270 IMPORTANT VARIETIES OF FISSION-FUNGI. 



Bacterium ochraceum. (Zimmermann, i, p. 60.) 

 Lehm. and Neum. 



Short rods, 0.5-0.8 p thick, 1.2-3.6 // long, actively motile from 

 polar flagella, staining by Gram's method. Gelatin plates at first pre- 

 sent forms like those of the Bact. coli and typhi; later the borders are 

 fringed, while the gelatin becomes liquefied. Pellicles varying in color 

 from gray to grayish-yellow float upon the liquefied medium, and they 

 may be of a tougher or more delicate character. The more delicate 

 pellicles often appear as a net with irregular meshes. The gela- 

 tin stab culture presents a yellowish-gray surface growth, but it sinks 

 in at once. Later there is a cylindric, turbid liquefaction, with 

 grayish-yellow sediment. The agar growth is dirty, light grayish- 

 yellow, then spreads out. The water of condensation is clear, with 

 moderate precipitate. Bouillon becomes lightly cloudy, with moder- 

 ate sediment and slight pellicle. Indol and H 2 S are formed in abun- 

 dance. Milk is not coagulated, and becomes somewhat slimy. No gas 

 is formed from grape-sugar. The growth on potato is yellowish. 



This organism, isolated by us from gastric contents, corresponds in 

 all the main points with Zimmermann's description. We isolated a 

 very similar but non-motile bacillus from Secale cornutum. From 

 this we cannot distinguish a Bacillus plicatus Zimm. (l, p. 54), which 

 we obtained from Zimmermann, but it did not form folds any more. 

 Also Bacterium carnosum (Tils, Zimmermann, n, p. 4) is very 

 closely related. We were unable to find the spores, seen by Tils ; 

 also, the color of the culture obtained from Zimmermann could not be 

 distinguished from that of the Bact. ochraceum. 



Bacterium fulvum. (Zimmermann.) L. and N. 



Rods, 0.3-0..5 fj. thick, with a length varying from 1.0 p. 

 to long threads. Non-motile, without flagella, staining 

 by Gram's method, sometimes liquefying, sometimes hot. 



Gelatin plates : Shining, orange^ellow colonies, sometimes 

 more drop-like, sometimes more spreading, with moderate 

 or no liquefaction. The non-liquefying, superficial colo- 

 nies, when magnified 60 times, are at first very much like 

 those of Bact. coli; they are irregularly roundish to leaf- 

 shaped, somewhat transparent, grayish-yellow, homo- 

 geneous, often having furrows and markings resembling 

 the Bact. coli. The liquefying colonies present an essen- 

 tially different appearance: The yellow, superficial disks 

 have a threaded border resembling subtilis (compare 40, 

 n); later the colonies break up into a crumbly mass 

 which lies at the bottom of the liquid. 



