New YorK AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 149 
In comparison with the above results it is of interest to 
note that Potter failed to sterilize cultures of his turnip white- 
rot organism by the use of thymol] (1900: 448) ; but the possi- 
bility remains that more agitation would have secured sterility 
in his cultures. 
Kk. F. Smith (1901) found that certain organisms will grow 
in beef broth in the presence of thymol, but his statements 
would indicate that there was little or no agitation of the 
broth. These results force us to question whether full de- 
pendence can be placed on some of the results of Bourquelot 
and Herissey’s work on pectin enzyms, as discussed later in 
this article, since they, apparently, depend on additions of 
thymol water to insure sterility. 
CHLOROFORM. 
Since this is the agent usually employed in enzym studies 
for the inhibition of bacterial growth especial attention has 
been given to the determination of its relation both to the 
organism and the enzym. 
The first experiments to determine this were carried out 
in 1901. In these Powers & Weightmann chloroform of “ U. 
S. P. standard ” strength was used. This was added to broth 
tube cultures, seven to nine days old, in amounts to give 
proportions varying in different experiments from 10% to 
50%. These tubes were shaken, then allowed to stand and 
stratify. The excess of chloroform promptly settled to the 
bottom, but such tubes continued to emit a strong odor of 
chloroform throughout the experiments. Transfers made 
three days later show the cultures to contain living organ- 
isms in all cases. 
During the year 1903, these trials were repeated, using both 
Mallinckbrodt’s “M. C. W. purified” chloroform and the 
“U.S. P.” grades both of this firm and of Powers and Weight- 
mann. These later results were alike in all trials and dif- 
fered from those made in 1901. In every one of these later 
cases where 10% or more of chloroform was used and the tubes 
thoroughly shaken sterility was secured. 
