VETERINARY MEDICINE. 279 



tion from 1.2 to 3.5 and gives an average over 2. It will thus be seen that the 

 blood of this series of 25 infants appears to be practically normal. On the 

 other hand, the blood of the mothers contains an extremely high percentage of 

 antibodies to trypsin, averaging over twice the normal, a characteristic also 

 exhibited by cancer blood." 



The antitryptic reaction is destroyed by heating the serum for one-half hour 

 at 60° C. and in this respect it resembles the complement fixation as noted in 

 the abstract above. These two reactions may have a common origin. 



Abderhalden's biological test of pregnancy, P. F. Wiixiams and R. M. 

 Pearce (Ahs. in Proc. Soc. Expt. Biol, and Med., 10 (WIS), No. 3, p. 73).— "The 

 use of Abderhalden's test for pregnancy [E. S. R., 28. p. 777], employing the 

 dialysis method and the ninhydrin color reaction, has given positive results 

 with each of 28 sera from pregnant women and with S from women in the post 

 partum period, including one abortion. The test has never been negative in 

 a known pregnancy. On the other hand, the serum of pregnancy reacts with 

 tissues (kidney, heart, uterus) other than placenta. Also sera of two cases of 

 nephritis, one of tabes and one of infection (carbuncle), and occasionally of 

 some individuals in apparent perfect health, have given the reaction with 

 I)lacenta and other tissues." 



The ninhydrin reaction was superior to the biuret test and the small dialysis 

 thimbles (S. & S.) are preferred to the tish-skin membranes originally recom- 

 mended. Results as satisfactory as those obtained by dialysis are obtained by 

 mixing tissues and serum in tubes, incubating for 24 hours, and testing the 

 filtrate obtained after treatment by heat and acetic acid with ninhydrin. 



"As the result of the studies [the authors] feel that this test can not be 

 accepted as an accurate clinical method until it has been more thoroughly in- 

 vestigated and the possible sources of error corrected. This conclusion, how- 

 ever, applies only to Abderhalden's dialysis method and not to his optical 

 method, with which [the authors] have had no experience." 



Diagnosis of pregnancy according to Rosenthal, H. Scholz {Berlin. 

 Tieriirzil. Wclmsehr., 29 (1913), No. ^8, pp. 858, 859).— A description of a method 

 which determines the antitryptic index of the serum of the patient with a solu- 

 tion of trypsin and casein. The principle upon which the method is based is 

 Fuld's. 



Bactericidal action and chemical constitution with special reference to 

 basic benzol derivatives, C. H. Browning and W. Gilmotjr (Ahs. in Jour. 

 Path, and Bact., 18 (1913), No. 1, pp. lJf4-146). — In this investigation certaia 

 general principles were established, namely "(1) Staphylococcus aureus and 

 Bacillus anthracis are more susceptible to the action of basic benzol derivatives 

 than are organisms of the coli-typhoid group. This result has been obtained 

 with triphenylmethan derivatives (triamido-triphenylmethan compounds — para- 

 fuchsin, fuchsin, hexamethyl and hexaethyl violet, methyl green ; diamido- 

 triphenylmethan compounds — Dobner's violet, malachite green, brilliant green, 

 glacier blue, setoglaucin, setosyanin ; naphthalin compounds — victoria blue, new 

 victoria blue, night blue), acridin compounds (3.6 diaminoacridin, acridin yel- 

 low, and other diaminoacridin derivatives containing CHs groups substituted 

 either in the benzol rings or in the amino groups), indamins (Bindschedler's 

 green), azin dyes (toluylene red, safranin), the thinazin group (methylene blue, 

 new methylene blue), thiopyronin; also with tetrachlor-ortho-biphenol, tetra- 

 brom-a-kresol. (2) It Is not possible to differentiate generally the Gram-posi- 

 tive organisms as susceptible to hexamethyl violet and the Gram-negative group 

 as insusceptible ; thus Vibrio cholercB, B. cholerce gallinarum, B. B. foecalis alcali- 

 genes were found to be all comparatively nonresistant to this dye. (3) Salts 



