The history of the Aerobacillus group has been reviewed by Porter, McCleskey, and Levine (1937), who compared all the available "species" and concluded that there were really only two, A. macerans and A. polymyxa; of the five earlier recognized by Donker (1926), two, A. vtolaris and A. amaracrylus, were no longer available for study, and a third, A. acetoethylicus Northrop, could not be differentiated from A. macerans. Porter and his co-workers agreed with Donker that A. asterosporus was identical with A. polymyxa. They accepted Donker's description of the genus Aerobacillus which has priority over that of Pribram (1933) and includes spore-forming rods which grow aerobically and anaerobically and decompose a great number of carbohydrates, including starch and glycogen, with production of carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The Aerobacillus group has now been made a subgenus of the genus Bacillus (1939), hence the latter is the correct genus name. Bacillus macerans and B. polymyxa are very similar morphologically and physiologically and have similar habitats, occurring in decaying vegetables and in soil and water. Porter, McCleskey, and Levine differentiated them in four ways: (1) by their behavior in the Voges-Proskauer test, in which B. macerans gave a negative and B. polymyxa a positive reaction, (2) by growth on media containing rhamnose and sorbitol, in which B. macerans produced acid and gas, while B. polymyxa did not, (3) by their optimal temperature range, which was higher for the B. macerans type, and (4) by serological reactions, B. macerans being a homogeneous antigenic type as distinct from the heterogeneous B. polymyxa type.

Oxidation of Sugar Alcohols by Acetobacter suboxydans 1201 was added dropwise to the reaction flask, and the mixture was refluxed seven hours. Continuous stirring was maintained. The reaction mixture was decomposed with ice and a little hydrochloric acid. The carbon disulfide layer was separated and washed with water.The aqueous layer was extracted with ether, and the extract was washed with water. The ether and carbon disulfide solutions were combined and dried over sodium sulfate. Removal of the solvent by distillation gave a dark red oil. Highboiling ligroin was added, and the mixture was cooled. A brown crystalline solid was obtained. The filtrate was diluted with ether, extracted with 10% sodium hydroxide solution and dried over sodium sulfate. The ether was removed, and the residue was distilled at atmospheric pressure. A small amount of propionitrile (b. p. 95-102°) and 10 g. of mesitylene (b. p. 160-164°) were obtained.The brown solid was dissolved in 10% sodium hydroxide. solution and the solution was extracted with ether, the aqueous solution was acidified and the solid was collected. This was crystallized by dissolving it in hot methyl alcohol, adding a little water and cooling. Further purification was effected by crystallization from benzene diluted with a little ligroin: yield 11.6 g.; m. p. 127-128°.

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