48 THE PERMANENT FORMS OR SPORES 



x 



$ 50. The Number of Spores 



produced in a single mother-cell exceeds unity in but few species. The first 

 communication on this subject was made by Pra/.mowski. who found that in 

 exceptional cases Clostridiwn btttyricum developed two spores in a cell. A repre- 

 ition of this is given in Fig. 16. ED. KERN (I.) observed in Caucasian 

 kf.ptilr ijr>innl>'* a bacillus to which, on account of its faculty of producing two 

 spores, the name of Dispora cawn*'n-<i has boon given. This bacillus produc 

 .-{ore at each of its two poles, without any alteration of size or shape being 

 undergone by the latter. The contrary report, met with in many books, viz., 

 that this microbe during spore formation swells up in such a manner that it 

 a nines the form of a dumb-bell, is a pure invention. The doubt raised by 

 MACK (I.) in 1889, and shared by many others, against the sporous nature of 

 this form, is a No groundless, since a perusal of Kern's treatise shows that this 

 inquirer confirmed by observation the germination of the doubtful spores into 



Ki<:. 18. Spirillum endopara<?oicum. jr I(; T ^ Bacillus tumescens. 



. tntive cells; A, two cells, one with two Chain of seven cells, six of which have <!< 



:m<I the other with three endospores. (Aftir veloped one spore npiece. whilst the seventh 



Sorokin.) and central cell h:is remained barren. It-* 



plasma is o-ranular. (_ A /'(<> A. Koch.) Magn. 



1 100. 



new rods. A third species in which this unusual fruitfulness has been observed 

 is the above-named Bacillus inflatus, in which, however as is shown by Fig. 17 

 the situation of the spores is not polar, but central. E. KRAMER (I.) reports 

 that the Bacillus sajwogenes vini III., isolated by him from turned wine, swells 

 up at first at one of its poles and develops an endogenous spore therein, another 

 spore being then formed in the handle of the drum-stick form thus produced ; 

 so that two spores are developed in the same cell. 



The formation of 77109*6 than two spores in a single crfl has hitherto been 

 noticed in but one species of fission fungus; the Spirillum endoparagogicwn. 

 This was repeatedly observed by SOROKIN (I.) in a small pool of rain-water 

 collected in the cavity of an old black poplar tree. A representation of tins 

 microbe is given in Fig. 18. In A is seen a cell containing two, and another 

 with three endospores, and . y orokin found as many as six in a cell. The attempt 

 to obtain artificial cultures of this organism was as little successful as in the ca.-e 

 of so many other spirilla, there being (it may be mentioned en passant) up to the 

 pre>ent only a few known species wherein attempts of this kind have succeeded. 

 tirst of these specie-; is that which was isolated as a pure culture by ESMAWM 

 (I.) from putrescent fluid, and which formed rose-red colonies (Spirillum 

 /////////}.): the second is the Spirillum </r.s////'///-i'crt?x, discovered and thoroughly 

 investigated by BKM:I:IN<-K (II.). which readily reduces sulphates to sulphides. 

 A third is the Xjnril/inn luteum developing a citron-yellow colouring matter 

 obtained by II. .h MKI.LK (I.) from a bog; and the fourth is the Spirillum 

 j described by II. L. RUSSELL (II.; M ; frequent inhabitant of the mud 



