On the multiplication of micro-organisms / by Percy F. Frankland ; communicated by E. Frankland.

  • Frankland, Percy, 1858-1946.
Date:
1885
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the multiplication of micro-organisms / by Percy F. Frankland ; communicated by E. Frankland. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    Finldcr-Priors Spirillum in Sewage. Number of Colonies obtained from 1 c.c. 1st Day. 2nd Day. 4th Day. 5th Day. 9th Day. No. 1 390 0 0 „ 2 390 0 0 „ 3 390 0 0 — . „ 4 10,750 0 — 0 0 „ 5 10,750 0 — 0 0 Note.—Nos. 3 and 5 were placed in the incubator. From the differences which these three organisms present in their behaviour in water, and in different kinds of water, it is evident how fallacious must be any conclusions as to the vitality of pathogenic micro-organisms in general, more especially when such conclusions are based upon observations made with organisms which are the natural inhabitants of natural waters, as has often hitherto been the case. It is obvious that each individual organism must be made the subject of separate investigation as to its vitality. To render such investiga- tions complete, it is necessary also that the organisms under examina- tion should be taken from different sources, as from the experiments which I have quoted in the case of the comma Spirilla it is evident that an initial weakness of the growth from which the inoculation is made renders the organisms less capable of withstanding the con- ditions of the experiment. It would also appear probable that this initial difference in vitality may be the cause of some of the many dis- crepant results which have been obtained by different observers in the study of antiseptic action. That there exists a difference in resisting power according to the virulence or initial vitality of the organisms themselves has already been drawn attention to by Dr. Klein (“ Micro-organisms and Disease,” 1886). In the following table the chemical composition of the sewage and other waters employed in the above experiments is recorded:—