In the majority of cases studied in this country,[60] the causal organism seems to be _B. lactis viscosus_, a form first found by Adametz in surface waters.[61] This organism possesses the property of developing at low temperatures (45 deg.-50 deg. F.), and consequently it is often able in winter to supplant the lactic-acid forms. Ward has found this germ repeatedly in water tanks where milk cans are cooled; and under these conditions it is easy to see how infection of the milk might occur. Marshall[62] reports an outbreak which he traced to an external infection of the udder; in another case, the slime-forming organism was abundant in the barn dust. A defect of this character is often perpetuated in a dairy for some time, and may therefore become exceedingly troublesome. In one instance in the writer's experience, a milk dealer lost over $150 a month for several months from ropy cream. Failure to properly sterilize cans, and particularly strainer cloths, is frequently responsible for a continuance of trouble of this sort. The slimy substance formed in milk comes from various constituents of the milk, and the chemical character of the slime produced also varies with different germs. In some cases the slimy material is merely the swollen outer cell membrane of the bacteria themselves as in the case of _B. lactis viscosus_; in others it is due to the decomposition of the proteids, but often the chief decomposition product appears to come from a viscous fermentation of the milk-sugar. An interesting case of a fermentation of this class being utilized in dairying is seen in the use of "lange wei" (long or stringy whey) which is employed as a starter in Holland to control the gassy fermentations in Edam cheese. This slimy change is due to the growth of _Streptococcus Hollandicus_.[63] ~Alcoholic fermentations.~ Although glucose or cane-sugar solutions are extremely prone to undergo alcoholic fermentation, milk sugar does not readily undergo this change. Where such changes are produced it is due to yeasts. Several outbreaks attributable to such a cause have been reported.[64] Russell and Hastings[65] have found these milk-sugar splitting yeasts particularly abundant in regions where Swiss cheese is made, a condition made possible by the use of whey-soaked rennets in making such cheese.