154 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
not solely due to A. bovis , but to several distinct species ; of which he has 
isolated A. albus } sulphur eus, and luteo-roseus. In man, infection has been 
observed by A. albus, asteroides, and carneus. He confirms the opinion that 
Madura foot is a form of actinomycosis, and that this is not solely due to 
A. ruber. He shows the aetiological identity of lesions with clavate and 
those with filamentous forms of the micro-organism ; and emphasises 
the practical importance of the simulation of true tuberculosis by 
actinomycosis in man. 
Protection of the Organism against Blastomycetes.* — Dr. G. Jona 
injected Saccharomyces apiculatus into the blood-circulation, the peritoneal 
sac, and beneath the shin of rabbits, for the purpose of ascertaining how 
the animals get rid of the germs. In the first case, it was found that 
the Saccharomyces was killed, and finally absorbed by the blood itself, 
by means of its inherent physiological properties ; thus negativing the 
supposition that the parasites were excreted by the kidneys, or had be- 
taken themselves to the viscera. Injections of suspensions of Saccharo- 
myces cultures in water into the peritoneal sac showed the effect of the 
agglutinative action of the peritoneal fluid on the parasites, which in a 
few hours were either destroyed or rendered incapable of reproduction. 
Similar results were obtained from subcutaneous injections. 
Myxomycetes. 
Myxobotrysacese, a new Order of Myxomycetes.f — On the bark of 
a willow, Herr H. Zukal found an organism belonging to the Myxomy- 
cetes, Myxobotrys variabilis, which he makes the type of a new order, 
Myxobotrysacese. The Exosporese are divided into two orders, the 
Ceratiomyxaceae, of which Ceratiomyxa is the type, and the Myxobotrys- 
aceae, which are characterised by the spores arising by budding from the 
plasmode, without any previous breaking up of the protoplasm into dis- 
tinct portions. In Myxobotrys , the spores are of two kinds, larger and 
smaller. The former are the result of the creeping plasmode forming 
itself into nearly spherical branches, which ultimately become elliptical, 
and transform themselves into spores by the excretion of a delicate 
membrane. These spores are either sessile on the substratum or on a 
membranous hypothallus, or have a very short stalk ; the contents are 
orange-red. In the latter case, the plasmode puts out conical or cylin- 
drical processes, at the apex of which are developed the ellipsoidal 
shortly-stalked orange-red spores. The swarmspores and myxamoebae 
were not observed. The author describes a peculiar process which takes 
place in the plasmode. At the time when the ingesta are expelled, and 
the formation of spores begins, the rod-shaped microsomes disappear, and 
are replaced by a great number of long filaments. 
According to F. Ludwig, J the alleged new genus is identical with 
Berkeley’s Chondromyces, placed by Thaxter § in the Myxobacteriaceae, 
in which Zukal’s Myxobotrysaceae must be merged. 
Amylotrogus, a new Genus of Myxomycetes.|| — M. E. Roze finds 
in gangrenous potatoes a parasite which attacks the starch-grains, be- 
* Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. Parasitenk., xxi. (1897) pp. 147-50. 
t Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Gesell., xiv. (1896) pp. 340-7 (1 pi.). 
X Bot. Centralbl., lxix. (1897) p. 352. 
§ Bot. Gazette, xvii. (1892) p. 389. Cf. this Journal, 1893, p. 370. 
|| Comptes Rendus, cxxiii. (1896) pp. 1323-4 ; exxiv. (1897) pp. 248-50 ; Journ. 
de Bot. (Morot), x. (1896) r p. 424-6 (1 fig.). 
