Abstract
The "bacteria may he described as minute, single-celled organisms of the plant kingdom. They reproduce by simple division and belong to the class Schizomycetes. Bacteria show a close relationship to the lower forms of both plant life and animal life. | The main forms of bacteria recognized are the spherical forms, or cocci; the rod-shaped forms, or bacilli; and the spiral forms, the spirilla. | Bacteria are so minute that it is somewhat difficult to determine their exact size without the aid of special methods. The micron is the unit of microscopic measurement, and equals 0.001 of a millimeter or about 0.0025 of an inch.