A survey of the literature reveals the fact that as far back as 1876 butyl alcohol was recognized as a metabolism product of certain types of bacteria and moulds. Since the pioneer work of Fitz and Pasteur, some twenty-five writers have described organisms which produce butyl alcohol from carbohydrate material. The biological production of acetone was not noted until later (1904), but it is highly probable that all the forms which produce butyl alcohol likewise form acetone, and that the majority of those described in the literature belong to a single species. The types which have been studied more recently have been shown to be capable of considerable variation, depending upon the nutrient medium employed, age of culture, and respiratory environment. The particular organism which is being used on a commercial scale has been given a variety of names which cause confusion regarding the identity of the species. We would urge the general acceptance of the name Clostridium acetobutylicum, Weizmann, as being descriptive and in compliance with the rules and nomenclature of the Society of American Bacteriologists. In the present experimental work it has been our aim to make a comparative study of various strains of butyl alcohol and acetone producing organisms, both newly isolated and old known stock strains. The investigation was stimulated in part by the fact that this laboratory was made a temporary repository 399

Since the discovery b y N e t t e r (1) and Levaditi (2) of the presence of virus-neutralizing antibodies in the blood, both from human convalescents and from monkeys recovered from experimental poliomyelitis, several attempts have been made to immunize large animals with a view to quantity production of therapeutic serum.

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