The absence of any authenticated case of human botulism in South Africa suggested that Clostridium botulinum Types A, B or E might be rare organisms in the soils of this country. Three out of 102 samples of soil from the Union of South Africa and South West Africa produced Clostridium botulinum Type‐B toxin when cultured. Clostridium botulinum Type B was obtained in pure culture from the three toxic cultures by a method described. The isolation in South Africa of Clostridium botulinum Type B is reported for the first time : a description of the strains is given. The factors which militate against toxin production by Clostridium botulinum in cultures of soil are discussed, and the probable operation of these same factors in reducing the chances of toxin formation in foods is suggested.

The occurrence of flat‐sour spoilage in South African tomato juice is reported and the biochemical characteristics, D and z values, of the causative organism are described. pH adjustment to prevent spore germination, as originally proposed by Pederson & Becker, is suggested as the simplest control measure. The inhibition of B. coagulans by tomato juice when added to culture media is apparently a pH effect. The failure of B. coagulans to produce gas in canned tomato juice is due to a restricted oxygen supply, and probably to the inhibition of gas production by carbon dioxide.

It is shown that the percentage of canned peas that will sour on incubation a t 1 3 1 '~ ( 5 5 . 0 '~) may be predicted approximately by enumerating the flat-sour spores in unprocessed cans, expressing the cannery process in terms of decimal reduction times for flat-sour spores, calculating the number of surviving spores per can and from this the percentage spoilage. Graphs have been drawn to simplify the expression of processing times as decimal reduction times, and for calculating the percentage spoilage from the number of surviving spores per can.A technique for the survey of pea-canning lines is described.In the Union of South Africa, the Regulations of the Department of Agriculture provide for the incubation at 131' F (55.0" c) of samples from each day's production of canned vegetables intended for export ; if souring (or gas production) is found in more than 26y0 of the samples incubated at this temperature, the export of the product is prohibited. In S. Africa flat-sour spores of high average heat-resistance are found in large numbers on vined peas, and in-plant multiplication is seldom the primary cause of flat-sour spoilage. The existence of this Regulation therefore imposes a difficult task on canners, and has created a need for a technique that will not only detect the presence of ' flat-sour ' organisms in the canning plant, but give an indication of the final percentage spoilage that would result from a given level of contamination. Incubation of processed cans for 5-10 days is too slow, since, by the time the presence of flat-sour organisms is detected in this way, and the results of the appropriate remedial measures are known, the production from at least two full working weeks will already have been packed ; moreover, if the initial attempts to reduce contamination are found to have been unsuccessful, nearly half the pea-canning season may be over before the results of any further changes are known.Few detailed descriptions of techniques for the bacteriological survey of vegetable-canning plants appear to have been published, but, during a visit to Washington in 1947, Dr. Yesair, of the National Canners' Association, kindly supplied the author with details of the method used there ; these methods formed the starting point for the work described in this paper and they provide a valuable guide to the general bacteriological condition of the canning plant. However, they are not designed to provide data from which the percentage of souring could be predicted in processed cans. Johnson et al.1 drew attention to the fact that the number of flat-sour spores needed to sour a can of peas was very small, and that it was quite possible that the plating of a few millilitres of the washings from the peas in an unprocessed-line can would fail to detect the presence of small numbers of spores. The authors employed a flask test in which 100 g. of peas covered with brine was processed for 35 minutes at 240' F (I'i5.5" c), incubated at 131' F (55.0" c) and tested for acid production daily for 5 days. By this method...

The use of high-energy rations is of considerable importance to the broiler producer, and it is intended to show in subsequent papers that the incorporation of fat in broiler rations leads to cheaper meat production, although the ration itself is, of course, more expensive per ton, but may not be more expensive if based on T.D.N. The use of fat in the ration of range laying birds in the winter time will probably lead to increased egg production under these conditions, and work of this nature will also be reported in a further paper. Conclusionscorrect balance between T.D.N. and crude protein.I. To obtain the full benefit from the addition of fat to a chick feed, the ration must have a 2. There is a narrow range of T.D.N./C.P. ratio which gives maximum efficiency.3. The addition of oil or fat to a properly constructed ration consistently improves growth rate and feed conversion. Acknowledgment mission to publish this work.The z and D values ior a South African strain of Closfridium botulinum, type B, have been determined by a method described. The results indicate that the South African strain at least equals in heat resistance the maximum resistance for Clostridium botulinum assumed in process calculations for canned foods.

An increase in de-tinning activity, and hence a decrease in shelf life, has occurred in South African tomato paste during recent years.Corrosion rate is shown to be related to the variety of tomato used in the manufacture of paste and to its maturity.Of the changes in composition associated with these factors, total waterinsoluble solids appear to be particularly associated with variations in corrosion rate.