ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC 501 



cases, found that the relative preponderance of the types varied inversely. 

 In some cases the acid-fast, in others the granular form was predominant. 

 The two last-named authors agree in regarding the granular bacillus as 

 a degenerate form possessing a low degree of virulence, and in thinking 

 that, under favourable conditions, it is capable of acquiring anew the 

 acid-resisting capsule and thus returning to the Ziehl-Neelsen type. 



New Type of Tubercle Bacillus.*— C. Spengler describes a new 

 variety of tubercle bacillus, to which he gives the name of humano longus. 

 It occurs principally in severe cases of phthisis, more particularly in 

 patients from the East. It grows feebly upon glycerin serum and gly- 

 cerin agar, but upon a somatose-pepton-glycerin-agar medium colonies 

 appear in from two to six weeks. It is longer and thicker than Koch's 

 bacillus. It forms spores which can be stained by Gram's method. It 

 possesses a relatively high degree of pathogenicity to men and animals. 



Tuberculosis in Cold-blooded Animals. f — E. Bertarelli and G. 

 Bocchia, after a brief recapitulation of the investigations upon this sub- 

 ject hitherto recorded, give a preliminary note of their own work. They 

 examined a very considerable number of fishes, amphibia, and reptiles, 

 but, except in one doubtful case, found no tuberculous lesions ; so that 

 they conclude that tuberculosis does not occur naturally in these animals. 

 Experimental inoculation of emulsions of tubercle bacilli into lizards and 

 frogs were made, but in only two cases were tuberculous lesions found. 

 One lizard died six weeks after intraperitoneal inoculation, and tuber- 

 culous lymphatic glands were found. In the second place, a frog was 

 killed four months after inoculation into a dorsal lymph space, and 

 clumps of acid-fast bacilli were found in the liver. 



A number of gold-fish received intraperitoneal inoculations of avian, 

 bovine, and human tubercle bacilli. The fish were killed four months 

 later, and acid-fast bacilli were recovered from the liver and other organs. 

 The tissues did not appear to have reacted against the invasion, and no 

 typical tuberculous lesions were found. 



Streptococcus mucosus.J — L. Arzt isolated organisms of this type 

 from cases of cervical abscess, panophthalmitis and meningitis, and has 

 made careful investigations of their morphology, cultural characters and 

 pathogenicity. It is a Gram-positive organism, and may appear in 

 chains of six to twelve individuals or in pairs, assuming reniform or 

 lanceolate shapes. By means of Giemsa's stain, thionin-blue and other 

 methods, a capsule can be demonstrated, and in the streptococcal type, 

 this capsule is common to the whole chain of individuals. Little or no 

 growth takes place upon ordinary agar, but upon serum-agar slimy 

 colonies appear. Xo growth occurs in milk, unless ascitic fluid be 

 added ; in this medium even after six weeks no coagulation occurs. 



In spite of some slight differences, such as the character of growth 

 in milk, this organism must be considered identical with the Strepto- 

 coccus mucosus of Scholtmuller. This class is intermediate between the 

 streptococci and the pneumococci, but the possession of a capsule as well 

 as certain cultural reactions indicate a greater affinity to the latter class. 



* Centralbl. Rakt.. lie Abt. Ref., xlvii. (1910) p. 401. 



t Op. eit., lte Abt. Orig., liv. pp. 385-93. t Tom, cifc., pp. 394-111. 



