1896.] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 403- 



BIOLOGICAL NOTES. 



At the Biolog"ical Society of Washing-ton, Dr. Erwin F. 

 Smith exhibited specimens of Leuconostoc mesenteroides 

 from a sugar house in Louisiana. These were in the 

 shape of fist larg-e g^elatinous ag-g-reg^ates. If the vats are 

 not sterilized at frequent intervals this organism multi- 

 plies very rapidly in the sugfar cane juice and causes much 

 inconvenience and loss. 



Dr. Erwin F. Smith also described a bacterial disease of 

 Potatoes, Tomatoes and Eg-g--plant, caused by a new micro- 

 org-anism, Bacillus solanaceanum, which he believed to be 

 the cause of a larg-e part of the potato rot of the United 

 States. 



At the New York Academy of Science meeting^, October 

 12, 1896, Prof. Bristol gave a brief account of the prog-ress 

 at the Marine Biolog-ical Laboratory at Wood's Holl, Mass., 

 during- the past summer. 



In the recently org-anized department of biolog}^ in the 

 g-raduate school of Georg-etown University, Mr. M. B. 

 Waite has been appointed professor of botany. 



MEDICAL MICROSCOPY. 



Bacteriology of Strangulated Hernia. — Brentano, in the 

 Deutsche Zeitschrift fur Chirurgie^ g-ives the results of the study 

 of a number of strang-ulated hernias, with reference to the 

 bacteriolog-ical contents of the hernial fluid, in the cases 

 occurring- in Koerte's wards in Berlin. He concludes: 



1. That the water of strang-ulated human hernia contains 

 micro-org-anisms much more frequently than we have been 

 justified in supposing- from previous publications. 



2. That the bacteria of hernial water are frequently few 

 in number and exist iu a condition of diminished vitality, 

 perhaps as the result of the bactericidal action of the water. 



3. That as a result of this action of hernial water upon 



