ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
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The method of using the apparatus merely consists in raising the glass 
rod so that 10 ccm. escape, and then lowering it. The end of the pipe 
is cut off obliquely, and is surrounded by four glass knobs which are 
intended to prevent the inside of the test-tube, where the cotton-wool 
plug is to be placed, from becoming contaminated, as it otherwise so 
frequently is. 
Method for Inoculating Agar on Blood-serum.* * * § — Dr. S. Grosglik 
has found that test-tubes containing agar or blood-serum can be easily 
and successfully inoculated by making use of the condensation water. 
A drop of the fluid to be examined is first inoculated in tubes contain- 
ing sterilised water, bouillon, or liquid gelatin, and these tubes are then 
well shaken. From these tubes the condensation water of the culture- 
tubes is in its turn inoculated, and then allowed to run over the surface 
of the medium. Should the fluid to bo examined contain a large number 
of organisms, the original source must be diluted several times in the 
usual way before the culture-tube is inoculated. For this procedure the 
culture-tubes should be wide, and if the condensation water have 
evaporated, it may be replaced by sterile water. In this way colonies 
suitable for making pure cultivations can be easily obtained in 24 hours. 
Sterilising Blood-serum by means of Porcelain Bougie Filters, f — 
Dr. P. Miquel, having recently been obliged to prepare large quantities 
of blood-serum for the bacteriological diagnosis of diphtheria, has 
found that the porcelain bougie filter satisfactorily disposes of all 
germs in this fluid, provided that it be free from blood-corpuscles. 
Filtration is raoidly accomplished, especially at a temperature of 
40°-50°. 
Cultivation Medium for the Gonococcus.^: — Herr Kiefer recommends 
the following medium for cultivating gonococcus : — Ascitic fluid which 
has been filtered and distributed into test-tubes is discontinuously 
sterilised at 62°. An equal bulk of agar (1/4 of a test-tube) of the 
following composition is then added : — 3 * 5 per cent agar, 5 per cent, 
pepton, 2 per cent, glycerin, 0 • 5 per cent, salt, and the mixed contents 
of each tube are poured into a Petri’s capsule. It sets in about a minute, 
and is then ready for use. The cultivation should be carried on at a 
temperature of 35° *8-36°. 
Bacteriological Examination of Diphtheritic Membrane-§ — Ac- 
cording to Herr Jakowski, the solution recommended by Koux for 
staining diphtheria bacilli has no advantage over that of Loffler, and 
the author never succeeded in staining these organisms by Gram’s 
method. It is also recommended to use three or four test-tubes for 
inoculations, as the bacilli may develop in pure cultivation in the third, 
and almost invariably in the fourth. 
* Central!! f. Bakteriol. u. Parasitenk., l tc Abt., xvii. (1895) pp. 826-9. 
f Ann. de Microgr., vii. (1895) pp. 261-5. 
I Berlin. Klin. Wochenschr., 1895, No. 15. See Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. Para- 
sitenk., l te Abt., xvii. (1895) p. 817. 
§ Gazeta lekarska, 1891, p. 1878. See Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. Parasitenk. 
l te Abt., xvii. (1895) pp. 897-8. 
