276 The Microscope. 



Action of Cocaine on Invertebrates. — An injection of hy- 

 drochlorate of cocaine stops the heart of a snail in diastole ; 

 the animal will recover from a dose of .003 gr. An earthworm 

 soon has the middle part of its body rendered insensible by the 

 injection of a dose of .006 gr., but the two sides retain their 

 power of movement. Daphnise resist for a long time the action 

 of the drug. Hydras in 5 c. c. of water to which 1 c. c. of the 

 solution was slowly added died in an extended state. The author 

 suggests that for these and for Bryozoa this drug be used as en- 

 abling us to preserve these delicate animals in an extended con- 

 dition. 



Curved Bacilli. — Hericourt finds curved bacilli, same form 

 as Koch's cholera bacillus, in all water no matter what its source. 

 Neutral bouillon and potatoes were sterilized and inoculated 

 with dust from various places, and many curved bacilli devel- 

 oped in all the cultivations. Intestinal dejecta in simple diar- 

 rhoea, dysentery, typhoid fever, in all diseases of the lungs, these 

 curved, comma-shaped bacilli were present. — Comptes Rendus. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



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