656 



FUNGI 



the act of forming spores, e an hour later than d, and /"an. hour 

 later than e. The cells which did not contain spores disappeared or 

 perished, r is a quadricellular rod with ripe spores. </ 1 is a five- 

 celled rod with three ripe spores placed in a nutrient solution after 



j several days' desiccation. </ 2 is the 

 same an hour after ; g 3 is the same 

 after another two hours and a half. 

 h l is two spores with the walls of 

 the mother-cells dried and placed in 

 a nutrient solution ; A 2 is the same 

 forty-five minutes later ; i, k, I, three 

 stages of germination of the spore. 



Bacillus anthracis and B. subtHis 

 are very typical examples of endo- 

 sporous bacteria. B. anthracis has 

 been proved to be the virus of 

 anthrax or splenic fever. It is 

 found in great profusion in the 

 blood and tissues of animals attacked 

 by this disease in the form of rods 

 and filaments 



FIG. 489. Bacillus megatherium. 

 (From De Bary's ' Comparative 

 Morphology of Fungi.') 



5/uf to 20/u in 



length and I/* to 1'25/z in width (fig. 490). 

 Fig. 491 shows two filaments grown on a 

 microscopic slide (De Bary) in a solution of 

 meat extract, partly in an advanced state of 



jj 

 ' 



FIG. 490. Bacillus anthracis, x 1,200. Blood 

 corpuscles and bacilli unstained ; from an inocu- 

 lated mouse. (Frimkel and Pfeiffer.) 



FIG. 491. A, Bacillus 

 anthracis ; B, B. sub- 

 tilis. (From De Bary's 

 1 Fungi.') 



spore-formation. At the upper part of the figure two ripe spores 

 have escaped. These spores on germination elongate and give rise 

 to new groups of rods and filaments. 



