248 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
By this method two kinds of corpuscles, differing as to position and 
in staining reactions, are demonstrable within the bacterial cell. The 
one lie just inside the cell-wall, and stain deeply with the phenol- 
fuchsin solution. The other lie in the position analogous to the nucleus 
of the higher vegetable cells, and present appearances depicted in the 
illustrations given by the author, quite on all fours with an ordinary 
nucleus, both in the resting condition and in that of indirect division. 
The bacterial nucleus is chromoleptic for the blue solution. Un- 
stained these portions of the nucleus resemble vacuoles. The extra- 
nuclear part of the cell never picked up the blue dye ; no structure was 
detected in it ; it had a yellowish reflex, and was pretty strongly 
refracting. No double staining was ever attained. 
Observations on the vibrios were more difficult, but they appear to 
have analogous relations, though in some the nucleus is located at one 
end, a condition induced by the swelling of the plasma. 
In micrococci the results obtained were much the same, the fission 
phenomena being clearly visible in picro-acetic acid, phenol-methylen- 
blue, and eosin preparations. 
The author’s communication is accompanied by ten coloured illus- 
trations representing Bacillus antliracis, hay bacillus, and fowl cholera, 
as seen under 1/18 apochromatic and with ocular iv. 
Nucleus in Bacteria.* — Prof. J. Frenzel reviews the opinions on 
the question whether the Schizomycetes contain a true cell-nucleus, of 
Zopf, De Bary, Biitschli, and others ; and states his own view, drawn 
from observation of a green bacillus of very large size found in the 
intestinal canal of an Anewra-larva in Argentina. Many of these bacilli 
contained either a single central strongly refringent body, or one 
towards each pole, which at first presents the staining reactions of a 
nucleus, but afterwards rather those of a cell. The general conclusion 
of the author is that the so-called spores of bacteria consist of substances 
which cannot be regarded as caryoplasm. They must rather be con- 
sidered non-nucleated cells, since they have taken up into themselves a 
constituent of the cell without its transformation into caryoplasm. 
Nuclear Structure in Bacteria. f— Mr. H. Wager describes a 
structure observed in a bacillus which formed a thin scum on the 
surface of water containing Spirogyra in a state of decay. In the centre 
of each cell was found a substance deeply stained by fuchsin. In 
young cells it consists of two rods, deeply stained, placed side by side, 
with a less stained substance between them, the whole being surrounded 
by a very thin membrane whicli is visible only at the two ends. These 
two nuclear rods ultimately divide completely to form two groups con- 
taining two rods each ; and the division of the cell-wall keeps pace with 
that of the central mass ; the two halves becoming ultimately separated 
and forming two new cells. 
Phagocytosis.^ — Prof. A. Capparelli recounts some important and 
interesting experiments which throw new light on the doctrine of 
jdiagocytosis. He injected into the dorsal lymphatic sac of a frog, 
* Biol. Centralbl,, xi. (1891) pp. 757-63. 
t Ann. of Bot., v. (1891) pp. 513-4. 
j Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. Parasitenk., x. (1891) pp. 277-80. 
