ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY* MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
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contained in tlie bacterial bodies is not destroyed by drying or by beating 
to 120°, and it is not extracted by means of a soda solution or of distilled 
water. 
Dissemination of Plague Bacilli by Insects.* — The experiments 
made by Dr. G. H. F. Nuttall for the purpose of ascertaining if the 
plague were spread by insects, tend to show that flies die from feeding on 
plague-infected organs. But as they live sufficiently long in an infected 
condition, it seems highly probable that they may have some share in 
disseminating the disease, chiefly by contaminating food with their 
bodies or their evacuations. It appears that plague bacilli gradually die 
off within the bodies of bugs, and consequently bites of these insects are 
but little dangerous. Deference is afterwards made to the degrees of 
sensitiveness of different animals to the plague, as it occurs under natural 
conditions, and when artificially imparted. 
Streptococcus of Enteritis. — Dr. J. L. Hirsh f isolated from the 
mucopurulent portions of the stools of an infant suffering from gastro- 
enteritis a Streptococcus which stains by Gram’s method, and in bouillon 
cultures appears mostly in pairs. The only satisfactory medium was 
sugar-bouillon, all other nutrient subtrata being failures. The organism, 
which was also found in the blood and urine, gave positive results with 
white mice, but not with other animals. 
Mr. E. Libmanf mentions two cases of gastro-enteritis from the 
dejecta of which he obtained a Streptococcus apparently identical with 
that described by Hirsh. But cultures were obtained on gelatin, 
potato-agar, and blood-serum ; and the fact that it grows well only on 
the last medium seems to indicate that it is a true blood-parasite. 
Streptococcus capsulatus.§ — Dr. R. Binaghi describes a new capsule 
coccus w’hich is pathogenic to guinea-pigs, giving rise in these animals 
to a chronic bronchopneumonia and multiple abscesses. In the pus of 
these abscesses the coccus was found in chains and in pairs. It stained 
with Gram’s method. It was cultivable in bouillon and on agar, but 
not in other media. On agar and in bouillon it formed chains of 
4-6 individuals. After repeated cultivation it died off. 
Story of Germ Life. || — Though a popular work, the Story of Germ 
Life as told by Prof. H. W. Conn is so admirable for its lucidity, 
terseness, and the author’s grasp of the subject, that it may be recom- 
mended to anyone who is desirous of becoming acquainted with the 
general features of bacterial life and the baneful and beneficent results 
of microbic growth and development. The story of germ life is told 
in six chapters wherein, after dealing with their morphology, the uses 
of bacteria in the arts and industries, their importance for dairying 
and agriculture, and their relation to disease are described. Not the 
least interesting and important part of the work is that which touches 
on immunity, antitoxins, and preventive medicine. 
* Centralbl. Bakt. u. Par., l te Abt., xxii. (1897) pp. 87-97. 
+ Tom. cit., pp. 369-76 (2 pis.). J Tom. cit., pp. 376-82. 
§ Tom. cit., pp. 273-9 (1 pi.). 
|| London (George Newnes Limited), 1897, 212 pp. and 34 figs. 
