14 HILDA HEMPL HELLER 



phyte of cattle and sheep. A heavier bacillus, type II, is equally 

 difficult to place. It also produces hydrogen sulfide and is highly 

 saccharolytic. 



It may be that another genus should be created for highly 

 saccharolytic spherical end-sporing organisms that grow on 

 ordinary media. 



Genus 4. Douglasillus nov. gen. 



Clostridioideae that do not liquefy gelatin. They produce 

 little gas in meat medium. They may clot milk. Gram-nega- 

 tive bacilli which are frequently fusiform and may show peculiar 

 involution forms. Spherical spores are formed in the bacilli; 

 the rods are usually widened by the spores so that their sides 

 are not parallel. Young spores may not be truly spherical. 

 Occasionally found in wounds. Probably incapable of invading 

 tissue. 



Tj^e species sphenoides {Bacillus s-plienoides Douglas, Fleming, 

 and Colebrook), as described by the Committee (p. 43) : the type 

 which ferments glucose, maltose, galactose, lactose, salicin, 

 mannitol, sucrose, dextrin and starch. 



The Committee states that the fermentation reactions of 

 this group are variable. Bacillus E of Adamson (1919) is ap- 

 parently closely related to D. sphenoides. It produces peculiar 

 involution forms and though it ferments several sugars (glucose, 

 maltose, lactose and mannitol) it produces very little gas from 

 them, and has not strong fermentative powers. 



The pointed rod named Coccobacillus proeaciitus by Tissier 

 may be included in this genus. It does not ferment lactose 

 or sucrose but does attack glucose. 



These organisms are not to be confused with the nonsporula- 

 ting anaerobic fusiform bacilU which show a spotted staining 

 reaction and invade tissue, but grow poorly on artificial media. 

 These latter may be trained to an aerobic habit. They have 

 been placed in the genus Fusiformis in the family Mycobacteri- 

 aceae, order Actinomycetales by the Committee on Characteriza- 

 tion and Classification of Bacterial Types, where they may well 

 be left because of the fact that they are highly adapted parasites. 



