1901] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 
serum from bovines, causes a short thick bacillus and that 
from sheep and dogs, a longer one. The tubercular bacil- 
lus has been identified by its staining qualities until now 
almost without question. The recent work of bacteriolo- 
gists show that other bacilli not only have the same form 
but the same staining reaction as the tubercular bacillus. 
A smear from the prepuce of a dog and one from tu- 
berculous sputa, both prepared and stained by carbol- 
fuchsin method will give a similar field. In the diagno- 
sis of pulmonary tuberculosis in its early stages, the lim- 
itations of the microscopic examination, if not understood, 
may result in serious consequences to the patient. At this 
stage the tubercular foci may not be in a condition to 
throw the bacilli into the sputum. They may be in such 
limited numbers, that they can only be found with diffi- 
culty. : 
If a physician depends upon the negative answer of the 
bacteriologist, he may let the time pass when it is with- 
in the power of any help to stay the tubercular process. 
The tuberculin reaction in careful hands is of value, but 
has not yet reached the stage of application needed for 
use by the genera] practitioner, It is generally under- 
stood that the term diphtheria is applied to that disease 
which is caused by the multiplication of the Loeffler ba- 
cillus in a susceptible individual. The necessity for giv- 
ing antitoxin early, forces the physician to make a di- 
agnosis as soon as possible. The rapid multiplication of 
the bacilli at the point of invasion, the peculiar arrange- 
ment, the morphology, which is fairly maintained by the 
bacilli when growing in culture, in a large per cent of 
cases make the identification of the germ reliable. It has 
been a great relief for the physician to unload his cares 
on the shoulders of the bacteriologist. It seems too bad 
that the latter is getting tired and insists in returning 
the responsibility to the family physician, where the pa- 
tient has placed it. All a bacteriologist can say when ex- 
