398 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Nov. 



They are differentiated as follows: 1. Smegrna bacilli, 

 stained by anilin dyes, lose their stain on two-minute treat- 

 ment with acidulated alcohol, while tubercle bacilli do not 

 thus destain. 2. Smeg^ma bacilli lose their stain under 

 Gram's stain, while tubercle bacilli retain anilin-fuchsin 

 staining-. 3. A cover-glass preparation of tubercle bacilli 

 carried throug-h the flame ten times and stained with Ziehl's 

 solution, presents the bacillus in a somewhat g-ranular form 

 or as composed of a succession of spherules; the smegma 

 bacillus remains a solid rod under the same treatment. 



Leyden records several mistakes made before the identi- 

 fication of the smegma bacillus. Konig publishes a case 

 of enlarg-ed kidney, with tubercle bacilli (so-called) in the 

 urineand unmistakable pulmonary phthisis. The tubercle 

 bacilli were, however, smegma bacilli, and the renal tumor 

 was sarcoma. Senator has seen many cases of alleged 

 tubercular cystitis recover, which he could explain only on 

 the assumption that smegma bacilli contaminated the urine 

 of a vulgar cystitis. This author has written on the dif- 

 ferentiation between the two varieties of bacilli in his con- 

 tribution to Nothnag-el's System of Special Pathology and 

 Therapy, now issuing- from the German press. 



Fraenkel avoided many mistakes by carefully cleansing 

 thegenitaliaand then catheterizing. He has used Ehrlich's 

 stain (g-entian violet) for tubercle bacilli, which method, 

 on destaining- with nitric acid, leaves smegma micro-organ- 

 isms without stain. The "caterpillar"-like arrangement 

 of the tubercle bacilli is not observed in the other genus. — 

 Medicine. 



Microscopical Examination of Flour. — Lange gives the 

 following- method: Boil the sample in a hard-g-lass test- 

 tube with 20 ccm. concentrated sulphuric acid and 4 gm. 

 copper sulphate (free from water) until the liquid becomes 

 entirely clear. Dilute the liquid with 250 ccm. distilled 

 water, using a conical settling g-lass. Let stand for a few 

 minutes and with a pipette withdraw the precipitate. The 

 latter consists of the hairs and silicious cells of the grain, 

 the nature of which latter may thus be determined. — 

 National Druggist. 



