A Bacterial Disease of Stone Fruits 403 



slant, and the medium below the mass became entirely bleached in five 

 or six weeks. 



Lactose litmus agar streak. — Growth in lactose litmus was not so marked 

 as on the dextrose litmus medium. There was slight growth along the 

 path of the needle by the close of the second day. The streak was slightly 

 elevated, and it gradually widened and became filiform. The slimy 

 growth passed downward and accumulated at the base of the slant. 

 Growth was less abundant, and bleaching below the slimy mass only 

 slight, at the end of six weeks. 



Potato plugs. — Potato plugs were placed in running water for three 

 hours, and were then put into tubes containing over five cubic centimeters 

 of distilled water (the lower end of the plugs being in the water) and 

 sterilized for twenty-five minutes at 100° C. for three consecutive days. 

 The streak was made with a platinum needle from a six-days-old nutrient 

 agar culture. The tubes were kept at room temperature of about 25° C. 

 A slightly yellow, glistening streak developed along the path of the needle 

 in two days. It made a moderate, slightly raised, echinulate growth, 

 covering from one-half to two-thirds of the slant in about ten days but 

 never completely covering it. One of the strains, however, repeatedly 

 covered the entire surface of the cylinders in from five to six days. The 

 growth had a contoured, wet, glistening, amber yellow (2) appearance. 

 It was slimy, was free from odor, and turned the cylinder slightly gray. 

 Most of the strains had only a slight action on potato starch. 



Bouillon. — Both meat broth and meat extract bouillon were used. 

 The meat broth material gave an acid reaction of + 15 Fuller's scale, and 

 the meat extract bouillon recorded + 12. Inoculations were made from 

 a three-days-old bouillon culture. All cultures were kept at about 25° C. 



The medium was clouded after from twenty-four to forty-eight hours. 

 An amber yellow (1) rim formed in from twelve to fifteen days, followed 

 by formation of a pellicle. On being shaken, the material settled in 

 the form of yellow, viscid flakes. The material cleared in about six or 

 eight weeks and became raw sienna (3) in color, with a shmy, amber 

 yellow (2) bacterial growth in the bottom of the tube. Very httle difference 

 was observed in the growths of the organism in extract bouillon and in 

 broth bouillon. 



Milk. — The milk used was maize yellow (1) in color, due to over- 

 heating in sterilizing, and was about 1.8 per cent acid. All tubes were 



