234 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



and then inoculated with B. putrificus, growth of the latter and putre- 

 faction is produced in two or three days, and this under non-anaerobic 

 conditions. Sterile ascitic fluid gave the same results. The presence 

 of coagulated albumen, however, seemed essential in both cases, for when 

 this was removed the results were negative. All experiments were 

 checked by many controls. 



Resistance to Heat of Bacillus anthracis.* — A. Mallock and 

 A.M. Davis from the results of 113 experiments are of opinion that the 

 heat-resisting power of B. anthracis and its spores is much less than is 

 generally supposed : indeed, they rarely found any survival of living 

 matter in fluid which had been raised to a temperature of 100° C, 

 even for as short a time as 20 to 30 seconds. Their method was to 

 inoculate sterilised tubes of distilled water from a broth or agar culture 

 of the bacillus. Within 2 to 3 hours the tubes were sealed at the top 

 with heat, and submitted to different degrees and durations of heat in 

 a special apparatus furnished with a steam boiler. This done, the tops of 

 the tubes were filed off and the contents sown into broth with the least 

 possible delay. The authors relied on the following appearances as 

 indicating growth of B. anthracis. 



Nutrient broth at 37° C. — After 24 to 48 hours, whitish deposit and 

 presence of small flocculent masses in upper part of tube, which fall 

 down on shaking ; the broth itself remains clear : absence of any 

 pellicle. 



Agar stroke at 37° C. — Whitish, thin defined growth along the stroke, 

 with irregular edges, not spreading widely. 



Microscopic appearances. — Rods, threads and felted masses, with 

 spores either free or lying within the rods. Rods non-motile. 



Fat of Tubercle Bacilli.f — K. J. Krisling has found that the dry 

 substance obtained from tubercle bacilli in the preparation of tuberculin 

 contained 3 '94 p.c. water, 8 '57 p.c. N, 38 '95 p.c. fat, and 0'97 p.c. of 

 other organic substances not containing nitrogen. The fatty substances 

 extracted by chloroform melt at 46° C., have an acid number 23*08, 

 Reichert-Meissl number 2*01, Hehner number 74*23, saponification 

 number 60*70, ester number 37*62, and Hiibl iodine number 9*92. 

 They contain 14*38 p.c. of free fatty acids, 77*25 p.c. of neutral fats 

 or esters, 39*10 p.c. of alcohols extracted from the esters and melting 

 at 43*5° C. to 44° C, 0*16 p.c. of lecithin, and 7*3 p.c. of substances 

 soluble in water. 25 * 76 p.c. of substances soluble in water are extracted 

 after the complete hydrolysis of the fats. 



Composition of Tubercle Bacilli derived from Various Animals. { 

 E. A. Schweinitz and M. Dorset found the following amounts of ether, 

 alcohol and chloroform extracts in (1) bovine, (2) swine, (3) horse, 

 (4) avian, (5 and 6) attenuated and virulent human tubercle bacilli, 



* Proc. Eoy. Soc, lxxii. (1903) pp. 493-9. 



t Chem. Oentr., i. (1903) p. 1153. See also Journ. Chem. Soc.,cccclxxxix. (1903) 

 p. 504. 



X Journ. Chem. Soc.,xxv. (1903) pp. 354-8. See alsoJourn. Chem. Soc.,cccclxxxix. 

 (1903) p. 504. 



