152  Bacterium  which  Ferments  Starch.  {AmMa°rch,Sym* 
V.  Milk  sugar,  by  long-continued  heating,  is  completely 
destroyed. 
It  would  appear,  therefore,  that  sterilized  milk  is  less  readily 
and  less  perfectly  digestible  than  raw  milk.  Yet,  it  is  to  be 
preferred  to  raw  milk  swarming  with  bacteria.  Under  its  use  in  the 
large  cities  the  percentage  of  infant  lives  saved  is  increased  and 
the  percentage  of  summer  diarrhoea  is  decreased.  In  the  country 
or  where  fresh  milk  can  be  procured,  the  process  of  sterilizing  is  if 
possible  to  be  avoided.  The  chief  difficulty  lies  in  securing  the 
proper  amount  of  heat.  For  ordinary  purposes  a  temperature  of 
1 550  F.  is  sufficient,  and  the  milk  is  not  materially  changed  at 
that  temperature. 
In  some  instances  the  author  believes  that  condensed  milk  may 
be  substituted  for  a  short  time.  It  has  the  disadvantage  of  being 
deficient  in  fats — the  cream  being  to  a  great  extent  removed  by  the 
process  of  condensing,  to  avoid  rancidity  in  the  prepared  article. 
Of  the  cereals  used  for  infant  food,  barley,  wheat  and  oatmeal 
are  the  most  commonly  employed.  Of  these,  the  author  prefers 
barley.  An  excellent  preparation  is  barley  flour  submitted  to  the 
action  of  heat  of  21 2°  F.  for  five  or  six  days.  It  may  be  advanta- 
geously added  to  the  milk  for  younger  children,  and  in  older  children 
may  form  a  fair  proportion  of  the  food. 
A  BACTERIUM  WHICH  FERMENTS  STARCH  AND 
PRODUCES  AMYL  ALCOHOL.1 
By  L.  Perdrix. 
The  author  has  separated  from  Paris  water  a  bacillus,  B.  amyl- 
ozymicus,  which  ferments  starch,  with  production  of  amyl  alcohol. 
It  is  separated  by  cultivation  on  potatoes,  and  finally  on  gelatin. 
The  bacillus  is  2-3  ju  long,  and  0-5  /j.  thick ;  the  rods  are  joined  in 
pairs  and  chains,  and  in  the  absence  of  oxygen  are  motile,  like 
Vibrio  butyricus,  Pasteur.  The  rods  are  readily  stained  ;  the  spores 
are  set  free  through  the  dissolution  of  the  walls  of  the  mother  cell. 
The  bacillus  flourishes  only  in  the  absence  of  oxygen,  readily,  how- 
ever, either  in  a  vacuum  or  in  hydrogen,  nitrogen,  or  carbonic  anhy- 
dride.   The  optimum  temperature  is  350  ;  it  grows  quite  well  at 
xChem.  Centr.,  1891,  ii,  252  ;  from  Ann.  Inst.  Pasteur \  1891,.  No.  5  ;  reprinted 
from  Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  1892,  p.  90. 
