112 BACTERIOLOGICAL EXAMINATION OF WATER. 



(c) flagella disposed at the sides, not specially at the end of the 

 bacillus; (d) subcutaneous tissue haemorrhagic ; (e) gas not 

 formed so abundantly in milk culture ; slow separation of the 

 fluid and coagulated part, which commences near the cream ; 

 the whey is not acid, has no butryic acid smell, and contains 

 spores ; (f) it does not stain with Gram ; (g) gelatine-stab 

 possessed of many short lateral off-shoots. 



Bacillus of Symptomatic Anthrax. 



(a) It does not stain with Gram ; (b) gelatine-stab has many 

 short lateral off-shoots ; (c) it does not produce subcutaneous 

 gangrene, but a haemorrhagic swelling containing gas bubbles. 



Bacillus Butyricus of Botkin. 



This bacillus resembles the B. enteritidis sporogeues morpho- 

 logically and culturally in sugar-gelatine, in agar, and particu- 

 larly in milk ; but it is without pathogenic action when injected 

 in large doses subcutaneously into guinea-pigs or rabbits. 



The characteristics and means of diagnosis of the B. 

 enteritidis sporogenes have been considered in detail, as many 

 bacteriologists claim that the discovery of this bacillus has given 

 a fresh impetus to the bacteriological examination of water. 

 Houston states : u It is safe to anticipate that this discovery is 

 destined to largely enhance the value of the bacteriological test 

 of potable waters. For the spores of this anaerobe cannot 

 be demonstrated in pure water (by this is meant that the 

 bacillus is absent, not only in 1 c.c. of a pure water, but that 

 it may be absent in 500 c.c. or more of such water), whereas 

 in impure water it can readily be shown to be present, and in 

 raw sewage it is specially abundant. My own records, which 

 extend over a year, and deal with a very large number of 

 samples of sewage, show that the spores of this microbe are 

 present in numbers varying usually from 100 to 1000 or more 

 per cubic centimetre. It cannot fairly be said of this anaerobe 

 that it is likely to multiply outside the animal body, and the 

 only possible objection to accepting its presence as an index of 

 dangerous contamination of water is the fact that its being a 

 sporing anaerobe weakens somewhat its usefulness as evidence 

 of recent and, therefore, presumably specially dangerous, 



