( 476 ) 



bacteria of which the majority produce ]io spores, in particular the 

 kictic-acid ferments, but it should not be done at too high a tempe- 

 rature, as also most spores of the pectose-bacterium itself die already 

 at the boiling point. 



The glass-box is now placed in a well-closing exsiccator, with a 

 three way stop-cock, in which a small dish with hydrosulphite 

 of sodium is put. The exsiccator is evacuated by a Korting pump, 

 fdled with hydrogen (or carbonic a^.id), and again evacuated ; 

 and this is repeated until it may be assumed that the oxygen, 

 which can never be completely removed, is reduced to the minimum 

 pressure tolerated by the anaerobes, wherein the hydrosulphite is 

 also useful. The exsiccator is placed in a thermostat at about 35° C. 

 and after 2 to 3 days the anaerobic colonies are seen to develop. 

 They chiefly belong to the four following species of Granulohacter : 



1. G. jh'ctinovorum. 



2. G. urocephalum. 



3. G. saccharohiityricuiii. 



4. G. butylicum. 



The third of which was alluded to and the fourth described by 

 me in a former research ^). The two first species only, \iz. G. pec- 

 tinovorum and G. urocephalum, are real rotting-bacteria, the former 

 acts strongly, the latter feebly rotting. The two last mentioned, viz. 

 the butyric acid ferment (6^. saccharohutyricum) and the butylic fer- 

 ment {G. butylicum) cause no rotting at all. 



The colonies of all the four kinds colour deep blue when treated 

 with iodine solution, in consequence of their contents of granulose in 

 thin, elongated clostridria. Besides, rodlets are found in all colonies, 

 which do not stain blue with iodine, and which, in a former paper, 

 have been described as "oxygen forms" of Granulohacter '). Some 

 colonies consist of the oxygen form only, hence do not stain with 

 iodine at all, and only contain rodlets, in which spores are seldom found. 



If the material taken from the flax-stalks has not been sterilised 

 previously to the sowing, various colonies of lactic-acid micrococci 

 will develop on the plates, surpassing the Granulohacter colonies 

 many times in dimensions and thereby easily recognisable. 



10. Description of Granulohacter pectinovorum. 



The colonies of this bacterium are recognised by the "moire- 

 phenomenon", figured on Plate Fig. 3. It consists in the appearance 



1) Sur la fermentation et le ferment butyliques. Archives Néerl. T. 29, pg. 1. 1896 



2) Fermentation butylique. pag. 35. 



