POWERS OF RESISTANCE ?»13 



consistence. Later it spreads laterally for some distance, and 

 the layer becomes of slightly brownish tint. 



In bouillon, growth forms at first a uniform turbidity, but soon 

 settles to the bottom, and after a few days forms a pretty thick 

 flocculent deposit of slimy and somewhat tenacious consistence. 



On serum the growth is somewhat similar but more transparent, 

 the separate colonies being in the form of round and almost clear 

 drops. In sub-cultures at the body temperature growth is 

 visible within twenty-four hours, but when fresh cultures are 

 made from the tissues it may not be visible till the second day. 

 Serum or potato is much more suitable for cultivating from the 

 tissues than the agar media. 



On potato at 30°-37° C. the glanders bacillus nourishes 

 well and produces a characteristic appearance, incubation at the 

 higher temperature, however, being advisable. Growth proceeds 

 rapidly, and on the third day has usually formed a transparent 

 layer of slightly yellowish tint, like clear honey in appearance. 

 On subsequent days, the growth still extends and becomes darker 

 in colour and more opaque, till about the eighth day it has a 

 reddish-brown or chocolate tint. The characters of the growth 

 on potato, along with the microscopical appearances, are quite 

 sufficient to distinguish the glanders bacillus from every other 

 known organism (sometimes the cholera organism and the b. 

 pyocyaneus produce a somewhat similar appearance, but they 

 can be readily distinguished by their other characters). Potato 

 is also a suitable medium for starting cultures from the tissues ; 

 in this case minute transparent colonies become visible on the 

 third day, and afterwards present the appearances just de- 

 scribed. 



Powers of Resistance. — The glanders bacillus is not killed at 

 once by drying, but usually loses its vitality after fourteen days 

 in the dry condition, though sometimes it lives longer. It is 

 not quickly destroyed by putrefaction, as it has been found to be 

 still active after remaining two or three weeks in putrefying 

 fluids. It has comparatively feeble resistance to heat and anti- 

 septics. LSffler found that it was killed in ten minutes in a 

 fluid kept at 55° O, and in from two to three minutes by a 

 5 per cent, solution of carbolic acid. 



We may summarise the characters of the glanders bacillus by 

 saying that in its morphological characters it resembles some- 

 what the v tubercle bacillus, but is thicker, and differs widely 

 from it in its staining reactions. For its cultivation the higher 

 temperatures are necessary, and the growth on potato presents 

 most characteristic features. 



