1896.] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 149 



Bacillus ramosus.— Prof. H. Marshall Ward in the fourth 

 report of the Royal Society's research water committee gives an 

 extended and full account of the life history of this water or- 

 ganism. The organism runs through its entire life-history from 

 the germination of the ■ spore to spore formation in from thirty 

 to sixty hours at ordinary temperature. Prof. Ward calls at- 

 tention to the want of care used by bacteriologists in looking 

 up the synonomy of species they study. Exposure to direct 

 sunlight kills both spores and filaments. Spores are killed or 

 retarded by the blue violet rays apart from any temperature 

 effect. (Proc. Roy. Soc, Iviii, pp. 265-468.) 



BIOLOGICAL NOTES. 



The Vegetations of Solutions. — M. Barnouvin has in the 

 Repertoire de Pharmacie for December an interesting little 

 memoire with the title Vegetations des Solutes on the subject of 

 certain vegetable growths found in a saturated aqueous solution 

 of quinine valerianate which had been standing for about a 

 month. 



These vegetations presented the appearance of little greyish 

 white fiocculent masses dispersed thoughout the liquid. Ex- 

 amined under the microscope with an amplification of 590 dia- 

 meters, these flocculi presented the following appearance, cer- 

 tain of which are of considerable interest : 



The structure consisted of numerous filaments, which were 

 nearly colorless, some of them being nicely reticulated or 

 cloisonated, while others were continuous, and tlie greater part 

 of them containing spherical or ovoid spores of a blackish hue, 

 with sharply defined contours and apparently homogeneous 

 contents. Here and there the mycelium tubules bore sprouts, 

 the latter terminating in spores of similar characteristics. Amid 

 the filaments were numerous free spores, some solitary, while 

 others were united two by two. They were, in fact, in the pro- 

 cess of germination. 



This disposition of spores in the interior of filaments is a very 

 remarkable phenomenon. The reproductive organs in this in- 

 stance answer to the chlamydospores of the Mucorinx, to which 

 family the vegetations of quinine valerianate belong. The 





