7(54 DR JAMES BUCHANAN YOUNG ON THE 



The number of organisms was as follows : — 



/3. At 4 feet 6 inches, near the coffin, 722,751 ) 



a. At 6 feet 6 inches, just under the coffin, .... 539,015 j P => ie ' 



The organic matter in both these samples was fairly large in amount, and chiefly of 

 animal origin, as indicated by the large proportion of nitrogen to carbon, and the amount 

 of organic matter was greater in the 4 feet 6 inches sample than in that at the lower 

 level, immediately under the coffin. The proportion of nitrogen to carbon, however, was 

 higher in the sample from immediately under the coffin than in the more superficial 

 one. 



No. II. :— 



a. Echo Bank Cemetery. A scraping was taken from the side of a coffin just laid 

 bare in opening an adjoining lair. Sample was taken at a depth of 4 feet 6 inches from 

 the surface. 



|3. Sample taken at same time as above, at a depth of 6 feet 6 inches from the surface, 

 i.e. about 1 foot 6 inches below the coffin. 



a. At a depth of 4 feet 6 inches, at the coffin, .... 508,933 \ 



/3. At a depth of 6 feet 6 inches, i.e. at 1 foot 6 inches below coffin, 62,210 J P ° 



The amount of organic carbon and nitrogen was greater in the scraping from the 

 coffin than in the sample taken at 6 feet 6 inches down, and the percentage of nitrogen 

 was also considerably higher than in the sample from the lower level. 



I was desirous of obtaining similar samples, as well as samples at a lower level, but 

 failed to obtain them. 



Note. — In all four samples liquefying organisms, especially Proteus vulgaris and 

 Bacillus gasoformans, were very common. 



The organisms found in soil are, as one would naturally suppose, to a great extent 

 common to both water and soil. Bacillary forms are much more common than coccal 

 forms, very few micrococci, indeed, being found in the soil. It is somewhat difficult to 

 understand how this very marked preponderance of bacilli over micrococci is brought 

 about. We know that in air micrococci are abundant, being very much more common 

 there than bacilli, a fact which is generally attributed to the vitality of the bacilli being 

 destroyed or diminished by desiccation and exposure to sunlight. May we not then 

 assume that the bacilli, having their habitat in soil, are under the best conditions possible 

 for the preservation of their vitality, living in a medium which is continually more or 

 less moist, and containing a greater or less amount of organic matter, and where they are 

 free from these variations of temperature and exposure to sunlight which are supposed 

 to render the atmosphere less suitable for their survival ? 



In all, 21 different organisms were recognised. As regards the relative frequency of 

 occurrence of the various bacteria, I have found Bacillus mycoides to be comparatively 

 common to all depths down to between 5 and 6 feet. Below that level it was much 

 less frequently found in ground which had been undisturbed for any considerable length 

 of time, although in polluted soils this was by no means so marked. Cladothrix 



