COCKROACHES 23 



bacilli did not liquefy gelatine, and were 

 Gram-negative. One specimen produced gas 

 in glucose and lactose, and liquefied gelatine 

 and coagulated milk. The former in its re- 

 action corresponded to the Bacillus lactis 

 aerogenes, the latter to Bacillus cloacae. 

 In five cases greenish moulds of the Asper- 

 gillus variety were found after inoculating 

 litmus-milk. 



Cockroaches will devour human sputum 

 with avidity, and are frequently to be found 

 in spittoons (or, as the more delicately 

 minded American calls them, ' cuspidors ' ^), 

 and it is interesting to know that after feeding 

 the insects on infected sputum from a tuber- 

 culous patient, the tubercle bacilli are found 

 in the faeces within twenty-four hours ; two 

 specimens which had been fed on staphylo- 

 cocci showed these pathogenic organisms in 

 their faeces and in the cultures on agar-agar, 

 which were obtained from their dejecta. 



I have quoted largely from this important 

 paper, and now propose to quote a good deal 

 more, and thus I append Dr. Conyers Mor- 

 rell's conclusion of the important experiments 

 he conducted on the Union Castle liner. 



The foregoing experiments, though insufficient 

 in number to afford a basis for working out per- 



^ From the Portuguese ' cuspidor.' Cf . the Latin ' conspuere.' 



