BY R. GREIG-SMITH. 571 



Raffinose or lactose also gives a rod-shaped capsule with a trans- 

 verse bar. Levulose produces an ordinary uniformly staining 

 naked rod, while with galactose the rod is similar, but stains 

 bipolarly. Mannit gives a variety of forms such as might be 

 obtained from a mixture of raffinose and galactose. Dextrose 

 behaves like saccharose-potato-agar. 



The bacterium is to a certain extent acid-fast, for, when 

 stained with fuchsin, the colour is not discharged by 5 % hydro- 

 chloric acid, although it is by stronger solutions. It stains well 

 with carbol-violet or carbol-blue; carbol-fuchsin does not differen- 

 tiate the capsule well. A solution of fuchsin or gentian-violet 

 in 1 % acetic acid proved to be best. The Gram stain is negative. 



While slime is produced readily and luxuriantly upon certain 

 media with a vegetable base, and therefore with a mixture of 

 nutrients, as with saccharose-potato-glycerin-agar, it is not formed 

 easily upon media of simpler composition. Upon an agar medium 

 containing ammonium sulphate (0-04 %) and potassium citrate 

 (0'2%), certain carbonaceous nutrients (2 %) gave the following 

 yields of slime from 100 c.c. of medium — maltose 15; glycerin 5; 

 mannit 4; dextrose, galactose, raffinose 2; lactose 1; saccharose, 

 levulose, none. 



A quantity of slime was grown upon saccharose-glycerin- 

 potato-agar, and as in all former and similar cases, the gum was 

 obtained from the slime by the autoclave method, and the 

 reducing sugars and other matters were removed by precipitating 

 the gum with alcohol. A thick mucilage gave the reactions of 

 arabin. 



The gum was hydrolysed upon boiling it for five hours with 

 5 % sulphuric acid, and the neutral solution reduced Fehling's 

 solution. Osazones were prepared, and after purification these 

 were separated into arabinosazone (m.p. 158°), and another melt- 

 ing at 184°. It will be remembered that an osazone similar to 

 the latter had been obtained from the gum of Macrozamia. 

 Furfural was detected during the hydrolysis of the gum, and 

 upon oxidation with dilute nitric acid there were obtained mucic 

 and oxalic acids. It is therefore probable that the reducing 



