AmFe°bayi8P^arm-}     Micro-Organisms  in  Preparations.  85 
MICRO-ORGANISMS  IN  PHARMACEUTICAL 
PREPARATIONS. 
It  is  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  that  orange-flower  water 
and  other  aromatic  distilled  waters  are  prone  to  become  flocculent* 
to  change  in  color  and  odor,  and  generally  to  become  thoroughly 
objectionable.  It  is  also  well  known  that  plain  distilled  water  itself 
— that,  for  example,  used  in  London  for  aerated  waters — becomes 
ropy  unless  it  be  specially  treated.  So  also  certain  saline  solutions 
appear  to  undergo  a  change  which,  like  these  other  cases,  is  supposed 
to  be  more  or  less  microbic  or  vegetative.  The  phenomena  have 
always  had  considerable  interest  to  pharmacists  and  chemical 
investigators,  and  several-  in  this  country,  as  well  as  in  France, 
Germany,  and  the  United  States  have  devoted  special  attention 
to  it. 
Considering  that  it  is  as  far  back  as  1832  that  Dr.  B.  Biasoletto, 
of  Trieste,  discovered  and  described  the  hygrocrocis  fungus  which 
infests  aromatic  waters,  it  would  scarcely  be  excusable  to  refer  to 
the  matter  now,  were  it  not  that  Mr.  H.  Barnouvin,  a  distinguished 
French  chemist,  has  recently  published  a  useful  epitome  of  his  own 
investigations.  He  has  given  close  attention  to  the  subject  for  eight 
years,  and  is  able  to  state  that  the  micro-organisms  which  are  found 
in  distilled  waters  {hydrolats)  are  algae,  bacteria  and  fungi.  These  are 
not  usually  found  associated  together  ;  in  fact,  the  presence  of  one  or 
other  generally  suffices  to  determine  the  condition  of  the  water.  The 
fungus  commonly  found  in  these  media  is  the  Hygrocrocis  hydrola- 
tornm.  That  and  others  more  rarely  found  are  characterized  by  the 
extraordinary  shapes  which  they  assume ;  they  have  no  reproduc- 
tive organs,  simply  conidiae ;  at  first  they  are  of  a  pale  color,  but 
they  gradually  become  black,  thickish,  and  of  great  density,  giving 
the  waters  a  viscous  appearance.  These  fungi  are  only  developed 
if  the  hydrolates  are  acid  at  the  moment  of  distillation.  Bacteria 
are  never  found  in  that  condition,  but  as  the  preparations  change  to 
neutrality  they  become  abundantly  charged  with  bacterial  life.  It 
sometimes  happens  that  bacteria  are  present  in  large  numbers  in 
normally  acid  preparations,  and  when  that  is  the  case  we  have  strong 
•evidence  that  decomposition  has  advanced  far.  It  is  also  note- 
worthy that  bacteria  are  generally  found  in  inodorous  hydrolates, 
and  fungi  in  the  aromatic.  The  bacteria  most  commonly  found  in 
distilled  waters  are  species  of  Leptothrix  and  Micrococcus.  Barnou- 
