choline but not from betaine (Campbell and Williams, Jour. Bact., 62, 1951b, 250). Inorganic sulfur may serve as a source of sulfur (Campbell and Williams, op. cit., 1951a, 506). Aerobic, facultative. Optimum temperature, between 30° and 35° C. Source: Isolated from the effluent of a septic tank (Jordan) . From water (Bergey) . Steinhaus (personal communication, 1951) has now shown that the culture which he identified (No. 45, Jour. Bact., 4^, 1941, 771) as belonging to this species belongs in the paracolon group. Habitat: Presumably widely distributed in nature. 5. Achromobacter xerosis Groupd et al., 1954. (Groupe, Pugh, Levine and Herrmann, Jour. Bact., 68, 1954, 10.) xe.ro'sis. Or. adj. xerus dry; M.L. adj. xerosis dry. Pleomorphic rods measuring 0.5 by 2.0 to 3.0 microns in young cultures; in older cultures the cells may be as much as 10 to 25 microns in length. Motile by means of peritrichous flagella. Not encapsulated. Gram-negative. Gelatin: Liquefaction. Agar colonies: White to grayish white, 1.0 to 1.5 mm in diameter, dry, membranous, circular, low convex, adherent; tan, granu- lar and radially wrinkled with a lobate edge on prolonged incubation. Broth containing peptone and other complex nitrogenous materials: Pellicle formed. No acid from broth containing glucose, galactose or maltose. Litmus milk: Alkaline; litmus reduced after 7 days. Potato: Growth yellowish to brownish, dry and wrinkled. Acid produced on inorganic nitrogen base agar containing glucose, galactose or malt- ose as the sole carbon source. Growth, but no acid, on agar containing sucrose; no growth on agar containing arabinose, rhamnose, raffinose, xylose, lactose, salicin, mannitol or sorbitol. Starch is hydrolyzed. Indole not produced. Hydrogen sulfide production slight. Citrate utilized as the sole source of carbon. Nitrites produced from nitrates. Aerobic. Good growth at 28° and 37° C. No growth at 45° C. Produces xerosin, a metabolic substance that has a modifying effect on certain viral lesions in mice. Source: Isolated from soil. 6. Achromobacter aquamarinus Zo- Bell and Upham, 1944. (Bull. Scripps Inst, of Oceanography, Univ. of Calif., 5, 1944, 264.) a.qua.ma.ri'nus. L. noun aqua water; L. adj. rnarinus of the sea; M.L. adj. agua- marinus pertaining to sea water. Rods, 0.8 by 1.2 to 2.0 microns, with rounded ends, occurring singly. Motile by means of a few peritrichous flagella. Gram-negative. All media except the fresh-water broth, litmus milk and potato were prepared with sea water. Gelatin colonies : 2 nam in diameter, con- vex, circular, entire, whitish. Gelatin stab: Poor growth, no liquefac- tion, no pigment. Agar colonies: 2 mm in diameter, convex, smooth, circular. Agar slant: Moderate, beaded, glisten- ing, butyrous growth with no pigment. Sea-water broth: Surface ring; moderate turbidity; heavy, viscous sediment. Fresh-water broth: Poor growth. Litmus milk: No visible change. Casein not digested. Potato: No visible growth. Indole not produced. Hydrogen sulfide not produced. Acid but no gas from glucose and maltose. Lactose, sucrose, xylose, salicin, glycerol and mannitol not utilized. Starch not hydrolyzed. Lipolytic. Of 19 amino acids tested, none was re- quired for growth; preformed growth fac- tors also were not required (Campbell and Williams, Food Research, 16, 1951a, 506). Ammonium chloride and the 19 amino acids which were tested may serve as sources of nitrogen; the amino acids (except
