Septembek 12, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



373 



tion, ammonia production, and the reduction of 

 nitrates, together with careful comparison of their 

 morphology, has shown the necessity for allowing 

 greater range in the description of Bacillus sub- 

 tilis, B. cereus, B. mycoides and B. megathermm. 

 No decision has as yet been reached regarding the 

 validity of B. asterosponi^ or B. ruminatus. For 

 the first four species named the following syn- 

 ■onymy is submitted: 



B. suhtilis 



3. suUilis Cohn (Emend) 1876, (Flugge) 1886, 

 (Zopf) 1883. 

 mesentericus vulgatus Flugge, 1886. 

 mesentericus fuscus Flugge, 1886. 

 liodermus Flugge, 1886. 

 aerophilus Flugge, 1886. 

 Icevis Frankland, 1887. 

 mesentericus fuscus Trevisan, 1889. 

 mucosus Zimmermann, 1894. 

 destructans Wright, 1895. 

 mesentericus ruber Globig (Flugge), 1896. 

 leptosporus Klein, 1900. 

 sessilis Klein, 1900. 

 pumilis Gottheil, 1901. 

 simplex Gottheil, 1901. 

 mesentericus Chester, 1903. 

 malariw Klebs. (Original not consulted.) 



B. cereus 



B. cereus Frankland, 1887. 



ulna Cohn, 1875. (Incomplete description.) 



ramosus liquefaciens Flugge, 1886. 



subtilis Frankland, 1887. 



suhtilis Sternberg, 1890. 



subtilis Eisenberg, 1891. 



petroselina Burehard, 1892. 



cursor Burehard, 1892. 



loxosus Burehard, 1892. 



goniosporus Burehard, 1892. 



turgescens Burehard, 1892. 



■limosus Russel, 1894. 



capillaceus Wright, 1895. 



crinitum Wright, 1895. 



subtilis Wright, 1895. 



subtilis Lehman and Neumann, 1896. 



ellenbachensis Stutzer and Hartleb, 1898. 



fusiformis Gottheil, 1901. 



stoloniferus Pohl, 1903. 



lutulentus Kern. (Original not consulted.) 



B. mycoides 

 3B. mycoides Flugge, 1886. 



figurans Crookshank, 1886. 

 iassicw Pommer, 1886. 

 bacterium casei Adametz, 1889. 

 ramosus Frankland, 1889. 

 radicosus Eisenberg, 1891. 

 implexus Zimmermann, 1890. 

 intricatus Eussel, 1892. 



B. megatherium 

 jB. megafherium De Bary, 1884. 

 tumescens Zopf, 1885. 



lacteus Lembke, 1897. 

 petasites Gottheil, 1901. 

 graveolens Gottheil, 1901. 

 granulosus Russel, 1892. 



Parasites found on Bats in Providence: Geokge 

 H. EoBiisrsoN, Brown University. 

 The examination of the rats of Providence for 

 evidence of plague and for the occurrence of para- 

 sites has extended over a period of six months, 

 from July to December. During this time 342 rats 

 from different parts of the city were inspected. 

 No evidence of plague w-as found. The specimens 

 were evenly divided as to sex. As to species there 

 were 333 specimens of Mus norvegieus, 2 of Mus 

 alexandrinus, 1 of Mus rattus, 4 which showed 

 evidences of being a cross between Mus norvegieus 

 and Mus alexandrinus, 1 apparently a cross be- 

 tween Mus norvegieus and Mus rattus, and 1 Mus 

 musculus. Of these 342 rats, 57 per cent, were 

 infected with fleas, 21 per cent, with mites {Lce- 

 laps echidninus) and 24 per cent, with lice (Poly- 

 plax spinulosus). 2,053 fleas were found, consist- 

 ing of 75 per cent. Xenopsylla cheopis Rothschild, 

 22 per cent. Ceratophyllus fasciatus Bose, 2.5 per 

 cent. Ctenopsylla musculi Duges and 0.5 per cent. 

 Ctenocephalus canis Curtis. No evidence of a 

 regional distribution of the fleas was observed. 

 A marked seasonal variation was noted, the av- 

 erage flea per rat for July-September being 10.2, 

 while that for October-December was 3.7. The 

 largest number of fleas taken from a single speci- 

 men was 300. No relation was found between a 

 filthy habitat and the number of fleas, for the 

 average flea per rat was higher, in general, for 

 the rats from dwelling houses and restaurants than 

 for those from stables and docks. 12 per cent, of 

 the specimens were affected with sores. Parasites, 

 the encysted form of the cat tapeworm, Tcenia 

 crassicollis, and the ova of some undetermined form 

 were found in the liver of 7 per cent, of the rats. 

 This condition occurred most frequently in the 

 rats obtained from markets. 



Comparison of Two Methods for Bacterial An- 

 alysis of Air: G. L. Ruehle and H. A. Harmng. 

 Report of progress in the comparison of the 

 Eettger method with the official sand filtration 

 method. An exact comparison was found to be 

 difficult to obtain and the relative value hard to 

 estimate. Study to be continued. 



A Biometric Study of the Streptococci from Milk 

 and from the Suman Throat: E. C. Stowell, 



C. M. HiLLAKD, M. J. SCHLESINGEE. 



Two hundred and forty pure strains of strepto- 



