508 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



Schizophyta. 

 Schizomycetes. 



Varieties of Streptotrichese.* — W. Schurmann has studied the 

 biological characters of six different strains of non-acid-fast, non- 

 pathogenic Streptothrix organisms. Only two of these were stained by 

 Gram's method ; they all showed true branching, but varied in thick- 

 ness and in the nature of their spores. The author compares their 

 growth and behaviour on twenty different nutrient media, and arranges 

 his results in tabular form. 



Bacillus nodulifaciens bovis.f — "W. Pitt finds that this organism, 

 which was first described by Langer, is sharply differentiated from the 

 true typhoid coli group, by means of the usual culture methods ; but 

 closely resembles paratyphoid and Gaertner organisms in producing gas 

 in glucose broth ; in respect to its virulence and pathogenicity it behaves 

 as a representative of the paratyphoid and Gaertner group. By its 

 immunity reaction, agglutination, etc., it is possible to differentiate it 

 from the paratyphosus B group. 



Coccal Infection and Elephantiasis.^ — A. C. R. Foulerton and H. 

 K. Whittingham have isolated Micrococcus pyogenes albus in pure culture 

 on various media, from lymph obtained from the ankle of a man suffering 

 from elephantiasis of the leg. Bacteriological examination of the blood 

 from the arm gave negative results. The organism was compared with 

 two cultures of 31. pyogenes albus obtained from other sources, and found 

 to be in every way identical. Considering the cause of this disease and its 

 connection with this organism, the authors differentiated two groups of 

 cases. In one group the condition develops slowly after long-continued 

 dermatitis ; in the other the disease is an acute lymphatic engorgement 

 from obstruction of the main lymphatics of the part, and in tropical 

 countries is due to infection by Filaria. The authors do not attribute 

 to the coccal infection any essential importance in the pathology of the 

 particular case, but consider that it is a casual incident, and represents 

 probably some residual infection after a previous attack of cutaneous 

 lymphangitis. 



Bacillus chlororaphis.§ — Ph. Lasseur has isolated this organism 

 from spring water ; it is a bacillus measuring about 1 * 5 /a by • 5 /x, with 

 rounded ends, occurring either singly or as a diplobacillus, and rarely in 

 chains ; old cultures show spore formation ; it is uncertain in staining 

 by Gram's method ; when grown on appropriate solid or liquid media 

 containing peptone, it forms green crystals at a temperature of about 

 25° C. ; these crystals are long needles arranged either in bundles or in 

 rosettes ; in oxydising media they are yellow, in reducing media they 

 are green. The green substance is insoluble in water, ether, and 

 benzine, slightly soluble in alcohol, but fully soluble in acetone ; this 

 solution has at first a yellow-green colour, which quickly becomes pale 

 yellow, and from it crystallise long yellow needles : by making the 

 solution in the absence of oxygen and crystallising in vacuo, green 



* Centralbl. Bakt., lte Abt. Orig., xlis. (1909) p. 179. 

 t Tom. cit., p. 593. J Tom. cit., p. 510. 



§ C.R. Soc. Biol. Paris, lxvi. (1909) p. 272. 



