10 HILDA HEMPL HELLER 



Trecul (1865) gave the bacteria that contain starch the nanae 

 of Amylobader. He (1867) declared the Amylobader to be 

 heterogenetic, formed of minute particles that organize them- 

 selves into baciUi in decaying plant tissue. Van Tieghem (1877) 

 named Bacillus amylobader bacilli which contained amorphous 

 starch during their growth stage. He believed such organisms to 

 be the agents of cellulose destruction. Prazmowski (1880) de- 

 scribed and figured Clostridiwn butyricum, which though it 

 was in impure culture, was evidently of the type described above. 

 Winogradsky (with Tribes) (1896) first defined a type that 

 can be considered a species ; he assigned no name to the organism. 

 He declares that it does not split cellulose, but pectin. It fer- 

 ments glucose, sucrose, lactose and starch in peptone media. 



This type of organism has been described by many workers. 

 It has been most thoroughly discussed by Bredemann. Bacil- 

 Itis amylobader A. M. et Bredemann probably includes all the 

 large starch-storing Clostridia described above in the generic 

 definition. In his investigation Bredemann used principally 

 cytological criteria, and essential extensive chemical studies 

 were not made. He regards all differences noted between his 

 strains as fluctuating variations. It would seem illogical from 

 the point of view of the general systematist, to assign merely 

 specific rank to a group of organisms so widespread and of such 

 abundant occurrence as are these soil anaerobes. Bredemann's 

 investigation siinply indicates that he did not find means of 

 distinguishing his strains, or perhaps that by his technique he 

 isolated only a restricted group of the general type. Bredemann 

 declares that the power of fixing nitrogen varies in these organ- 

 isms and cannot be used as a specific character. Bredemann's 

 critique of his cultures is apparently very weak. Thus on page 

 404 he claims to have changed a Welch bacillus into an amy- 

 lobacter. He quotes seriously the fantastic conceptions of 

 Grassberger and Schattenfroh with regard to the "denaturing" 

 of anaerobic organisms, and his conception of systematic anae- 

 robic work is that of Lehmann and Neumann. He regards as 

 a variant of B. amylobader what appear to be coccus forms 

 contaminating his cultures. 



