ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETO. 625 



Elective Staining of Sporiferous Filaments of Spirobacillus 

 gigas.* — M. A. Certes records some observations made on living Spiro- 

 bacillus gigas when placed in weak solutions of methylen-blue. During 

 the vegetative period the living motile bacilli are as completely and 

 uniformly stained as those which have ceased to move. 



Directly, however, spore-formation commences, numerous individuals 

 are observed to be only partially stained. Further observations showed 

 that the colouring matter had been absorbed by the spores, thus leaving 

 the rest of the filament more or less unstained. 



Short and Asporogenous Variety of Anthrax.f — M. C. Phisalix suc- 

 ceeded in producing a short and non-sporing variety of anthrax which he 

 designates Bacillus % antliracis brevigemmans. Collodion bags filled with 

 bouillon inoculated with virulent anthrax were introduced into the peri- 

 toneal sac of an adult dog. When examined three months after, the 

 fluid was turbid. The contents under the Microscope showed neither 

 bacilli nor spores, but collections and chains of cocci. These were 

 stainable by Gram's method, were asporogenous and devoid of virulence. 

 Ee-sown in bouillon they maintained their shape and properties. The 

 alterations in the anatomy and physiology of the microbe are due to 

 substances dialysing from the blood ; but whether the new form is to 

 be regarded as variety or species, the author leaves for future experi- 

 ments to determine. 



Foul Brood of Bees. J — Mr. F. C. Harrison makes an interesting 

 communication on the foul brood of bees, the cause of which was first 

 demonstrated by Cheshire and Cheyne.§ After a short historical resume, 

 the geographical distribution, the symptoms of the disease, and its dia- 

 gnosis from chilled brood are first described. The morphological and 

 biological characters of Bacillus alvei are then dealt with very thoroughly, 

 after which the author passes on to a consideration and analysis of the 

 remedies which have been proposed and applied to the treatment of the 

 disease. The most effective of these appear to have been salicylic 

 acid, creolin, eucalyptus, and formic acid. With regard to the last it is 

 interesting to note that the bees use it themselves as a preservative, for 

 " when honey is not destined for immediate use, the bee deposits in each 

 cell a drop of formic acid, secreted by the venom-glands, and then seals 

 the cell," and also that " the amount of formic acid recommended by 

 Bertrand for the cure of the disease is almost identical with the amount 

 found in buckwheat honey." 



The paper concludes with some details as to legislative measures 

 adopted in some countries for the suppression of foul brood. Eighty 

 references to the literature of the subject are appended. 



* Compte8 Rendus, cxxxi. (1900) pp. 75-7. t Tom. cit., pp. 424-7. 



J Centralbl. f. Bakt. u. Par., 2" Abt., vi. (1900) pp. 421-7, 457-69, 481-96, 

 513-7 (4 figs.). § Cf. this Journal, 1885, p. 581. 



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