COXTlilliUTIOXS TO THE CYTOLOGY OF THE BACTERIA. 431 



that is to say, they showed a number of red granules 

 scattered irregularly through the cytoplasm. The laiter 

 showed no distinct structure as a rule. 



Now, in addition to these forms of the characteristic 

 flexilis type, there were other forms which possessed quite 

 a different sort of nuclear arrangement (figs. 80, 82). They 

 showed a variable number of large, nucleus-like bodies 

 arranged in a single row along the whole length of the 

 organism. The cytoplasm of these forms was finely granular 

 (fig. 80), or sometimes distinctly alveolar (fig. 82). I observed 

 a number of forms Avhich appeared to be intermediate in 

 structure between these forms and the ordinary chromidial 

 forms; but I cannot state with absolute certainty that these 

 different forms are not really different species. Though I 

 believe that all the forms belong to one and the same species 

 — representing" different phases in the life-history — the fact 

 that they are possibly different species living side by side 

 cannot be ignored. 



This organism is — like the other flexilis forms — disporic. 

 It forms two terminal spores in each cell, but unfortunately 

 I did not succeed in observing all the stages of spore forma- 

 tion. I have seen the living, actively motile, spore-bearing 

 individuals, and also some isolated stages in the formation of 

 the spores. Fig. 81 shoAvs one of these — with two large 

 chromatin spore-rudiments (as in B. flexilis) at the ends of 

 the cell. I have not found stages in which the chromatin is 

 arranged in a spiral filament — as in B. blitschlii and B. 

 flexilis during spore-formation. It is possible^ therefore, 

 that spore-formation does not take place in the same manner 

 as in B. flexilis, and that the forms which show large 

 nuclei arranged in a row are really forms which are about to 

 sporulate. This seems to me improbable, however, because 

 both long and short individuals (figs. 80, 82) may show this 

 arrangement of the chromatin, whilst it is usually in long 

 individuals only that spores are found. 



As far as my observations go, therefore, it appears probable 

 that this particular organism, whilst presenting the flexible 



