28 



SPECIAL CHARACTERS 



organism. These spores are not to be considered as evidences 

 of reproduction, but merely as a resting or resistance stage. 

 When conditions of life suitable to the normal appearance 

 of the bacterium are resumed the spore will develop into the 

 same kind of organism as that from which it came. This 



FIG. 7. Bacilli showing multiple flagella. (Park.) 



FIG. 8. Unstained spores in slightly distended bacilli. (The spores are the 

 light oval spaces in the heavily stained bacilli.) (Park.) 



spore forming is seen among bacilli and spirilla, probably 

 never among the cocci. As a rule, only one spore is found 

 in each bacterial cell. These spore formations assist in identi- 

 fication. The practical importance of spores is that they 

 resist the agencies quickly fatal to the adult or vegetative 



