200 SUMMARY OP CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
Action of Bacillus coli and Bacillus typhosus on Nitrates.* — 
M. L. Grimbert, who had previously found that B. coli and B. typhosus 
do not set free nitrogen when cultivated in a 1 per cent, solution of 
nitrated pepton, but do so in peptonised bouillon, made experiments to 
ascertain the reason of this difference of action and in the origin of the 
produced nitrogen. The results were that each time the B. coli or 
B. typhosus produced gas in a nitrated medium, the volume of gas col- 
lected was always at least double of that which corresponded to the 
destroyed nitrate. Consequently the nitrogen set free was not exclu- 
sively derived from the nitrates. The denitrifying action of these bacilli 
is associated with the presence of amide substances in the culture, and 
appears to result from the secondary action which the nitrous acid 
produced by the bacteria exerts. Nitrites do not fetter the action of 
these bacilli. 
Atlas of Bacteriology. f — The Atlas of Bacteriology by Messrs. 
C. Slater and E. J. Spitta will be found to be a useful work of reference 
by students, especially those engaged in laboratory work. The volume 
is illustrated by 111 original photomicrographs. Most of these are good, 
and the descriptive portion is a concise and accurate account of what 
is requisite to be known from a bacteriological point of view about the 
pathogenic organisms alluded to. These organisms are B. anthracis , 
tuberculosis, smeymatis, leprse , mallei ; Streptococcus , Staphylococcus , and 
Gonococcus ; B. typhosus and coli ; Pneumococcus and Pneumobacillus ; 
Spirillum cholerse, Finlcleri, Metchnikovi, and Deneke ; B. pestis ; Sp. 
Obermeieri ; B. tetani, cedematis maligni, anthracis symptomatici ; Actino- 
mycosis ; and Plasmodium malarise. Though the work only deals with 
the foregoing microbes, and though some organisms receive less atten- 
tion than others, and perhaps less than they deserve, it should be 
welcomed as the first attempt to supply a want in English bacterio- 
logical literature. 
There are two introductions, in one of which are described the photo- 
graphic methods and procedures adopted and the apparatus used, while 
the other gives a useful description of the chief morphological characters 
of bacteria. 
Though the inclusion of Plasmodium malarise is warranted by the 
needs of those for whom the ‘ Atlas of Bacteriology ’ is intended, yet 
it is regrettable that this slipshod though current use of the word 
Bacteriology should have been adopted by the authors for the title 
of the book. It might easily be avoided in future editions by an altera- 
tion, or by the addition of a sub-title. 
Bowhill’s Bacteriology.! — Mr. T. Bowhill’s Manual of Bacterio- 
logical Technique and Special Bacteriology is, as its title implies, a 
work dealing with the practical side of Bacteriology, rather than with 
the controversial aspects of microbial diseases. The identification of 
micro-organisms is made a special feature both in the text and in the 
illustrations. The first part, about one-third of the volume, is occupied 
* Comptes Rendus, cxxvii. (1898) pp. 1030-1. Ann. Inst. Pasteur, xiii. (1899) 
pp. G7-76. 
t London, The Scientific Press, Limited, 1898, xiv. and 120'pp. (Ill figs.). 
X Edinburgh, Oliver and Boyd, 1899, 284 pp. (124 figs.) 
