BACTERIOLYSIS 63 



one-half hours after the beginning of the process the bacilli begin 

 to swell, and the spherical bodies, containing a variable number 

 of granules (averaging from 15 to 20) are, in comparison with 

 a normal bacillus, from 3 to 5 p in diameter. If the spherical 

 bodies are observed with care it is seen that after a variable 

 length of time, sometimes amounting to only about ten minutes, 

 an actual bursting takes place, consuming but a fraction of a 

 second. Immediately afterward, in the place of the spherical 

 body there remains a slight cloudy floccule that slowly dissolves, 

 thus liberating the fine granules. These spherical bodies are 

 particularly abundant at the time when the lytic process is at its 

 maximum rate. There can be no question concerning the nature 

 of these bodies; they are bacilli which, operated upon by a force 

 which can only be internal, take at first a globoid form and then 

 rupture. This is the more certain since at times one can witness 

 the rupture of swollen bacilli, even before they have assumed a 

 spherical contour. This observation provides direct proof that 

 the ultramicrobe develops and exerts its action within the bac- 

 terial cell. Destruction of the bacilli would be an entirely dif- 

 ferent process if the dissolving action were exerted on the exterior. 

 The spherical form and the bursting prove beyond possible con- 

 tradiction that the operating force is internal. 



What do the fine granules that can be seen under the ultrami- 

 croscope represent? While nothing can be affirmed with abso- 

 lute assurance there is nothing to preclude the supposition that 

 they represent the ultramicrobes, basing this upon the compara- 

 tive examination of cultures in which the number of ultramicrobes 

 has previously been counted by plating upon agar. By such a 

 procedure it is found that in taking two cultures presenting a 

 great difference in count, a parallelism is always to be noted be- 

 tween the counts and the number of granules observed. 



It would likewise be well to recall what we have already seen 

 with reference to the multiplication of the germs, that this mul- 

 tiplication appears to take place in successive jumps (which 

 correspond to the rupture of a large number of parasitized bacilli) 

 and in which the number of ultramicrobes liberated after one 

 and one-quarter to one and one-half hours corresponds to about 

 eighteen germs to each single one inoculated. And we will see 



