16 THE GARDEN OF THE WORLD 
scope. Even then they seem to be very tiny. 
None of them are large enough to be seen by 
the eye alone. They come in three different 
shapes, like balls, lead pencils, or corkscrews. 
They are only shaped like these articles, but 
are nothing like them in size. They do not 
produce seeds, but they multiply by dividing 
into two pieces. It is a very simple perform¬ 
ance. Each plant becomes thin in the middle 
and finally breaks apart. Each new piece 
continues to grow and breaks apart again. They 
do this very fast. One plant can produce one 
million new plants in twenty-four hours. 
Usually after dividing, they separate, but some 
kinds hang together in strings, or bunch to¬ 
gether in clusters. Some of the bacteria have 
little hairlike feelers and with these they can 
swim about very freely. They are not green, 
and they do not make their own food, but take 
food which is already made from the place 
where they are living. If they cannot get food 
suited to them, they die. Bacteria are found 
everywhere on the face of the earth. They are 
