Groups two and four were differentiated on the basis of melibiose fermentation. The strains in the group two were identified as L. curvatussince they were negative for melibiose fermentation, whereas the strains in the group four were identified as L. sakesince they were melibiose positive.The fact that half of the strains in the group II fermented maltose, whereas no strain in the group IV showed any ability to do so was in accordance with the given identity