- 12 



or three times as long as broad, and contains pigment granules 

 in the cell body. Its cultural features are like those of B. pro- 

 digiosus, with the exception of pigment production in the absence 

 of oxygen. This organism is called by Kruse (3) B. ruber 

 aquatilis. 



Krai informed me that the B. fuchsinus sent out by him 

 was obtained from Boekhout and de Vries. According to the 

 description of these authors, their bacillus differs from B. pro- 

 digiosus in the following points: It is slightly longer, i. e., 

 1 1,5 u long. They describe it as non-motile, but later state that 

 in "Maizagar" it is longer and shows motility. It does not show 

 the metallic luster on ordinary agar, but does on potato and on 

 sodium tartrate agar. (B. prodigiosus often does not show it 

 on agar.) It peptonizes the casein in milk, and does not produce 

 gas in any sugar bouillon. 



The culture which came to me from Krai showed no pigment 

 upon arrival , nor was I able to induce any pigment production 

 by various methods of rejuvenation, such as alternating series of 

 bouillon and gelatin cultures, growth on potato or on sodium 

 tartrate, agar etc., although the growth was rapid and luxuriant 

 on all media. After cultivating the organism for over a year, 

 I had begun to suspect that this form either was not B. fuchsinus, 

 or had lost its power of pigment production permanently, when I dis- 

 covered on a culture made on old dry agar a trace of red at the 

 top of the agar slant, where the agar was dryest By careful trans- 

 ference through a series of old dry agar tubes, I was able to 

 increase the pigment until it showed on the upper third and all 

 around the edge of the white agar growth, and also at the top of 

 growth on dry potato. This pigment was promptly lost, however, 

 when inoculation was made upon fresh media, and never showed 

 in gelatin or bouillon. My culture differed from the description 

 of Boekhout and d e Vries only in absence of pigment, and in 

 non-peptonization of casein 1 ). Nitrates are reduced to nitrites and 

 to free nitrogen gas. Gas is not formed from sugar bouillon. 



B. ruber (Miquel). 



This organism was sent to me from Krai's Laboratorium ; 

 the only description of it is contained in the following very kind 

 answer by Miquel to an inquiry concerning the organism: - 

 ,,Je n'ai jamais public* de travail sur le Bacillus ruber que vous 

 mentionnez .... Le bacille, qui possede les principaux caracteres 

 du Bacille rouge de Kiel, mais qui en differt par sa faculte 

 negative de liquifier la gelatine, fut donne" comme curiosit6 a 1'in- 

 stitut Pasteur d'ou il a Emigre un peu partout jusqu'au Labora- 

 toire de Dr. Krdl sans etre precede' d'un signalement quelqu'un. 

 Si le hazard me le faisait de nouveau rencontrer dans les eaux, 

 peut-etre en ferai-je Thistoire en raison de la beaute" de son pig- 



U this paper is appearing in the Ccntralbl. f. Bakt. I receive through 

 the kindness of Dr. Boekhout a culture of B. fuchsinus showing luxuriant 

 red pigment. 



