6oo 
Current  Literature. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
August,  1920. 
drop  of  phenol  to  20  Cc.  of  the  fluid  it  is  set  on  ice.  It  keeps  active 
for  about  a  month.  Giani  obtained  satisfactory  results  also  with 
the  Abderhalden  test  applied  to  human  and  bovine  serum  from  sub- 
jects with  echinococcus  disease,  and  it  was  positive  in  seven  of 
Gasbarrini's  twelve  cases.  After  surgical  intervention  the  intra- 
dermal reaction  veers  to  negative.  (Jotir.  Amer.  Med.  Assoc.,  Feb. 
21,  1920. 
Culture  Medium  Suitable  for  Growth  of  Organisms  Used 
IN  Vaccines. — Various  types  of  culture  mediums  were  prepared 
and  examined  by  Norris  with  a  view  to  the  determination  of  their 
iiutritive  value  as  regards  the  growth  of  B.  typhosus  for  vaccine 
purposes.  Of  the  various  meat  mediums  at  present  in  use,  those  pre- 
pared by  means  of  a  tryptic  digestion  appear  to  be  much  more 
nutritive  than  an  ordinary  beef  peptone  medium  or  than  those  por- 
pared  by  acid  hydrolysis.  The  addition  of  nutrose  and  casein 
appears  to  have  no  great  influence  on  growth  unless  added  to  a 
particular  non-nutritive  medium.  The  addition  of  a  comparatively 
small  amount  of  hydrolyzed  nutrose  to  a  poor  medium  increases 
the  growing  power  to  the  level  of  an  ordinary  trypsinized  medium. 
Glucose  seemed  to  inhibit  growth.  Mediums  obtained  by  the  tryp- 
tic hydrolysis  of  nutrose,  press  cake  from  ground  nut,  and  casein 
give  material  equal  in  nutritive  value  to  that  obtained  from  meat. 
In  examining  the  nutritive  value  of  these  mediums,  concentration 
of  substrate  appeared,  within  limits,  to  be  of  greater  importance 
than  time  of  hydrolysis.  (From  Indian  Jour,  of  Medical  Research, 
Calcutta,  Oct.,  1918,  through  Jour.  Amer.  Med.  Assoc.,  Feb.  28. 
1920.) 
Poisonous  Action  of  Borax  on  Plants. — Circular  84  of  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  gives  an  account  of  the 
extensive  injury  done  by  fertilizers  containing  notable  amounts  of 
borates.  The  cessation  of  imports  of  German  potash  brought 
about  active  search  in  the  United  States  for  sources  of  the  material 
and  several  such  were  found,  among  them  the  deposits  in  Searles 
Lake,  California.  This  contains  notable  amounts  of  borates,  equi- 
valent in  some  samples  to  6.25  per  cent,  anhydrous  borax  in  the 
potash  as  marketed.  Large  quantities  of  this  potash  were  used  in 
making  complete  fertilizers  and  applied  to  fields  in  which  especially 
potatoes  and  cotton  were  grown.    Great  damage  resulted,  and  the 
