in.] CHOLERAIC COMMA-BACILLI. 45 



for five to ten minutes in a 2 per cent, watery solution of 

 Spiller's purple, or Weigert's gentian-violet anilin-oil, then 

 washing it in water, then just rinsing it once only with spirit, 

 then with water, drying and then mounting in Canada bal- 

 sam, many comma-bacilli of the typical lengths will be met 

 with which show this distinction between a faintly-tinted 

 sheath and the protoplasmic contents in the shape of two 

 stained particles, one at each end, with a faintly stained 

 interval, the lumps being rod-shaped and slightly curved ; the 

 curved state can be only made out with -^ oil-immersion lens. 

 I conclude from this that a single typical comma-bacillus is 



<- 



.*. 



j 



FIG. 7. PREPARATION OF CHOLERAIC COMMA-BACILLI STAINED WITH GENTIAN- 

 VIOLET, AND AFTERWARDS WELL WASHED. 



The differentiation between the sheath and protoplasm generally collected at the end 

 of each comma-bacillus is well seen. Magnifying power about 1,400. 



composed of two slightly rod-shaped elements held together 

 in a common sheath. But there are numerous short comma- 

 bacilli, which contain only a single rod-shaped protoplasmic 

 element, situated at one end or occasionally also in the middle. 

 The longer the comma-bacillus the longer the protoplasmic 

 element. This enables us to say then, that the element is a 

 protoplasmic granule, more or less rod-shaped, and according 

 to its state of growth or elongation the comma-bacillus is 

 longer or shorter ; and further that when this element has by 

 transverse division given origin to two protoplasmic elements, 



