BACTERIA. 23 



portance, for long before such a population was 

 reached the food supply would be gone or the parent 

 forms would be killed by their own excretions. Here, 

 as in the animal world, if the wastes of living accu- 

 mulate, death results. Yet wherever conditions of 

 moisture, warmth, and food remain favorable they 

 will multiply with almost infinite rapidity. 



Botanically the bacteria belong to the fungi, and Bacteria 

 because they reproduce by fission or breaking into as Funp 

 two, they are called Schizomycetes or Fission Fungi. 



A string of sausages, often seen hanging in the win- 

 dows of a market, is a fair representation, except in 

 size, of a chain colony of bacteria. 



Take a piece of white rubber tubing, ten to twelve 

 inches long and from one-half to one inch in diam- 

 eter. Tie it tightly at one end with waxed thread. 

 Fill this about three-quarters full of water and tie 

 the second end so that no water may escape. From 

 thread to thread will represent very well a bacillus. 



Divide this in the middle by a rubber band and two 

 generations are represented or a chain colony of two 

 individuals. The same method may be continued to 

 show the future reproduction processes. 



Their minute size would seem to indicate insig- size of 



Bacteria. 



nificance, but they make up in energy, in the work 

 done, and in numbers, for all that is lacking in size. 

 Not one is ever visible to the naked eye, while some 

 can be seen only with great difficulty by the skilled 

 observer and under the most powerful microscope. 

 They are so small that little idea of their size can 



