110 SUMMAKY OF CUKKENT EKSP^ARCHES RELATING TO 



Locust Destruction Experiments in the Philippines.* — M. A. 

 Barber and C. R. Jones, experimenting with Goccobacillus acridiorum 

 (d'Herelle) in the Philippines, have failed to obtain any results of 

 practical value in relation to locust destruction in the field. The 

 experiments in question were made against mixed swarms of ^ilalem 

 nigrofasciatas (De Geer) and Locusta migratoroides (R. and F.). With 

 some difficulty they were able to exalt the virulence of the strain of 

 coccobacillus, which they obtained direct from M. d'Herelle, so that 

 death of the acrid ian followed inoculation in from six to eight hours 

 (the degree of virulence required by the directions), but extended 

 spraying experiments with broth cultures of these exalted organisms 

 failed to produce any appreciable effect on the experimental locust 

 swarms. The authors, moreover, showed that Bacillus prodigiosus 

 and another organism (" Singalong ") isolated from dead locusts could 

 be similarly exalted in virulence, and give equally good (or bad) 

 results in the field. Barber and Jones suggest " that two conditions 

 may have contributed to make oar results less successful than those 

 reported from the Argentine — the species of insects and the prevailing 

 high temperature," but these suggestions do not appear to carry con- 

 viction. M. d'Herelle, on the other hand, suggested that the failure 

 was due to " lack of strength of the virulence." 



Diagnosis of Cerebro-spinal Fever.f — H. Warren Crowe recom- 

 mends the following medium for the identification of the meningococcus, 

 either from the cerebro-spinal fluid or from the naso-pharynx. It 

 consists of three parts of defibrinated Itiillock's blood, one part of trypsin 

 agar (Douglas), and 1 p.c. glucose. The medium is mixed at 50° C. in 

 sterile fashion, poured into plates or tubes, and steamed for three 

 successive days at 60° C. for two or three hours, but raised to 80 C. 

 during the last half-hour on the third day. The medium should be 

 dark brown in colour and opaque, and should present a smooth glossy 

 surface. On account of its opacity, the cultures must be examined by 

 reflected and not by transmitted light. The only colonies growing on 

 this medium which resemble meningococci are those of the pseudo- 

 meningococcus and M. fharyngeus Jlaims. The former can be dis- 

 tinguished by agglutination tests, and the latter by pigment production. 

 With regard to the latter, in doubtful cases, the suspected colony should 

 be immersed in N/10 sulphuric acid, with which reagent the meningo- 

 coccus colonies turn pale blue, while the pigmented colonies are changed 

 to a muddy green colour. The clear-cut edges of the meningococcus 

 are easily observed on this medium by reflected light, while the extreme 

 flatness of the colonies is more readily observed than by transmitted 

 light. The loss of the usual granular appearance is not considered to 

 offset the advantages offered by the new medium. 



New Gas Gangrene Organism. J — M. Weinberg and P. Seguin 

 have found associated with B. mdematis maligni and B. cedematieriH a 

 new pathogenic anaerobe which, on account of the difficulty of its 



* Philippine Journ. Sci., x. (1915) pp. 163-76. 



t Lancet, clxxxix. (1915) pp. 1127-33. 



X CR. Soc. Biol. Paris, Ixxviii. (1915) pp. 686-9. 



