1. Growth on agar lemon-yellow. 2. Growth on agar orange-yellow. 44. Nocardia marina. 45. Nocardia atlantica. 1. Nocardia farcinica Trevisan, 1889. (Bacille du farcin, Nocard, Ann. Inst. Past., 3, 1888, 293; Trevisan, I generi e le specie delle Batteriacee, Milan, 1889, 9.) far.ci'ni.ca. L. v. farcio to stuff; L. noun farciminum a disease of horses; Fr. farcin farcy or glanders; M.L. adj. farcinicus re- lating to farcy. This description is based on a study of a culture believed to be Prof. Nocard's origi- nal culture (American Type Culture Collec- tion No. 3318). This culture agrees in its characteristics with those of a second cul- ture isolated and identified by Dr. C. P. Fitch at the New York State Veterinary College, Ithaca, New York (ATCC No. 3399). Branched filaments, 0.25 micron in di- ameter. Markedly acid-fast. Gelatin colonies: Small, circular, trans- parent, glistening. Gelatin stab: No liquefaction. Agar colonies: Yellowish white, irregular, refractive, filamentous. Agar slant: Grayish to yellowish white growth, surface roughened. Broth: Clear; granular sediment, often with gray pellicle. Litmus milk: Unchanged. Potato: Abundant, dull, crumpled, whit- ish yellow growth. No soluble pigment formed. Proteolytic action absent. Starch not hydrolyzed. Aerobic, facultatively anaerobic. Nitrites not produced from nitrates. Optimum temperature, 37° C. Source: Isolated from cases of bovine farcy. Habitat: Associated with a disease in cattle resembling chronic tuberculosis. Transmissible to guinea pigs, cattle and sheep but not to rabbits, dogs, horses or monkeys. 2. Nocardia asteroides (Eppinger, 1891) Blanchard, 1895. (Cladothrix asteroides Ep- pinger, Beitr. z. path. Anat., 9, 1891, 287; Blanchard, in Bouchard, Traite Path. Gen., 3, 1895, 811.) as.ter.o.i'des. Gr. adj. asteroides star- like. Straight, fine mycelium, 0.2 micron in diameter, which breaks up into small, coccoid conidia. Acid-fast. Gelatin stab: Yellowish surface growth. No growth in stab. No liquefaction. Synthetic agar: Thin, spreading, orange growth. No aerial mycelium. Starch agar: Restricted, scant, orange growth. Plain agar: Much folded, light yellow growth, becoming deej) yellow to yellow- ish red. Glucose broth: Thin, yellowish pellicle. Litmus milk: Orange-colored ring. No coagulation. No peptonization. Potato: Growth much wrinkled, whitish becoming yellow to almost brick-red. No soluble pigment formed. Proteolytic action doubtful. Starch not hydrolj^zed. Nitrites produced from nitrates. Aerobic. Optimum temperature, 37° C. Transmissible to rabbits and guinea pigs but not to mice. Comment: A number of strains of acid- fast actinomycetes isolated from human lesions have deviated in certain particulars from the description of Nocardia asteroides, but not sufficiently to warrant separation as species. Baldacci, e.g., recognizes and names three varieties of this species (Myco- pathologia, 1, 1938, 68). Source: Isolated from a cerebral abscess in man. Habitat: Also found in conditions re- sembling pulmonary tuberculosis. 3. Nocardia polychroiiiogenes (Vallee, 1903) Waksman and Henrici, 1948. (Strepto- thrix polychromogenes Vallee, Ann. Inst. Past., 17, 1903, 288; Proactinomyces poly-
