DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 51 



the inexhaustible stores of free nitrogen in the atmosphere as a fer- 

 tilizer for his soil. Moreover, it has placed within the hands of man the 

 means by which under intelligent direction the abundance and vigor of 

 life in this world can be increased. It shows us how it may be possible 

 for the arid sandy plain to be converted into a rich field, and how waste 

 places may be fertilized and made to yield abundant food for plant and 

 animal." 



The author's conception of ''The Science of Bacteriology" is based upon 

 certain economical and technical considerations which are comprehen- 

 sive and would gather within the scope of this science the vast fields of 

 microbian diseases of animals and plants and fermentations as found 

 in the dairy, in the soil, in foods and drinks, in various industries, and 

 elsewhere, in fact, in the broad realm just discussed in the foregoing 

 pages. The life designated by the above scheme is usually limited to 

 those molds which figure in fermentation changes, as conceived indus- 

 trially, to yeasts which are employed in industrial fermentations and 

 may be cultivated advantageously or otherwise, to bacteria which rep- 

 resent the largest and most important class, and to those forms, pro- 

 tozoal perhaps, which are now found as the cause of numerous infecti- 

 ous diseases. 



A most general outline of bacteriology may be added not only for the 

 purpose of conveying an idea of its range as understood by us, but also 

 of reviewing systematically some of the subject matter treated in the 

 science. Such an outline is demanded in this discussion. 



A. MORPHOLOGIC AND CULTURAL. 



I. Morphology and Development. 



1. Gross anatomy. 



a. Form. 



b. Size. 



c. Arrangement or gTOuping. 



d. Multiplication. 



e. Involution and variability. 



2. Histology of cell. 



a. Wall or outer membrane. 



b. Protoplasm. 



c. Flagella and motion. 



d. Spores. 



3. Classification and their basic features, 



II. Cultural Significance. 



1. Media. 



a. For morphologic and developmental studies. 



b. For cultural eff'ects. 



2. Colonies. 



3. Cultural features. < i 



III. Staining Values. ' , 



1. Demonstrations of parts of cell. 



2. Identification of species. 



3. Difi'erentiation of species. 



