190 
Transactions of the Royal Microscopical Society. 
micrococci.”* This is undoubtedly true of the earlier stages 
of the septic processes, but certainly not of the later. The first 
stages of a maceration are all that Billroth describes, without 
question ; but if the animal matter exist in sufficient quantity, and 
the process be allowed to continue — not for the “ weeks ” of which 
this observer speaks, but for months — then an immense variety of 
flagellate forms arise, often wholly extinguishing almost every trace 
of the bacteria and their congeners, and still the putrefactive pro- 
cess is carried on with great vigour. Hence we are wholly dis- 
inclined to believe that the bacteria are the only, or even (in the 
end) the chief organic agents of putrefaction ; for most certainly in 
the later stages of the disintegration of dead organic matter the 
most active agents are a large variety of flagellate monads. 
We do not profess to decide what is the true nature of the 
monads we have studied; that is, to decide whether they be 
vegetable or animal. We nevertheless strongly believe in their 
animal nature. But if this be so, they afford another illustration 
of the inefficiency of the distinction between the animal and 
vegetable kingdom, which assumes that animals can only assimi- 
late organic compounds ; while vegetables can elaborate their 
protoplasm from those which are inorganic. We made a series 
of experiments on the transplantation of known forms to Cohn’s 
“ nutritive fluid,” t which contains no albuminous matter, but only 
mineral salts and tartarate of ammonia. The result was that we 
found that not only the bacteria, but the flagellate monads lived, 
throve, and multiplied in it, although supplied with no other 
pabulum. If it be affirmed that this is a proof of their vegetable 
nature, we can only say that the same must be said of the kerona 
of Ehrenberg and Dujardin, which flourished side by side with the 
monads, with this nutritive fluid as the sole source of pabulum. 
And both alike lived and multiplied in the dark. 
In reference to the mode of locomotion among the monads, it 
may be remembered that what appeared like an organ of loco- 
motion — an arrangement by which the action of the flagella 
appeared to be originated and controlled — was seen in the 
“ biflagellate ” form.t In every instance where there was only 
one flagellum, or where the two arise and move from the same 
point, their insertion in the body-sarcode was always in front ; so 
that the flagellum or flagella had a pulling motion like that of the 
paddle of an ancient coracle ; never the pushing motion from the 
stern like the sculling or rowing of a modern boat. This evidently 
* ‘ Untersuchungen iiber die vegetation-formen von Coccobacteria Septica,’ &c. 
Von Theodore Billroth. Page 3. Berlin. 1874. 
f This fluid is composed of the following ingredients, viz. phosphate of 
potash, sulphate of magnesia, triple basic phosphate of lime, tartarate of ammonia, 
and distilled water. 
t ‘ M. M. J.,’ vol xii., p. 264. 
