ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 507 



the bacillus varies from ■ 5-3 * 5 //,, but the club and dumb-bell form may 

 attain a length of 16 /x. Typical branched appearances were observed. 

 The bacillus is easily stained by the ordinary anilin dyes, but imper- 

 fectly or not at all by Gram's method. It is a potential auaerube, and is 

 devoid of movement. At incubation temperature it grows on all the 

 usual media, but the best substrata were found to be Loeffler's blood- 

 serum, meat-pepton-agar with or without glycerin, and pepton-bouillon. 

 Gelatin is not liquefied, and milk is not coagulated. Spore-formation 

 was not observed. The resistance to the action of sunlight and of 

 glycerin is considerable. 



Appearances identical with Cytorryctes Variolae Guarnieri were pre- 

 sent in preparations from the inoculated cornea of rabbits ; the amoeboid 

 movements, however, were not observed. What part this bacillus, which 

 is designated Bacillus variabilis lymphse vaccinalis, plays in the aetiology 

 of vaccinia and variola remains to be proved. 



Amoeboid Granules of Vaccinia.* — Dr. S. M. Copeman and Dr. G. 

 Mann, in their report on the histology of vaccinia, describe certain 

 bodies which lie chiefly in the lymph-spaces of vaccinia vesicles. These 

 bodies, designated Z-granules, vary in diameter from 0*75 to 1*5 /*. A 

 few are spherical, but the greater number are irregular in outline. 

 They are not improbably identical with the bodies found in the blood and 

 lymph of vaccinia and of variola during the febrile stages, and the fur- 

 ther suggestion may be hazarded that they are in reality leucocyte 

 granules which have been discharged from the cells. But whatever the 

 origin of these Z-granules may be, they seem to possess powers of 

 amoeboid movement and growth. Some of the preparations were treated 

 as follows : — (1) 10 minutes in 1 per cent, acetic acid; (2) three days 

 in Loeffler's methylen-blue containing ten times the normal amount of 

 KOH ; (3) 2h hours in 1 per cent, acetic acid ; (4) absolute alcohol ; 

 xylol. 



Resistance to Disinfectants of the Swine-plague Bacillus.| — Herr 

 Karliriski tested the resisting power of the swine-plague bacillus to 

 various physical and chemical influences, and his results are as follows. 

 Pure cultures are killed when dried in an exsiccator in 18 hours if 

 light be excluded, and in 14 hours in diffuse daylight. Moist heat at 

 60° kills in 20, steam in 2, 3 per cent, carbolic acid in 5, 1 per mil. sub- 

 limate in 2 minutes. Formalin vapour and lime are also very effective 

 on pure cultures. In dejecta the bacillus retains its vitality for much 

 longer periods. The infectivity of the dejecta lasts for 21 days in dif- 

 fuse daylight, in darkness for 40 days. Chemical disinfectants do not 

 act with the same facility on dejecta as on pure cultures. Lime water 

 mixed with an equal bulk of dejecta did not disinfect under 24 hours, 

 and a 2-5 per cent, formalin solution used in the proportion of 1 : 10 

 failed to disinfect after 8 days. 



Hueppe's Principles of Bacteriology.} — Prof. E. O. Jordan has 

 given us an admirable translation of Prof. F. Hueppe's Principles of 

 Bacteriology, and has certainly attained the object of reproducing the 



* Rep. Med. Off. Loc. Gov. Board, 1898-9, pp. 505-H2 (14 pis.). 



t CEsterr. Monatbl. f. Thierheilk.. 1899, No. 3. See B^ihefte z. Bot. Centralbl 

 ix. (1900) pp. 216-7. 



X Chicago, The Open Court Publishing Co.; London. Kegan Paul, Trench 

 Trubner and Co., 1899, pp. x. and 4b7 (1 pi. and 28 figs.). 



