GENERAL SYSTEMATIC BACTERIOLOGY 455 



Cells roundish, dividing in two or three dimensions of space. Daughter cells 

 connected for some time, forming small solid families or plates which are often 

 again in their turn united to form larger colonies. Families usually consisting of 

 four or a multiple of four cells. 



He is thus enabled to bring into the genus some four other organisms 

 which had previously been termed Merismopedia. Zopf (1885, p. 51) 

 limited the genus to those forms in which cell division occurs regularly 

 in three planes with formation of packets. Falkenheim (1885, p. 229) 

 made use of the newly developed gelatin plate methods to secure 

 cultures of Sarcina ventricuU Goodsir. He found that this species 

 would grow readily upon artificial media, forming light yellow, round 

 colonies in from thirty-six to forty-eight hours. Packets charac- 

 teristic of Sarcina were missing in all media tried, except hay infusion. 

 In this medium the packets were well developed. A study of this 

 paper shows how extensive a literature had grown up concerning 

 Sarcina. He notes that twenty years earlier (1865) fifty titles were 

 already known. It would seem that the organism described by Falken- 

 heim might well be taken as the type of the genus. 



The genus as defined by Zopf was recognized by many writers up to 

 1895, among them Schroter (1886, p. 153, *S. ventricuU and 3 new species), 

 Flugge (1886), De Toni and Trevisan (1889, p. 1044, 15 species), 

 Cornil and Babes (1890, p. 148), Billet (1890, p. 24), Hueppe (1885, 

 1891, p. 30), Ludwig (1892) and Sternberg (1892, p. 17). 



Migua (1894, p. 236) says 



Sarcina Goodsir. Die Zellen teilen sich nach 3 Richtungen des Raumes, 

 wodurch, wenn sie nach der Teilung verbunden bleiben, warenballenartig ein- 

 geschniirte Packets enstehen konnen. Bewegungsorgane fehlen. (Z. B. Sarcina 

 ventricuU Goods., S. rosea Schroter.) 



Migula (1895, p. 18) defined the genus somewhat more accurately, 

 insisting that the outstanding generic character is division in three 

 planes and not necessarily the formation of the packets. He also 

 separated the motile forms into the new genus Planosarcina. He 

 notes that about 45 species are known. Gruber (1895, p. 239) mono- 

 graphed the genus. He gives the following generic description: 



Zellen rund, einzeln oder zu waarenball artig eingeschniirten packetformiger 

 Verbiinden vereinigt, oder zu 2 (Diplococcenform) oder 4 einander genahert. 

 Teilung nach drei Richtungen des Raumes. Bleiben die Tochterzellen nach der 

 Teilung vereinigt, so sind sie an den Beriihrungsfliichen mehr oder weinger abge- 

 plattet; trennen sie sich nach der Teilung so sind sie vollig kugelrund. 



