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ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
few long segmented forms. This variety was pathogenic to guinea-pigs, 
but the retention of virulence was of short duration. (3) Short pseudo- 
diphtheria bacilli *001 mm. long. This variety was non-pathogenic. 
(4) Bacilli resembling long Klebs-Loeffler bacilli, except for slight 
clubbing and more definite segmentation. It was non-pathogenic. 
Variety Number 1 was met with in severe cases of diphtheria; 
number 2 in mild cases; number 3 was found in tonsilitis and in 
catarrhal conditions of the faucial mucosa. The conditions under which 
number 4 was encountered are not mentioned, but the author considers 
that it is possibly a non-pathogenic form of number 1. 
Malignant (Edema in the Cow.* — Owing to failure to inoculate 
malignant oedema in cattle, bacteriologists hold that these animals are 
immune to this disease, while veterinary surgeons have often observed 
instances of this disorder. Herr H. Horn records four cases of malignant 
oedema in cows from which Bacillus cedematis maligni was isolated, and 
demonstrated by inoculation. All the four instances occurred after 
calving ; in three there was puerperal metritis, and in the fourth a 
haemorrhagic oedema and swelling of the neck. 
Spirillum found in Stomach of certain Mammals.-f — Herr H. 
Salomon has found that the spirillum described by Bizzozero also 
inhabits the stomach of dogs, cats, and rats. The spirillum is re- 
markable for inhabiting the protoplasm of the mucosa cells and the 
vacuoles therein. It was also observed in large numbers in the lumina 
of glands. The number of turns varies from two to twenty-four, the 
most common being nine to eleven. The distance of the turns from one 
another is very slight and the diameter relatively large. The flagella, 
one at each end, were easily demonstrated by the Nicolle-Thorax method. 
The spirillum in smear preparations was best stained with carbol-fuchsin 
or alkaline methylen-blue. In sections the organism was best shown by 
staining the preparations for one to throe days in methylen-blue. All 
attempts to cultivate the organism failed, and transfer experiments 
succeeded only with white mice. 
Nature of the Specific Effective Substances in Cholera-Serum.J — 
Herren R. Pfeiffer and B. Kroskauer have made an investigation into 
the nature of the specific bodies which give rise to the “ Pfeiffer 
reaction ” with the serum of immunised animals. Though the results 
of their analysis are negative, they tend to indicate that these specific 
bodies are of the nature of enzymes. The authors are pursuing their 
investigation, and hope to obtain positive results. 
Bacillus viridis.§ — Dr. H. Cathelineau has studied the green pigment 
secreted by Bacillus viridis, an organism found in the stools of the green 
diarrhoea of infants^and has also considered the biological phenomena 
occurring in the cultivation media. The bacillus is a rodlet 2-4 fx long 
and 0*75-1 yu, broad. It is an aerobic organism, and its chromogenic 
function is subordinate to the presence of air. In bouillon mixed with 
various kinds of sugars the bacillus developed very differently. In those 
* Norwegische Veteriuar-Zeitschr., 1895, p. 65. Soe Beihefte z. Bot. Centralbl., 
vi. (1896) p. 67. 
f Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u Parasitenk., l te Abt., xix. (1896) pp. 433-41 (2 pis.). 
t Tom. cit., pp. 191-9. § Ann. Inst. Pasteur, x. (1896) pp. 228-37. 
