14 



Journal of Applied Microscopy. 



should, however, be complete and leave 

 nothing to be determined by experiment, 

 and should not assume the reader to 

 have previous knowledg-e of any part of 

 the process vital to the final result. The 

 use of the microscope as an aid to mod- 

 ern science and the industries has ad- 

 vanced so much faster than the litera- 

 ture of technique, that a large proportion 

 of the most valuable me'thods are con- 

 fined to the laboratories in which they 

 originated and are to be learned of only 

 by personal inspection or correspond- 

 ence. For this reason many seemingly 

 commonplace subjects need a careful 

 writing-up by the specialist in that de- 

 partment for the benefit of the many 

 whom time or opportunity has prevent- 

 ed from working out a good method 

 for themselves. 



* * * 



It is hoped that the correspondence 

 department will be freely made use of for 

 the purpose of criticism and inquiry. 

 Criticism of matter appearing in the 

 Journal and inquiries regarding subjects 

 not touched upon will be particularly in 

 order. 



TRANSLATIONS. 



[Translation from Cent. f. Mikros.] 



Buege : On the Examination of 

 Milk for Tubercle Bacilli. 



Halle a. Salle, 1896. 

 To demonstrate the presence of tubercle 

 bacilli in milk (Martmilch) Buege, who 

 worked under the direction of C. Frenkel, 

 centrifugated it in a Gerber hand centri- 

 fuge (two tubes together containing 

 forty-nine cc. for each sample), then 

 mixed the cream and sediment (in both 

 of w'hich, according to Scheurlen, 

 tubercle bacilli are found) which had 

 been taken out with a sterile pipette, 

 into sterile dishes and injected from each 

 sample two Guinea pigs, each pig receiv- 

 ing intra-peritoneally five cc. In this 

 manner nine samples were examined. In 

 three animals which were injected from 

 two of the nine samples, the presence 

 of tubercle bacilli in the milk was dem- 

 onstrated. A number of the animals died 

 early of peritonitis and were conse- 

 quently lost to the experiment. The 

 author thinks that perhaps these deaths 

 resulted from the bacterium coli, which, 

 according to Rottig, occurs almost 

 always in the milk in Halle. It might 

 perhaps, says the author, therefore be 

 advisable to use only the cream in future 

 for such examinations, as the bacterium 

 coli is thrown out of it (during centri- 

 fugation) whereas the tubercle bacilli 

 remain in considerable numbers. As this 



animal infection method has many dis- 

 advantages, namely, that it does not 

 permit of sufBciently rapid diagnosis, 

 the author tried direct microscopical 

 examination according to the methods of 

 Biedert, Spengler, and Schrank. With 

 these methods it was not d^icult to 

 detect even minute numbers o . tubercle 

 bacilli which had been purpoi^ly added 

 to the milk. In applying these methods 

 to milk (Martmilch) it was not possible 

 to prove the presence of tubercle bacilli, 

 although as stated above, the test with 

 animals gave positive results. 



(The centrifugal examination of milk 

 and sputum for tubercle bacilli is one 

 of increasing importance and we should 

 be glad to receive notes regarding appa- 

 ratus, methods, and speeds giving the 

 best results. — Ed.) 



SUGGESTIONS. 



Investigators are requested to report new form- 

 ulae, stains, reagents, etc., for publication in this 

 department. 



Necturus is one of the very best sub- 

 jects for class demonstration of the 

 various tissues. TTie cells themselves are 

 so very large and their arrangement so 

 simple that students are able to compre- 

 hend the primary structures much bet- 

 ter than when more highly organized 

 subjects are used. Necturus is widely 

 distributed, and specimens are easily ob- 

 tainable in the spring and may be kept 

 alive the year around if desired, or pre- 

 served in the usual preservatives. 



NOTICES AND REVIEWS 



We shall be glad to notice all.books, papers, re- 

 ports, bulletins, periodicals, etc., within the scope 

 of the Journal, which are sent to us for that pur- 

 pose. 



The report of the Secretary of Agri- 

 culture for 1897 is before us and con- 

 tains an interesting review of the work 

 of the past year, including much statis- 

 tical information. One million, eight 

 hundred and eighty-one thousand, three 

 hundred and nine specimens of pork were 

 microscopically examined, 13,325 of which 

 were found to be infected with tri- 

 chinae. The cost of inspection was 0.256 

 cent per pound. The secretary recom- 

 mends that the cost of the inspection be 

 In future assessed against the trades 

 benefitted, as the funds at the command 

 of the department are inadequate to 

 maintain a thorough inspection with the 

 increase in the demand for it. "If the 

 packers paid the cost of inspection, there 

 would be no longer any reason for de- 

 clining to extend it to all who apply 

 for it." 



