ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ^ETC. 225 



By extracting cultures with alcohol the author obtained a green 

 colouring matter, " bacteriochlorin," which was quite distinct from 

 chlorophyll, and gave an entirely different spectrum. By extracting 

 the bacteria thus freed from bacteriochlorin with carbon disulphide, 

 " bacteriopurpurin " was obtained. The combined spectra of these two 

 colouring matters corresponded with the spectrum of the living bacteria. 



Bacterium Mariense.* — W.N. Klimenkohas isolated this bacillus from 

 the spleen and blood of an apparently healthy guinea-pig. The round- 

 ended rods, which are actively motile, and possess 8 to 12 peritrichal 

 flagella, are usually single, sometimes in pairs, rarely forming threads ; 

 they stain by the ordinary dyes, but not by Gram's method, and are not 

 acid-fast ; metachromatic granules may occasionally be demonstrated. 

 The organism is a potential anaerobe, but the best growth is obtained 

 under aerobic conditions at 'M° G. The colonies on gelatin resembles 

 those of B. coli and B. typhosus, and the medium is not liquefied ; on 

 Conradi-Drigalski and on Endo's media, development resembles that of 

 B. typhosus. In milk no change is apparent for the first six days, but it 

 then becomes transparent and of a yellow-brown colour, with a deposit 

 at the bottom of the tube, the reaction becoming more and more 

 alkaline. Growth on potato is similar, but less vigorous than that of 

 B. coli. This bacillus has no denitrifying properties, it produces no 

 indol, and its growth on all media containing carbohydrates causes an 

 alkaline reaction. It is pathogenic for white rats, white mice, rabbits, 

 guinea pigs, and pigeons. 



Nitrogen-fixing Bacteria, f — F. Lohnis and N. K. Pillar have 

 examined the soil from rice fields on the Malabar coasts, near Trawankur, 

 for the presence of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. 



Tubes of soil extract +0*5 p.c. K.,HP0 4 received respectively 

 1 p.c. mannite, 1 p.c. glucose, 1 p.c. tartaric acid, and were neutrabsed 

 with soda ; to one set of these tubes was added 1-2 p.c. of C a C0 3 , a 

 controle set being free from chalk. All the tubes were then inoculated 

 with the soil. The amount of nitrogen being measured before and 

 twenty days after inoculation. In the mannite tubes with chalk the 

 increase of nitrogen was 4 - l mg. per 100 cm., which was 0*86 mg.more 

 than in the mannite tube without chalk. In the glucose tubes the 

 nitrogen increase was 3 ' 38 mg. and 0*56 mg. more than in the tubes con- 

 taining chalk. In the tartaric solution tubes the increase of nitrogen 

 was only 1*7 mg., and this was 0*14 mg. less than in the chalk contain- 

 ing tubes. 



Microscopically Azotobacter was not observed, but besides several 

 strains of B. pneumonice, B. radiobacler, B. subtilis, B. oxalaticus, 

 Micrococcus sulphurous, B. turcosum, B. chrisoglcea, B. lipsiense, the 

 author isolated two new species, B. malabarensis and B. tartaricum. 

 B. malabarensis is a strong nitrogen fixer, especially in mannite solu- 

 tions ; it occurs as large, stout rods, with numerous flagella ; it is 



* Centralbl. Bakt., lte Abt. Orig., xlv. (1907) p. 481. 

 t Op. cit., 2te Abt., xix. (1907) p. 87. 



