30 HILDA HEMPL HELLER 



Martellillus. Weinberg made the identification of type A more 

 exact, and the Committee discuss it at some length. They allow 

 two species, B. sporogenes type A of Metchnikoff, and B. para- 

 sporogenes Mcintosh, which are different in colony formation 

 and serologically. Donaldson describes the "Reading" bacillus, 

 to be assigned to this genus. Superficial acquaintance with 

 many strains of proteolytic anaerobes leads me to suggest that 

 Metchnikovillus may be defined as a genus of many species; 

 Dr. K. F. Meyer is also of this opinion. Henry (p. 361) beUeves 

 it likely that the conception "sporogenes" refers to a group of 

 organisms. 



Barger and Dale, Weinberg and Seguin, M. E. Bullock and 

 the Committee discuss the poisonous growth product of this 

 type of organism: it is apparently a lower spUt-product than 

 are true toxins. Some of these authors find that the culture 

 filtrate of B. sporogenes increases the toxicity and invasive power 

 of B. Welchii. Donaldson and Joyce placed the Reading bacillus 

 in wounds to digest necrosed muscle and report no accidents 

 due to its presence. Wolf (1919), Wolf and Telfer, and Wolf 

 and Harris (1917, a and b) describe the chemical activities of 

 these and related organisms. 



Because of their universal occurrence and active growth 

 habits, organisms of this type frequently contaminate anaerobic 

 cultures. Their chemical activities are thus described in con- 

 junction with the pathogenic properties of the cultures in which 

 they are active. The descriptions which tally more or less 

 accurately with the sporogenes type are legion. Thus B. oede- 

 matis maligni Koch of von Hibler was probably a mixture of 

 an organism of this genus with a chain-forming vibrion sep- 

 tique; while bacillus XI of von Hibler (1908) was probably such 

 a mixture with a similar pathogen which formed chains somewhat 

 reluctantly (PI. II, fig. 3). I am today able to discover only the 

 sporogenes type in von Hibler's strain of bacillus XI. Whether 

 bacillus XIX of Mcintosh should be included in the genus 

 Metchnikovillus is difficult to state. It is apparently an active 

 tissue invader and forms smooth lenticular colonies. 



