346 



SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



Plurality of Species of '• Thrush-fungus."* — A. Castellcani, as the 

 result of researches in Ceylon and at the Lister Institute, London, has 

 come to the conclusion that the term " thrush-fungus " {Jlonila, Sacrha- 

 romyces, Oidium, albicans) does not indicate a single species of hypho- 

 mycete, but both in temperate and tropical zones has been used to 

 cover a large number of different species. In London, from eleven cases 

 of thrush, seven different species of fungi belonging to the genus 

 Monihi were found. None belonged to the genus Endo)nyces, no endo- 

 spores and asci having been seen. They all grew abundantly on the 

 various sugar-agars, especially if slightly acid ; less almndantly on 

 ordinary agar. On solid media the fungi could hardly be distinguished 

 one from the other. The growth was abundant on all, of a white creamy 

 colour. The fungi grew under two forms : a globular form, morphologi- 

 cally similar to a typical yeast, and a filamentous fo:-m, showing mycelial 

 threads simple or ramified — asci and internal spores were always absent. 

 The cultural characters of seven of these species are shown in the follow- 

 ing table: — 



A. = acid ; Alk. = alkaline ; C. = clot ; G. = gas ; = negative ; 

 s. = slight ; v.s. = very slight. 



For Monila No. I, the name Monila Metchinkoffi is proposed. The 

 fungi found in the London cases were different species from those 

 found in the Ceylon and South Indian cases. 



Standardized Employment of Vaccines.! — Lyon Smith and Casses 

 Brown have devised the following technique for estimating the propor- 



• Ann. Inst. Pasteur, xxx. (1916) pp. 149-54. 

 t Lancet (1915) ii. p. 279. 



