1893.] THE MICROSCOPE. 15 



I have found the genus Rhizoselenia, hitherto only known as 

 distinctively marine, represented by two well-marked species in 

 our great lakes." 



1 28. What is the ?neaning of tactile hairs ? — E. W. M. 



They are the long bristle-like hairs growing on the upper lip of 

 nocturnal animals, especially, as on cats, rats, etc. Thev have 

 a peculiar and abundant network of blood-vessels at the roots, 

 and under excitement the hairs stand out erect and are sensitive, 

 so the slightest touch on the extremity of one of them is imme- 

 diately felt by the animal. These hairs assist greatly in guiding 

 these animals when running through dark and intricate passages. 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



Yeasts and Bacteria of Natural and Artificial Wines. — 

 MM. Schaffer and von Freudenreich have reported on the micro- 

 organisms existing in natural and artificial wines, and, consider- 

 ing the method of manufacturing and composition of these latter, 

 the authors' results are not surprising. 



Of the ten natural wines examined only one contained bacteria, 

 and this one, from imperfect treatment, had always been cloudy. 

 Wines which had been several years in bottle were sterile, con- 

 taining neither yeast nor bacteria. Artificial wines contained 

 numerous bacteria, and the authors throw out the suggestion that 

 the presence of these bacteria may have some connection with 

 gastric disorders. — your. Royal Xlicr. Society, August, i8g2. 



New Method for Finding Tubercle Bacilli in Sputum. — 

 Herr Dahmen has devised a modification of Bidert's method, the 

 principle of which consists in separating the solid from the liquid 

 portion of the sputum by boiling with caustic soda. 



The author states that the same result may be arrived at by 

 heating the sputum for fifteen minutes in a vapor bath. The 

 solid particles almost immediately fall to the bottom and, after 

 the liquid portion has been poured off, are well mixed up in a 

 mortar and are ready for examination. — Jour. Royal Micr. jSoc, 

 Oct., l8Q2. 



Staining Fibrin. — M. Sabouraud communicates in the Annales 

 Inst. Pasteur, 1S92, p. 1S4, a method for staining fibrin which is 

 said to be superior to that of Weigert. Pieces of chancre fixed 

 in Midler's fluid are placed for 15-20 hours in the following 

 solution: Tannin ^-y, alcohol 10 ccm. to 200 of the solution; 

 they are then stained with anilin-violet (Ehrlich) and then colored 

 by the Gram-Weigert method, in which during decoloration 

 clove oil is substituted for analin oil. 



