Twenty-five meat-and-bone meal samples were analyzed for salmonellae, comparing a single 300-g to ten 30-g samples. Seventeen were positive using the larger sample; eighteen were positive with the smaller. The 300-g sample showed a significantly higher (P < 0.01) percentage of confirmed salmonellae at 2 days of incubation than at 1 day. The ten 30-g samples did not show changes at 2 days. At 2 days, the 30-g samples showed significantly fewer confirmed salmonellae than the 300-g sample; however, there was no difference at 1 day. Of 1,417 presumptive colonies picked, 1,215 (85.7%) were lysine decarboxylasepositive and 1,152 (81.3%) were agglutinated by one of the somatic antisera. There were no significant differences in diversity or total numbers of different somatic groups between the large and small samples.

Microfermentation tests for members of the family Enterobacteriaceae were devised by using agar solutions in disposable, multi-welled, plastic trays. The tests could be made directly from isolated colonies picked from agar plates and represented a considerable saving in time, labor, and materials over the conventional methods. Tests were formulated for determining carbohydrate fermentations, citrate utilization, motility, amino acid decarboxylation, and production of H2S, indole, urease, and acetyl-methyl-carbinol.