426 J. RUSSELL ESTY 



The very interesting conclusion from these experiments is 

 that vegetative forms sporulate in the intestines when present 

 either as a result of artificial feeding or inoculation. In all 

 cases of subcutaneous inoculation of vegetative cultures, spores 

 were observed in different parts of the intestine. From the 

 six feeding experiments no ill effects were observed and cultures 

 disappeared quickly from the intestines. 



XIV. CONCLUSIONS 



1. Clostridium Welchii is a non-motile, straight rod, 3 to 6 

 micra in length and to one and one-half micra in breadth, with 

 the ends slightly rounded or square cut. It stains readily with 

 the ordinary dyes and is Gram positive. Capsules are present 

 in cultures made directly from body fluids or body tissues, from 

 milk or feces, but disappear in succeeding cultures. 



2. Sporulation of Clostridium Welchii takes place in a great 

 variety of media, provided no fermentable substance is present. 

 Sporulation never occurs in the tissues, organs and body fluids 

 of the living animal but does take place in the intestine. The 

 spores are usually oval, from 1.5 to 3 micra long and form in the 

 middle of the rod or slightly toward one end. The spores germi- 

 nate when grown in media containing glucose, galactose, lactose, 

 sucrose, maltose, dextrin and starch. They withstand a wide 

 range of reaction, at least from — 2 to + 12. They will germi- 

 nate in slightly alkaline or acid media but best in neutral media. 



3. Clostridium Welchii is an obligate anaerobe which requires 

 strict anaerobiosis for its growth. Boiling the media just before 

 using renders it suitable for the growth and isolation of Clostri- 

 dium Welchii. For continued growth on solid media, the surface 

 should be covered with sterile paraffin or other methods for 

 preserving anaerobic conditions should be employed. 



4. Clostridium Welchii is capable of growth upon all of the 

 ordinary culture media but grows better in the presence of 1 

 per cent glucose or maltose. Vegetative forms must be trans- 

 planted every forty-eight hours. In sugar-free media sporulation 

 occurs in two or three days. The organism does not grow in 



