ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 199 



Etiology of Acute Rheumatism.* — E. C. Rosenow bas carried out 

 an investigation of organisms obtained from tbe fluid of rheumatic 

 joints. The fluid was aspirated from tbe joint under the strictest aseptic 

 conditions, and inoculated into broth, dextrose broth (with or without 

 ascitic fluid), blood-agar slopes (aerobic and anaerobic) and into ascites 

 dextrose-agar stabs. In the latter medium, colonies of cocci made their 

 appearance after incubation at 37° C. Three types of cocci were obtained. 

 In five cases, long chains of diplococci larger and more uniform than 

 S. viridans appeared ; in six cases, short chains and diplococci possessing 

 marked haernolytic properties were found ; while three cases showed 

 greyish, non-hamiolytic colonies of micrococci. All three types showed 

 little virulence. They seemed to be associated with different types of 

 rheumatic lesion. The three are closely allied, and by appropriate 

 means, mutation can be brought about. 



Indol Production of the Colon-typhoid Group.| — I. J. Kligler 

 compares the Ehrlich and the Salkowski methods of performing the 

 indol test. They find that the former (paradimethylaminobenzaldehyde 

 and hydrochloric acid) is constant and more reliable than the latter 

 (sulphuric acid and potassium nitrite). The test should be made on the 

 fourth to sixth day, and the tubes should be shaken up with chloroform, 

 which dissolves the red colour, as a confirmatory test. The Salkowski 

 test may give a red coloration with a substance which is not indol. 

 With the Ehrlich test, B. coli is generally positive, B. aerogenes and 

 B. proteus variable, and B. cloacse and B. paratyphi always negative. 



Agglutinins for Micrococcus melitensis in London Milk.J— J. C. 

 Kennedy has found that Micrococcus melitensis is agglutinated in high 

 dilution by the milk and the serum of certain cows in the London district. 

 Of thirteen samples of mixed milk from thirteen different dairies, five 

 gave positive, one an incomplete, and seven negative reactions. The milk 

 of three out of twenty-two cows gave complete positive reactions, one was 

 indefinite, and the remainder were completely negative. The serum of 

 two out of these three positive cows showed a high agglutinating titre 

 for Al. melitensis. Attempts to obtain the organism from the milk by 

 plating were unsuccessful. These observations do not necessarily show 

 that London cows are infected with undulant fever. The results 

 obtained may be due to some other cause. 



Inagglutinable Typhoid Bacilli. §— J. Mcintosh and J. McQueen 

 have investigated the properties of a strain of typhoid bacilli isolated 

 from a case of enteric fever. The patient's serum agglutinated a stock 

 typhoid suspension, but had no effect upon his own organism ; nor 

 could this organism be agglutinated by a laboratory serum. Culturally 

 and morphologically it was identical with typhoid. This organism was 

 then injected into rabbits, and a specific agglutinating serum for 



* Journ. Infect. Diseases, xiv. (1914) pp. 61-80. 



t Journ. Infect. Diseases, xiv. (1914) pp. 81-6. 



% Journ. Roy. Army Med. Corps, xxii. (1914) pp. 9-14. 



§ Journ. Hygiene, xiii. (1914) pp. 409-21. 



