574 ON MICRO-ORGANISMS IN TISSUES OF DISEASED HORSES, 



be rendered visible by low magnifications, one observes in going 

 over the sections with an immersion-lens, detached chains in large 

 numbers. They look very delicate, are bent differently, and 

 embrace in some cases up to 30 links. These do not touch each 

 other immediately, but are separated from each other by bright 

 interspaces o£ about half the diameter of the cocci. 



Their occurrence in the spleen extends not only to the necrotic 

 parts, but also, though apparently less numerous, to the tissue 

 which still contains well colourable nuclei; in sections stained 

 with alkaline methylene-blue there were some groups of the 

 streptococci undoubtedly disintegrated or about to disintegrate. 

 We are, I think, pretty well justified in assuming that the presence 

 of these necrotic masses in the spleen is due to the action of the 

 described micrococci. We have analogies enough of this kind. 

 But whether or not these micro-organisms are identical with 

 one of the kinds of streptococci already known as infectious to 

 man and animals {e. g. Sirejjtococcus pyogenes) is impossible to 

 decide after the mere morphological appearances of the concerning 

 micro-organisms. Although the size of the streptococci under treat- 

 ment is larger than that of the known kinds of infectious strepto- 

 cocci, yet this criterion cannot be regarded as absolutely decisive. 



Finally a few words about the sample of blood alluded to in the 

 beginning. 



This blood had been withdrawn from a living individual while 

 in the acute stage of the fever, into capillary tubes, which were 

 afterwards hermetically closed. When I went to examine it for 

 micro-organisms, it had been in the tubes for about four months. 

 To the naked eye it appeared as a homogeneous liquid. 



One portion of it I stained, and examined it under the microscope 

 with the result that a moderate number of micrococci were found, 

 which were arranged in small heaps without forming chains 



