Vitali (66) found in the putrefaction of muscle, which had been freed from sugars and fat, that some alcohol was produced. He considers that a hexose is split off from the albumin in a similar manner to the splitting off of a fermentable sugar from the glucoproteids (compounds of simple proteins with carbohydrates). The formation of alcohol in the putrefaction of muscle occurs in the alkaline stage. Thus alcoholic fermentation is caused not alone by saccharomyces, but also by certain putrefactive bacteria. Lermer (77) finds that the putrefaction of barley resembles butyric fermentation. An analysis of the gases given off during the later stages of the process gave the following result: nitrogen, 58·88; hydrogen, 37·43; methane, 3·15. In the residue from the putrefaction he found acetic, butyric and valerianic acids, but not caproic or caprilic acid. In the normal steeping process employed for barley the gases given off consisted almost entirely of carbon dioxide and nitrogen. This observation is interesting to compare with the evolution of nitrogen in the fermentation of bran shown by Wood and Willcox.[93] [93] J.S.C.I., 1893, 442. The action of putrefactive bacteria has been found capable of transforming hexoses into pentoses. Salkowski and Neuberg (78) inoculated a solution of _d_-glukuronic acid with putrefying meat, and showed that it was changed into _l_-xylose with evolution of CO_{2} according to the following formula:-- COH(CHOH)_{4}COOH = CO_{2} + COH[CHOH]_{3}CH_{2}OH. This is an interesting fact, especially as, according to Neuberg, the pentose contained in animal nucleo-proteids is _l_-xylose. I wish to express my indebtedness to Dr. Alfred Koch’s “Jahresbericht über Gärungs-organismen” for some of the abstracts. The following is a list of putrefactive bacteria which have been studied in pure cultures:-- 1. Proteus Vulgaris (Hauser). 2. Proteus mirabilis. 3. Proteus Zenckeri. 4. Bacillus Oedematis maligni (Kerry, Nencki, Bovet). 5. Bacillus Chauvæi = B. sarcophyematos bovis. 6. B. Liquefaciens magnus. 7. B. spinosus. 8. B. putrificus (Bienstock). 9. B. pseudo œdematicus (Liborius). 10. B. enteritidis sporogenes (Klein). 11. B. tetani. 12. Clostridium fœtidum. 13. B. cadaveris sporogenes (Klein). 14. Spirillum desulfuricans (Beijerinck). 15. B. coli commune. 16. B. lactis ærogenes. 17. B. fermentationis cellulosæ. 18. Micrococcus flavus liquefaciens (Flügge). 19. Diplococcus griseus non liquefaciens (n. sp.). 20. Streptococcus pyogenes. 21. Staphylococcus pyogenes albus. 22. Bacillus filiformis ærobius (n. sp.). 23. Diplococcus magnus anærobius (n. sp.). 24. Bacillus putidus gracilis (n. sp.). 25. B. perfringens (Frankel). 26. B. bifermentans sporogenes (n. sp.). Moulds taking part in putrefaction, principally of fruit and vegetable matter:--