ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 215 



water the organism sporulates, the cell going into a resting phase, in 

 which it may be air-dried for over a year without dying. 



Anaerobic Form of Frankel's Diplococcus.* — G. Bolognesi isolated 

 from pleural exudate a capsulated coccus which in its morphological and 

 pathological characters seemed to be identical with Frilnkel's diplococcus. 

 Culturally the organism was found to be a strict anaerobe. The author 

 considers that under certain conditions the pneumococcus may become a 

 strict anaerobe, and suggests that in many cases of pleural exudation 

 which on aerobic cultivation have remained sterile, have been caused by 

 the anaerobic type of Friinkel's diplococcus. 



Anaerobic Bacteria with Diphtheria.f — K. Leiner has observed 

 in cases of definite diphtheria, slender, pointed. Gram-negative rods, 

 morphologically distinguishable from B.fmiformis, and probably identi- 

 cal with the pointed rods first described by Bernheim. The organism 

 was also obtained in pure culture from several cases of septic diphtheria. 

 The bacillus is a strict anaerobe. It grows ou all media and emits a 

 foetid odour. 



Influence of Moulds on the Intensity of Luminous Bacterial 

 Cultures. I — E. Friedberger and H. Doepner found that cultures of 

 Aspen/iUtis fumigati/s, A. niger, Macor stoloiufer, PenicUJium glaucum, 

 and others, have the power of increasing the intensity of the light- 

 production of light-emitting bacterial cultures, such as B. phosphorescens 

 Molisch, and others. The observations were recorded on sensitised paper, 

 and, by means of a special apparatus, the intensities of the blackened 

 images of cultures, with and without the presence of the moulds, were 

 compared and measured. The authors consider that the increase of 

 light-intensity is caused by changes in reaction and also by some unknown 

 vital property exerted by the moulds. 



Ripening of Cheese.§ — J. Boekhout and J. J. Ott de Vries find that 

 the ripening of cheese commences with a lactic acid fermentation caused 

 by micro-organisms, which sooner or later are killed by the lactic acid thus 

 produced, Some of the micro-organisms have formed a proteolytic enzyme 

 which is not destroyed by the lactic acid, and which survives in the 

 cheese after the micro-organisms have ceased to develop, and which 

 completes the ripening process. Cheese-ripening is thus due to enzyme 

 action in combination with lactic acid fermentation. 



Bacillus equi-ll — E. Klein describes a microbe which was isolated 

 from the blood of a horse and was found to be pathogenic to Rodents. 

 This organism, B. equi, morphologically resembles B.pseudo-tuherculosis 

 Pfeiffer, and presents forms intermediate between a coccus and a fila- 

 ment. It is non-motile, non-liquefying, and non-Gram-staining. It 

 does not form spores, and is devitalised by drying. It grows well at both 

 ?»7'' and 20", the colonies being flat, moist, and translucent. It renders 

 broth turbid, does not alter litmus milk, and forms acid from saccharose. 



* Centralbl. Bakt., Ite Abt. Orig., xliii. (1907) p. 113. 



t Tom. cit., p. 119. X Tom. cit., p. 1. 



§ Op. cit., 2te Abt., xvii. (1906) p. 491. 



II Lancet, 1906, i. p. 783. 



