XL] BACILLUS: PATHOGENIC FORMS. 151 



leptothrix form. Some of the elements in such a filament 

 remain for a long time of a spherical shape, and are much 

 larger, looking like the sporangium of a nostoc-alga. The 

 most interesting forms are those where an ordinary smooth 

 filament of anthrax- bacillus at its growing ends shows itself 

 to be composed of a chain of torula-elements. Such torula 

 forms occur also in ordinary cultivations in fluid media at 

 temperatures of 20 to 30 C., but not by any means so often 

 as at ordinary temperatures and in a solid medium. These 

 torula-cells are about 0-0013 to 0*0026 mm. in diameter. The 

 torula-forms are very virulent, but in an animal always 

 assume the ordinary shape of the typical bacillus. 1 



As has been mentioned in treating of pigment bacilli, such 

 a torula-form has been also observed by Neelsen in the 

 bacillus that causes the colour of "blue milk;" and Zopf- 

 has observed it also in cladothrix dichotoma. 



I have also observed this torula-modification in the 

 filaments of septic bacilli, in a bacillus that I found growing 

 accidentally in pork-broth. The bacillus had the same 

 morphological characters as the bacillus subtilis of hay- 

 infusion, and also formed a pellicle composed of filaments. 

 In some of the filaments the large torula-like cells could be 

 seen here and there interposed between cubical and 

 cylindrical cells. 



On inoculating fluid media (e.g. broth of any kind or pep- 

 tone fluid) with the bacilli anthracis, either those of the 

 blood or of the spleen of an animal dead of anthrax, and 

 shaking the fluid so as to distribute the bacilli uniformly 

 through the fluid and exposing this to a temperature of from 

 25 to 40 C., it will be noticed that after twenty-four to forty- 



1 Klein, Quart. Journ. of Micro sc. Science, April, 1883. 



2 Zur Morphologic d. Sfalfpjianzen, ii. and Die Spaltpihe^ Breslau, 

 1883. 



