ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
643 
plague, American cattle-plague, and “ Frettchenseuche,” these are 
fairly mobile, grow on gelatin like typhoid bacillus, thrive luxuriantly 
on gelatin, coagulate milk with formation of acid, form capillary emboli, 
but are not scattered about in the tissues. 
In the third group are included hog-cholera and swine-plague. The 
characteristics of these are lively movements ; luxuriant growth on 
gelatin, but not resembling that of typhoid bacillus ; growth on potato 
luxuriant, and resembles that of typhoid ; peptonizes milk, without 
previous coagulation ; small capillary emboli only ; not scattered 
throughout the tissues. 
Diplococcus resembling Gonococcus.* — Sig. F. Vincentini narrates 
a case of cancer of the bladder, in which he found a microbe resembling 
m all respects the micrococcus of gonorrhoea. The coccus described by 
the author is identical in form, size, and appearance with the micrococcus 
of blennorrhagia described by Cornil, Babes, and others. The record is 
interesting, since a very similar case has been recorded by Bockliart, 
and it helps to throw doubt on the specific value of the gonococcus. 
Micro-organisms found on ripe Grapes and their Development 
during Fermentation.! — M. Y. Martinand and M. M. Bietsch record 
the results of their examination as to the nature and number of the 
micro-organisms found on grapes grown in different parts of France. 
Their method was to place a grape in a test-tube containing a sterilized 
sugary liquid. Some of the fermented fluid was afterwards tested by 
means of plate cultivations. In the result it was found that the 
microbes capable of developing in acid media (and these are the only 
ones which are interesting in regard to wine-making) are present on 
the surface of grapes in very variable numbers. The moulds and 
S. apiculatus are much more frequent than S. ellipsoideus. Acid-making 
bacilli and Mycoderms are not rare. The spontaneous fermentation of 
grapes is usually brought about in the first twenty-four hours by 
S. apiculatus and this subsequently gives way to S. ellipsoideus but 
without disappearing altogether. 
Bacteria and Mycoderms are met with not only at the outset of fer- 
mentation, but even in the lees, a fact which indicates that it is quite 
possible that the cause of the deterioration of wine is to be sought for in 
the skin of the grape rather than in some after- contamination by the air 
or vessels. 
Races of Bacillus pyocyaneus.J ■ — M. Gessard who had already 
found that the production of pigment by Bacillus pyocyaneus depends 
directly on the quality of the medium, has now shown that this produc- 
tion depends on certain attributes in the microbe. 
By thirty-four sub-cultivations which took more than a year, a variety 
was obtained, which formed pyocyanin in bouillon. Another variety 
was developed by heating a normal cultivation for five minutes to 57°. 
This one only produced green fluorescing pigment in bouillon. By 
heating the first mentioned variety a third race was produced, which had 
lost all power of producing pigment. All these races could be recon- 
verted into the original stock by cultivating in pepton-glycerin-agar. 
* Atti d. Accad. Med. Chi. di Napoli, xliii. (1889) 29 pp. 
t Comptes Kendus, cxii. (1891) pp. 736-8. 
X Annales de l’lnstitut Pasteur, 1891, p. 65. See Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. 
Parasitenk., ix. (1891) pp. 541-2. 
