246 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



presence of light. These reactions received additional confirmation 

 from the fact that in the presence of hydrochloric acid, Str. chromogena 

 cultures set free iodine from potassium iodide, which is easily demon- 

 strated hy means of the iodine-starch reaction. In successful cultures, 

 so strong is this reaction that it might lead to the suspicion of the 

 presence of nitric acid ; but this is easily set aside, as the other tests for 

 nitric acid, e.g. the diphenylamin reaction, are completely absent. 



Almost any medium appears to be agreeable to Str. chromogena as 

 far as growth is concerned, but the richness of the cultures in chinon 

 depends on the presence of albumen or pepton in the substratum. It is, 

 in fact, an example of catabolism, and its production is analogous to that 

 of alcohol by yeast. For from yeast is derived invertin which may be 

 described as autobolic ; the invertin yields glucose and levulose which 

 are telebolic ; while the alcohol which is formed by the catalytic action 

 of the living protoplasm on the sugars is a catabolic product. 



Bacterium Trambuti and its Zooglcea Membrane.* — M. Radais 

 describes a bacterium which forms on the surface of nutritive media a 

 tough leathery zooglcea which externally is shagreened and bristles as 

 it were with mossy points. Carefully compressed beneath a cover-glass 

 the jelly spreads out, and shows that it is composed of ovoid particles 

 which average 8 by 10 fx. These are colonies or families of bacteria 

 (0 - 6 X 0*8 fx) lying without any apparent order in the jelly, which at 

 the circumference of each mass seems to be slightly thickened and to 

 form a sort of capsule. 



The organism is cultivable in the usual media, but thrives best in 

 the presence of sugar, especially saccharose. Its development is favoured 

 by an acid reaction, and Raulin's fluid mixed with gelatin or gelose forms 

 an excellent substratum for observing the morphological characters of 

 the zooglcea. The optimum temperature is 25°-30°. The cells are pro- 

 vided with a thick membrane which externally passes insensibly into 

 the zooglcea jelly. The contents stain well, but not by Gram's method. 

 The bacterium is designated Bacterium Trambuti, and the species is 

 characterised not only by the zooglcea membrane and the appearances of 

 the individual, but also by the mode of growth of the families, which 

 takes place in simple or branched chains. 



The bacterium was isolated from a piece of blighted sorghum, but has 

 no connection with this disease. 



Antitoxin in the Bile of Rabid Animals, t — Dr. J. Lebell's experi- 

 ments lead him to agree with Frantzius that the bile of rabid animals 

 does exercise an attenuating action on the hydrophobic virus not only in 

 vitro but also in the organism. This action is due very probably to an 

 antitoxic substance formed in the bile of rabid animals. Hence, while 

 agreeing with Frantzius, the author collides with Vallee, J who came to 

 the opposite conclusion, owing, as is suggested by Lebell, to not having 

 used fixed virus, and not having maintained a constant proportion of the 

 emulsions of the virus used. 



t 



* Coinptes Rendus. exxix. (1899) pp. 1279-81. 



t Centralbl. Bakt. u. Par., 1" Abt., xxvi. (1899) pp. 635-9. 



X Of. this Journal, 1899, p. 525. 



