ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 319 



tartaricus from cultivations on carbohydrate media are not only acetic 

 and succinic acids, laavolactic acid, and ethylic alcohol, but also a new 

 body which has not hitberto been met with among microbic products. 

 This body is acetylmethylcarbinol, CH 3 - CO - CHOH - GH 3 . A full 

 description of the method employed in detecting this body is given by 

 the author. 



Cultures of the Microbe of the Soft Chancre.* — Bezancon, Griffon, 

 and Le Sourd state that coagulated rabbit's blood (sang gelose) is an 

 excellent medium for Ducrey's bacillus. In 24 hours round hemi- 

 spherical colonies appear, and these, as they increase in size, become 

 opaque and grey. The bacilli occur singly, in groups, and in short 

 chains, while in the condensation water the chains are often of consider- 

 able length. The bacillus also grows in uncoagulated rabbit's serum. 



Bacteriological Investigations on Trachoma.f — C. Addario made 

 cultivations from trachoma granulations, and also from conjunctival 

 secretion on the usual media, and in the vitreous tumour of calves and 

 rabbits. The bacillus of xerosis was found ten times by itself and seven 

 times in conjunction with Staphylococcus and Sarcina. Streptococcus and 

 Micrococcus minutissimus were also found once or twice. 



The bacillus showed the form of the club-shaped bacillus of Morax 

 and its characteristic fragmentation. In the vitreous cultures short 

 chains or pseudo-filaments appeared. With aqueous gentian-violet the 

 staining was homogeneous, though a few rodlets exhibited polar staining. 

 Not infrequently some of the bacilli resembled both B. xerosis and 

 B. pseudodipJitheriticus. 



The short chains and false filaments which occurred in some cultures 

 suggest that the bacillus is a sport variety of B. xerosis, and is perhaps 

 identical with the bacillus of L. Midler. 



Resistance of Spores of Actinomyces.! — L. Berard and J. Nicolas 

 record observations on the resistance of Actinomyces spores. They 

 found that from old spores, which had been kept for six years, excellent 

 cultures were obtainable. The spores were killed by dry or moist heat 

 of SO 3 acting for fifteen minutes, but withstood 75° for the same period. 

 Spores suspended in bouillon and exposed for 6^ hours to direct sun- 

 light were unaffected, but after 14^ hours were killed, possibly because 

 they had begun to germinate. Exposure to sunlight for a long time, 

 238 hours altogether, apparently did no harm to dry spores. 



Vitality of the Plague Bacillus.§ — N. K. Schultz finds that the 

 Bacillus pestis hominis, under suitable conditions, may retain its vitality 

 and virulence for about four years. This maintenance of vitality is 

 apparently favoured by a shrinkage or inspissation of the protoplasm, and 

 is not due to the formation of spores. 



Distribution of Leprosy Bacilli. ||— Dr. Uhlonhuth and Dr. A. West- 

 phal made a histological and bacteriological examination of a case of 

 leprosy of the tubercular and anaesthetic type. The chief observation is 



* C.R. Soc. de Biol., lii. (1900) pp. 647-8, 1048-51. 



t Arcliiv f. Augenheilkunde, xli. (1900) p. 20 (3 pis.). See Bot. Centralbl., 

 lixxv. (1901) pp. 115-7. % C.R. Soc. de Biol, de Paris, lii. (1900) pp. 835-6. 

 § Central bl. Bakt., 1" Abt., xxix. (1901) pp. 169-74. 

 || Tom. cit., pp. 233-9 (2 pis. and 13 figs.). 



