ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
99 
Physiology of Trichophyton.* — According to Mr. L. Roberts an 
examination of several varieties of fungus which occur in ringworm and 
allied conditions shows that their distinguishing feature is their ability 
to digest horny tissues, probably by means of a ferment. This keratolytic 
group, as he terms it, includes Favus, the various kinds of Trichophyton , 
some species of Aspergillus , and probably others not yet identified. 
There are at least two kinds observable of the purely trichophytic fungi, 
viz. : — a kind that digests both the cuticle and the cortical substance of 
the hair simultaneously, and a variety that digests the cortical substance, 
leaving the cuticle unaffected, or attacking it only at a later period. 
Blastomycetes in Sarcoma.f — Dr. D. B. Roncali sums up, in a 
preliminary communication, the results of his investigations on five sar- 
comata : — 1, a large round-celled sarcoma of the iliac bone ; 2 and 3 were 
spindle-celled (one being melanotic) sarcomata of the eye ; 4 and 5 were 
spindle-celled sarcomata from the upper jaw (one being melanotic). 
In these five sarcomata were found, in greater or less numbers, para- 
sitic forms having a close resemblance to one another, and also to the 
forms described by Sanfelice and by the author in adeno-carcinoma of 
the ovary. These parasites are regarded by the author as Blastomycetes, 
partly because they react to the specific stains for Blastomycetes, and 
resist the action of acids and alkalies. The parasites are found within 
and without cells, though but rarely in the nucleus ; they propagate 
themselves by budding, and contain a granular protoplasm, which, 
according to its age, is more or less susceptible of being stained with 
anilin dyes. 
Pathogenic Blastomycetes. — Dr. D. B. Roncali $ describes another 
case of cancer of the ovary with secondary deposits in the omentum in 
which blastomycetes were present. The parasites were found in the 
cells, and also free — single or in collections. They are larger than the 
cell-nucleus, from which they are also distinguished by the difference in 
the staining reaction. The parasites are almost invariably round, and 
possess a well-defined limiting membrane. In many respects the micro- 
scopical appearances were identical with those observed in a similar case 
by Sanfelice. 
Dr. G. Corselli and B. Frisco § also describe a sarcoma of the 
mesenteric glands with numerous secondary deposits on various parts of 
the body, from which a pathogenic blastomycete was isolated. Micro- 
scopical examination of the fluid drawn off during life revealed cells of 
various sizes, many having extensions and others containing granules. 
All stained easily with methylen-blue, with haematoxylin, with carbol- 
fuclisin, and with a mixture of malachite-green and safranin. All the 
forms were also obtained from cultivations made from the milky fluid 
removed post-mortem from the thorax. Subcultures were made in the 
usual media and in Fucus. From the latter successful transferences 
were made in bouillon, gelatin, agar, glycerin-agar, and sugar-agar. 
The morphological and developmental characters of the parasite are 
apparently those of Blastomycetes, though failure to develop on fruit- 
* Journ. Path, and Bacteriol., iii. (1895) pp. 300-9. See Journ. Chem. Soc., 1895, 
Abstr., p. 457. 
t Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. Parasitenk., l t0 Abt., xviii. (1895) pp. 432-4. 
% Tom. cit., pp. 353-68 (1 pi.). § Tom. cit., pp. 368-73. 
