Nrw York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. a8 
tive processes dependent upon the metabolism of living organ- 
isms, as the alcoholic fermentation, the fermentative splitting 
of hippuric acid, the lactic fermentation and bacterial proteid 
decomposition; while it did not destroy the activity of the un- 
organized soluble ferments (enzyms), as, for example, ptyalin, 
pepsin, trypsin, invertins, diastases, etc. Salkowski found that 
0.5 per ct. by volume of chloroform destroyed cholera and 
anthrax bacilli promptly. but that it “had little germicidal effect 
upon anthrax spores. He called attention to the necessity of 
ciosely confining the chloroform which would otherwise soon be 
lost by evaporation. 
At the same time the germicidal action of chloroform. was 
being extensively tested by Kirchner (1). His study was 
carried out with a view to an improved method of sterilizing 
blood-serum. He worked principally with blood-serum but in 
some case also used bouillon, milk and water. Part of his 
work was done with saturated solutions of chloroform but he 
commonly compared solutions containing 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 
I.o per ct. by volume of chloroform. As test objects he used 
pure cultures of Bacillus prodigiosus, B. anthracis, B. typhosus, 
B. subtilis, B. zoppfh, Sarcina aurantiaca, Staphylococcus pyo- 
genes aureus, Spirillum asiaticae cholerae, “ Wurtsel” bacillus and 
a bacillus and coccus obtained from decomposing blood-serum 
and also mixed cultures as they occur naturally in river water, 
decomposing blood, human and bovine feces and garden soil. 
The action of the chloroform:was determined by aerobic and 
anaerobic cultures and the results were often expressed quanti- 
tatively. His findings were in accord with those of Salkowski. 
Kirchner found that all classes of vegetative bacteria were 
destroyed by a 0.25 per ct. solution of chloroform in a short time 
varying from a few minutes with Spzrillwm asiaticae cholerae to a 
few days with Staphylococcus pyogenes aureus. However, even 
an excess of chloroform was not immediately fatal to spores. 
Kirchner believed that chloroform had no effect upon them until 
such time as they germinated, when they were immediately 
destroyed. He observed that when an excess of chloroform was 
present the germicidal action was more marked in bouillon than in 
blood-serum and attributed the difference to the higher percentage 
of chloroform actually in solution in the bouillon than in the blood- 
serum. He again emphasized the necessity for a well-stoppered 
container on account of the ease with which chloroform may 
2 
