442 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



Bacillus asteracearum.* — G. L. Pavarino describes a new bacillus 

 which causes rapid withering of Aster chimnsis. The organism is a 

 slightly-curved rodlet 5-6 /x'long and 0*5-0 '6 /a broad. It shows a 

 tendency to form filaments, but not groups. It stains well with gentian- 

 violet, and even by Gram's method, if the decoloration be not too pro- 

 longed. It grows well on the ordinary media ; in the early stages on 

 glycerin-agar it is of a lemon-colour, darkening with age. It liquefies 

 gelatin and renders broth turbid, the sediment being yellowish. On 

 potato the growth assumes a faint rose-colour. Healthy asters inoculated 

 with pure cultures die with the same appearances as occur under natural 

 conditions. 



Spirella canis. f — 0. Duboscq has discovered a new spirillum in 

 the stomach of the dog. He calls it Spirella canis, g. et sp. n. It has 

 a cilium at each pole ; the body is a thick, screw-like filament. The 

 shorter forms have from three to seven turns ; the longer specimens may 

 have as many as twenty. They are highly refringent, and hence can be 

 easily seen with ordinary illumination. Stained by Giemsa's method, the 

 body is blue, dotted over with red grains. At each pole at the base of 

 the cilia is a chromatic granule. 



S. cams moves like a spirillum, its progress being due to ciUary 



action. 



* Atti R. Accad. Lincei, xxi. (1912) pp. 544-6. 

 t Comptes Rendus, cliv. (1912) pp. 835-7. 



