ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 511 



Cultivation of the Leprosy Bacillus.* — C. Nicolle remarks that 

 all his endeavours to cultivate B. lepra on artificial media failed, though 

 in some cases there was evidence that growth had begun. These 

 abortive attempts invariably occurred in the condensation water, and 

 only when the sowing had been copious. Egg cultures also were 

 failures. The only occasions when there was distinct evidence of 

 growth occurred on pieces of leprous tissue used for inoculating. 



Cultivation of the Spirillum of Tick-fever.f — C. Levaditi makes 

 collodion sacs with a capacity of about 2 c.cm., and sterilises them in 

 tubes filled with distilled water. The sac, emptied of water, is still kept 

 in the tube while being filled with serum of Macacus cynomolgus or 

 M. rhesus, animals sensitive to the infection of tick-fever. The test- 

 tube and sac are then placed in a water-bath at 70° for a quarter of an 

 hour. "When cold the serum is inoculated with defibrinated blood of 

 a monkey previously infected with spirillosis, and when sealed up is 

 placed within the peritoneal cavity of a rabbit or a rat. The sac is 

 opened in from 5-7 days, and advantage is then taken to make a 

 sub-culture. 



In this way the spirillum of human relapsing fever may be cultivated 

 in a semi-solid medium. 



(2) Preparing Objects. 



Studying Yellow Fever.} — E. Marchoux and P. L. Simond fixed 

 pieces of the viscera in Borrel's fluid (water 350, chloride of platinum 2, 

 osmic acid, 2, chromic acid 2, acetic acid 20) or in saturated solution 

 of acid sublimate. The nervous system was, however, fixed in equal 

 parts of the two fluids, and after 3 days washed in running water for 

 54 hours. The stains used for pieces fixed in Bin-el's fluid were magenta- 

 red and picro-indigo-carmin. Unna's polychrome-methylen-blue also gave 

 good results. Pieces fixed in sublimate were stained with haernatein 

 and orange Gr. 



The authors confirm the statement of A. Sodre and M.Conto that 

 yellow fever must be regarded as a generalised steatosis. 



Studying Development of Pollen and Tapetal Cells in Ribes.§ — 

 O. Tischler fixed the buds with Flemming's fluid (chromic acid 1 ■ 8 grin., 

 osmic acid 0*5 grm., acetic acid 12 c.cm., water 420 c.cm.). Paraffin 

 sections 5-7 ■ 5 fx. were made in the usual way. Staining was almost ex- 

 clusively done with iron-alurn-hasinatoxylin, and the differentiation of 

 each preparation was controlled under the Microscope. The preparations 

 were after-stained with light-green, or with acid-fuchsin. 



Studying the Microscopical Anatomy of the Vagina and Uterus 

 of Mammals.|] — K. Beiling fixed the fresh material in hot saturated 

 sublimate-salt solution, or in 5 p.c. potassium bichromate, and then 

 hardened in upgraded alcohols. Excess of sublimate was removed by 



* Ann. Inst. Pasteur, xx. (1906) pp. 389-406 (1 pi.), 

 f Comptes Rendus, cxlii. (1906) pp. 1099-1100. 

 t Ann. Inst. Pasteur, xx. (1906) pp 161-205 (20 pis.). 

 § Jahrb. wiss. Bot., xlii. (1906) pp. 545-78 (1 pi.). 

 || Archiv Mikrosk. Anat., lxvii. (1906) pp. 573-637 (1 pi.). 



