1913] CURRENT LITERATURE 87 
indicating colorometrically a concentration of 0.005 per cent of sulphocyanic 
acid could be obtained, but the equivalent of that concentration of ammonium 
sulphocyanate is without effect on the fungus. That other poisonous sub- 
stances are formed is doubted by the author, because if to a solution free from 
iron, on which Aspergillus has grown for three days without forming spores, 
iron is added the culture becomes covered with spores in 24 hours. The 
suppression of spore-formation is therefore due to the lack of iron and not toa 
toxic substance. Furthermore, since ferric sulphocyanate also inhibits spore- 
formation, the favorable effect of iron cannot be due to a possible neutralization 
of sulphocyanic acid by iron. The author notes a similarity in the behavior of 
cultures without iron and those suffering from lack of oxygen, and suggests 
that iron is possibly instrumental in bringing about oxygen fixation. 
ULIN’s observation, confirmed by SauTon, of the occurrence in cultures 
of Aspergillus of a substance giving a red color reaction with ferric salts and 
therefore regarded as sulphocyanic acid, is of interest in view of the fact that 
Gosto in Italy and AtsBerc and Brack in this country find in cultures of other 
molds phenol-like substances giving red color reactions with ferric salts. 
A later paper by Sauton® consists essentially of a republication of the 
foregoing paper with some additional observations, although in the meantime 
papers. It appears from SAUTON 
general among fungi, for while Aspergillus niger, A. fumigatus, Penicillium 
glaucum, and P. candidum make only feeble growth on Rauttn’s solution free 
from iron, Mucor Mucedo, Rhizopus nigricans, and Racodium coellare thrive 
well without iron, or at least with only such minute traces of it that it is impos- 
sible to detect them. Since the publication of SauTon’s first paper, BERTRAND 
and JAVILLIER have called attention to the effect of manganese on the growth 
of Aspergillus niger, without however giving attention LS om influence of that 
element on spore-production. SAvTON finds th f manganese 
for iron also stimulates spore-production. He has not been able, however, 
to obtain sulphate of manganese, which he employed, entirely free from iron, 
and although the traces of iron thus added were extremely minute, he does 
not draw any conclusion as to the possibility of substituting one of these 
elements for the other. Further evidence that the inhibition of spore- 
production is not due to the formation of sulphocyanic acid was obtained from 
an experiment in which both sulphur and iron were absent. Although the 
formation of sulphocyanic acid was not possible under these conditions, spore- 
production was nevertheless inhibited. On the addition of sulphate of iron 
spores were formed, showing that it is not sulphocyanic acid which inhibits 
spore-formation. 
eS 
6 Sauton, B., Influence du fer sur la culture de quelques moisissures. Ann. Inst. 
Pasteur 25:922-928. 1911 
