56 
The Philippine Journal of Science 
1919 
HISTORICAL 
The phase of the confusion in which the characteristic of true 
branching in these organisms was not appreciated began in 1875, 
when Cohn (18) described, among others, two organisms that he 
made the types of new genera. One, which he named Clado- 
thrix dichotoma, a colorless, filamentous plant found abundantly 
in water containing decomposing algae, was characterized by a 
false branching that he compared to that of certain algse; the 
other, which, apparently in ignorance of Corda’s(i9) previous use 
of the same generic name, he called Streptothrix foersteri, was 
a branching filamentous organism said to have been found first 
by Graefe and then by Foerster in concretions in the lachrymal 
canal of man and classified by Waldeyer as Leptothrix buccalis. 
Cohn did not accept this conclusion, the mode of branching sug- 
gesting the mycelium of fungi. It has been pointed out by 
Sauvageau and Radais(56) that the distinction between his 
Cladothrix and Streptothrix was so clear to Cohn that in the 
text he did not even compare them; furthermore, that his illus- 
trations of them are quite distinct. They quote his diagnoses: 
Cladothrix — n. g. filamenta leptothricoidea tenerrima, achroa, non ar- 
ticulata, stricta vel subundulata, pseudo-dichotoma. 
Streptothrix — n. g. filamenta leptothricoidea tenerrima, achroa, non ar- 
ticulata vel anguste spiralia, parce ramosa. 
In his summary, however, Cohn did not clearly differentiate 
them. According to Migula(44) he put them together among 
organisms showing false branching, although indicating uncer- 
tainty as to Streptothrix by an interrogation point: 
Zellfaden durch falsche Astbildung verzweigt. 
Faden cylindrisch, farblos — Cladothrix Cohn. 
Streptothrix? 
Cohn’s later understanding of the morphology of the latter is 
evident from Israel’s article cited below. However, it is hardly 
to be suspected from this arrangement that, as is now generally 
recognized, the dividing line between the higher bacteria and 
the lower fungi separates these two genera. 
Bollinger, in 1876, demonstrated the fungous nature of the 
granules, or “drusen,” from the lumpy jaw of cattle. Attempts 
at cultivation and inoculation had been without result. In the 
following year (10) he published a description in which he stated 
that Harz, to whom he had submitted fresh material, had con- 
cluded that the ray fungus (Strahlenpilz) belonged to the mold 
fungi and that it was related to Botrytis, Monosporium, and 
Polyactis; the name Actinomyces bovis was proposed for it. 
