782 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



palpalis on the islands of Lake Victoria may be explained by the fact that the 

 situtunga on these islands are acting as a reservoir to Trypanosoma gamhiense. 

 The continued infectivity of the mainland flies to T. gamhiense may probably 

 be explained on a similar hypothesis — not only situtunga but the other species 

 of game also (i.'e., water buck, bush buck, duiker, and reedbuck, buffalo, etc.) 

 acting as a reservoir. No positive evidence can be adduced from the above 

 experiments to show that hippopotamus can serve as a reservoir. The continued 

 infectivity of the lake shore flies to T. vivax and T. uniforme is also due to the 

 antelope which served as a reservoir for these trypanosomes. 



*' It has been shown that the buffalo and the hyena as well as the various 

 antelope may carry trypanosomes which are pathogenic to cattle without them- 

 selves showing any signs of disease. Presumably elephant and the various 

 Felidse may also act as a reservoir, and possibly many of the smaller mammals 

 which abound throughout the country but which are seldom seen by man. In 

 a state of nature such creatures, even if mainly nocturnal in their habits, must 

 at times meet with tsetse, and however improbable it may seem that they may 

 serve as a reservoir for the pathogenic trypanosomes, they must be borne in 

 mind in considering the present problem. Until more is known concerning the 

 habits of Glossina, it is justifiable to suspect any animal with which 'it may 

 come in contact." 



On the morphology and the retention of the tryi)anosomes found by P. 

 Behn in German cattle, C. Bonger (Ztschr. Hyg. u. Infcktionskrank., 75 (1918), 

 A'o. 1, pp. 101-117, pi. 1, fig. 1; ahs. in Rev. Bad., 3 (1913), No. 4, p. 86).— The 

 author believes the German trypanosome to be very closely allied to, if not 

 identical with, Trypanosoma theileri. A bibliography of 20 titles Is appended. 



Some chemical conditions influencing acid-proof ness and nonacid-proofness 

 in a saprophytic culture of Bacillus tuberculosis, W. B. Wherry (Jour. In- 

 fect. Diseases, 13 {1913), No. 1, pp. 144-154). — ''During a study of the growth 

 of a saprophytic culture of B. tuberculosis in various synthetic media, it was 

 observed that the morphology varied from minute coccoid bodies to short or 

 long, thick or thin, straight or curved rods which were or were not acid-proof 

 according to the conditions of growth. The culture could be rendered nonacid- 

 proof by continual growth under conditions unfavorable to the synthesis of fats. 

 The culture could sj^nthesize fatty bodies rendering it acid-proof when such 

 substances as acetates were the source of carbon and nitrogen; or from various 

 ammonium salts and propyl alcohol; or from NH^Cl and mannit; or from 

 NH4CI and levulose; or from glycerin and glucose in the presence of peptone. 



"Various carbohydrates and the alcohol mannit were not attacked in the ab- 

 sence of phosphates. Various phosphates other than KH2PO4 favored fermenta- 

 tion, but acid-proof rods developed only in cultures containing NHtCl and 

 levulose in the presence of potassium dihydrogen phosphate, calcium phosphate 

 (secondary and tertiary), sodium biphosphate (primary), sodium pyrophos- 

 phate, and to a lesser degree in the presence of sodium phosphate (secondary). 

 Under the conditions of the experiments the sporelike bodies produced were 

 killed by heating to 60° C. for 30 minutes. That is, they were killed unless 

 they require some very special conditions for germination. 



" From the results of vital staining it seems reasonable to conclude that the 

 chemical composition of these artificially produced acid-proof tubercle bacilli is 

 different from that of virulent tubercle bacilli." 



The branched forms of the tubercle bacillus, and immunity to tuberculosis, 

 S. G. Dixon (Jour. Amer. Med. Assoc, 60 {1913), No. 13, pp. 993-995, figs. 4).— 

 After discussing the facts in regard to the involution forms of tubercle bacilli, 

 especially the branched forms which are low in protective wax content, it is 



