226 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
sulphate of ammonia, to which pepton (0* * * § 1 per cent.) or asparagin 
(0* 5 per cent.) was added. The results of fermenting 5 grm. of paper 
for three months showed the presence of carbonic acid and hydrogen, of 
volatile acids, chiefly acetic and butyric, and faint traces of valerianic 
acid. The presence of one of the higher alcohols was also determined, 
but not in quantity sufficient for analysis. The fermentation excited by 
this bacillus belongs to the class of butyric fermentations. 
Later,* the author showed that the products of cellulose fermentation 
are fatty acids, carbonic acid, and hydrogen. The amount of fatty acid 
produced is relatively large, being 70 per cent, of the total product, the 
remainder, 30 per cent., being gas. 
Bacteriosis of Carnations.t — Mr. A. F. Woods confirms in all essen- 
tial particulars the description of the disease affecting carnations. This 
observer, however, does not agree as to the cause ; for infection experi- 
ments with bacteria failed to reproduce the disease ; and from the fact 
that neither fungi nor bacteria were found in connection with the earlier 
stages of the malady, he was led to look for other agencies. These he 
found in aphides and thrips, by which the young leaves are punctured. 
Tetanus Bacillus in a Case of Dementia paralytica.* — Drs. G. 
Montesano and Maria Montessori describe a case of dementia in which 
atrophy of the frontal lobes, &c., was found. During life the spinal 
canal was tapped and some cerebro-spinal fluid drawn off. A guinea-pig 
injected with 2 ccm. of the fluid died with the phenomena. of tetanus. 
Cerebro-spinal fluid was afterwards again withdrawn on two occasions, 
and B. tetani demonstrated in all three samples. In addition to B. tetani, 
B. olivaceus and Streptococcus were found. 
Action of Pseudo-tuberculous Serum on the Bacillus of Pseudo- 
Tuberculosis.§ — Dr. Ledoux-Lebard has observed numerous spontaneous 
cases of pseudo-tuberculosis in the guinea-pig. The animals emaciate 
and die with disseminated tubercles. In the liver the deposit is in the 
miliary form ; in the spleen the size is variable, some of the tuberculous 
masses being of the size of peas and filled with caseous pus. Cultiva- 
tions from the blood and viscera on gelose showed in 24 hours the dif- 
ference between pseudo-tuberculosis and the tuberculosis of Koch. The 
colonies consist of an ovoid motile bacillus, which is easily stainable with 
aqueous solutions of anilin dyes, does not stain by Gram’s method, and 
when inoculated kills the animal more quickly than does the bacillus of 
Koch. In the rabbit pseudo-tuberculosis is much rarer ; the animal is 
more resistant, and even gets well after subcutaneous inoculation. When 
rabbit serum is tested after the manner of typhoid serum and typhoid 
bacilli, the pseudo-tubercle bacilli agglutinate and lose their motility ; 
yet, though the serum excites the agglutination phenomenon, it does not 
prevent the growth of the culture. But it modifies the development ; for, 
instead of becoming free and wandering about the medium, the bacilli, 
under the inhibiting effect of the serum, grow into filaments and form a 
network. In order to produce this effect, the proportion of serum must 
* Tom. cit., pp. 1131-3. 
t Centralbl. Bakt. u. Par., 2 te Abt., iii. (1897) pp. 722-7 (3 figs.). Cf. this Journal,. 
1896, p. 555. % Centralbl. Bakt. u. Par., l te Abt,, xxii. (1897) pp. 663-7. 
§ Ann. Inst, Pasteur, xi. (1897) pp. 909-15 (6 figs.). 
