Apbil 8, 1910] 



SCIENCE 



547 



interest and discussion, making the meeting one 

 of the most successful that the society has yet 

 experienced : 



Some Observations on the Immune Body: J. J. 



KiNTOUN, Health Department, Washington, 



D. C. (President's address.) 



The president in the address delivered before 

 the Society of American Bacteriologists gave a 

 r€sum4 of his observations on the several immune 

 bodies in connection with the production of anti- 

 sera and other substances associated with the 

 phenomena of immunity. He claims that a dis- 

 tinction should be drawn between the specific 

 anti-bodies as for example, the anti-toxin of 

 diphtheria or of tetanus and other bodies which 

 are also present in such sera. The claim is 

 advanced that there is present in all such sera 

 containing specific anti-bodies, others which may 

 be termed common immune bodies. These have 

 the property of increasing the resistance of the 

 cells against many substances which are harmful 

 to them and are of diverse origin. These common 

 immune bodies are intimately associated with the 

 leucocyte and it is believed that the leucocyte 

 gives them origin. The statement is also made 

 that the curative value of all anti-bacterial sera 

 is due not so much to the specific anti-bodies, but 

 to the common immune bodies which are always 

 present. 



An Improved Method of Employing " Anti- 

 formin " and Ligroin, in the Examination of 

 Sputum, etc., for the Tuhercle Bacilli: J. J. 

 KiNYOUN, Health Department, Washington, 

 D. C. 



The improvement of the method is in the sim- 

 plification of the process both as to time and in 

 manipulation. In the case of sputum, a small 

 quantity of the " antiformin " forms one to three 

 cubic centimeters, and about one cubic centimeter 

 of ligroin (spec. grav. 0.715 to 0.720) is added 

 at the same time. The sputum is placed in a 

 shaker and shaken for about fifteen minutes, at 

 which time the cellular contents and mucus are 

 dissolved together with a greater proportion of 

 the bacteria. A small quantity of this is placed 

 in a centrifuge tube and spun at moderate speed 

 for a minute or so to bring the ligroin to the top. 

 The layer of saponified material lying at the 

 juncture of the sputum and ligroin will contain 

 nearly, if not all, the tubercle bacilli. Tissues can 

 also be examined in the same way; small bits of 

 the suspected tissue are placed in the antiformin 

 together with ligroin and shaken in the same 



manner as for sputum, then centrifugalized and 

 examined. This method is also well adapted for 

 the examination of feces. The main advantage is 

 the saving of time. 

 On the Production of Agglutinating Sera for 



Diagnostic Purposes: J. J. Kjntoun, Health 



Department, Washington, D. C. 



The writer states that there is always an ele- 

 ment of uncertainty in the production of anti- 

 sera when the smaller laboratory animals are 

 employed. And particularly is this true with the 

 rabbit and guinea pig. It occurred to him to use 

 medium-sized pigs (or shoats) for this purpose. 

 These animals were found to be well adapted for 

 the purpose as they withstood large quantities of 

 living cultures of B. typhoid, B. paratyphoid, 

 " a " and " 6 " and B. coli without the least dis- 

 comfort. After two or three injections of any 

 of these organisms above referred to, an agglu- 

 tinating serum was obtained which reacted in 

 high dilutions. The bleeding was from the tail; 

 the quantity taken varied as to the size not less 

 than 100 c.e. nor more than 400 c.c. at a bleeding. 

 The animals are easy to handle, their maintenance 

 is as cheap as smaller animals, and, moreover, 

 they can always be depended upon not to die just 

 before you complete the immunization. 

 Some Observations on the Fermentation of Silage: 



W. M. EsTEsr, Storrs Agricultural Experiment 



Station. 



The prevailing opinion of investigators in silage 

 fermentation is that respiration and enzymes are 

 the real agents in the process. These conclusions 

 are maintained on account of finding high tem- 

 peratures in fermenting silage and the forming of 

 ensilage in the presence of chloroform and so 

 forth. High temperatures are found in silage 

 only when the surface is exposed to the air and 

 where an alkaline fermentation is in progress, or 

 when the per cent, of moisture is relatively low. 

 Inside the silo, where acids are produced to pre- 

 serve the silage, no high temperatures are found. 

 When silage is formed by sterilizing with chloro- 

 form and so forth no acid is produced. 



In cutting corn for ensilage each piece is cov- 

 ered with a film of sweet juice. In the subsequent 

 filling of the silo the several tons of pressure 

 forces out more juice, so that every piece and 

 fragment of the silage is saturated and covered 

 with a sugar fermentable substance, mostly dex- 

 trose. As is well known, all sweet fruit and plant 

 juices undergo two types of fermentation, acid or 

 alcoholic, and in some cases both occur together. 

 The most common change of sugar to acid is by 



