ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 413 



Schizophyta. 

 Schizomycetes. 



Organism of Whooping-cough.* — K. Shiga, N. Imai, and Ch. 

 Eguchi recommend the following medium as suitable for the culture of 

 the Bordet-Gengou bacillus, and also for that of influenza. 500 grm. 

 of minced potato are placed in 1 litre of 4 p.c. gljcerin-water, autoclaved 

 and filtered through gauze ; 250 c.cm. of this extract, 750 c.cm. of 

 meat- juice, and 20 grm. of agar, are steamed together, rendered faintly 

 alkaline, and filtered. To the filtrate are added 1 p.c. pepton (Witte) 

 and 0*5 p.c. sodium chloride. This mixture is tubed, cooled to 50° C, 

 and horse- or ox-blood added in the proportion of 1 : 4. After solidifica- 

 tion of this blood-agar, it is heated to 56^ C. for h hour. 



These authors have carried out serological investigations, and find 

 that there is a close relationship between the whooping-cough and the 

 influenza bacillus. Probably intermediate forms exist. By opsonic and 

 complement binding methods, however, the two organisms may be 

 distinguished. 



Structure of Spores, f — V. Euzicka considers in some detail the 

 constitution of the bacterial spore, and the changes undergone during 

 the process of ripening. For the investigation he has employed certain 

 staining methods. One method is as follows. A thin film is prepared 

 and dried in the air ; it is then treated with 25 p.c. nitric acid for 

 4 minutes, thoroughly washed in a stream of distilled water, and then 

 stained for 2 minutes in a mixture of 1 part concentrated alcoholic 

 fuchsin with 10 parts of water. The acid treatment so affects a portion 

 of the spore membrane as to render it permeable to dyes. The author 

 also made use of a water-blue staining solution, acidified with acetic 

 acid. By these methods it is possible to observe changes occurring in 

 the spore chromatin. This element of the spore appears to lose its 

 acidity as the spore matures. In a study of spores of different ages, 

 the author has observed the whole chain of transition, from the cliro- 

 matin "nucleus" capable of taking up basic stains, to the oxy chromatic 

 stage, and finally to the old chromatin-free spores. The author found 

 in som.e tetanous material, twenty years old, spores entirely free from 

 chromatin, but capable of giving rise to fatal infection in mice. 



Variation in Bacillus coli.J — By cultivation of this organism in 

 a fluid medium containing brilliant green, C. Eevis has obtained two 

 permanent varieties. The first of these shows only minor variations 

 from the original culture, but these modifications of fermentative 

 character are permanent, and refuse to be further affected. The 

 second strain, on the other hand, gradually undergoes profound and 

 increasing change in the same environment, and becomes in the end 

 an organism entirely different from the original culture. Plated out 



* Centralbl. Bakt., Ite Abt. Orig.. Ixix. (1913) pp. 104-7. 

 t Centralbl. Bakt., 2te Abt., xxxvi. (1913) pp. 577-87. 

 i Proc. Koy. Soc, Ser, B, Ixxxvi. (1913) pp. 373-6. 



