2O4 BACTERIOLOGY. 



forming large oval spores. When cultivated in 

 nutrient gelatine in test-tubes a delicate, ramify- 

 ing growth appears on the surface, and irregular 

 whitish masses arise along the needle track. 

 Processes shoot out from these masses, and extend 

 through the gelatine for long distances. They are 

 thickened at points in their course, and clubbed 

 at the ends. The gelatine is gradually liquefied, 

 and the bacilli form a loose, white, flocculent 

 deposit at the bottom of the tube. The liquid 

 in the tube becomes yellowish in colour after a 

 time, and gives off an odour of stale but not 

 ammoniacal urine. The colour and odour are 

 distinctive also of the disease attributed to the 

 bacilli. In plate cultivations, the bacilli grow out 

 in series of rods in single file, or in rows of several 

 side by side. The processes which are formed, tend 

 to curve, and at a short distance from the track of 

 the needle-streak form a distinct circle, from which 

 another process grows out, and a fresh circle is 

 developed. The gelatine in the vicinity of the bacilli 

 gradually liquefies, and channels are formed in the 

 gelatine in which the bacilli move backwards and 

 forwards. On nutrient agar-agar a whitish layer 

 develops, consisting of bacilli arranged side by 

 side, which in a few days are replaced by rows of 

 spores similarly arranged. On potatoes they form 

 a dryish yellow layer, and in milk a tremulous jelly. 

 A cultivation of the bacillus in milk, sprayed over 

 a honeycomb containing a healthy brood of bee 



