ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 489 



intestinal contents of different Orthoptera, and have isolated various 

 moulds and bacteria, including especially Penicillium glaucum, and 

 Mucor mucedo, B. stibtilis, B. coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. 



Bacillus causing an Exanthematous Fever.* — T. Horiucbi has 

 isolated from the stools and in some cases also from the urine of patients 

 suffering from an exanthematous fever, during the Russo-Japanese war, 

 a bacillus which is culturally similar to the B. paratyphosus, but gives 

 a positive indol reaction ; it agglutinates with the serum of the patient 

 from whom it was isolated, and with that of others suffering from an 

 identical illness, and it appears to be the specific cause of the fever. 

 The author has named the organism B. febris exanthematici Mandschurice. 



Plague Bacillus in the Bed Bug.t — Y. Jordansky and 

 N. Kladnitsky conclude from their experiments that the coccobacillus 

 of plague retains its virulence in the bug for at least 10 days, and from 

 this fact the inference may be drawn that in certain cases the bug may 

 become an infective agent. 



"& v 



Toxin of Bacillus virgula.J — L. Verderau finds that the toxin of 

 B. virgula is a definite alkaloid, and analogous to the active principle of 

 other vegetables. 



Symbiosis of Bacillus vulgaris and Bacillus butyricus.§— C.Crithari 

 finds that if sufficient care be taken to maintain a permanent acidity of 

 the medium the phenomena of butyric fermentation are reduced to a 

 minimum. The details are tabulated in three sections which show the 

 results of the action of the bacteria singly and in combination. 



Micrococcus neoformans and Cancer. || — M. Doyen finds that cancer 

 may be diagnosed by the specific reaction with M. neoformans on the 

 following grounds : (1) The serum of cancerous patients contains specific 

 bodies. (2) These specific bodies exert an elective action on the extract 

 of powder from the tumour, and of 31. neoformans and on young cultures 

 of this microbe, so as to produce either fixation of the complement or 

 agglutination. (3) The diagnosis of deep-seated cancer may be definitely 

 made in the majority of cases by a combination of three tests : (1) 

 fixation of complement ; (2) agglutination ; (3) determination of the 

 opsonic index. 



Bacteria as Agents in the Oxidation of Amorphous Carbon.l" — 

 M. C. Potter finds that under conditions of exposure to the air, a slow 

 oxidation of amorphous carbon takes place through the agency of 

 bacteria : during this action C0 9 is given off and heat is evolved. 



- 



Marshall, C. E., & B. Farrand. — Bacterial Associations in the Souring of 

 Milk. Centralbl. Bakt., 2te Abt. xxi. (1908) pp. 7-59. 



* Centralbl. Bakt. lte Abt. Orig., xlvi. (1908) p. 586. 



t Ann. Inst. Pasteur, xxii. (1908) pp. 455-62. 



X C.R. Soc. Biol. Paris, lxiv. (1908) pp. 803-5. 



§ Tom. cit., pp. 818-20. || Tom. cit., pp. 816-18. 



i Proc. Roy. Soc, Series B, lxxx. (1908) pp. 239-59. 



