( *8 ) 
The chemical oxidation of allantoin may give rise to several 
products, and finally calcium carbonate is formed. 
In the biological oxidation of allantoin calcium oxalate also results. 
As it is probable that glycolic acid is at first produced it may be 
mentioned that in cultures, containing nothing but calcium glycolate 
as carbon food, which is not apt chemically to be converted into 
calcium oxalate, yet oxalate is produced by the bacteria. The process 
of oxidation does not however stop here, but the oxalate is further 
oxidised into carbonate; this takes place abundantly when to the liquid 
0.05% calciumchlorid is added. The same occurs not only in accu¬ 
mulations with allantoin or calcium glycolate, but also with calcium 
oxalate as only carbon food, which is oxidised by the said bacteria, 
and chiefly by B. calco-aceticum; consequently this species is easily 
accumulated from garden soil with the said substance. 
In order to control the rapidity with which the uric acid dis¬ 
appears in the pure cultures, the several isolated bacteria were put 
in tapwater to which a known quantity of uric acid and 0.17, 
bikalium phosphate had been added. Use was made of Merck’s 
acidum uricum pur. which was snow-white and contained no pon¬ 
derable quantity of ashes. The acid was before weighing dried at 
110° to constant weight. The rapidity of the decomposition may be 
determined in two ways; by controlling how much uric acid is 
converted in unit of time, and by determining the time in which 
the uric acid has disappeared. It seems that the former method is 
to be preferred here, as by the latter the retarding influence of the 
products of decomposition will be strongly felt and the results become 
less clear. 
Nor will in the first mentioned case the determination of the 
decomposed uric acid offer any difficulty. After two days’ growth 
at 30 the cultures were slightly acidified with strong hydrochloric 
•acid and filtered through a Gooch crucible. For washing was used 
a saturated solution of uric acid in water. In order to form a 
judgment of the error made in this way, 501 raG. of uric acid 
was added to a culture containing an abundance of B. fluorescens 
non-hquefaciens; analysing at the same time 499 mG. were found 
back, so the error is less than 7,%. 
f uric acid was used as sole carbon and nitrogen food, B. fluores¬ 
cens iiquefaciens assimilated 82 mG. in two days. For B. fluorescens 
ion iquefaciens, and B. calco-aceticum the quantities were respectively 
1, o an „ the ^ume of the medium was 150 cM.* and 
/.K,HFO, had been added. 
furthermore it was inquired whether ^ uric aci(j wou i d be still 
