A. Salmonella florida. The only culture of S. florida thus far recognized was isolated by Mrs. Mildred Galton from the feces of a patient affected with a febrile disease which was accompanied by diarrhea. It was sent to the writers for serological examination. The organism possessed the cultural and biochemical characteristics of the Salmonella. Acid and gas were produced from glucose, xylose, rhamnose, maltose, trehalose, and sorbitol. Lactose, sucrose, inositol, adonitol, and salicin were not fermented. Dextro-tartrate, citrate, and mucate were attacked but levo-tartrate and meso-tartrate were unaffected. The bacillus produced large amounts of H2S but did not form indol nor liquefy gelatin.
Alcohol-treated suspensions of the organism were agglutinated to the titer of S. onderste-poort O serum [(I), VI, XIV, XXV] and to a lesser degree by S. carrau O serum (VI, XIV, XXIV). When tested with absorbed serums the organism was found to possess antigen XXV and a portion of antigen I. No agglutination occurred in XXIV serum. In absorption tests the bacillus removed practically all agglutinins from S. onderstepoort O serum, leaving only traces of agglutinins for the homologous strain. The O antigens of S. florida may be expressed as (I), VI, XIV, XXV.
Examination of the H antigens revealed that the bacillus was diphasic. Phase 1 was agglutinated strongly by S. typhi serum and by all other serums containing agglutinins for antigen d. In absorption tests it wras found that 5. florida did not completely remove agglutinins from S. typhi, S. Oregon or S. muenchen serum, although it caused a reduction of 90 to 95% of their respective titers. The complexity of antigen d was emphasized by Kauffmann,1 by Hormaeche and Pelufiot2 and by Edwards and Bruner.3 This lack of identity in the related antigens designated by the symbol d accounts for the inability of S. florida to affect a complete removal of agglutinins from various d serums.
