April 7, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



547 



In lactic acid therapy it plays a prominent role : 

 feeding carbohydrate and cutting down protein in 

 patients suffering from the absorption of protein 

 putrefaction products leads to a change in the 

 metabolism in many of the prominent bacteria 

 concerned in the morbid process. These organisms 

 attack the sugar in preference to protein, since it 

 has been shown by the writer that fermentation 

 takes precedence over putrefaction in these bac- 

 teria. 



In exogenous infections, such as bacillary dysen- 

 tery, it also is an important feature, since it is 

 possible to influence favorably the associated bac- 

 terial flora by feeding lactose in these cases. The 

 lactose is hydrolyzed, and used by the dysentery 

 bacilli and other organisms in the lumen of the 

 alimentary canal. Under these conditions the 

 dysentery flora becomes fermentative instead of 

 putrefactive, that is to say, the flora (dysentery 

 bacOli, B. coli and the streptococcus principally) 

 form acid products instead of toxin and proteo- 

 lytic products. 



Some Quantitative Methods of Examining Fecal 



Bacteria: W. J. MacNeal. 



This paper is a summary of the methods em- 

 ployed in studying the fecal bacteria of healthy 

 men already published in The Journal of Infec- 

 tious Diseases, 1909, together with certain addi- 

 tions to the teohnic made since. The essential char- 

 acter in which the procedure is somewhat unique is 

 in the plan of making every one of a large number 

 of experimental results referable to a definite 

 quantity of the mixed fecal flora, so that all the 

 details of the comprehensive examination are 

 quantitatively comparable with each other, and 

 the results of one examination quantitatively com- 

 parable in detail with the results of another ex- 

 amination. The experimental observations fall 

 under two heads: (1) the direct examination in- 

 cluding (a) gravimetric determination of bacterial 

 substance, (6) microscopic count of the bacterial 

 cells by two methods and (o) differential count of 

 Gram-stained fecal flora; (2) the culture tests 

 includiag five different sets of plate cultures and 

 one set of separation tube cultures of the mixed 

 fecal flora, three different sets of plate cultures 

 of the fecal spores and a variety of fermentation 

 tube cultures devised not only to show differences 

 in the fermentative activity of the mixed fecal 

 flora, but also and more especially to bring to 

 development and aid in the eventual isolation of 

 various fecal bacteria which may not be found 

 upon the plate cultures. For some of the results 



obtained by these methods those interested are 



referred to the papers cited above. 



Tests of the Virulence of Diphtheria Bacilli : B. L. 



Arms, M.D., and E. Marion Wade, B.A. 



The paper gives the technic of the isolation and 

 test and shows: 



1. The marked variation in the virulence of dif- 

 ferent strains of diphtheria bacilli isolated from 

 the same culture, showing the necessity of testing 

 several strains before releasing a case on a nega- 

 tive virulence. 



2. That as a rule if a case is proved positive by 

 the virulence test the organisms retain their viru- 

 lence as long as they persist, even though the case 

 has completely recovered clinically. 



3. That where there is an outbreak of diphtheria 

 the ' ' carriers ' ' often harbor organisms, even 

 though no symptoms are present in the host. 



4. That sometimes the virulence may become en- 

 hanced, although this is the exception and seems 

 to be more frequently true of institutional cases. 

 Further Studies on Blackhead in Turkeys: Philip 



B. Hadley. 



This paper presents some of the results of work 

 on the blackhead disease of turkeys conducted at 

 the Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station 

 since July 1, 1908. The further investigations 

 indicate that blackhead can not be considered as 

 a specific disease, but that it includes several dis- 

 tinct etiological factors. One of these, as first 

 reported, is coccidiosis. Another is now found to 

 be infected with a species of flagellated organism. 

 These two factors (and perhaps others) may work 

 either together or separately to produce the patho- 

 logical appearances characteristic of blackhead. 

 Multiplication of the flagellates by means of spore- 

 formation has been observed in the tissues of the 

 ceca and liver. At an early stage of development 

 many of the parasites lose their flagella and be- 

 come ameboid. In the motile stage the flagellates 

 are characterized by the presence of two flagella, 

 a membrane and a short "Achenstab. " The 

 length of the motile forms does not exceed 12 /i. 

 Encysted forms 12 fi-16 fi were observed. A more 

 detailed report of the investigation appears in the 

 Centralblatt fiir Bakteriologie. 

 Bacillary White Diarrhea of Young Chicks: Leo 



F. Eettger. 



The epidemic type of diarrhea which is charac- 

 terized in part by a whitish diarrheal discharge, 

 and which is now known as ' ' bacillary white 

 diarrhea," is caused by a bacillus which belongs 

 to the coli-typhi group of bacteria. It has many 



