ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
231 
Bacillus enteritidis sporogenes var.* — Dr. F. W. Andrewes de- 
scribes a variety of the bacillus isolated by Klein from cases of epi- 
demic diarrhoea. It is a long straight bacillus, often forming long-jointed 
threads; it varies in length from 4 to 30 p, and is about 0*8 p thick. 
Spontaneous movements were not observed, and flagella were not de- 
monstrable. It probably forms spores, since the organism was in all 
cases obtained from material which had been heated to 80° C. for 10 
minutes. It is a strict and essential anaerobe. In grape-sugar-gelatin 
gas is formed and the medium slowly liquefied. Milk is coagulated, 
and a strongly acid reaction produced. 
Subcutaneous inoculation of guinea-pigs produces in some cases 
intense spreading haemorrhagic, oedema and necrosis, and death in 24 
hours. In other cases it is not pathogenic. 
Microbes of Vaccinia and Variola.j — Dr. E. Klein has cultivated 
from small-pox crusts the following organisms: — (1) Streptococcus 
erysipelatis, (2) Bacillus or Leptothrix epider midis, (3) Bacillus xerosis 
variolse, (4) Bacillus albus variolse. Particular notice is called only to 
this last, which morphologically belongs to the group of diphtheria and 
pseudodiphtheria bacilli. On agar it forms pure white colonies. The 
bacilli are from 0 • 8-1 p in length, the thickness of the rods being about 
one-third or one-fourth of the length. The ends are rounded ; the 
bacilli are grouped together by a homogeneous interstitial substance. 
After two or three days’ growth on agar the bacilli look knobbed, and 
some are markedly thicker than the rest. This thickening is due to the 
sheath which, owing to some change, stains more deeply. In broth 
cultures knobs, clubs, and segmented forms appear. These apparently 
are not involution forms, but more probably are to be regarded in the 
light of spores, inasmuch as these deeply-staining thick forms behave 
like spores on staining with hot fuchsin, followed by alcohol and methyl- 
blue. Subcutaneous injection of agar cultures into guinea-pigs produced 
no effect. 
The results from inoculating calves with this bacillus were not very 
satisfactory, though they gave sufficient encouragement to warrant 
further study; in only one calf was there anything approaching a 
condition of antagonism to subsequent vaccination. 
Lectures on Bacteria4 — Dr. A. Fischer has recently published a 
text-book on Bacteriology, in which the matter is put forward in a con- 
cise and comprehensive manner. Considered as an introduction to 
Bacteriology, the work will be found useful, not only to the botanist, 
but also to the medical man and brewer. The author is well known for 
his researches on plasmolysis, flagella, aud cell-contents, and these in- 
vestigations receive full attention in the work. 
* Twenty-sixth Ann. Rep. Local Govt. Board, 1896-7, Appendix 4 B 
pp. 255-62. 
t Twenty-sixth Annual Rep. Local Govt. Board, 1896-7, Appendix B No. 6 
pp. 267-86 (21 figs.). 
t Jena, 1897, 29 illustrations. See Hedwigia, xxvi. (1897) Rep., p. 111. 
