574 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
into an ear vein. After death a cysticercus with yellow contents was 
found, and these consisted of the injected microbes. 
Bacillus tracheiphilus sp. n.* — Dr. E. F. Smith describes a micro- 
organism which he has found to be the cause of withering of various 
Cucurbitacese. The bacillus is of variable length, the average size being 
0*5-0 ‘7 fx. When young it exhibits lively movements. It possesses a 
capsule visible both in stained and unstained preparations. Spores were 
not observed either in the natural or in the cultivated condition. The 
bacillus does not stain well with most anilin dyes, though phenol-fuchsin 
is best. Both the capsule and the flagella are stainable. The number 
of flagella appears to be variable. In sections of plants it was difficult 
to demonstrate the bacilli in situ owing to the tissues being more reten- 
tive of the stain than the organisms. This difficulty was overcome by 
immersing the sections in strong aqueous solution of tannin for 10-15 
minutes, and after washing in water, staining with aqueous solution of 
gentian-violet. On treating the sections with alcohol the colour was 
extracted from the tissue, but not from the bacilli. The bacillus was 
cultivated on the ordinary media, but best on potato, and in bouillon 
with pepton. Gelatin is not liquefied. The organism preferred alkaline 
to acid media, and though aerobic was found to be a potential anaerobe. 
It was very sensitive to heat and dry air, and maintained its vitality for 
about three weeks as a rule, though sometimes a few living bacilli were 
found in four months old cultures. Transfer experiments from plant 
to plant were successful in reproducing the disease in healthy plants, and 
the same result was obtained from pure cultivations. 
Bacillus anthracis claviformis.j* — MM. A. Chauveau and C. Phi- 
salix describe a modified form of anthrax under the title Bacillus 
antliracis claviformis , which differs materially, morphologically and 
physiologically, from its pathogenic progenitor. The ancestor of the 
new variety came of a race with a fixed virulence equal to killing the 
adult mouse, but unequal to killing a guinea-pig, and was obtained from 
bouillon cultures, inoculated from the lymphatic glands nearest the 
wound and from the internal viscera. Microscopical examination showed 
the bouillon growth to be composed of bacilli 0 * 5-2 fx long, with rounded 
ends. There was no tendency to form filaments. Most of the bacilli 
had an oval spore at one end, thus imparting to the rodlet a nail-like or 
bell-clapper appearance. The spore, which is highly refractive and 
resists a temperature of 70°, is easily stained. Numerous cultivations 
showed that succeeding generations retained, the acquired morphological 
characters. 
The physiological characters of the new variety differ materially 
from those of B. anthracis ; it is quite devoid of virulence, for it does 
not kill even a young mouse. It retains some toxic properties, for its 
injection in large doses is followed by a rise of temperature. The new 
race possesses the vaccinating property in a trivial degree only. 
Attempts to restore the virulence to the bacillus failed, and the authors 
consider that the new race is not an example of common polymorphism, 
but of a real specific transformation. 
* Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. Parasitenk., 2 te Abt., i. (1895) pp. 364-73. 
t Comptes Rendus, cxx. (1895) pp. 801-7 (1 fig.). 
