ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 95 



Schizophyta. 

 Schizoraycetes. 



Streptococcus viridans. — E. H. Major* describes a number of 

 cases of subacute infective endocarditis— endocarditis lenta — in which 

 the causal agent is Streptococcus viridans. This organism differs from 

 jS. pyogenes in that it produces a green growth on blood-agar. By 

 Andrewes and Horder's classification, it would be considered as a S. 

 sativarius, a non-haemolysing streptococcus, distinguished only from 

 S. faecalis by the arbitrary and inconstant mannite reaction. No essen- 

 tial cultural differences were observed between >S'. viridans and Micro- 

 coccus rheumaticus. Complement fixation tests in one case showed the 

 presence in the patient's blood of specific antibodies to this organism. 



Thalman f describes two cases of acute local septic infection whicli 

 ended fatally, in which Streptococcus viridans was found in the blood, 

 but the heart-valves showed no pathological changes. He lays stress 

 on the value of blood-agar media, containing relatively small quantities 

 of blood, for the investigation and differentiation of streptococci. 



Gram-negative Sarcina.J — V. Cavara describes a gram-negative 

 sarcina isolated from the conjunctiva of a child. It retains its mor- 

 phological characters and staining properties when grown upon artificial 

 culture-media. On the ordinary media it forms lemon-yellow colonies. 

 Gelatin is not liquefied, sugars are not fermented, milk is clotted. The 

 organism is not pathogenic for laboratory animals, and has no effect 

 upon the conjunctiva of a rabbit. 



Ingestion of Bacteria by Animal Parasites.§— L. Friedrich 

 injected mice with tetanus for the purpose of standardizing antisera. 

 From specimens of Gysticercus fasciolaris, both scoles and cyst, parasitic 

 in the livers of the animals, virulent cultures of tetanus were obtained. 

 Ascarides in the stomach of the mouse also contained tetanus bacilli, 

 from which, however, other animals could not be infected. Similar 

 o])servations were made upon mice inoculated with B. suisepticiis and 

 with streptococci. In the case of the latter organism, there was distinct 

 loss of virulence. The matter is being further investigated. 



Leucocytozoon struthionis.|| — J. Walker, while investigating a 

 fatal epidemic among ostriches in certain farms in Cape Colony, dis- 

 covered in the blood of some of the birds a parasite to which he has 

 given this name. The female gametocyte, irregularly round, has a 

 margin approximately 12 /x in circumference. The protoplasm contains 

 a number of metachromatic granules and is on the whole better stained, 



* Johns Hopkins Hosp. Bull., xxii. (1912) pp. 326-32. 



t Centralbl. Bakt., Ite Abt. Orig., Ixvi (1912) pp. 240-5. 



J Centralbl. Bakt., Ite Abt. Orig., Ixvii. (1912) pp. 113-21. 



§ Zeitschr. f. Infektionskrank. d. Haustiere, xii. (1912) pp. 385-6. 



II Zeitschr. f. Infektionskrank. d. Haustiere, xii. (1912) pp. 373-6. 



