ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 91 



bacteria. A ripened cream is almost a pure culturo of acid bacteria., 

 but whether the lactic bacteria are the sole agents in the ripening is not 

 clear. The flavour of June butter is not due to the presence of common 

 lactic bacteria, but to what it should be ascribed is left to future ex- 

 perimeuts to decide. 



Bacteriological Examination of Potable Water. * — Dr. A. C- 

 Houston, in some remarks on the bacteriological examination of potable 

 water from the public health point of view, discusses the significance of 

 the presence of Bacillus coli communis, B. enteritidis sporogencs, and 

 Streptococci, and gives it as his opinion that the presence of Streptococci 

 is to be regarded as indicating extremely recent, and B. coli less recent 

 but still not remote, pollution of animal soil. The presence of B. 

 enteritidis sporogenes cannot be considered to afford evidence of pollution 

 bearing a necessary relation to the recent evacuation of animals. 



Influence of Alcohol on Natural Immunity. f — Dr. S.J.Gold- 

 berg records experiments made on pigeons for the purpose of testing the 

 effect of alcohol on their natural immunity to anthrax, and on the course 

 of anthrax infection. The results showed that pigeons, which are 

 naturally immune to anthrax, become susceptible of anthrax infection 

 when the infected animals are dosed with alcohol (2-3 ccm. of 40 p.c. 

 brandy) sufficient to produce merely a transitory alcohol-intoxication, 

 and insufficient to cause death. Chronic alcoholic intoxication diminishes 

 the natural immunity of pigeons to anthrax. Small doses of alcohol, 

 when repeatedly administered to pigeons infected with lethal doses of 

 anthrax, do not save the animal from death, and have no therapeutic 

 influence whatever. 



Involution Forms of some Plague-like Bacteria. J — Dr. A. Rosen- 

 feld, after alluding to the value of Hankin's method, communicates the 

 results obtained by cultivating the following bacteria on salt-agar : — 

 (1) Bacillus typhi murium ; (2) B. suipestifer ; (3) B. mustelse septicus ;. 

 (4) Danysz bacillus ; (5) B. cholerse gallinarum ; (6) B. pseudotubercu- 

 losis (Streptobacillus jjseudohibcrrulosis rodentium) ; and (7) B. suisepticus. 

 The results are given as a series of tables, and may be summed up 

 shortly as follows : — In (1), (2), (3), and (5) the involution forms ex- 

 hibit little or no resemblance to those of plague. The involution forms 

 of Danysz bacillus present certain resemblances to those of plague, but 

 no real difficulty arises in differentiating between the two. The resem- 

 blances between the involution forms of (6) Pseudotuberculosis and of 

 Suisepticus and those of B. pestis are, under some circumstances, more- 

 pronounced ; though even here caro will enable the observer to dis- 

 criminate between them. Hankin's salt-agar medium is pronounced to 

 be a very valuable medium for diagnosing plague. 



iEtiology of Dysentery. § — Prof. S. Flexner has little doubt that 

 the acute epidemic dysenteries of America are caused by the 6ame 

 micro-organism. This opinion is founded on a comparative study of 

 material derived from five different sources. In growth, shape, size, 

 motility, and in their serum reaction, there is such closo resemblance 



• Brit. Med. Journ., 1901, ii. pp. 1793-7. 



t Centralbl. Bakt, 1" Alt, xxx. (1901) pp. G9G-700, 731-41. 



X Tom. cit., pp. 641-53. v § Tom. fit., pp. 449-54. 



