colony, while 

 on the other hand, a litmus milk culture from 

 a similar origin is coagulated only after two 

 to fourteen days' incubation. Peptone added 

 to the milk favors their growth; coagulation 

 and acid production being much more prompt. 

 The acidity produced by the different or- 

 ganisms in milk varies from 0.9 per cent, to 2.5 

 per cent., calculated as lactic acid. 



The rate and amount of acidity produced 

 from a few cultures, growing in plain and in 

 1 per cent, peptone milk respectively is shown 

 in Table I. 



bohydrate materials. In every case the Bul- 

 garian organisms were present in sufficient 

 numbers to be very influential in silage fer- 

 mentation. 



In Fig. 1 may be found curves plotted 

 from the data obtained from kaifir silage. The 

 table is self explanatory, showing the relation 

 of the total Bulgarian organisms to the total 

 microbial content throughout the ripening 

 process of the ensilage. The ensilage was 

 considered very good. The acidity^ as it en- 

 tered the silo was 0.18 per cent., figured as 

 lactic acid. The final acidity was 2.07 per 

 cent., of which 1.36 per cent, was non-volatile. 



2 The total acidity was determined by the 

 method proposed by Swanson, Calvin and Hunger- 

 ford, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 

 Vol. XXXV., No. 4, April, 1913. 



