BACILLI OF JEQUIRITY OPHTHALMIA. 351 



tisually one, but at times two in number, and the bacilli con- 

 taining the spores were swollen in the form of a spindle or 

 whetstone. Experiments on rabbits were unsuccessful. 



C. BACILLI WHICH HAVE NO KNOWN SPECIFIC 

 PATHOGENIC PROPERTIES. 



In the course of the last few years a very large 

 number of different kinds of saprophytic bacilli have 

 been discovered, of which some have been shown to be 

 without any pathogenic action on the higher animals, 

 while with regard to others the absence of pathogenic 

 properties has not yet been tested, or has not yet been 

 demonstrated with certainty. Hence the possibility must 

 be kept in mind that in future many of the bacteria 

 grouped together under this heading will subsequently 

 be included in one of the preceding groups when their 

 characters have been subjected to more accurate study. 



Among the saprophytic bacilli we know some which Classification 

 attract attention at once by the fact that they produce ph 

 pigment ; others set up fermentation in mixtures con- 

 taining carbo-hydrates ; others are able to split up 

 albumen, and thus take part in the process of putrefac- 

 tion ; with regard to others, again, no marked action 

 on the substratum has as yet been observed. In the 

 following description certain groups have been formed 

 in accordance with the above facts, but these are only 

 temporary, and are employed to simplify their study. 

 A number of bacilli belong to several of these divisions, 

 on account of the multiplicity of their functions pro- 

 duction of pigment, along with simultaneous decompo- 

 sition of albumen or sugar and in the case of others a 

 similar multiplicity of properties will probably be found. 

 Hence this classification is more or less arbitrary, and 

 it must be left to the judgment of the individual in 

 which group such bacteria should be placed. 



