130 RELATIONSHIPS OF THE COCCACE^ 



tion is sufficiently exact to identify it quite clearly. He 

 described a chain-forming organism, with elongated cells, 

 showing a well-developed capsule under proper cultural 

 conditions, and forming a precipitate in blood-agar (the 

 Libman phenomenon). Kurth's name, D. involutus, must 

 therefore stand for this species, in spite of the fact that 

 other names subsequently bestowed on it are better known. 

 A similar organism was reported in this country by 

 Richardson (1901) and named Str. mucosus by Howard 

 and Perkins (1901). Another was described by Hlava 

 (1902) as Leuconostoc hominis. Longcope (1902) in a 

 valuable brief review of the morphological and physio- 

 logical variations of D. pneumonia, maintained that Str. 

 mucosus was merely a variant of the pneumococcus. 

 Buerger (1906) has, however, studied the organism in 

 much greater detail and seems to have established its 

 right to the rank of a specific type. It is distinguished in 

 morphology by the occurrence of capsulated chains in 

 the body fluids, and in cultural characters by the forma- 

 tion of slimy confluent surface growths. According to 

 Buerger it ferments dextrose, dextrin, maltose, lactose, 

 galactose, inulin, levulose, and saccharose, but not dulcit, 

 rhamnose, arabinose, and glycerin. From its fermenta- 

 tion reactions the organism is evidently more closely 

 related to the diplococci than to the streptococci, altho 

 it is in some respects an intermediate form. Neumann 

 (1904) made a careful study of this organism, which he 

 isolated eight times from the nose and throat. He noted 



