35 
1887.] Dr A. B. Griffiths on Micro-Organisms. 
sterilised beef along with putrefactive germs, besides cadaverine, a 
very poisonous base methylguanidine is the chief product of their 
life-histories, (h) Brieger {Berichte, vol. xix. p. 3119) has suc- 
ceeded in isolating an alkaloid, which he calls tetamine (C 13 H 3 QN 2 O 4 ) 
from pure cultivations of the bacillus, which causes traumatic 
tetanus in animals. (c) Although it has not been isolated, M. 
Pasteur believes that the virus of hydrophobia is a microbe, and 
that it produces an alkaloid, {d) Dr E. Alvarez {Comjptes Rendus 
Hehdomadaires des Seances de VAcadeinie des Sciences, vol. cv. 
[No. 5], 1st August 1887) describes a microbe which he has proved 
to be the cause of the indigotic fermentation and the production of 
indigo-blue. This microbe is an encapsuled bacillus (fig. 1), similar 
in appearance to the bacillus of Rhinoscleroma (Cornil and Alvarez). 
This bacillus of the indigo fermentation is shown to possess patho- 
genic properties, and occasions in animals a transient local inflam- 
mation, or death, with visceral congestion and fibrinous exudations, 
(e) It has been. shown by Duclaux (in his work on Ferments et 
Maladies) that when the ptomaine produced by Bacterium cliolerce 
gallinarum (which possesses narcotic properties) is separated, by fil- 
tration through a Chamberland filter, from its microbe, it does not 
produce fowl cholera, but causes a passing sleep, which does not 
generally end fatally. 
I have alluded here in passing to recent work on the secretions or 
products formed during the life-histories of certain microbes, — and 
