BACTERIA. 
23 
portance, for long before such a population was 
reached the food supply would be gone or the parent 
forms would be killed by their own excretions. Here, 
as in the animal world, if the wastes of living accu¬ 
mulate, death results. Yet wherever conditions of 
moisture, warmth, and food remain favorable they 
will multiply with almost infinite rapidity. 
Botanically the bacteria belong to the fungi, and 
because they reproduce by fission or breaking into 
two, they are called Schizomycetes or Fission Fungi. 
A string of sausages, often seen hanging in the win¬ 
dows of a market, is a fair representation, except in 
size, of a chain colony of bacteria. 
Take a piece of white rubber tubing, ten to twelve 
inches long and from one-half to one inch in diam¬ 
eter. Tie it tightly at one end with waxed thread. 
Fill this about three-quarters full of water and tie 
the second end so that no water may escape. From 
thread to thread will represent very well a bacillus. 
Divide this in the middle by a rubber band and two 
generations are represented or a chain colony of two 
individuals. The same method may be continued to 
show the future reproduction processes. 
Their minute size would seem to indicate insig¬ 
nificance, but they make up in energy, in the work 
done, and in numbers, for all that is lacking in size. 
Not one is ever visible to the naked eye, while some 
can be seen only with great difficulty by the skilled 
observer and under the most powerful microscope. 
They are so small that little idea of their size can 
Bacteria 
Are Classed 
as Fungi 
Size of 
Bacteria 
