Germ of the Southern Cattle Plague. 117 
Hueppe has fallen into the serious error of endeavoring to clas- 
sify these organisms by this vegetative morpho-condition. He 
calls them “ Micrococci.” To my mind it would be equally sensi- 
ble and logical to call an ovum a man, or an apple seed an apple 
tree. It is far more practical for patho-biologists to stick to the 
name cocci for all round objects (not spores) which have equal 
diameters in their mature form and which color diffusely, and to 
call these ovoid organisms bacteria, where the longitudinal diam- 
eter does not more than over again exceed the transverse. As to 
bacilli, spirilli, etc., there need be no dispute, so plain are their 
morpho-characteristics. 
The mature micro-organisms of the American Swine Plague 
and Southern Cattle Plague has been described above (Fig. 1) 
as resembling a white bean with the ends painted as well as its 
sides, leaving the middle portion of its body unpainted, as we look 
down upon it.. Now that is the picture which the eye generally 
receives, but a more exact inspection of a stained covering glass 
specimen will show that the above is not always the appearance 
presented to the eye, even by the mature germ. 
The above description depends upon the germ presenting itself to 
the eye in an exact horizontal position, that is, lying straight on its 
horizontal axis. If, however, it be turned a little one way or the 
other on its horizontal axis, numerous specimens will be seen where 
the white belt does not extend entirely across the object, as above — 
described, but seems to be limited, more or less, to one side, and 
more of the colored substance will be seen un the opposite side than 
under general circumstances, or, perhaps better, in exact inspection 
(Fig. 14). At first I mistook the appearance for the accumulation 
of the uncolored substance in this way during the process of its 
secretion from the colored ends, which I take to be the method by 
which this non-coloring material is produced. More mature 
reflection has shown me that the above explanation is partially 
or wholly incorrect. It has been mentioned that that portion of 
the capsule of these micro-organisms must have the same chemi- 
cal composition as the pole ends, because it also colors somewhat 
under the same application of the tinction. Now why does it not 
show the same intensity of coloring? The only answer is: that 
this capsule, being very thin, cannot take wp as much color as the more 
dense pole ends; and being so thin, by the same amount of exposure, 
does not show any color when the middle of the object is looked directly 
