364 MICROBIOLOGY 



scribed interesting cases of this kind. The organism of ' ' bovine 

 farcy ' ' has been studied in pure culture. On agar the colonies 

 are small, whitish, opaque, raised and irregular. In bouillon 

 it grows in flocculent masses which settle to the bottom leaving 

 the liquid clear. It grows best at about 37 C. Morphologi- 

 cally this organism is slender and extensively branched. In 

 culture media the filaments are short and rather plump. It 

 takes the Gram stain. In old cultures it is somewhat acid fast. 

 It is pathogenic for guinea pigs in which nodules somewhat 

 resembling tubercles are produced by intraperitoneal injec- 

 tions. 



ACTINOMYCES CAPRAE. 



Synonyms, Streptothrix caprae. 



Place in nature. In 1899, Silberschmidt 10 described an 

 actinomyces which he isolated from a disease closely resembling 

 tuberculosis in a goat. Morphologically, it resembles more 

 closely bacteria than other forms of actinomyces. It grows 

 readily upon the more common media. In bouillon, it develops 

 on the surface, forming a pellicle which finally settles, the 

 broth remaining clear. It is a facultative aerobe. In agar it 

 develops in from two to three days. It grows more luxuriantly 

 on glycerin agar. Lignieres and Spitz 1X describe three forms 

 of actinomyces in cattle. 



ACTINOMYCES IN MAN. 



Actinomyces has been described in a number of cases in 

 the human family. There does not seem, however, to be much 

 if any difference in the ray fungus from the ordinary actino- 

 myces of man and that of cattle. Vincent in 1894 cultivated 

 an actinomyces from cases of madura foot disease in man. 

 This disease occurs in certain tropical countries and has been 

 termed Actinomyces madurae, 12 or streptothricosis in man. 

 MacCallum 13 describes Actinomyces asteroides which causes 



10 Silberschmidt. Ann. de 1'Inst. Pasteur, Vol. XIII (1899) p. 841. 



11 Lignieres and Spitz. Actinobacillose. Buenos Aires, 1902. 



12 Vincent. Ann. de 1'Inst. Pasteur, Vol. VIII (1894) p. 129. 



13 MacCallum. Centralbl. f. Bakt, Bd. XXXI (1902) p. 529. 



