11^ TllK AMKliKAN MONTHLY [Apiil, 



mated iVrric acetate ; in otlier respects the loi inula is tlie same 

 as L«»etHer's, except that to tlie i6 ccin. <>t" the mordant ^-lo 

 drops o( acetic acid are added. 



W hen the preparation lias heen sli»;htl\' warmed for one 

 niinute it is washeil in water and then in jo per cent, acetic acid 

 to jjive jjreater clearness. It is ajjain washed in water several 

 tinu>». alter which it is warm-stainetl w ith anilin-water-fnchsin 

 or anilin-WMter-gentian violet. — T^v/r. /x'oya/ Micr. Soc. Feb., 

 iSgj. 



Minn VI, >ii( Kos((M»v. 



Method for Differentiating between Bacilli of Typhoid 

 Fever and Water Bacteria closely resembling them. — 

 I)i. I. \\e\land examined some diinkini; water suspected ot^iv- 

 inj; lise to enteric fever, and isolated therefrom a species of bac- 

 terium the morpholotjical and cultivation characteristics of which 

 wcie not to he certainlv distinjjuished from those of true typhoid 

 bacilli. The nejjative indol reaction served to increase the sus- 

 picion of their identitv. 



The author first set about comparing; the vitalitv of these 

 bacilli with those of real typhoids, but no notable diHerences were 

 shown, and recourse was had to chemistrv. As the bouillon 

 cultivation of both kinds had an acid reaction, the amount formed 

 in ;o ccm. of milk serum was first ascertained. For this Pe- 

 truschsky's method was adopted, but pheuolphtalein was substi- 

 tuted for litmus as indicator. After havinj^been inculiated for three 

 (lavs, it was found that the serum inoculated with the real tv- 

 phoid required S-9. 1 ccm. of i-ioo alkali solution to neutralize 

 it. wliile the pseudo-typhoid took 1 2.9-15.4 ccm. The amf)unt 

 of carbonic acid formed by the two kinils of bacteria was then 

 determined by Pettenkofer's method ; this consists in forcing 

 the carbonic acid formed by the bacteria into tubes filled with 

 baryta water, and estimating the diminution of alkalinity by titra- 

 tion with oxalic acid. 



The onlv caution to be observetl is that tiie fermentation bidbs 

 must be kept at similar temperatures, as the slightest diHerence 

 in heat has an important influence on the production of carljonic 

 acid. This part of the experiment lasted ten days, and the result 

 of it was that the pseudo-tvphoid bacilli were found to have 

 profluced about five times as much carbonic acid as the true 

 typhoid l)acilli A repetition of the experiment gave a similar 

 result. It was accordingly determined that the water bacteria in 

 question were not typhoid bacilli. — Archiv f. Hygiene^ xiv^ p. 



374- 



Examining Sputum in Sections. — When examiningsputum 

 in cover-glass preparations many of the delicate and fragile cells, 

 says Dr. Gabritschewsky in Deulsh. Med. Woc/ienschr., No. 43^ 



