Feeding Insects with Bacilli. By Dr. R. L. Maddux. 605 



of the bacilli. There were also a few diplococci and Bacterium 

 termo. The wasp seemed very sleepy the greater part of the day, 

 and at one time 1 thought it was dead. 



12th. — It was as lively as before. The sugar was now 

 only moistened with distilled water. The beetle remained dull 

 during the daytime since its captivity, and I could never see it 

 actually partaking of the gelatin culture, though I could see the 

 bread had been on many occasions partially eaten, and the curved 

 bacilli had been found in the excreta. 



The question will naturally arise as to the value of these 

 experiments. I think we may conclude that the " comma " bacillus 

 is not pathogenic to the insects upon which the experiments were 

 instituted. The two bees by being fed with a culture medium 

 rich in this organism, one for seven days, had ample time for the 

 effect of the organism, if pathogenic, to have been established, as 

 also the wasp and the humble bee. In reference to the blowflies that 

 died, I think they must be withdrawn from the list, and the one 

 that was loosed from captivity had also sufficient time for any ill 

 effects to be noted. The wasp has been in captivity twenty-one 

 days, and has withstood the variety of feeding with the comma 

 bacillus and the straight bacillus, as also has the blackbeetle ; but 

 it is possible these organisms may have had some pernicious effect, 

 as a diet contrary to the natural one, and may have caused in the 

 three observed instances the increased dejections. They moreover 

 show that the "curved" bacillus can be passed throuGjh their in- 

 testines and ejected as a living organism, so that were this organism 

 truly pathogenic to man and animals, the chances of contagion 

 might be enhanced. 



Since commencing these experiments I see recorded in the 

 ' British Medical Journal ' for the 9th inst. that Mr. Watson Cheyne, 

 who had already, I believe, proved the Bacillus alvei of the bee 

 to be pathogenic to the blowfly, has also met with a curved 

 bacillus in a diseased bee. 



These experiments I regard as simply preliminary ; though 

 not coupled with control experiments, they appear to me worth 

 recording. 



Some experiments were also commenced by growing seeds on a 

 damp clean medium, as embroidery canvas and coarse flannel. 

 When the radicles had passed through the meshes, the whole was 

 placed on some diluted " comma " bacillus culture for forty-eight 

 iiours, and afterwards transferred to distilled water for twenty-four 

 hours, when the whole was again transferred to a weak watery 

 solution of mothyl-violot for forty-eight hours, and then again 

 placed on distilled water for a day or more before examining them 

 by the Microscope. In the case of the fine side radicles of the 

 common Sinaijis or mustard-seed, I thought 1 could in several 



