Decomposition of oxalate by Mycobacterium lacticola isolated from the intestine of earthworms.

Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella pullorum, and Micrococcus pyogenes var. aureus) were compared using the above method with Hinshelwood's "Apparent Lag" method. Both methods gave results in close agreement when used on nonfrozen cells, but on defrosted cells, the Relative Lag method was superior. The use of the Relative Lag method was advantageous in that: (1) the physiological condition of cells in the early phase of growth was taken into consideration, (2) the method allowed comparison of lag times where slopes of logarithmic growth had been altered, due to prior physical conditions, and (3) the method was simple, thus requiring a minimum of mathematical calculation.