ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
523 
to B. coli. Comparative researches confirmed the identity of the micro- 
organisms. Cultivation differences were referred to the influence of the 
natural nutrient medium. 
Parasites of Typhus Fever.* — Prof. S. W. Lewascheff availed him- 
self of the presence of an epidemic of typhus fever at Kasan to examine 
blood from the finger and from the spleen. Under a magnification of 
2000-2500 small highly refracting cocci in active movement can be 
seen mixed up with the red discs. The motion is imparted by a long, 
thin, slightly curved flagellum or tail. The illustrations show red discs, 
tailed and tailless cocci. The former resemble spermatozoa in appear- 
ance, and their length is about the diameter of a red disc. Cultivations 
in serum hominis with 1 per cent, agar at 36°-37° were successful, but 
not under other conditions. The cocci developed only at the lower part 
of the puncture, and were therefore anaerobes. Under the Microscope 
the cocci thus bred were for the most part without a tail, with a green 
reflex, usually single, but occasionally in pairs, or even in chains. In 
young cultures the flagellated cocci, if transferred to bouillon in phy- 
siological NaCl solution, are extremely mobile. They are stained by 
Loeffler’s method, and with phenol-fuchsin. 
The quantity of these microbes ( Micrococcus exantJiematicus ) circu- 
lating in the blood appears to increase with the progress of the disease. 
Before the crisis involution forms appear. M. exantJiematicus is very dif- 
cult to stain, as the reagents seem to destroy it. Preparations treated 
with 2-3 per cent, osmic acid succeeded best. 
Streptococcus isolated from Scarlatina-blood, j — MM. D’Espine and 
de Marignac isolated a microbe from the blood of a patient who was 
attacked with “surgical scarlet fever” after an operation on the leg. 
The disease ran its usual course, followed by typical desquamation, and 
the wound healed quickly. The authors compare this streptococcus with 
ten others isolated from cases of erysipelas, abscess, diphtheria, pleuritis, 
broncho-pneumonia, angina catarrhalis, and healthy saliva. 
The three last belong to the group Streptococcus brevis ; the rest are 
long streptococci. The authors are, however, disinclined to draw a 
sharp line of demarcation between the two groups, though they suc- 
ceeded in differentiating the scarlatina cocci from other cocci. They 
took no account of the degree of virulence, but laid most stress on cul- 
tural characters, which on the whole accord with those of the scarlet fever 
coccus described by Klein. On blood-serum chain-formation is less 
marked, the cocci are smaller, 0 * 7 /x, and never bisected as in Str. longus. 
On bouillon the scarlatina Streptococcus behaves like Str. longus; "yet 
even in this case the individual joints are small, round, and the chains 
greatly contorted. On potato it forms long, twisted chains, without 
there being any naked-eye evidence of growth. Involution forms are 
common. Milk is coagulated in 2-3 days with acid-formation. 
On gelatin the growth has no special characters. The authors do 
not suggest any special connection with scarlet fever. 
* Wratsch, 1892, Nos. 11 aud 17. See Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. Parasitenk., 
xii. (1892) pp. 728-9 (1 fig.). 
t Arch, de Med. Exp., 1892, No. 4. See Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. Parasitenk., 
xii. (1892) pp. 762-3. 
