EXPERIMENTS WITH CEYPTOGAMIC GROWTHS. 163 



In short, all the appearances were those usually presented by blood when the white 

 corpuscles have disintegrated and it is in the incipient stage of putrefaction. But besides 

 these there were present yellow globular bodies, smaller than the red blood corpuscles, 

 mostly united by twos and threes, though in some cases four or six were strung together, 

 and presented the general characteristics of minute spores. Ether, liquor potassac, and 

 sulphuric acid had no particular effect on them. (See plate, fig. 11.) 



In two of the tubes from the same cattle, opened one month later, the contents were 

 putrefying, and micrococcus and bacteria were abundant. 



On the 29th of May vacuum tubes of blood and secretions from two yearling steers, 

 killed at Houston, Texas, May 18, 1869, were received and examined. These animals 

 presented the usual lesions enlarged spleens, erosions of the stomach, &c. 



The blood from these tubes was in an advanced stage of putrefaction, and filled with 

 bacteria and micrococcus. 



The bile from the four-year-old steers was normal in appearance ; that from the one- 

 year-old animals was very dark and tenacious. Micrococcus was found in each, but not 

 abundant. In each there were found moving rods, (bacteria?) which were somewhat 

 peculiar, one end being bent, forming a little knob or hook. (See plate, fig. 12.) 

 They were of an orange color, probably owing to imbibition of biliary coloring matter. 



The urine in each set of tubes was found to contain micrococcus, bacteria, and cryp- 

 tococcus. 



Experiment 1. Blood from the first series of tubes was placed in a De Bary s grow 

 ing slide, on blotting-paper, in a beaker isolation apparatus, and in a watch glass under a 

 culture apparatus, with a few drops of freshly-boiled solution of sugar. In the growing 

 slide cryptococcus forms were observed in thirty-six hours; in twelve hours more, delicate 

 mycelium filaments appeared, and on the fourth day the usual fructification of Penicillium 

 erustaceum was seen in the air space in the slide. The isolation apparatus was opened on 

 the fifth day, and penicillium found on the blotting-paper. In the watch-glass crypto 

 coccus was developed on the second day; two days later this was very abundant, and of 

 various sizes and forms, including C. guttulalus of Ch. Robin. 



Four clays later mycelial filaments, with dilatations of various forms and sizes, 

 (Schizosporangia of Hallier,) covered the surface of the blood. (See plate, fig. 13.) 

 One month later careful examination showed nothing but penicillium. . 



Experiment 2. The precautions taken in this case were very great, and were as 

 follows: The beakers, culture apparatus, watch-glasses, slides, blotting-paper, and thread 

 were treated with dilute nitric acid, then with liquor potassas, and finally rinsed with 

 hot, freshly-distilled water. The knife, glass rod, and file used were cleansed in hot 

 alcohol just before being used. The vacuum tubes were cleansed with liquor potassse 

 and alcohol just before being opened. The sheet-rubber was thoroughly washed with the 

 same fluids. 



To prepare the beaker isolation apparatus, after the articles used had been treated as 

 above, the cover with blotting-paper was placed on the beaker, strong alcohol having been 

 first poured in, and then it was thoroughly shaken. The alcohol was then removed by 

 similar treatment with fresh distilled water. The apparatus was then taken to a room in 

 which no experiments had been made, and the fluids added to the blotting-paper. During 

 this operation the interior of the apparatus was exposed for about one minute. 



