500 SUMMARY OF CTJRRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



In rcsjiect of colour this Spirillum was found to differ from other pig- 

 ment-forming micro-organisms, since access of air was not found to be a 

 requisite, for the red pigment appeared in the deeper layers of the gelatin 

 while the superficial were still devoid of colour. Agar, blood-serum, potato 

 and milk also formed favourable surfaces for the development of this 

 organism. 



Examined in hollow-ground slides, the cover-glass of which was supplied 

 with gelatin, the Spirilla were found, after ten minutes in the incubator, be- 

 ginning to show signs of division, and in twenty-four to thirty hours the 

 threads were distinctly separated into segments equal to about three-quarters 

 of a turn, and these segments again, in another twenty- four hours, began to 

 gi'ow so luxuriantly that the colony appeared like one vast coil. Solid media 

 seemed to be more favourable to the i)roduction of the shorter forms, and in 

 colonies developed on agar or potato, resting forms, or possibly actual 

 spore formations, became evident. Bright uncolourable spaces, like the 

 spores of anthrax, were seen in cover-glass i^reparations, and though they 

 Could not be differentiated from the rest of the body- wall by staining, they 

 may jierhaps be regarded as the resting phase of the Spirillum. For when 

 the Spirilhim was dried on silk threads they were found to be dead in G-S 

 days, and no growth took place in gelatin. But the spore-like forms, when 

 dried for five weeks, were capable of developing in broth at a temperature 

 of 52^ C. within five minutes. 



Experiments on animals which were injected with some of the pure 

 cultivation gave negative results. 



For this Spirillum the author suggests the name of S. rnhrum. 



New Culture Medium.* — Dr. A. Edington says that a jelly derived 

 from Irish moss is much less opaque than agar-agar, and more nutritious, 

 and is therefore to be recommended as a culture medium for micro-organisms 

 capable of withstanding high pressure. He macerates 2 oz. of the finest 

 selected Irish moss in 18 oz. water, and after leaving it for a night, keeps 

 it in the steam sterilizer at about 212' Fahr. for an hour and a half, stirring 

 occasionally. It is then strained through a felt bag two or three times, 

 when the jelly thus obtained will be found on cooling merely to gelatinize, 

 yet able to withstand a temperature of 87' Fahr. before liquefying ; but if 

 it is evaporated it is found to be caj^able of withstanding a temperature be- 

 tween 122'^ and 131° Fahr. before liquefying. In this state, if a test-tube 

 be filled with it, it is found to present the appearance of water with only a 

 slight degree of haziness. In order to render this more nutritious, and so 

 better fitted for the requirements of the growth of the generality of micro- 

 organisms, the materials recommended by Dr. Klein may be added, namely, 

 beef-peptone and ordinary cane-sugar. Add to the jelly 2 j^er cent, of the 

 former and 1 per cent, of the latter, and the result is a jelly almost as bright 

 as nutrient gelatin and infinitely more so than agar, while the simple method 

 of preparation and the price have much to recommend it. 



Collecting Urinary Sediment for Microscopical Examination.f — Dr. 

 C. W. Dulles uses a straight glass, and not a conical one as usually 

 recommended, and leaves the urine to settle for 24. hours. After this time 

 he perforates the paper cover of the glass with a pipette emjiloycd in the 

 ordinary manner, and leaves the pipette, also covered or plugged, for another 

 21 hours. He then withdraws it, and uses the first two or three drops for 

 examination. 



* Engl. Mecli., xliv. (1886) p. 151. 



t The Microscope, vii. (1887) pp. !^.5-G, froni Med. News. 



