52 DE. BASTIAK ON THE 



Urine, almost neutralized with liquor potassBS, which has been 

 heated to 212° F. for one to three hours in closed airless flasks 

 will not unfrequently ferment in two or three days. A very little 

 more or less of alkali, however, will with some urines suffice 

 to prevent the occurrence of this change. 



In sealed flasks half-full of neutralized urine, and half-full of 

 ordinary air, which have been heated in a calcium-chloride bath 

 to 230° F. for 5 to 30 minutes, fermentation takes place much 

 more rarely. Still I have seen it occur fourteen times out of fifty 

 trials — showing itself in the course of one to three days. In seven 

 of these cases the fluids did not become generally turbid, though 

 one or more tufts of Bacilli appeared in each : these were aU speci- 

 mens of the same urine which had been heated to 230° F. for 

 5 minutes. In the other seven instances there was very slight 

 general turbidity, and the vessels had been heated to 230° F. for 

 30 minutes. 



In twelve trials with faintly acid leerwort, partly of 1060 spe- 

 cific gravity and partly diluted to 1030, heated in tubes with 

 air to 230° F. for 10 minutes, fermentation did not once occur ; 

 though, as in the experiments with urine, the fluids were, after 

 this destructive heating, kept for many days at a temperature of 

 122° F. 



The results with ^«?/-infusion, acid *, neutral, and faintly alka- 

 line, having a specific gravity of about 1005, have been much 

 more successful. In each case about half an ounce of the fluid 

 was used, half- filling a tube which was sealed when cold ; so that 

 above the fluid there was ordinary air. After heating the tubes 

 in the calcium bath, some of them Avere exposed in the incubator 

 to temperatures between 104°-113° F. (40°-45° C), and others 

 to a temperature of 122° F. In fourteen cases the infusions were 

 heated to 230° F. for five minutes ; and in every one of these or- 

 ganisms showed themselves within 36 hours. In twenty-one 

 cases they were heated to 248° F. (120° C.) for 30 minutes ; and 

 in five of these latter trials (all with the same hay-infusion) no fer- 

 mentation subsequently occurred. In the other instances more 

 or less distinct fermentation supervened — though in some the 

 signs of change before opening the vessels were only slight. The 

 characters and organisms presented by these different fluids will 

 be referred to in the next section. 



* Only three times in thici state. In the other cases liquor potaeste was added 

 so as to make it neutral or slightly alkaline. 



