ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 573 



and, notwithstanding many resemblances to tubercle bacilli in their 

 action, they approximate to the suppuration bacteria. To distinguish 

 between the two kinds a bacterioscopic examination is insufficient ; the 

 safest test is a pure culture ; even experiments on animals may be mis- 

 leading in the early stage. 



Clouding' of White Wine.* — R. Greig Smith investigated the causes 

 of the turbidity which affects South Australian Chablis, and found it to 

 be due to the presence of an aerobic polymorphic bacterium. The 

 variability of the morphotic elements appears to depend on the com- 

 position of the medium, and, as was determined by experiment, alcohol 

 was the ingredient which was most stimulating to its development. The 

 bacterium forms acid, apparently acetic acid; its optimum temperature 

 is 25° ; it does not grow under anaerobic conditions. Pasteurisation 

 experiments with infected wine showed that heating the wine to 43° 

 destroyed the organism without affecting the brightness or the bouquet. 



Bacterial Flora of Sydney Water Supply, f — In a second com- 

 munication R. Greig Smith, after discussing the value and importance 

 of the various methods used for isolating bacteria from water, describes 

 the cultural characters of the microbes not included in the former con- 

 tribution. In the second series are noticed Micrococcus pyogenes y albus 

 Rosenbach, Bacillus mesentericus niger Lunt, Bacterium cloacae Jordan, 

 Boc. coli com. Escherich, and Bacteria i., ii., and iii. 



Bact. i. differs only in size from Bac. aquatilis communis Zimm. 



Bact. ii. is a motile rodlet with rounded ends, measuring 0*4 

 X 0"8-l"2/x. It is decolorised by Gram's method. It belongs to the 

 typhoid group, but has many points of difference from B. typhosus ; its 

 nearest ally is jB. pinnatus Ravenel. 



Bact. iii., an oval actively motile rodlet, 0*3 X - 6 /a, not stainable 

 by Gram's method. The growth on gelatin is white, the medium being 

 slowly liquefied. It was cultivated also on agar, litmus-lactose-agar, 

 bouillon, milk, and potato. It produces gas and indol, and reduces 

 nitrates to nitrites. This organism may be identical with Bact. Kralii 

 Dyar. 



Relative Abundance of Bacillus coli communis in River Water.+ — 

 One of the most important conclusions drawn by Prof. E. O. Jordin 

 from a very large number of observations is that the relative abundance 

 of B. coli in river water is an index of the self-purification of streams ; 

 for if this near ally of the typhoid bacillus perishes speedily and in 

 large numbers in a given stretch of river, there is good reason to sup- 

 pose that the typhoid bacillus itself will not survive exposure to the 

 same conditions. The rate of mortality among colon bacteria indicates 

 more surely than any other factor the death-rate among typhoid bacilli 

 under a similar stress. Whenever we find that an extensive mortality 

 occurs among colon bacteria, in the present state of our knowledge we 

 are justified in assuming tbat the fatality among typhoid bacteria has 

 been at least equally great. 



* Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, xxv. (1900) pp. 650-8. 

 t Tom. cit.. pp. 740-59. Cf. this Journal, ante, p. 196. 

 j Journ. Hygiene, i. (1901) pp. 295-320. 



