51 



corrugated, sometimes in a regular way. (Fig. i.) There often 

 is a striking resemblance to actinomyces cultures. 



Serum, and serumagar- cultures resemble those on agar. 

 Gelatine-cultures proved impossible, the fungus refusing to 

 grow below 22°. 



Broth remains clear, growth only takes place at te bottom, 



Litmus milk is discoloured. 



On potato occasionally a small whitish growth is obtained. 



Anaerobic cultures never reach a great size. 



Sabouraud's media do not yield a growth. 



The fungus is Gram-positive, not acid-fast, and non-motile. 



Brothcultures under the microscope are seen to consist of 

 long ramified unsegmented threads (thickness 0.2 — 0.3U), with 

 swollen ends and often containing granules. An enveloping 

 membrane is not visible. All descriptions of fungi belonging to 

 this and allied classes mention some sort of »granules«. 

 Some authors believe they represent spores, others are of 

 opinion they perform nuclear functions. Sometimes they are 

 described as being situated within the threads, sometimes as 

 leading a separate existence, or as passing from the one stage to 

 the other through a process of fragmentation or segmentation. 

 In this way they are sometimes regarded as biologically equi- 

 valent to the threads, sometimes as performing quite different 

 functions. It is clear there exists no- unanimity as regards the 

 relation of »granules« and threads. This can be partly explai- 

 ned by the difficulty experienced in procuring microscopic 

 preparations from the hard and very adherent cultures. A more 

 delicate way of handhng these is sure to give a more reliable 

 insight into their structure. After hardening cultures with acetone 

 and imbedding in paraffin, with a microtome thin sections may 

 be obtained in every direction through the whole of the culture. 

 A schematized drawing of a section through a fairly old culture, 

 perpendicular to the surface of the medium shows fig. 2. 



In the depths of the medium long wavy threads are visible. 

 These account for the close adherence to the medium. They 

 sometimes have swollen ends, and are often branching ; segmen- 

 tation is not visible. These threads contain granules, in an 

 irregular distribution. These granules stain more readily and 

 intensely with methylenblue than the threads, they are stronger 



