ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 189 



peritoneum cannot be effected, and if the spores are preserved in water 

 for 3 or 4 days they become inert. Amongst mice living together 

 the proportion infected is greater than amongst a similar number living 

 apart. There is an intestinal stage of the parasite which is discharged 

 with the excrement, and infection occurs by ingestion of such material, 

 but this stage has not been isolated. 



Culture of Treponema pallidum.* — C. Levaditi and J. Mcintosh, 

 by means of collodion sacs containing material from syphilitic lesions 

 placed in the peritoneal cavity of the rabbit, successfully obtained 

 cultures of this organism. As many as twelve passages were effected, 

 and the organisms were more numerous at the end than at the beginning. 

 It was proved that an exchange between the contents of the sac and the 

 fluid of the peritoneal cavity is indispensable, and that the presence of 

 anaerobic microbes favoured the culture. The Treponema of the cultures 

 possesses a filiform prolongation at the extremity resembling the analo- 

 gous formations described by Borrel in Schaudinn's T. pallidum. It 

 multiplied by transverse fission. The cultures not being pure, the 

 authors cannot affirm that all their forms are T. pallidum, but on 

 morphological, biological, and staining reaction grounds, they consider 

 that the two types are to be associated. A loss of pathogenic activity 

 resulted, which is attributed to the new conditions of life of the organism 

 and to the impurity of the cultures. 



New Myxosporidian Family, f — L. Leger and E. Hesse describe a 

 new Myxosporidian, a parasite of the gall-bladder of the sardine. It is 

 extremely rare, and has always been found associated with Ceratomyxa 

 truncata Thelohan. It possesses only one polar capsule, and is dis- 

 tinguished from Myxoholus piriformis by the form of the valves, the 

 direction of the valve suture, the absence of vacuoles in the sporoplasm, 

 monosporic pansporoblasts, and its free life in the biliary fluid. For this 

 form, Coccomyxa morovi, the authors propose a new family Coccomyxidas, 

 intermediate between the Phamocystes and Cryptocystes. 



Relation of Spirochaeta pertenuis to Yaws.J — A. Castellani has 

 made out some definite points in connection with the relation of this 

 Spirochmta to yaws. It is always present in eruption material obtained 

 from persons suffering from the disease. When filtered off, the material 

 is inert. Monkeys are infected by inoculation with such material, and 

 may be also with blood from the general circulation and from the spleen. 

 Sjiirochceta pertenuis is frequently present in the spleen and lymphatic 

 glands. Yaws is generally conveyed by actual contact, but experiments 

 have proved that it may be conveyed by flies, and possibly by other 

 insects. 



* Ann. Inst. Pasteur, xxi. (1907) pp. 784-95. 

 t Comptes Renclus, cxlv. (1907) pp. 85-7. 

 I Journ. Hygiene, vii. (1907) pp. 558-69. 



