62 
FRANK S. BILLINGS. 
large number of micrococci at the same time, it seems, finally 
breaks the glia, or viscous mass, which apparently holds the 
micrococcus clusters together; the micrococci, many, or perhaps 
most of them, now bispherical (the real mature germ of swine 
plague—B) and some get single, become free and make their exit.” 
—pp. 200, 201. 
It will be readily seen by reading ray own description of this 
germ, which will soon follow, that nothing but want of coloring 
the bacteria prevented Dr. Detmers from describing this organism 
correctly in 1880. His “ bilaterial indentation ” is undoubtedly 
the uncoloring, or transparent substance of the object described 
by me. There is nothing of the figure 8 appearance in the mature 
organism, the widest part of its body being the middle and not 
constricted as the figure 8 is, or as a dipplo (or double) coccus 
appears to be. There is, therefore, no indentation in the mature 
organism; but, before the separation of the two colored, or re¬ 
fracting ends, which Detmers terms micrococci, but for which I 
prefer the word sporules, this non-coloring, transparent substance 
becomes more extended, thinner, really presenting the appearance 
(in uncolored specimen especially) of an “ indentation ” between 
the two darker refracting ends of the object, until they each be¬ 
come isolated, round objects—micrococci-—but almost instantly 
assume an oval form. These objects begin to swell at once, and 
then, by some unknown process, but distinctly a form of fission, 
they become separated into two coccus-like objects; by the secre¬ 
tion of the non-refracting and non-coloring material, which forms 
a band of connection between the two round, coccus-like ends, the 
whole making an oval organism twice as long as wide. 
While there are many misconceptions in Dr. Detmers’ descrip¬ 
tions of the biological appearances of the micro-organism of swine 
plague, still there is no doubt that he frequently had it under 
observation in 1880, though I very much doubt if he had it in a pure 
culture (unless by accident) from the descriptions which he, him¬ 
self, gives of his methods of making his cultivations, such as: 
“I charged an ounce of fresh milk, just drawn from the cow, 
with a mere speck of the proliferous growth of the stomach of 
Mr. L.’s pig. The milk thus charged and contained, in a perfectly 
