LIBRARIES AND LEARNED PERIODICALS

240 take more than an hour. Lee, however, maintains that the technique is so simple, once it has been mastered, that in the absence of any definite reason to the contrary this form of anaesthetic can be applied with equal success and with perfect control to any procedure, major or minor, below the nipple line: Certainly this method of Lemmon’s, as adapted and modified by Lee, deserves extended trial by anaesthetists in this country. RODNEY MAINGOT. Wimpole Street, W.1. INHIBITION OF PROTEUS IN CULTURES FROM WOUNDS SIR,—Professor Miles and Miss Hayward have done a service to hospital bacteriologists everywhere by calling attention to this everyday difficulty (Lancet, July 24). Like tlem we have found that the modified Fry method1 enables us to recognise and isolate several organisms, especially haemolytic streptococci and staphylococci and non-haemolytic streptococci, more satisfactorily than any of the other procedures which have been suggested. (We have not concerned ourselves with strict anaerobes and have not tried the 6-8% agar which Professor Miles is now using.) The modified Fry method is, however, uneconomical in that it involves planting two plates from every wound in which proteus may be present. To overcome this difficulty the following device was proposed by one of us (W. C. C.). A ditch about 6 mm. wide is cut out of a blood-agar plate, separating off the area (F), approximately one-third

On plate a the Fry sector grew 15 colonies of hsemolytio streptococci and some non-hsemolytic colonies ; on the other

proteus had swarmed and there were other colonies. Plate b, after 24 hours showed 3 colonies of haemolytio streptococci and a few staphylococci. After 48 hours proteus was beginning to swarm and the haemolytic streptococci were not recognisable. Plate c, after 24 hours showed no growth. After 48 hours there were many colonies of proteus (not swarming) and some staphylococci. No colonies of hsemosector

lytic streptococcus

were

recognisable.

It is’evident that even a few seconds’ exposure to alcohol had a considerable effect on the medium (plates b and c), and that relatively slight variations in that exposure might yield misleading results. W. C. CAWSTON, . L. COLEBROOK. Glasgow. FORMATION OF RED BLOOD CORPUSCLES SIR,—In view of the evident interest of Dr. DuranJorda in the genesis of blood-cells, failure to draw his attention to -the delights of haematological literature would be a failure in true hospitality. Violent controversy raged around the subject from the early years of this century until the death in 1938 of Naegeli, and rumblings were heard even as late as 1940. Battles were fought between the great guns-Dantschakoff, Dominici,

Ehrlich, Ferrata, Hirschfeld, Jolly, Maximow, Naegeli, Pappenheim, Schilling, Schridde, Weidenreich, besides others still living--over methods of staining and observation, and suitability of material, embryological, adult and pathological. Beliefs were held with religious fervour and titles. Naegeli, known as the Blood Pope, led the "

Dualists, Maximow the extreme TJnitarians." Hard blows were given and taken, but this surely is the unkindest cut of all, that a diligent ’oench worker has ignored them in a country whose libraries have not yet been

destroyed. B. D. PULLINGER.

Mill Hill.

TREATMENT OF OSTEOCLASTOMA

Fig. 1. Fig. 2. of the whole, from the remainder (fig. 1). The swab from the wound or burn is now inoculated as shown (dotted line) F is now flooded with a thin layer of melted on both areas. agar at 45° C. (Fry procedure), care being taken that the agar covers the whole surface but does not also spill over into the ditch. Over half of the remaining area, if desired, a drop of 1 in 3000 gentian-violet can be spread (area GV) to suppress staphylococci and diphtheroid bacilli, and favour the detection of haemolytic streptococci (Garrod,2 Fleming 3). As soon as the supernatant layer of agar on area F has set, this area only is flooded with a drop or two of absolute alcohol, which is left for about one minute (Butcher’s modification of the Fry method), and the plate subsequently dried off for 10-15 minutes. After incubation the surface of the agar on area F almost always remains free from growth and it is easy, with a little experience, to recognise the underlying colonies of hsemolytic If these require to be isolated streptococci, staphylococci, &c. -or if there is doubt about their identity-subcultures are made by stabbing through the supernatant agar layer with a straight wire and planting on one or more sectors of a plate divided by ditches, as shown in fig. 2. If any of the doubtful colonies turn out to be proteus they will not spread across the ditches. This simple procedure has proved very satisfactory during the past twelve months with about 1000 swabs from burns in which proteus was present along with other organisms. The following experience supports Professor Miles’s criticism of the method employed by Major Pulvertaft 4 : A swab from a burn, infected with proteus, staphylococcus .

’

and

haemolytic streptococcus was planted on : (a) a Fry ditchplate prepared as above ; (b) an alcohol-dried plate (methylated spirit 30 seconds) ; (c) an alcohol-dried plate, but spirit left for 3 minutes. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Spooner, E. T. C. J. Hyg. Camb. 1941, 41, 320. Garrod, L. P. St. Bart’s Hosp. Rep. 1933, 66, 203. Fleming, A. Brit. med. J. 1942, i, 547. Pulvertaft, R. J. V. Lancet, 1943, ii, 1.

SIR,—The controversy aroused by Dr. Brailsford’s article only shows that the formation in this country of a central registry of bone-tumours is long overdue. The bone-tumour subcommittee of the British Orthopaedic Association fails to meet this want since it appears to be composed exclusively of orthopaedic surgeons, and few can be satisfied with the results of surgical treatment. We should take as our model the American Registry which is composed of surgeons, pathologists and

radiologists.

FF. ROBERTS.

Cambridge.

MR. HUXLEY’S

EYES

says in his letter of July 17 for my statement that his theory

SIR,—Professor Hartridge

that I gave no grounds is untenable. My grounds are that according to certain basic facts of ocular pathology no corneal deposits could possibly have been present in Mr. Huxley’s case. R. AFFLECK GREEVES. Wimpolc Street, W.l. LIBRARIES AND LEARNED PERIODICALS

SIR,—In my letter of July 17 I inadvertently failed to appreciate the proposals of a committee of the Association of Special Libraries and Information Bureaux, which has under consideration the preparation of a Union Catalogue of Periodicals in British Libraries. ASLIB has been dealing with -this problem since its

conference last November and the committee which it is is inviting representation of the bodies to which I referred. The committee moreover proposes at present to limit its plan to the compilation of a consolidated check list composed of entries in the World List of Scientific Periodicals, the Union Catalogue of Periodical Publications in University Libraries, and the relevant section of the British Museum Catalogue. The proposed constitution of the committee, and the limited scope of its immediate programme, remove the scheme from any criticism which might have been implied in the latter part of my letter ; and the work which it contemplates should be of assistance in the accomplishment of the larger scheme which I outlined. CYRIL C. BARNARD, London School of Hygiene

forming

and Tropical Medicine.

Librarian.