MEMOIRS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 19 



slowly liquefied and takes on a brown color. xSO. They do not show much change. The center 

 becomes more dense, and the corona is not so deep in proportion to the diameter of the colony. 



Agar slant. — A whitish or grayish beaded growth is seen on the second day. After four days 

 it has become 2 mm. wide, is rough and wrinkled, and the color of dead skin after maceration iu 

 water. The wrinkles increase, and after some days the growth resembles a coil of intestines. It 

 iloes not take firm hold on the agar, and is rather triable. It can not, however, be spread, holding 

 together in small tough masses. The agar is but little discolored. 



Gelatin stab. — Growth occurs along the puncture, and on the surface a white mouldy looking 

 button forms. After five or six days this folds in a radial direction and the edges 

 become somewhat wavy in outline. From the line of puncture beautifully fine 

 feathery outgrowths are seen at the end of a week. Liquefaction occurs slowly, and 

 after six weeks the floor has become level some 2 cm. below the surface. There is 

 some brownish discoloration of the liquefied gelatin, but not much. The button 

 floats on the surface. 



Villain. — At the end of twenty-four hours only a slight brownish discoloration 

 of the potato is noticed. By the next day a thin layer about the color of the 

 potato has formed, and is much folded and wrinkled.. It increases in thickness 

 and the folds become more closely packed together, so at the end of four or five 

 days it resembles a lot of very small intestines very closely — more so than the Get stab, 



culture on agar. The potato is only slightly discolored. It soon becomes dry and turns white, as 

 if covered with a fine mould. 



Bouillon. — White floceuli settle to the bottom, and the bouillon becomes the color of dark 

 sherry wine at the end of a week. 



Rosalie acid. — No growth. 



Litmus milk. — Becomes lighter blue in three or four days, a thick pellicle forms on the sur- 

 face, and a dirty brown ring around the tube. At the end of a week it has become, a beautiful 

 violet hue by transmitted light. The color is slowly discharged, but is still present at the end of 

 eight weeks. The casein seems to be dissolved without previous coagulation. Reaction decidedly 

 alkaline. 



Sugar gelatin, deep stab. — A fine feathery growth along the puncture and button on surface, 

 as in plain gelatin, with slow liquefaction. There is no discoloration, and no gas produced. 



Indol. — The peptone solution becomes the color of pale sherry wine, which interferes with the 

 observation of the reaction. On the addition of both sulphuric acid and sodium nitrite a reddish 

 color is produced, probably due to indol. 



Relation to temperature. — More rapid and abundant growth at 35° to 30° C. than at room 

 temperature. 



Cladothrix Fungiformis. 



Found at the depth of 5 feet iu virgin soil. 



Character. — Requires oxygen. No growth iu an atmosphere of hydrogen. 



Morphology. — Forms quite long chains and filaments, which show false branching, not always 

 easily made out. 



Spore formation not observed. 



Motility. — Non-motile. 



Flagella not demonstrated. 



Colonies on gelatin plates. — Colonies become visible in about forty hours as minute white dots. 

 X 80. Deep colonies are made up of branching filaments running out in every direction from a 

 common center. The surface colonies have a central portion, made up of densely packed and inter- 

 woven filaments, which is bordered by a corona of fine branching filaments. Both deep and surface 

 colouies are gray. At the end of a week the surface colonies are about 1 mm. iu diameter, while 

 the deep are somewhat larger. Those on the surface are white and mouldy looking, and have 

 sunk into the gelatin, the depressions looking punched out. Not much structure can be made 

 out under the microscope. The deep colonies show the same general structure, a yellowish center, 

 which has become too dense to show the network of lines of which it is made up, surrounded by a 

 corona of fine filaments, often interwoven and tangled. The gelatin does not become discolored 



