New-York tribune., 1897-01-31
BOUILLON FOR RACILLI.
HOW SCIENTISTS NoURIsH THE GERMS
OF THE PLAGUE.


LIQUID AND SOLID MEDIA FOR cULrUREs-Bu-
BoNIc BAcILLr IN THIS cIrY-How THE
DEADLY MICRO ORGANISMS ARE
TRANSPORTED.
great deal of popular interest In the bubonic
plague has recently been excited by the published
accounts OF it's fearful In times past OF the
present panic In India, Of DR.. Yersns elaborate and
fascinating attempt to produce anttoxin where
with to fight the dread disease. and OF the cuttva-
tion of the bubonc bacillus in this country for ex
perimenta purposes People have thus been LED TO
inquire both about the general methods employed
by bacteriologIsts in preparing and handling their
cultures Of disease germs. and the possible danger
involved in the transportation Of these cultures
from country city to another
In the absence OF DR.. Herman NJ. Bggs. chief
bacteriologist Of the Health Department OF New
York City, his assistant, A. L. Beebe. supplied some
info tion the first Of these points to Tribune
reporter yesterday. Mr. Beebe is himself an expert
In the science Of bacterology and talks with great
enthusiasm He said
"The artificial propagation Of pathogenic Tor dis
ease-producing) bacteria is carried on In either
liquid or a solid medium. The former is a beef tea
prepared after a special formula and known as
'Kochs nutrient boulon. 1t Is clear. straw
cclored fluid. The solid medium Is this same
bouillon thckened by the addition OF % common
gelatine C) a special gelatine known as geiose' OF
'agaragar.' and derived from Chinese and Cingaiese
moss, 81 bovine serum. Each OF THESE mixtures
has its own particular uses The oacter'oiosis'
selects the one best adapted TO the special work In
which he Is at the time engaged. The so-called
solid medium Is really thick jelly. preserving It's
form in spite OF any amount of shaking but also re-
tanning a good deal Of moisture. which Is an I'M
pcrtart desideratum. If the nutrient bouilion mas
been thickened with serum the compound cannot
be lquefed again after 1t sets. When asar-agar Is
r,1n. oJ nd ha.n set a
the boiling point is needed to liquefy 1t. although
when n liquid form Is again attained the substance
will set at 10 degrees c.. or 104 Fair. Ordinary gela-
tine ouefes much more readily at IS degrees c. and
sets at 20.
ADVANTAGE OF A SOLID MEDIUM
perhaps the chief advantage OF solid medium
is this: The colony which develops from single
bacillus Is Imprisoned the spot where 1t was
generated II you have three four different kinds
of bacteria In the specimen which you wish to ex-
anime you can by. this means separate one from
another Then. by selecting bacili from single
colony and reproducing these, you can secure pure
culture.
| I'm order to propagate bacill in either a liquid
| or solid medium proceed substantially as fol-
| lows: Let us say that we have some water sus-
pected OF containing certain germs commonly
| found In sewage, and wish to verify or disprove
| the suspicion. convenient tube for this purpose
| is V-shaped one being shorter than the other,
closed In the making To this tube. at the bend. Is
| attached stem and standard, like that Of wine
| glass: so thar the thing will stand upright The
| long arm having been filed with bouilon. and an
addition OF the suspected water having been made,
| the opening Qn the short ARM Is plugged, the
| whole tube shaken to produce mixture. and then
the specimen is put away in an oven. or Incubator,
whose temperature Is carefully and automatically
| maintained at about blood heat. This is the tenn
| perature most favorable to the development Of
| most pathogenic bacill! Several hours later the
| fluid will be found to contain millions OF bacteria
| II the water contaminated: and In this special
| inquiry an additional sign will be aforded-the
formation OF large ouooie OF gas IN the upper emu
| Of the tube
"Our procedure in tests for dphtheria will Illus
| trate a common method with solid media A phys-
clan steps into OF our eighty sub-stations In
this CITY, and procures two glass tubes. each about
| a. long as your finger. but more slender. They
are sealed and rounded at the lower end, and open
at the other Both. like the tube previously men-
| toned, have been carefully sterized by us before
| sending them out. by the application OF high de-
| gree Of heat Into one Of these tubes has been
| poured a little th!ckened boullon about enough
to All one-ffth or one-fourth of the tube. The
| tube is tilted we'll over to one side while the gel
| a,lne sets. This procedure gives more surface to
| work upon The mouth of the tube is now quickly
| closed with tuft of cotton. which excludes any
| aerial bacteria The second tube Is merely con-
| receptacle
a much smaller tube Of cotton on L G end of wire
| The physician rubs this the membranes OF his
| patients throat, so to prick up some OF the
| bacteria there He then removes the plug from
| the culture tube. applies the swab quickly and
thoroughly but tightly to the surface of the gel
| at.ne TO transfer thither some Of the dis
| ease germs II any have been obtained. Then the
| tube is plugged with cotton promptly as possl-
| BILE. We collect these tubes say 125 daily and put
| them into our incubator for about thirteen hours
! At the end OF that time any diphthertc bacteria
| in the tube will have multiplied enormously.
| mllllon-fo ana will lie right on the surface of
the culture. bit of the gelatine or serum is then
subjected to ce tain tests principally staining and
| microscopic examinations and report is made 10
| the attending physician as TO the result. whether
the latter be negative or positive. Solid cultures
| are also made. sometimes in thin fat cake or
| water. formed by pouring the thickened bouillon
| into shallow. round fla. dish called a Petri dsh
| which has a close fitting cover"
| This description incidentally reveals one OF the
! most Important reasons for making cultures Of
disease germs Another is afforded by Dr. Yersn's
work in producing antitoxin A third was men,
| toned a day two ago by DR.. A. II. Doty, Quar-
| antire Officer for the Port OF New-York. He said
| that the experiments with bubonc bacil now In
| progress in New-York and Brooklyn were designed
to ascertain the conditions under which these pac-
| terra live and die. that their determination
might be Insured IL any vessels suspected OF carry
ing the plague were to approach this port Dr.
Doty expresses confidence IN his ability enectually
| 10 exclude such visitor from the metropolis
THE BACILLI CANNOT ESCAPE.
DR. E. IL. Wilson. bacterologist OF the Brooklyn
| Health Department. who has been particularly ac-
tive in the aforementioned investigation, and whose
experiments have already been described In The
| Tribune was in Albany last week when reporter
| called to speak to him IN regard 10 the c"a"oe
! that any of these baci might escape and make
| ,n,schief in the community. But his assistant r.