240 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
this bacillus does not form spores in the living body, true spores 
being produced 24—48 hours after death. The corpuscles which have 
been mistaken for spores do not possess the morphological, the bio- 
logical, nor the tinctorial characters of resting forms. 
The author also disputes the assertion of Roux that guinea-pigs 
inoculated with “ Rauschbrand ” are protected from malignant oedema. 
Studies on Immunity.* — In a second memoir, E. Metschnikoff 
again takes up his parable on immunity, this time taking as his text 
anthrax in pigeons, and preaches against Baumgarten and others, 
who see in this affection objections to the doctrine of phagocytosis. 
While admitting that pigeons when infected in the usual manner are 
very insusceptible to anthrax, the author states that this is not the 
case if the inoculation be made in the anterior chamber of the eye or 
if the anthrax have already passed through a previous pigeon ; and 
it was further found that such virus was more dangerous to mam- 
malia than that which had not been passed through a series of 
pigeons. 
The author also found that the aqueous humour could by itself be 
used as a nutrient medium for anthrax bacilli, the spores of which, when 
injected into the anterior chamber, developed ; their appearance being 
followed by the immigration of leucocytes and the simultaneous 
disappearance of the bacilli. Similar observations were made after 
subcutaneous or intramuscular inoculation ; the conclusion being 
that the bacilli were devoured by the microcytes and macrocytes. 
The fate of the bacilli within the pigeons was followed out by making 
plate-cultivations from the exudation at the inoculation place. As 
a rule they were found to be still alive after twenty-four hours ; in 
one case they were living after six days, but usually they died much 
earlier. They retained their virulence as well as their viability, and 
only occasional involution forms were found. In order to show that 
the bacteria were swallowed alive, some of the phagocytophorous 
exudate was mixed with a drop of bouillon. By this the phagocyte is 
killed, and the bacteria set free were observed developing under the 
Microscope. Besides this the author further showed that the bacteria 
which had been swallowed retained their virulence. This was done by 
isolating three phagocytes which contained bacteria by means of a fine 
glass pipette and transferring them to bouillon. Positive results were 
obtained with mice, guinea-pigs, and rabbits. 
In a further communication on the relations between anthrax and 
white rats, the author shows that these animals do not possess perfect 
immunity to anthrax. The bacilli always develope, although usually 
the inoculation is followed by recovery, in which the phagocytes play 
an important part. 
Mucous Fermentation.f — Herr E. Kramer finds that the process of 
mucous fermentation, which may happen to various substances, is excited 
by at least three species of bacteria, the nature and the reaction of the 
* Annal. de l’lnstitut Pasteur, 1890, pp. 65 and 193. Cf. Centralbl. f. 
Bakteriol. u. Parasitenk., vii. (1890) pp. 545-7 ; viii. (1890) pp. 58-9. 
t SB. K. K. Akad. Wiss. Wien, x. (1889) pp. 467-505. See Bot. Centralbl., xliii. 
(1890) p. 298. 
