_ New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 47 
These bottles were both curdled at the end of 48 hours. While 
0.5 per ct. was not sufficient to destroy the germs, it retarded 
their growth so that curdling did not take place until after six 
and nine days, respectively. The remaining bottles curdled simul- 
taneously at the end of two months. 
In the case of 1 per ct., there was a gradual and decided de- 
crease in the germ content. This did not seem to be so much 
the result of the extinction of given species as of the reduction 
of all the species present. After an exposure to the chloroform 
for 50 hours, the flora was made up of non-spore-bearing lactic 
forms, a few yellow cocci, and a few spore-bearing organisms. 
With 1.5 per ct..of chloroform, the reduction was more rapid. 
After Io hours the flora was made up largely of spore producers 
with a few colonies of yellow cocci and a few acid producers. 
Plates made after 27 and 50 hours contained few but spore-bear- 
ing forms. | 
The presence of 2.0 per ct. of chloroform cut the flora in 
80 minutes to spore-bearing forms and a few yellow cocci. Later 
examinations showed practically all spore-formers. The results 
with 2.5 per ct. of chloroform were the same, except that its 
action was quicker. The destruction was so prompt that no 
colonies appeared on the plates made at the end of Io minutes. 
This does not indicate that the germs were all destroyed, but 
rather that they were so reduced that they were excluded by the 
dilution used, which in this case was I-70, 1-200 and _ I-I000. 
Plates made at the end of 80 minutes produced colonies with a 
dilution of 1-10, but not with a dilution of 1-50. LEvidently, some- 
thing irregular occurred in connection with the plates made at 
the end of 10 hours since the non-spore-bearing yellow coccus 
appeared among the spore-forming colonies on the plates only 
at this examination and the numbers on these plates were too 
high to harmonize with the results obtained either before or 
after this time. — 
From these results, it is seen that with 2.5 per ct. of chloro- 
form the destruction of the vegetative forms is so complete and 
so prompt that it is extremely improbable that they would have 
time to exert any influence before their death. Likewise it is 
very doubtful if the occasional spore which remains alive is suffi- 
ciently active to exert any influence, since the first start toward 
germination would result in instant destruction. The same rea- 
soning holds with 1.5 and 2.0 per ct., except that the interval 
between the addition of the chloroform and the death of the 
