326 THE BACTERIOPHAGE AND ITS BEHAVIOR 



III. The bacteriophage is a living being, foreign to the 

 bacterium 



This is the hypothesis proposed in my first pubhcation. I had, 

 indeed, considered the hypothesis of a fermentative action, and I had 

 discussed it even before any one else had advanced it^'^^ but since it did 

 not conform to the facts it was rejected. 



Let me first fist the declared supporters, or those who have recognized 

 that the theory which considers the bacteriophage as a living being, 

 foreign to the bacterium is the one which best conforms to the facts. 

 The Hst includes: Bablet,^^ Gj0rup,237 Eliava,^^^ Pozerski,i9i Izar,^" 

 Bruynoghe,^^^ Beckerich," Hauduroy,-^^ Janzen,^^'* Wolff,^28 Polettini 

 Bruno,^-^ Vedrenne, ^^^ Bastin, ^^ Prausnitz,^^*^ Asheshov,^'' Beijerinck,*''' 

 Kropveld;^" Tomaseni,^^^ -phi,^^^ Brutsaert,i°^ Caubloti'^" Sardjito,^^^ 

 Pondman,^2° Philibert,^°^ Fabry and van Beneden,'-^'' Reichert,^^" Meis- 

 sner,448 Kabenk,^'^^ Schuurman,"3 and Preisz.^^o Maitland432 ^nd Woll- 

 man,"^^ although not explicitly accepting this hypothesis, have brought 

 forth evidence which convinces them that the bacteriophage is foreign 

 to the bacterium. 



As a matter of fact none of the authors who have adopted hypotheses 

 other than that based on the living nature of the bacteriophage have 

 expressly affirmed that any of the facts stand in contradiction to the 

 hypothesis which I have formulated. 



The reader who has given attention to all of the peculiarities of the 

 phenomenon of bacteriophagy, as presented in the preceding pages, to 

 the discussion of the resistance of bacteria to the action of the bacteri- 

 ophage, and to the description of the characters of the principle, must 

 have realized already that none of the facts stand in contradiction to the 

 idea of the living nature of the principle which causes bacteriophagy.* 



* I have already mentioned some of the odd arguments which have been ad- 

 vanced to oppose the living nature of the bacteriophage, such as the fact that it 

 exists in the colloidal state, that it is subject to the laws of adsorption, of floccula- 

 tion, etc., arguments which, as a matter of fact, are equivalent to saying that the 

 fact that it partakes of the characters common to all living beings constitutes an 

 objection to its living nature. But here is another argument, just as odd, but 

 which, nevertheless, has been taken seriously by some of those who, on other 

 grounds, support the hypothesis of its living nature. This argument is based on 

 the fact that the first act of bacteriophagy consists in the fixation of the corpuscles 

 to the bacteria. This is admitted, but it appears, indeed, that this is not "in 

 favor" of the living nature of the principle. 



If, however, the bacteriophage is a parasite of bacteria, it might be expected 

 to behave as do all parasites, that is to say, that it might very well commence by 



