1919] VETERINAEY MEDICINE, 477 



cent of the gas consisted of carbon dioxitl, while with B. welchii only about 

 38 per cent of the gas was carbon dioxid. 



The proteolytic power of B. sporogenes was much greater than that of B. 

 tcelchii. There was also a notable difference in their volatile acid production. 

 B. welchii, which forms large quantities of volatile acids in carbohydrate- 

 containing media, did not form any considerable quantity of acid with muscle 

 tissue while B. sporogenes formed large quantities of acids in both media. 



VII. The hiochemistry of B. proteus (pp. 28&-307). — This paper includes a 

 review of the literature on B. proteus and reports of a study of the growth of 

 several strains of the organism on different media, the results of which are 

 summarized as follows: 



"B. proteus grown upon various media does not exhibit any of the qualities 

 of a putrefactive organism. It is a moderate gas former, the largest amount of 

 gas being obtained in cultures of cooked meat. Compared with putrefactive 

 organisms such as B. sporogenes and B. histolyticus, its proteolytic activities 

 are not great. The two strains examined attacked lactose. The analytical re- 

 sult gives a lactose consumption of 6.9 gm. per liter. The volatile acid produc- 

 tion is very small. In none of the experiments was any putrefactive smell 

 noticeable, and no indol was produced under the most favorable circumstances 

 for its development. B. proteus contains a powerful urea-splitting ferment, 

 being capable of transforming 45 per cent of the total nitrogen of urine into 

 ammonia." 



Some experiments dealing with the question whether lipoids can act as 

 antigens, Chung Yik Wang {Jour. Path, and Bact., 22 (1919), No. 3-4, pp. 224- 

 228). — Lipoidal extracts of egg white, horse serum, and ox corpuscles were made 

 by successive two-hour extractions of the material in a shaking machine with 

 chloroform and ether alternately. The extract after dr>'ing and immediately 

 before use was saponified with a few drops of N/10 caustic soda and finally 

 emulsified in saline. Tests with the lipoidal extract and with an emulsion of the 

 residue were performed with rabbits, using the complement deviation method. 



Negative results as to antigenic properties were obtained with the lipoidal 

 extracts of egg white and horse serum, and positive results with the lipoidal 

 extract of ox-blood corpuscles. The crude residue after the extraction of lipoids 

 in the latter case was found to be less potent in antigenic power than the extract 

 but to retain still some of this power. The results with the different lipoidal 

 extracts are considered by the author to be due possibly to varying degrees of 

 stability of union of the proteins with the lipoidal elements. 



The loss of complementing power in guinea-pig serum at various tem- 

 peratures, J. W. Bigger (Jour. Path, and Bact., 22 (1919), No. 3-4, pp. 323-344, 

 figs. 10). — This paper reports the results of an investigation of the rate at 

 which guinea-pig sera, freed from clot and cells and kept in vitro at various 

 temperatures, lose their complementing power. 



At low temperatures the rate of disappearance of complement was much 

 slower than at higher temperatures. A 75 per cent loss occurred at 50° C. in 

 from one-half hour to one hour, at 30° in 47.5 hours, at 20° in 87 hours, at 9° 

 in 165 hours, and at 1.5° in 920 hours. The rate of loss of complement was more 

 rapid in the earlier than in the later stages and at temperatures between 9 

 and 50° appeared to be regular. 



The value of the new complement deviation method for the serodiagnosis 

 of glanders, O. Waldmann (Arch. Wiss. u. Prakt. Tierheilk., 42 (1916), No. 2-3, 

 pp. 194-222). — A review is given of the literature on the complement deviation 

 and conglutination methods for the diagnosis of glanders, followed by a report 

 of results obtained by the authors in the Pathological Institute of the Veterinary 



