United States or Northern Mariana Islands ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !


This mass proves to be made of bacteria which have the power of absorbing oxygen from the air, or, at all events, of causing the alcohol to unite with oxygen. It was at first thought that a single species of bacterium was thus the cause of the oxidation of alcohol, and this was named Mycoderma aceti. Each appears to act best under different conditions.

In 1737 the learned Aceti was able to enumerate over two thousand celebrated Calabrians athletes, generals, musicians, centenarians, inventors, martyrs, ten popes, ten kings, as well as some sixty conspicuous women. A land of thinkers. Old Zavarroni, born in 1705, gives us a list of seven hundred Calabrian writers; and I, for one, would not care to bring his catalogue up to date.

All of us have seen wine when exposed to air gradually sour, and become converted into vinegar, and we know that in this case the surface of the liquid is covered with white pellicles called "mother of vinegar." These pellicles are made up of myriads of globules of Mycoderma aceti.

Such are Mycoderma aceti, which converts the alcohol of fermented beverages into vinegar; Micrococcus ureae, which converts the urea of urine into carbonate of ammonia, and Micrococcus nitrificans, which converts nitrogenized matters into intrates, etc.

Pasteur's researches, the Mycoderma aceti has been sown directly in the slightly acidified wine, and an excellent quality of vinegar has thus been obtained, with no fear of an occurrence of the disasters that accompanied the old process. Another example will show us the microbes in activity in the earth.

As with sulphur preparations, he begins with a moderately strong preparation, and as he proceeds reduces the strength of the application. For obstinate eczema of the hands the following formula is given as very efficacious: R. Lithargyri 10.0; coq.c. aceti, 30.0; ad reman. 20.0; adde olei olivar., adipis, aa 10.0; ichthyol 10.0, M. ft. ung.

So, too, when we heat vegetable humus to 100°, nitrification is arrested, because the ferment is killed. Finally, we may sow the nitric ferment in calcined earth and cause nitrification to occur therein as surely as we can bring about a fermentation in wine by sowing Mycoderma aceti in it.