232 The Celery-Rot Bacillus 



at the lower concentrations remained sterile while the inoculated tubes 

 containiag the acid at one-quarter and one-fifth saturation produced 

 filaments. 



The shorter filaments (to about 40 /a in length) were often motile, 

 with slow sinuous movements, but distinctly translocatory. 



The longest filaments were formed in the tubes containing the 

 synthetic medium treated with "lysol substitute" at concentrations 

 of 0-1 % and 0-05 %. These threads were so long and intercoiled that 

 they formed a felted mass so that the length of the individual threads 

 could not be determined; some showing free ends however measured 

 from 300 ft to 500 ju. along the free portion before they became entangled 

 in the rest and they must have been considerably longer than that. 

 Permanent preparations were obtained by removing the felt-like 

 sediment from the tube with a hooked platinum needle and teasing it 

 out in distilled water; portions were transferred to cover-glasses, dried 

 in the thermostat, fixed by passing through a flame, and stained with 

 Heidenhain's haematoxylin (Fig. 8). 



In the synthetic medium containing 6 % alcohol, filaments produced 

 within a week after inoculation were 140/x in length, often repeatedly 

 geniculate and locally swollen, becoming at times almost nodulose ; 

 the largest of these "nodules" were more or less spherical and 6*5/>i 

 in diameter (Fig. 9). 



It would appear that in some cases filament development is induced 

 almost immediately after the bacillus comes in contact with the injurious 

 substance; thus in the synthetic medium with 0-05% carbolic acid 

 there were numerous filaments within 48 hours, while, on the other 

 hand, in the same medium but with 4 % alcohol filaments were not to 

 be found at the end of a week from the time growth commenced but 

 were present after three weeks. 



The filaments are evidently a pathological condition brought about 

 by adverse circumstances, for they are produced in the presence of 

 certain antiseptics when these are at a concentration approaching 

 that which inhibits growth altogether. A proof of their pathological 

 nature is that portions of the felted sediment produced under the 

 influence of "lysol substitute" were placed in a hanging drop of celery 

 extract without development of any kind occurring; sub-inoculations 

 were also made from the tubes containing 0-1 % and 0-05 % respec- 

 tively of "lysol substitute," a drop of the liquid containing particles 

 of the sediment being in eacli case transferred to a tube of the untreated 

 culture medium, but no growth occurred in either, while a similar 



