153 



monition of what was yet to be discovered as to the 

 marvellous workings of Nature, and tlie quotation I 

 give, while not actually applying to bacteriology, 

 shews that at an}' rate he was as much alive as we are 

 to the fact that there is nothing new in the universe, 

 btit onh^ a continuotis rearrangement of tlie old, 

 although he w^as not able to explain the modus operandi. 



The special septic bacillus of which I have 

 spoken is short and thick, with a length of about 

 three times its diameter. Some individual ones stain 

 only at the ends, leaving the centre light, and some 

 stain all over. At the period of their first discovery 

 and while bacteriological methods were not so well 

 understood and practised as they are to-day, it 

 was supposed that these two forms represented two 

 varieties of bacillus and they were therefore named 

 respectively Koch's and Davaine's bacilli. Now 

 however that more is known of the natural history 

 of these minute organisms we consider ourselves 

 justified in assuming them to be identical in species 

 and to differ individually onl\^ in consonance with 

 some phase of development or virulence. Botli forms 

 are constantly met with side by side not only in the 

 organs of birds dying of septicaemia but also in 

 culture preparations. 



As may be gathered from the saprophytic powers 

 and functions of these cocci and bacilli, they are 

 exceedingly common and widespread — as I have said 

 before their spores exist even in the air in countless 

 myriads. To afford proof of this let me give in 

 detail the particulars of an experiment in their 

 culture, one which has a particular interest for us in 

 our avicultural capacity. 



Taking care to have our hands and every utensil 

 involved in the process carefully sterilized, so as to en- 

 tirely exclude the possibility of importing any bacteria 

 of any kind whatever into the experiment, we will boil 



