ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
509 
£. Schizomycetes. 
Influence of the Digestive Secretions on Bacteria.* — Herr G. 
Leubuscher, in an experimental examination of the intestinal juice, the 
pancreatic secretion, and the bile, made use of typhoid bacillus, cholera 
bacillus, Finkler- Prior’s bacillus, potato bacillus, antlirax, Bacterium coli 
commune, Proteus vulgaris , Bacillus acidi tartarici , B. butyricus, Saccharo- 
myces cerevisise and ellijpsoideus. 
In the secretion from the small intestine a diminution was first 
remarked, but this was soon followed by an enormous increase. The 
micro-organisms seemed to thrive better in the juice of the jejunum than 
in that from the ileum. 
Trypsin solutions formed still better media for the cultivation of these 
organisms. In fresh bile some of the microbes flourished, but others 
did badly ; among these latter were B. butyricus and the Saccharomycetes. 
Solutions of the biliary acids, however, possessed a decidedly inhibitory 
action, except for anthrax, the spores of which germinated. 
From his experiments the author concludes that in the intestinal 
and pancreatic juices bacteria of the most various sorts thrive extra- 
ordinarily well, and that digestive ferments have no influence over living 
organisms. Fresh bile is devoid of antiseptic property, yet the free 
biliary acids possess a disinfecting power; and the old view of the 
antiseptic action of the bile would therefore hold good, provided con- 
ditions were present which rendered it possible for these acids to exist 
in a free state. 
Presence of Bacteria in normal Vegetable Tissue.f — The experi- 
ments of Bernheim, which led that investigator to conclude that the 
presence of bacteria in vegetable tissue was a normal phenomenon, have 
been repeated by Buchner. This author failed to find bacteria under 
similar circumstances, except where there had been an accidental con- 
tamination. 
On the only occasion on which a particle of matter (within a maize- 
grain) was found to increase in size, it was not composed of bacteria but 
of oil. 
Bacillus hydrophilus fuscus.l — This pathogenic micro-organism was 
isolated by Dr. G. Sanarelli from the laboratory water used for keeping 
frogs intended for experiments on immunity. The mortality among the 
frogs was found after a time to be constantly associated with the presence 
of a bacillus in the serum used for experimenting with the anthrax 
bacilli. 
Grown on artificial nutrient media, this micro-organism was found to 
thrive well, especially on gelatin and meat-broth, but potato cultivations 
presented very characteristic appearances. Hereon the inoculation 
track in twelve hours presented an overlay of a straw-yellow colour, 
which in four to five days became brown. Gelatin was liquefied, 
* Zeitschr. f. Klin. Medicin, xvii. (1890) No. 5. See Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. 
Parasitenk., ix. (1891) pp. 244-5. 
t SB. Gesell. Morphol. Physiol. Miincken, iv. (1889) pp. 127-30. See Beihefte 
z. Bit. Centralbl., 1891, pp. 15-16. 
X Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. Parasitenk., ix. (1891) p. 193 (1 pi.) 
