80 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
Researches on Micro-organisms.* * * § — Dr. A. B. Griffiths in the third 
part of his communications deals first with the alkaloids of living 
microbes, the origin of which is not yet thoroughly understood. In 
examining the action of certain antiseptics and disinfectants on microbes, 
he found that Bacillus tuberculosis , B. subtilis, B. cedematis maligni , 
Bacterium allii , or Beneke’s Spirillum may have their growth inhibited 
by three per cent of salicylic acid. Various microbes are capable of 
being dried up in the dust of the atmosphere for several months without 
losing their vitality. Observations have been made on the effect of cold 
and of electrical currents, and the latter were proved to be powerful 
germicides. 
There are a larger number of micro-organisms in the summer than 
either in the spring or winter, and they appear to reach their maximum 
during the month of August. The number in the air decreases as 
one ascends. There are more in crowded than in less densely popu- 
lated centres, and there are fewer when the air is at rest than at any 
other time. Dr. Griffiths thinks that the most rational method of 
treating contagious diseases where microbes reside in the blood is by 
the injection of some germicidal agent. 
Milk and Coffee, and their Relation to Microbes-t — M. Miquel 
gives a resume of his observations on the number of microbes present 
in milk. In a cubic centimetre of milk, on its arrival at the laboratory, 
which was two hours after it had been taken from the cow, 9000 bacteria 
were found. In another hour 31,750 were found, while in 25 hours 
there were over 5,000,000. The number of microbes varies much with 
the temperature ; for example, if the milk is raised 25°, the number of 
germs is enormous. The greater part of these microbes are innocuous ; 
many probably aid in the digestion of the milk. It has been pointed 
out that an infusion of coffee possesses antiseptic properties, and that 
typhoid bacilli and erysipelas bacilli cannot live more than a certain 
time in it ; and in the case of cholera the bacillus can only resist it for 
a short period. 
Septic and Pathogenic Bacteria. J — From an examination of the 
water which is believed to have caused an outbreak of typhoid fever at 
Springwater, New York, Mr. G. W. Rafter and Mr. M. L. Mallory have 
come to the conclusion that septic bacteria are inimical to pathogenic 
bacteria, and may even be used to destroy them. 
Contribution to the Study of the Morphology and Development of 
the Bacteriacese.§ — M. A. Billet confines his remarks to four members 
of the Bacteriaceae, and more particularly to the zoogloea of Glado- 
thrix dichotoma , which, on account of its ramified appearance, obtained 
the name Zoogloea ramigera. The existence of this definite zoogloeic 
form induced Dr. Billet to search among the other Bacteriaceae for this 
particular stage, and he was fortunate enough to be able to find a definite 
* Proc. Roy. Soc. Edinb., xvii. (1889-90) pp. 257-70. 
t Rev. Mycol., xii. (1890) pp. 199-200. 
X ‘Report on the Endemic of Typhoid Fever at Springwater, N.Y.,’ 1890, 21 pp. 
and 3 pis. 
§ Bull. Scient. France et Belg., 1890, 288 pp. See Rev. Mycol., xii. (1890) 
pp. 187-8. 
