Morpliology of the Blastomycetes found in Carcinomata. 59 



after foiu' to five days' incubation at 37° C. There is no growth on 

 acidified gelatine, agar, or bouillon. Neutral bouillon yields a scanty 

 growth after four days' incubation at 37° C. ; no scum is formed. On 

 wort bouillon and wort agar the growth is plentiful after twenty-four 

 hours' incubation at 37° C. 



On potato at the same temperature there is a characteristic dark 

 brown growth after forty-eight hours. The organism grows more 

 readily anaerobically than aerobically ; the growth on potato under 

 the former conditions is white, but turns brown when air is admitted, 

 whereas the growth on agar is brownish-yellow, contrasting with the 

 pure yellow colour of the aerobic growth. These appearances on culture 

 media agree in the main with those described by Sanfelice and 

 Plimmer in the case of the organisms which they have severally 

 isolated. 



2. The staining reactions of the organism in the tissues were specially 

 studied in order to establish if possible the real characters of 

 the " cancer-bodies " described by many observers. After trial of 

 several methods, the following was decided upon as giving character- 

 istic and distinguishing results. Carmine is first used as a nuclear 

 stain, either in the form of lithium carmine, alcoholic l^orax carmine 

 (when the pieces of tissue are stained in the mass), or acetic car- 

 mine. The last is the only preparation which gives good results 

 with tissue fixed in Flemming's solution. The sections thus stained 

 are placed in a 1 per cent, watery solution of methyl-violet for two 

 minutes, then in a 0*25 per cent, solution of picric acid, washed, dried 

 with filter-paper, and decolorised in clove oil. The methyl- violet is 

 extracted from the plasma and nuclei, but remains in the organisms. 

 The method was proved to give distinctive results in sections of the 

 growths produced by experimental inoculation of the organism 

 isolated. 



3. The morphological characters of the organism are as follows : — 

 Fresh specimens from cultures are spherical, from 4 to 10 microns in 

 diameter, and in most cases take an aniline chromatin stain diffusely. 

 There is, however, a great variety in the distribution of the chromatin, 

 it is sometimes aggregated to one pole, sometimes divided up at 

 different parts of the cell, and in other cases it is only represented by 

 a few isolated granules. The capsule is delicate. Multiplication in 

 cultures takes place by budding. 



In the primary growths produced by intraperitoneal inoculation of 

 the organism, the latter is also in most cases spherical, possesses a 

 delicate capsule, and multiplies by budding. Two peculiarities are, 

 however, to be seen : firstly, in many cases, delicate processes connect 

 adjacent specimens of the organisms ; and, secondly, the capsule is 

 often thickened and forms a kind of " halo " round the central deeply 

 staining body of the cell. 



VOL. LXVI. G 



