CELLS OF BACILLUS MEGATHERIUM 



81 



of cells starting to grow one after the other, and so producing a 

 skewed but continuous frequency distribution curve. If, however, 

 our seeding is small, the chances will be greater for there occurring 

 gaps between the cells having the maximum growth rate and those 



0123 k 3 ^ 78 



Hours. 



Fig. 21. Influence of Concentration of Nutrients on Length of Cells 

 OF B. megatherium. 

 From "The Influence of the Concentration of Nutrients on the Size of the 

 Cells of B. megatherium." Through the courtesy of the Society for Experi- 

 mental Biology and Medicine (Proceedings, 1921, 19, 132). 



cells which do not grow at all, and the smaller the size of the seed- 

 ing, therefore, the greater will be the tendency for the frequency 

 distribution curves to become broken into two or more modes. 



The relationship of the size of the cells to the rate of growth 

 has been further studied in cultures inoculated with the same number 



