THE MICROSCOPE. 35 



which will be subjected to the most careful microscopic examina- 

 tion. 



Owing to much conflicting testimony as to the habits of the 

 bluefish, striped bass, and other salt water fishes, satisfactory laws 

 have not been passed for their protection, but Mr. Blackford expects 

 that his investigations will result in establishing many facts in re- 

 gard to the habits of our sea fishes which heretofore have not been 

 known. 



Malignant Measles — Micrococcus in the Blood. — We 

 abstract the following from a paper read before the College of 

 Physicians of Philadelphia, by John M. Keating, M. D., Lecturer 

 on Diseases of Children in the University of Pennsylvania, Visiting 

 Obstetrician to the Philadelphia Hospital: 



The conclusions which seem warranted by the statements of 

 this paper, and by the observations made in other cases in the hos- 

 pital, are as follows: 



The micrococcus is found in the contents of pustules and 

 vesicles, and also in the blood taken from the measles-papule in or- 

 dinary mild cases, without its being present in the blood taken from 

 the punctured finger. 



The moment that symptoms of malignancy — viz., dark erup- 

 tions, feebly-defined crescents, delayed and imperfect appearance of 

 the eruption, with feeble circulation, high temperature and pharyn- 

 geal false membrane — appeared, the examination of the blood 

 showed micrococci in abundance in the field. 



In cases of rapid sthenic disease with high temperature ami 

 great tissue change, the evidences of large quantities of fibrin with 

 a tendency to coagulation are manifest. The rapid production of 

 micrococci soon gives the mechanical impediment, and if stasis 

 takes place from any other obstruction to the circulation, clots 

 rapidly form. 



The non-appearance of clots in malignant fevers attended with 

 fluid blood, such as low forms of typhus, diphtheria, etc., is simply 

 due to the fact that rapid tissue-changes have resulted in decom- 

 position, instead of into fibrin-forming substances — no fibrin is 

 formed, hence no clots — but the micrococci are present all the same. 

 These cases are held by some to be the malignant ones, but I think 



