48 THE PERMANENT FORMS OR SPORES 



50. The Number of Spores 



produced in a single mother-cell exceeds unity iu but few species. The first 

 communication on this subject was made by Prazmowski, who found that in 

 exceptional cases Clostridium butyricum developed two spores in a cell. A re pre- 

 sentation of this is given in Fig. 16. ED. KERN (I.) observed in Caucasian 

 kephir granules a bacillus to which, on account of its faculty of producing two 

 spores, the name of Dispora caucasica has been given. This bacillus produces a 

 spore at each of its two poles, without any alteration of size or shape being 

 undergone by the latter. The contrary report, met with in many books, viz., 

 that this microbe during spore formation swells up in such a manner that it 

 assumes the form of a dumb-bell, is a pure invention. The doubt raised by 

 MAC (I.) in 1889, and shared by many others, against the sporous nature of 

 this form, is also groundless, since a perusal of Kern's treatise shows that this 

 inquirer confirmed by observation the germination of the doubtful spores into 



CL 



FIG. 18. Spirillum endopavagogicum. FIG. 19. Bacillus tumescens. 



C, vegetative cells ; A, two cells, one with two Chain ol seven cells, six of which have de- 



and the other with three endospores. (After veloped one spore apiece, whilst the seventh 



Sorokin.) and central cell has remained barren. Its 



plasma is granular. (After A. Koch.) Magn. 



1 100. 



new rods. A third species in which this unusual fruitfulness has been observed 

 is the above-named Bacillus inflatus, in which, however as is shown by Fig. 1 7 

 the situation of the spores is not polar, but central. E. KRAMER (I.) reports 

 that the Bacillus saprogenes vini III., isolated by him from turned wine, swells 

 up at first at one of its poles and develops an endogenous spore therein, another 

 spore being then formed in the handle of the drum-stick form thus produced ; 

 so that two spores are developed in the same cell. 



The formation of more than two spores in a single cell has hitherto been 

 noticed in but one species of fission fungus; the Spirillum endoparagogicum. 

 This was repeatedly observed by SOKOKIN (I.) in a small pool of rain-water 

 collected in the cavity of an old black poplar tree. A representation of this 

 microbe is given in Fig. 18. In A is seen a cell containing two, and another 

 with three endospores, and Sorokin found as many as six in a cell. The attempt 

 to obtain artificial cultures of this organism was as little successful as in the case 

 of so many other spirilla, there being (it may be mentioned en passant) up to the 

 present only a few known species wherein attempts of this kind have succeeded. 

 The first of these species is that which was isolated as a pure culture by ESMARCU 

 (I.) from putrescent fluid, and which formed rose-red colonies (Spirillum 

 rubrum) ; the second is the Spirillum desulfuricans, discovered and thoroughly 

 investigated by BEYERINCK (II,), which readily reduces sulphates to sulphides. 

 A third is the Spirillum luteum developing a citron-yellow colouring matter 

 obtained by H. JUMELLE (I.) from a bog; and the fourth is the Spirillum 

 itiarinum, described by H. L. RUSSELL (II.) as a frequent inhabitant of the mud 



