8

Scientific Memoirs by

Numbe
of
specimen.		 Date at
which
procur-
ed.		 Source. Reaction. Nature
of
eultivation.		 Date at
which
set.		 RESULT.
XVII July
15th.		 Bazaar Faintly
alkaline on
drying.		 Plate. Inoc-
ulated with
0.03 C. C.
from the bot-
tom of the
milk.		 July
15th.		 July 16th. Crowded with colonies of common
lacteal Schizomycetes in the proportion of
340,965 per C. C. Small straight Bacill
and short oval ones the most prevalent forms
XVIII July
25th.		 „ Neutral. Plate. Inoc-
ulated as
above with
0.03 C. C.		 „ July 26th. Smell mouldy. Abundant colonies
of typical lacteal Micrococcus, oval and
small straight Bacilli.
XIX July
29th.		 „ „ Plate. Inoc-
ulated as
above.		 July
29th.		 July 3oth. Numerous colonies in the propor-
tion of 51,172 per C. C. Most of them con-
sisting of the common lacteal large Micro-
coccus and short oval Bacilli. A few super-
ficial bluish colonies of small, straight Bacilli
also present.
XX Aug.
15th.		 „ Faintly
alkaline.		 „ Aug.
15th.		 August 16th. Colonies present in the propor-
tion of 39,847 per C. C. Consisting of com-
mon lacteal Micrococcus and small straight
Bacilli.

      This table records the results of cultivations of unboiled milk. These
show that the milk in common use in Calcutta contains a varying but always
very large number of schizomycete organisms. The numbers actually present
in those cases where an estimate was made by numeration of colonies present
within determined areas of plate-cultivations ranged from a proportion of only
3,400 per C. C. of milk to over 300,000 per C. C.

      Determinations of this nature were made in regard to 14 specimens with
the following results:—

Case 1 100,000 Schizomycetes per C. C. of milk
2 20,000 „ „ „ „
3 48,000 „ „ „ „
4 132,000 „ „ „ „
5 80,000 „ „ „ „
6 103,950 „ „ „ „
7 51,000 „ „ „ „
8 340,000 „ „ „ „
9 25,245 „ „ „ „
10 3,400 „ „ „ „
11 8,670 „ „ „ „
12 349,965 „ „ „ „
13 51,172 „ „ „ „
14 39 847 „ „ „ „

      One noteworthy point is that the exceptional specimen of milk procured under
special precautions, and which did not undergo the normal acid fermentation and
coagulation, was not free from schizomycetes, nor did it even contain an excep-