298 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Sept 



parts of starch, a little at a time, with constant stirring-, 

 until the starch is converted. Then add 5 to 10 parts of 

 oil of turpentine, and stir in. This g-lue should be warmed 

 up till lurkwarm before using-. Finally, a very powerful 

 cement is made as follows: 



Cover 100 parts of gelatin with cold water, and let 

 stand until the gelatin has absorbed as much of the water 

 as it will take up. Pour off the residual water and get rid 

 of the last traces of surplus by throwing the gelatin on 

 coarse cloth. Melt in the water-bath as before and to the 

 liquid add 150 parts of alcohol, 500 parts of water, 50 parts 

 of glycerin and 20 parts of carbolic acid. 



BACTERIOLOGY. 



Bacillus Coli communis. — It has been known for many 

 years that certain micro-organisms found in animal dejecta 

 decomposed alkaline nitrates with formation of oxygen, 

 which is utilized by the bacteria, free nitrogen, and libera- 

 tion of the base. One of these organisms is the Bacillus 

 Coli communis, and Hugounec & Doyon have recently pre- 

 sented a memoir on this subject at a meeting of the Paris 

 Society of Biology. They find that by reversing- a tube 

 of a sterilized solution of potassium nitrate in peptone, 

 sown with Bacillus Coli over a tube of mercury, that after 

 some hours several cubic centimeters of nitrogen are lib- 

 erated by the denitrifying action of the bacillus. The 

 nitrate solution was found to be most strongly acted upon 

 when containing about 1.5 per cent. On testing with 

 Eberth's bacillus similar results were obtained. 



Smegma Bacillus. — Grethe (Fortschr. der Med., May, 

 189G) points out the need of some simple method of differ- 

 erentiating the smegma bacillus from the tubercle. The 

 inability to distinguish between these two germs has led 

 to serious results in a num_ber of instances; in one case a 

 supposed tubercular kidney was removed, but upon sub- 

 sequent examination it was found that there v^'as present 

 only calculous pyelitis. In this case supposed tubercle 

 bacilli were found in the urine. A number of other cases 



