396 BOTANY. 



changes according to the different conditions under whicli they are 

 I^laced, and which may, by uataral or artificial means, be transformed 

 one into another. The Berlin school, on the other hand,- deny that the 

 different organisms are modifications of a few common forms brought 

 about by changes in external conditions, but maintain that they are 

 permanent forms capable of perpetuating themselves indefinitely 

 without undergoing any change, either iu their morphological structure 

 or their pathological action. There is no way at present of reconciling 

 these two widely different views, for each side accuses the other of lack 

 of care iu conducting experiments and inoculations. In the Munich 

 volume Bollinger gives a historical account of the diseases caused by 

 fungi in lower and higher animals; Bezold, a paper on Otomycosis, 

 in which he expresses the view that in the case of Aspergillus and simi- 

 lar fungi the spores make their way into the ear, and produce an 

 inflammation, although in some of the cases recorded a growth of the 

 fungus was not noticed until oil had been applied to the ear. The 

 aetiology of diphtheria is discussed in two papers by Oertel and Ranke, 

 followed by a discussion, in which several medical men took part. The 

 principal point at issue was whether there exists a disease with mem- 

 branous exudation in the throat which is not of a diphtheritic nature. 

 In the present connection it is only necessary to state that it seemed 

 to be admitted by both sides that the bacterial forms found are the 

 same in all cases, and not to be distinguished from those found also in 

 healthy i^ersons. In the same volume are two articles by Buchuer on 

 the Action of Bacteria in Living Bodies and on the Conditions of Diffu- 

 sion of Fungi in the Air. In the first-named paper he refers to the 

 experiments previously made by himself on the interchangeability of 

 Bacillus anthracis and B. subtilis, and states that the fatal result of 

 pathogenic organisms is not so much owing to their poisonous action 

 on the whole system as on special organs or parts of the body. In the 

 second paper he remarks that when in fluids bacteria are not readily 

 transported through the air, but when the substance in which they 

 are contained is dry it is likely to become reduced to dust or small 

 fragments, and in this form the bacteria are taken up by the air and 

 absorbed by animals. In a paper on the JEtiology of Abdominal Typhus, 

 Port states that the disease is caused by emanations from the soil, and 

 is propagated by particles in the air, and not by drinking water. 



In the Berlin Mittheilungen, Koch has a paper on the mode of study- 

 ing pathogenic organisms. His method is to make use of solid or semi- 

 solid substances rather than fluids in his cultures, as in the latter the 

 different kinds of bacteria which make their appearance are mixed 

 together in utter confusion, while when cultivated on substances like 

 potato or carrot, for instance, the different forms grow in masses iu dis- 

 tinct spots which can be easily seen, and the different forms obtained 

 nearly or quite pure. His favorite substance for inire cultures is gela- 

 tine combined with various nutritive fluids, depending on the partic- 



