A deeper understanding of the mechanisms and kinetics of microbial colony formation is supplied by this book. Scientists and teachers in the field of pure and applied microbiology will benefit from this comprehensive overview of the classic and modern experiments which are indispensable to microbiological studies. Many practical problems are discussed and possible solutions are described in detail. An introduction to statistical considerations in colony counting is also given. Furthermore, a kinetic model of colony formation allows the determination of the shortest possible time for a particular application. Finally, studies on microbial ecology are considered and methods for evaluating soil samples are presented.