1886.] On the Multiplication of Micro-organisms. 539 



in which the organisms disappeared being all taken from one and the 

 same bottle. In the sewage again the multiplication of the organism 

 was in each case very great. 



Experiments with Koclis Comma Spirillum. 



The first experiments were made with comma Spirilla from feeble 

 •cultivations in gelatine. In these cultivations the organisms appeared 

 to grow with difficulty, producing little or no liquefaction, but only a 

 deep depression on the surface of the gelatine at the point of inocula- 

 tion. On subsequently inoculating into broth a powerful growth was 

 obtained, and from this again a strong growth in gelatine was pro- 

 cured. It was with comma Spirilla from this broth cultivation that 

 the subsequent experiments were made. When the comma Spirilla 

 from the weak cultivations were introduced into various waters, in- 

 cluding sewage, their presence was, with one exception, no longer 

 demonstrable after the first day, whilst the waters inoculated from the 

 broth cultivation not only yielded colonies of comma Spirilla on plate 

 ■cultivation after seven days, but during this time slight multiplication 

 was exhibited in the potable water, and very extensive multiplication 

 in the sewage. Thus — 



Comma Spirillum (from a weak cultivation in Gelatine) in Distilled 



Water. 



Number of Colonies obtained from 1 c.c. 





Day of 

 prepara- 

 tion. 



ft 



a 



<M 



3rd Day. 



5th Day. 



ft 



° 



ft 



00 



11th Day. 



ft 



o 



rH 



ft 



£i 

 4a 

 Qi 

 iH 



No.l . 



100 































„ 2 . 



10 





























« 3 . 



52 



































(Incub.) 





(Incuh.) 



(Incub.) 



(Incub.) 



(Incub.) 



(Incub.) 





» 4 . 



4,000 





















„ 5 . 



2,800 





















„ 6*. 









2,213 



286 



498 



4 



25 







* In this case the comma Spirilla were introduced into the experimental bottle 

 from the gelatine cultivation direct, so that an appreciable quantity of the gelatine 

 peptone must have been introduced at the same time ; it is not, therefore, compar- 

 able with the preceding five experiments. 



