408 Journal of Applied Microscopy. 



isolated from the liver and spleen of a cow that had died at one of the tanneries. 

 In a bacteriological examination of one of twelve cows that had died some ten 

 miles below one of the tanneries, the anthrax bacillus was not obtained, but the 

 author believes that it was the cause of the disease from the symptoms 

 described. 



In tracing the history of these cases, it was ascertained that a part of the 

 hides were shipped from China, and though there is a law in the United States 

 prohibiting the importation of hides from districts where anthrax is known to 

 exist, it is nevertheless difficult to obtain accurate data regarding the health of 

 cattle from such remote districts. Cases are sometimes reported in workers in 

 leather, and one case has been reported in Philadelphia, in a brush maker, who 

 used hog's bristles and horse-tail hair in the manufacture of brushes. The hair 

 used was imported from Siberia and the southern part of Russia, where anthrax 

 occurs quite frequently. 



Since all the cases, from which a positive history could be obtained, had 

 occurred in those who had handled the hides before subjection to the process of 

 tanning, experiments were made with anthrax bacilli. Silk threads were impreg- 

 nated with a spore-culture of the germ and dried. The cultures used for this 

 purpose were obtained from the organs of a cow that had died of anthrax. 

 Since hides contain a large amount of albuminous material which combines with 

 tannin, bacteria are in this way covered and protected, and hence are not as 

 easily killed as they would be on silk threads. 



After subjecting these threads to the tanning solution, cultures were grown 

 from time to time from the threads, and inoculations were made in guinea pigs. 

 Death occurred in from 24 to 36 hours. Two hundred and forty-four days after 

 placing the silk threads in the tanning solution, or a period of time more than 

 twice as long as is required in tanning, cultures were made from the sediment of 

 the tanning solution. These cultures, obtained from spores which did not even 

 have the protection of silk thread, killed guinea pigs weighing 470 and 500 

 grams, in 28 and 24 hours respectively after inoculation. 



These experiments show that some method should be devised to disinfect the 

 hides, both before and during the process of tanning. The author sums up his 

 article as follows : For the protection of our cattle industry and of the operatives 

 in tanneries, the points of importance are : " First — The discovery of an 

 economic and simple method of thoroughly disinfecting hides without injur}-. 

 Second — A more reliable method of obtaining reports from countries which 

 export hides. Third — A process of tanning which will in itself destroy the 

 spores of the anthrax bacillus." h. h. w. 



Smith, Dr. Erwin F. Gelatin Culture Media. Different individuals working with gel- 

 Am. Nat. 33: 214-215, 1899. ^ ^ 



tin culture media may obtain varying 



results with the same organism. There may be a number of disturbing influences, 



among the most confusing of which are : (1) the fact that gelatin may be acid to 



phenolphthalein, while it is neutral or moderately alkaline to litmus, and often 



exerts a restraining influence on bacteria, especially certain parasites ; and (2) 



the fact that cane sugar, or grape sugar in gelatin, while stimulating growth. 



