ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPYj ETC. 133 



by the presence of glycerol and of succinic and malic acids, of which the 

 first is the most readily assimilated ; secondly, asparagin is more favour- 

 able than albumin, whilst ammonium chloride and phosphate are not con- 

 venient media for furnishing the requisite nitrogen. The presence of 

 sulphur, silica, and iron are useful, if not indispensable, to the ferment. 



Mycoderma aceti{'>) contains 71*3 per cent, of a substance showing all 

 the reactions of cellulose ; the remainder consists of albumin, fatty 

 substance, and ash (4 • 4 per cent.), the last consisting of chlorine, and silicic, 

 sulphuric, phosphoric, and carbonic acids, combined with potash, soda, 

 lime, magnesia, and ferric oxide. 



Lactic Fermentation.* — Herr G. Marpmann remarks on the very con- 

 tradictory views still prevailing as to the nature of lactic fermentation. 

 During the past summer he has investigated the micro-organisms of cows' 

 milk in the neighbourhood of Gottingen, and has detected five seemingly 

 new and different species, which more or less strongly induce lactic fer- 

 mentation in cane sugar as well as in milk. Coagulated milk filtered, 

 mixed with 10 per cent, of pure gelatin, was employed as a medium for the 

 cultivation of the above. 



Fate of Microbes in the Blood of Warm-blooded Animals-j— Ex- 

 periments by Herr W. Wyssokowitch show that both the spores of fungi 

 (^Aspergillus, Penicillium, &c.) and bacteria disappear very rapidly from the 

 blood of warm-blooded animals. Of saprophytic bacteria injected into the 

 blood of animals, not a trace was visible, after three hours, of Bacillus 

 suhtilis, B. acidi ladici, Micrococcus aquatilis, or Spirillum tyrogenum. Of 

 those which are pathogenic to man. Micrococcus tetragonus, Bacillus typhi 

 abdominalis, Spirillum cholerse asiaticee, and Streptococcus pyogenes, dis- 

 appeared in from 3 to 4^ hours. Those which are pathogenic to the animal 

 experimented on of course increase rapidly in numbers till its death. 



The microbes which disappear do not pass from the blood into the 

 kidneys or entrails. The author believes that they find their fate chiefly 

 in the endothelial cells. Between these cells and the bacteria there is a 

 constant warfare. Either the former conquer and the bacteria perish, or 

 the cells are themselves destroyed by the bacteria, in which case the 

 microbe is pathogenic for the animal in question. 



Influence of Desiccation and Temperature on Comma-Bacilli.| — Herr 

 L. Lenevitch finds that desiccation at the ordinary temperature is always 

 fatal to the comma bacilli of Koch. In a fluid medium the effects vary 

 considerably. Thus at 60° C. the vitality is reduced, while at 70° the 

 bacteria are killed in half an hour or an hour. A few minutes' exposure 

 to a temperature of 100° is fatal. The author emphasizes the extreme 

 difficulty of securing desiccation and uniform diffusion of heat. He regards 

 at least 100° C. as effective for the destruction of comma bacilli in a fluid 

 medium. 



Bacterium maydis.§ — Prof. G. Cuboni believes that "pellagra" is, like 

 cholera, the result of the excessive development of an intestinal Bacterium. 

 He has lately investigated the characteristics of this Bacterium (B. maydis). 



1. In gelatin cultures in contact with air, the colony appeared first in 

 the form of minute white spots, which gradually increased, dissolving the 



* Arch. Pharm., xxiv. (1886) pp. 243-56. See Joum. Ohem. Soo. Lond.— Abstr., 1. 

 (1886) p. 733. 



t Zeitschr. f. Hygiene, i. (1886) pp. 1-45. See Bot. Centralbl., xxvii. (1886) p. 263. 

 J Arch. Slav, de Biol., ii. (1886) pp. 306-7, from Vratch No. 8, 1886. 

 § Atti R. Accad. Liacei— Ecnd., ii. (1886) pp. 532-5 (2 figs.), 



