THE VIBRIO. 351 



Eel vibrio Proteus vibrio. 



is the eel vibrio, which is found in sour paste, 

 and in most sediments from an infusion of grain. 

 Its body is pellucid, and tapers toward both ends. 

 The general resemblance that it bears to an eel 

 has almost universally led microscopical writers 

 to distinguish it by that title, though its most 

 gigantic individuals are seldom a tenth of an inch 

 in length. When paste becomes sour, if exa- 

 mined with a glass it will be seen to contain mul- 

 titudes of these animalcules, moving about with 

 great strength and rapidity in every direction ; 

 and animals very similar, in appearance are also 

 frequently to be observed in vinegar. They are 

 viviparous, and produce at intervals, a numerous 

 progeny. If one of them be cut through the 

 middle, several young ones, coiled up and in- 

 closed each in a membrane, will be seen to issue 

 from the wound. Upwards of a hundred young 

 have been remarked to proceed from a single 

 parent; which readily accounts for their sudden 

 and prodigious increase. The Proteus vibrio is 

 a species that has its name from its very singular 

 power of assuming different shapes, so as some- 

 times with difficulty to be distinguished for the 

 same animal. When water, in which any vege- 

 table has been infused, or in which any animal 

 substance is preserved, has stood undisturbed for 

 some days, a slimy substance will be found on 

 the sides of the vessel, some of which, if viewed 

 in a microscope, will be found to contain, among 

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