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SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
rodlet about 1*5^ long. In bouillon a yellow deposit is noticeable in 
2-3 days. On gelatin wbicb is not liquefied the growth is yellow. On 
agar, albumen, and potato the growth is also yellow. The bacillus is 
easily stained, and is not pathogenic to animals. 
Micrococcus Ghadiallii.* — Dr. Ghadially has discovered a coccus 
which has the power of slowly destroying the enteric fever microbe in 
water and milk, and to some extent in bouillon. It also seems to have 
some power of destroying the Bacillus coli communis in water. The 
enteric fever microbe in water and milk died out within 24 hours after 
inoculation with M. Ghadiallii. Pains were taken in these experiments 
to acclimatise the enteric microbes before the micrococcus was added. 
Agglutination of Bacillus typhosus by Chemical Substances.f — 
M. E. Malvoz records some interesting experiments made with certain 
chemical substances on cultures of the bacillus of typhoid. 
Formalin, corrosive sublimate, oxygenated water, and alcohol, all 
produce well marked agglutination. With these substances concentra- 
tion is an important feature, while with safranin and vesuvin the 
reaction obtains with very dilute solutions, one per thousand being 
sufficient to produce clumping of the bacteria. Salicylic acid and per- 
manganate of potash were found to possess a slight agglutinating action. 
Caustic soda and ammonia mixed with a hard water have strongly 
agglutinating action, but not when mixed with distilled water. 
As might be expected, the addition of a little safranin solution to. 
a normal serum not possessing an agglutinating power readily imparts 
this property. The agglutinating property of these chemical substances 
was used by the author to distinguish the typhoid bacillus from B. coli 
communis. For this purpose formalin is especially effective ; for with 
the typhoid cultures the bacilli are agglutinated into clumps, while the 
colon bacilli are immobilised and isolated. Safranin gives very similar 
results. From further experiments made after washing off the outer 
layers of the bacteria, it would seem that the ciliated envelope is re- 
sponsible for the phenomenon of agglutination. 
Bacteriology of Ambergris.^ — Ambergris, says M. H. Beauregard, 
is an intestinal concretion developed in the rectum of the Cachalot, and 
is composed of ambrein crystals, mixed with a greater or less quantity of 
black pigment. When fresh, the mass is rather soft, and has a highly 
stercoraceous odour which disappears with lapse of time. From one of 
the nuclei, of which these intestinal calculi are aggregations, cultiva- 
tions on various media were made. Two tubes were fertile, one of 
gelose and one of bouillon. From these cultures was isolated a microbe, 
morphologically closely resembling the bacillus of cholera. This 
micro-organism, Spirillum recti Physeteris , has the following general 
characters. 
The microbe is extremely polymorphic, presenting itself as straight 
rodlets or spirals according to the cultivation medium. It is extremely 
mobile. It varies in length from 1*4 to 4 • 2 /*, and in breadth from 
0*5 to 0*8 /x. It is easily stained, but is decolorised by Gram’s method. 
* Brit. Med. Journ., 1897, ii. pp. 418-9. 
f Ann. Inst. Pasteur, xi. (1897) pp. 582-90. 
X Comptes Rendus, cxxv. (1897) pp. 254-6. 
