NOTES AND MEMORANDA.
Journal of Cryptogamic Botany.—Mr. M. C. Cooke, the wellknown mycologist, announces his intention, if the names
of a sufficient number of subscribers can be obtained, to issue
monthly a small journal, with illustrations, devoted absolutely to Cryptogamic Botany. It will serve as a sort of
Appendix to the Lichen and Fungi Floras recently published,
by recording and describing new species as they are faund.
Although British Cryptogamia will occupy the first place, it
is intended to record from time to time what is doing abroad
in all the Cryptogamic families (except ferns), and to keep
the student acquainted with what is being published in
foreign countries as well as his own. Monographs of genera
and families, critical observations on species, and all kindred
subjects, will receive attention. The co-operation is promised of the Rev. W. A. Leighton, Dr. Lauder Lindsay, Dr.
Braithwaite, F. Kitton, and other specialists.
Hop Mould.—A new mould has made its appearance during
the past autumn on the spent hops so common about Burton-on-Trent. It formed large dense patches of a bright
salmon colour, sometimes several inches in length and
breath, upon the sombre hops, and could not have escaped
notice had it appeared in previous years. The structure of
this mould seems to be closely allied to that of Oidium,
•whilst in many respects it reminds one of Sporendonema casei.
The creeping mycelium gives rise to branched thi'eads, which
become divided into strings of oval conidia or spores. The
mould refuses to develop itself artificially, so that the mode
in which the beaded spores were produced was not absolutely determined. Directly the threads come in contact
with fluid of any kind they are resolved into a mass of oval
cells or spores. Specimens of this mould have been published
and distributed in Cooke's ' Fifth Century of British Fungi'
under the name of Oidium aurantium, a rather unfortunate
specific name, since another member of the same genus
which appeared nearly simultaneously on the Continent has
been called Oidium aurantiacum.—(M. C. C , in Nature^
NOTES AND MEMORANDA.
159
Development of Crustacea—At a recent meeting of the
Geological Society a paper was read, entitled " Farther
Remarks on the Relationship of the Limulidee (Xiphosura)
to the Enrypteridce and to the Trilohita." By Mr. Henry
Woodward, F.G.S. In this paper the author described the
recent investigations made by Dr. A. S. Packard, Dr. Anton
Dohrn, and the Rev. Samuel Lockwood upon the developmental history of the North American Kingcrab (Limulus
Polyphemus), and discussed the conclusions as to the
alliances of the XAphosura and Eurypteridce, and to the
general classification of the Arthropoda, to which the results
of these investigations have led Dr. Dohrn and some other
Continental naturalists.
According to this view, the
Xiphosura and Eurypteridce are more nearly related to
certain Arachnida (the Scorpions, &c.) than to the Crustacea;
and this opinion is further supported by the assertion of Dr.
Dohrn, that in Limulus only one pair of organs (antennules)
receives its nerves from the supraoesophageal ganglion, and
that the nature of the underlip in Limulus differs from that
Dr. Dohrn also re-,
prevailing among the Crustacea.
cognises the relationship of the Merostomata to the Trilobites,
as shown especially by the development of Limulus, and
considers that the three forms (Limulidce, Eurypteridce, and
Trilohita) .should be combined in one group under the name
of Giganlostraca, proposed by Haeckel, and placed besides
the Crustacea. The author staled, on the authority of
Professor Owen, that Limulus really possesses two pairs of
appendages which receive their nerves from the supracesophageal ganglion; that, according to Dr. Packard, the
young Limulus passes through a Nauplius stage while in the
egg; that no argument could be founded upon the lower lip,
the condition of which varied extremely in the three groups
proposed to be removed from the Crustacea j and he maintained that even from the ultra-Darwinian point of view
taken by Dr. Dohrn, the adoption of his proposal would be
fatal to the application of the hypothesis of evolution to the
class Crustacea. Professor T. Rupert Jones, ProfessorMacdonald, and others, having made some remarks, Mr..
Woodward, in replying, drew attention to the diagrams of
the embryo and larva of the recent Limulus, comparing them
with Limulus of the Coal-measures, Neolimulus of the
Silurian, and also with the larval stages of the Trilobites,
discovered by Barrande. He pointed out the strong resemblance which the fossil forms offer to the early stages of the
modern King-crab, and expressed his assent to the proposal
of Dr. Dohrn to bring the Trilobita, if possible, nearer to the
160
NOTES AND MEMORANDA.
Merostomata. If, however, the Trilobites have true walkinglegs instead of mouth-feet (gnathopodites) only, they would
be more closely related to the Isopoda. He showed by a
tabular view of the Arthropoda that the known range in
time of the great classes is nearly the same, and therefore
affords no argument for combining the Merostomata with
the Arachnida; but on the contrary, he considered that the
Trilobita were, with the Entomostraca, the earliest representatives of the class Crustacea, and could not therefore be
removed from that class.—(Nature.)
The Asci in Peziza. — Having left a specimen of Peziza
humosa for a long time in water, until it became quite soft
and pulpy, I was curious to examine it in such condition, and
found that the hymenium presented a singular appearance.
All the paraphyses had become dissolved into a granular mass,
retaining still some of their original colour. Amongst these
tVe asci were free, and there were some free sporidia. In
their normal condition the asci are cylindrical, and the
sporidia are arranged in a single series; but in the present
case the asci had become perfectly spherical, from the
absence of all lateral pressure, and the sporidia were clustered in the centre. The line of the external surface of the
asci was very distinct amongst the orange-tinted granular
mass, and the eight sporidia could be counted within. There
could be no doubt of the presence of an investing membrane,
but of a much more elastic nature than has been supposed.
This fact seems to suggest the probability that more or less
lateral compression in the hymenium may influence the
character of the asci, and that cylindrical, or clavate and
elliptical asci, indicate more or less lateral pressure during
development.—(M. C. C , in Nature.)
Carmine Tinting of Objects hardened in Chromic Acid.—
It is well known that tissues which have been long hardened
in chromic acid are coloured by carmine solution with great
difficulty, and sometimes very imperfectly. The following
method, given in the preface to the last part of Henle's
'Anatomy,' has been invented by Merkel to obviate this
difficulty, in the case of preparations of the nerve-centres.
By means of it an object may be perfectly tinted in five
minutes, which would by the ordinary method require
twenty-four hours. The section, when thoroughly deprived of
water, is placed in a solution of chloride of palladium in 300
or 600 parts of water. In this it is allowed to remain long
enough to acquire a pale yellow or straw colour, which takes
one or two minutes. The excess of palladium solution is
then washed out, and the section placed in a somewhat oon-
NOTES AND MEMORANDA.
161
centrated ammoniacal solution of carmine. In this it becomes
almost instantaneously coloured red, and the most beautiful
colour is obtained when the red still shows a slight shade of
yellow. The section is then washed and prepared in the
usual way for putting up in Canada balsam or Dammar varnish. The axis cylinder is, in preparations made by this
method, bright red, and the medullary nervous matter yellow;
if allowed to remain too long in the carmine solution, the
medullary substance also becomes red, which, however, does
not interfere with the distinctness of the preparation. If the
sections remain too long in the palladium solution, they gradually become darker, and are spoilt.
Molybdate of Ammonium.—This reagent is also recommended by Merkel in Henle's ' Anatomy,' for tinting preparations of the nervous system. The solution is thus prepared :—One part by measure of a quite concentrated solution of molybdate of ammonium is diluted with one or two
parts of water; to this solution is added as much iron filings
as will lie upon the point of a knife, and commercial hydrochloric acid is slowly added, drop by drop, with continual
agitation, till a deep blue, almost black, colour is produced.
The white flocculent precipitate first formed on addition of
acid is of no consequence, and readily redissolves on agitation. If, however, the solution becomes brown instead of
blue, as sometimes happens, it is useless. When the solution has acquired the desired colour, it is allowed to stand
for ten minutes, and then filtered. A blue solution is thus
obtained, which may be, if necessary, diluted with water.
Sections of the spinal cord, or medulla oblongata (it is less
suitable for brain), laid in it are stained blue, according to
the degree of concentration of the solution, in six to fifteen
hours. The coloration is very thorough, and apparently
homogeneous, though in good preparations the axis cylinder
shows very clearly. The preparations may be put up in the
usual way in Canada balsam, being first dehydrated by
alcohol, and rendered transparent by oil of cloves.
(Esophagus of Sauropsida—At a late meeting of the Zoological Society a paper was read on the oesophagus of the
hornbill, a bird which, though known to eject food or other
matters voluntarily by this tube, now proves to be devoid of
an oesophageal sheath of transversely striped muscle; and
this fact agrees with the former observations of the author,
Mr. Gulliver, that such sheath is wanting in reptiles and
birds, -while fishes and mammals are regularly provided
therewith. In this highest class, the difference of the extent
of the striped muscle on the oesophagus of different orders is
162
NOTES AND MEMORANDA.
so constant and remarkable as to afford excellent diagnostic
characters, as the author had shown upwards of a quarter of
a century since, in the 'Proceedings of the Zoological Society,'
June 14, 1843; and he regards the whole facts revealed by
this purely microscopic inquiry as of much taxonomic value.
On the Preservation of Compound Ascidians.—Mr. C. W .
Peach, in a paper read before the Royal Physical Society of
Edinburgh, stated that, when living at Cornwall, he was
much struck by the beauty of the compound ascidians so
abundant on rocks, &c, between tide-marks there, and that
he was perfectly aware that the beauty of the colours and
flower-like systems of these lovely objects was always lost,
whether they were preserved in spirits or any other fluid.
He thought of Canadabalsam—the great difficulty of contending with wet objects suggested itself. He, however, tried,
and so far succeeded, by laying them on glass (when detached
from the rocks), after squeezing out as much as possible of
the moisture by first laying them in cotton or linen rag
between sheets of blotting-paper, changing these as often as,
required, and doing all as quickly as possible, after taking,
the object from the sea. Thus dried, they were placed on
glass covered with warmed Canada balsam, and covered with
another similarly prepared plate of glass, on which Sufficient
balsam was melted to cover up completely the specimen. It
is then allowed to cool under slight pressure, the superfluous
balsam scraped off, and sealing-wax put round the edges to
form a cell, and thus they were preserved. He exhibited
several specimens—some preserved twenty-five years ago—.
of Leptoclinum, Botryllus, Didemnum, Paracidra, &c, in a
beautifully preserved condition.
:
On the Presence of Fungi in the Blood of Healthy Human
Beings Dr. Lostorfer, of Vienna, has made some interesting
researches on the development of a fungus resembling Sarcina ventriculi in the blood of healthy individuals after
removal from the body. His method consists in procuring a
drop of blood from a carefully cleaned finger, placing it, with,
careful precautions as to cleanliness, on a glass slip under a
cover glass, and preserving for several days the preparation
thus made in a moist atmosphere under a bell-glass. Specimens obtained in this way from eleven persons were carefully examined, day by day, with a Hartnack's No. 10 objectglass (about equivalent to an English -'u)- On the first two
days nothing very definite was seen; but on the third day,
almost without exception, were seen groups of pale granules,
sometimes consisting of two or four only, sometimes of twelve
or more. These granules were larger than the granules of
NOTES AND MEMORANDA.
163
leucocytes, were sometimes closely pressed together, at other
times loosely attached to one another, but without any regularity of arrangement. On the fourth day, however, there
was not only an increase in the size and number of the
granules, but they were distinctly arranged in groups of four,
after the manner of Sarcina, and showed also the characteristic angular or quadrate form produced by mutual pressure.
After this no change occurred, except multiplication of the
elements, and a slight further increase in their size, which
only lasted over the fifth day. In about ten days the preparations were spoilt. The only exception to the regularity of
this process was observed when the preparations were kept
in too cold a place. In this case the granules continued to
multiply very rapidly, but diminished in size, and showed no
kind of symmetrical arrangement: removal to a warmer
situation produced a rapid development of normal sarcina
forms. The Sarcinse thus obtained differed from the wellknown Sarcina in being smaller and united into far more
numerous groups; also they were always quite colourless.
The size, however, and the colour approached those of the
normal fungus, when Pasteur's fluid was added to the blood,
in which the blood Sarcinse were developing. No appearances were ever seen tending to show that Sarcinse existed in
the circulating or freshly drawn blood; and, by a series of
controlling experiments, it was shown that albuminous solutions, Pasteur's fluid, and other similar media, did not develop
Sarcinse under the same conditions as those under which
they appeared in blood. Lostorfer further explains, by the
supposition of Sarcina germs always existing in the blood,
the occurrence of the " fungus " itself in unusual situations
in the human body, such as the lungs, urine, &c, which has
been explained by supposing that it was conveyed from the
stomach.—{Strieker's Medizinische Jahrbucher, 1872.)
The constant occurrence of Sarcina Ventricnli (Goodsir) in
the Blood of Man and the Lower Animals.—Dr. Ferrier writes
on this subject,—The results of numerous experiments which
I have been making for a different purpose appear to me to
warrant the conclusion that organisms which develope into
such as have all the characters of sarcina ventriculi are a
constant, if we cannot call them a normal, occurrence, in the
blood of man and the lower animals; and that the name
sarcina sanguinis would indicate more truly the natural seat
of the organisms. In reference to human blood, I find I
have been anticipated by Lostorfer (f Wien. Med. Jahrb.,'
1872), who by a different method has succeeded in developing
organisms like the sarcina ventriculi from the blood of several
164
NOTES AND MEMORANDA.
healthy individuals. That his observations are correct, my
own experiments, both in reference to human blood and
the blood of various lower animals, will fully show.
In the case of rabbits, cats, dogs, and frogs, the special
subjects of physiological experiment, I took sufficient precautions to ensure against introduction of organisms from
without, by allowing the blood to run directly from the
carotid or other large vessel into tubes (previously raised to a
white heat), which were then immediately sealed ; or into
flasks similarly prepared and stopped with cotton-wool.
Human blood was introduced into similar tubes from a slight
incision in the arm or hand, previously carefully cleaned.
The blood was then placed under a temperature of 100° F.;
and in every instance, at the end of a week or ten days, and
in some cases examined first at the end of two months,
immense numbers of beautifully formed sarcinse were found.
In the frog's blood, as well as in human blood and the others,
the sarcinse, as to size and otherwise, presented exactly the
characters of sarcina ventriculi. Blood taken from the arm
of a patient at the height of enteric fever gave the same
results. No other organisms] were observed. In all these
specimens there was entire absence of putrefactive changes.
This would of itself sufficiently establish the fact of freedom
from external contamination.
Though the same precautions against contamination could
not be taken with the blood of the sheep and ox, savcinse
•were developed in a similar manner. With the occurrence
of putrefaction, however, they appeared to become disintegrated, or at least were less easily recognised. I have never
observed fully formed sarcinse in the circulating blood, but
have constantly found numerous refractive granules, single
or in pairs. From these, as have been observed also by
Lostorfer, the sarcinae are developed. Their previously
doubtful nature is thus satisfactorily explained.
Though a special examination and cultivation of the blood
of every animal would be necessary in order to say with
perfect certainty that they exist in every case, sufficient
grounds have been shown that they only require to be looked
for.
True sarcinte have never been found otherwise than in the
bodies of animals or their excreta. The real source of sarcinaj,
therefore, in the various circumstances in which thsy occur,
is naturally to be looked for in the blood itself. That they
do not occur in mere transudate liquids, the entire absence
of them in hydrocele fluid cultivated in a similar manner
•would seem to show. I t is probable, therefore, that their
NOTES AND MEMORANDA.
165
evolution is due to direct egress of the germs from the vessels
with the blood itself. This explanation is quite in accordance
with the facts of the cases related, in so far as they have
been fully recorded. In the stomach, they are usually found
with perforating ulcer or other diseased condition of that
viscus. Their occurrence in the urine has always been
associated with disease of the kidneys or the bladder. In
the cerebral fluid, in Jenner's case, they occurred along with
blood-corpuscles. Their occurrence in gangrenous cavities
can easily be explained in a like manner.
In all cases there have been favorable conditions in hollow
viscera or cavities for the development of the sarcinous germs,
directly carried to their surface by effused blood.
The blood in which the sarcinse had developed to an
enormous extent always retained its alkalinity. There was
no sign of putrefaction or fermentation, and no gaseous
evolution. Sarcinse directly introduced into a tube containing boiled Pasteur's fluid standing over mercury, and under
conditions favorable to fermentation, caused no such phenomenon.
The above facts will serve to throw light on the nature of
sarcinous vomiting. Sarcinee neither generate acids in
organic fluids, nor is their growth accompanied by the
evolution of gases. Constantly, however, in the characteristic
sarcinous vomit, there are, along with sarcinse, immense
numbers of torulse and bacteria. So constant is this association, that some have attempted to establish a developmental
relation between sarcina a*id torula. This my own experiments entirely negative. Bacteria and fungi are the great,
and, I may say, the only, cause of putrefaction and fermentation.
The constant presence of sarcinse is a point of great
importance in reference to the whole question of contagion
and the nature of disease*germs. It throws especial light on
a much-discussed subject—viz., the nature of the vaccine
particles which are constantly to be seen in fresh lymph.
In numerous experiments made by Dr. Burdon Sanderson
and myself in reference to vaccine, we found, on cultivation
of fresh lymph in suitable organic fluids, that the particles
multiplied, and assumed, in many instances, a form resembling
sarcina. I have now not the slightest doubt of the nature
of these particles, and regard them as the ordinary sarcina
sanguinis. The conditions of vaccination are just such as
would readily account for the presence of these organisms in
the developed vesicle. It is more than probable that sarcinse,
VOL. XII.
NEW SER.
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166
NOTES AND MEMORANDA.
if looked for, will be found in most pathological fluids. The
subject only requires further experimentation.
Sarcinse still remain as mysterious as ever. What is their
true nature? Are they parasites, or are they a normal
constituent of the blood ? are questions on which one might
speculate, but which I reserve rather for experimental solution.—British Medical Journal.
Heterogenesis.—Dr. Bastian has been contributing a series
of articles on this subject to the ' British Medical Journal,'
in which he aims at proving what he had elsewhere (' Modes
of Origin of Lowest Organisms,' 1871) endeavoured to show,
by cogent experimental evidence, that when organic matter
undergoes decay or putrefaction, a double process of composition and decomposition invariably occurs; i. e., the
complex organic substances break up into simpler binary
compounds, during which the previously locked up forces are
instrumental in bringing about new synthetic changes among
other constituents of the organic matter. The new products
thus evolved appear as specks of living matter, which gradually grow into Bacteria, Torulce, or other simplest forms of
life.
His first two articles are chiefly occupied with recounting
the observations and theories of various French naturalists,
as M. Turpin, who held that milk-globules are transformed
into germs which produce a species of Penicillium; M.
Trecul, who traced the conversion of organic matter in vegetable cells and vessels into living organisms, &c. The following are some of Dr. Bastian's own observations :
" During the examination of some specimens of sugar-cane
in a sickly condition which were brought under the notice of
the Scientific Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society
about three years ago, 1 first became convinced, from personal observation, that Bacteria and larger fungus-germs may
be encountered within the closed cells of living plants. I
found, on making thin sections of the central tissue even of
young shoots, that many of the cells contained an abundance
of Bacteria, and others a smaller number of Torula-like corpuscles, whilst some of the surrounding cells were quite free
from either. I have since found the same kind of thing
when examining the central portions of decaying tubers, and
other fleshy parts of plants. Actual mycelial growths are,
moreover, to be found in various situations, to which we
might pretty confidently suppose that no external germs
could ever have penetrated. They have been found, for instance, in the liquid juice taken from freshly broken cocoanuts, from the interior of walnuts and filberts, and from the
NOTES AND MEMORANDA.
167
central portions of stone-fruits, such as plums and peaches,
whilst the surrounding and external fleshy portions are quite
uninjured and unaffected. Speaking of Botrytis infestans,
which he regards as 'the proximate cause of the potato
murrain,' the Rev. M. J. Berkeley says (' Introd. to Cryptogamic Botany,' 1857, p. 65) : ' The walls of the cavities
of the carpels of tomatoes are often covered with fungus,
though there is no communication with the outward air;
and a crop of the mould has been seen to grow in a few
hours from the cut surface of a diseased potato even though
the foliage itself had exhibited no trace of the parasite.'
Multitudes of such facts might be referred to, but the facts
themselves are, I believe, admitted by all. Dr. Lionel Beale,
for instance, says, ' Lowly vegetable germs appear in closed
cavities in the substance of dead animal and vegetable tissues.
I have often seen them within vegetable cells in which not a
pore could be discovered when the tissue was examined by
the highest powers.' And again he says, ' I have detected
them in the interior of the cells of animals, and in the very
centre of cells with walls so thick and strong that it seems
almost impossible that such soft bodies could have made their
way through from the surrounding medium.'
" Nothing is easier for us than to discover such organisms
within the very centre of the organs of dead animals whenever the parts begin to exhibit signs of putrefaction. They
may easily be met with in the centre of a mass of braintissue, for instance; and M. Be"champ (' Compt. Rend./ t.
lxvi) has also observed that most active Bacteria in great
abundance are always to be found in the midst of a portion
of liver which has been allowed to macerate in water for a
day or two. When a section is made through such a mass,
the cells in the very central portions are found to be swarming with moving particles and distinct Bacteria, though
none or very few are to be found in the water in which the
portion of liver is immersed. M. Estor has, moreover,
found that the cells of the liver in dogs, rabbits, mice, and
various kinds of birds, even immediately after death, always
contain a number of actively moving particles or mere
granules (microzymce), which, according to MM. Estor and
Be'champ, have the power of developing into definitely formed
Bacteria.
I fully believe (with other observers) that after death, or
when death is close at hand, such particles may undergo an
internal change fitting them for independent life just as milkglobules are able to individualise themselves, and grow into
embryo Penicillia. The union of two, three, or more of such
168
NOTES AND MEMORANDA.
granules in linear series has been watched by MM. Be"champ
and Estor (' Compt. Rend.,' 1868). At first the granules
form chaplet-like series, but these gradually tend to become
more cylindrical, so as to produce ordinary Bacteria and
Vibriones. Similar phenomena have been testified to by
Signors Crevelli and Maggi ('Rendiconti di Lombardo,' 1868).
These observers watched the union of vitelline granules, and
saw them gradually fused into bodies which in all respects
resembled Vibrio bacillus, whilst these in their turn gave rise
to distinct Leptothrix filaments. Precisely similar changes
were subsequently followed out by the same observers within
epithelial cells taken from the back of the tongue of a diabetic
patient. In this case the granulations of the epithelial cells,
by their union in linear series, formed the rudiments of the
future independent organisms.
On the other hand, we may watch all the stages by which
epithelial cells in an apparently healthy condition become
filled with the minutest granules, which subsequently develop
into well-formed Bacteria, just as particles similarly productive of Bacteria may be seen to appear within the substance
of dying Amoebae. If healthy-looking epithelium cells from
the inner side of the cheek be mounted and kept in a warm
damp chamber, in the course of from twelve to twenty-four
hours a multitude of isolated and motionless specks make
their appearance and speedily develop, within the substance
of the cell, into well-formed Bacteria. This takes place
when no notable amount of Bacteria exists in the surrounding fluid; and, indeed, from the mode of appearance, distribution, and development of the particles within the cell, it
is obvious that, on the " germ theory," we should have to
believe that each epithelial cell which goes through this
transformation is saturated with as many invisible germs of
Bacteria as would correspond to the motionless and scattered
organisms which are subsequently imbedded in its substance.
In their earliest stage these units do not multiply; and before
the contents of the cell fluidify, their relative positions are
maintained and may be well observed.
Thus, then, we have the possibility of independent organisms arising within unhealthy or dying cells, either by
means of a heterogenetic modification of some already existing
particles or globules, or by a process of new birth in the
fluid or semi-fluid matter of the cell. By one or other of
these modes, we believe that the various Fungi and other
allied organisms, which are so frequently met with in the
bodies of animals as well as of plants, are capable of arising
de novo.
NOTES AND MEMORANDA.
169
In the moister mucous membranes, Bacteria, Vibriones,
and Leptothrix are most abundant; and, more rarely, larger
Fungus-germs occur, which soon develope an abundant mycelium, as where Oidium albicans is produced in the affection
commonly known by the name of " thrush." These various
organisms exist abundantly enough in almost all the mucous
membranes of the body, more especially when there is some
unhealthy mode of action going on in the part; and their
prevalence in these situations is far more dependent upon the
presence or absence of such conditions than upon the degree
of exposure of the part to the possible contaminating influence of germs derived from without. Some of those which
are least exposed are most prone to throw off the organisms
already mentioned, as well as Monads and other more animalised forms.
Fungus-germs and rudimentary mycelia are also frequently
met with upon and in the superficial layers of the skin of
man and the lower animals, where they represent the best
known characteristics of certain familiar diseases.
Here again, as in the case of the mucous membrane and
of the general parasitic diseases, there is the possibility that
such growths may be occasioned by actual contact with some
disseminated and all-pervading Fungus-germs. We know,
indeed, that these parasitic diseases are contagious; that
persons free from such maladies may become affected, provided the infecting germs fall upon suitable situations and
find these in a condition favorable to their growth. Even
here, however, the conjoint influence of predisposing and exciting causes of disease must come into play. So that the
question is whether, in certain cases, the " predisposing"
causes may not be sufficiently potent to generate the disease,
without the aid of any " exciting" cause in the form of preexisting Fungus-germs. Much evidence of a general character, in addition to the many facts and observations already
alluded to, tends to favour this view—more especially in the
face of the almost insuperable difficulties which beset those
who are exclusive advocates of a " germ-theory."
The Blood in Syphilis.—At the meeting of the Gesellschaft der Aertze, in Vienna, on January l£th, Dr. Lostorfer related the results of some researches which he
had made on the blood of syphilitic persons. Hallier,
he said, had described microscopic fungi as being present
in the blood in infectious diseases; but his observation
had been contested by others. This, Dr. Lostorfer believed, arose from the quantity of blood examined having
been too small, and from the investigations having been
VOL. XII.
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170
' NOTES AND MEMORANDA.
made on fresh blood. In August of last year he commenced
his researches on blood placed at his disposal by Dr. Zeissl;
and in syphilitic cases he constantly found, after three or
four days, small glittering corpuscles, sometimes presenting
projections. These bodies multiplied themselves by gemmation, new corpuscles being thus formed, which in their turn
underwent further proliferation. The addition of various
fluids, especially sugared water or Pnsteur's solution, produced shrinking of the corpuscles. The corpuscles finally
became surrounded by vacuoles. This appearance was found
so constantly that he could, from the formation of these corpuscles only, diagnose with certainty the presence of syphilis.
On eight or ten occasions he had examined blood furnished
to him by Professors Strieker and Hebra; and he had always
been able to separate the specimens of non-syphilitic from
those of syphilitic blood. He hence named these bodies
syphilis-corpuscles. With regard to their number, sometimes
more than fifty were seen in the field of the microscope,
sometimes fewer. The time of their appearance varied;
sometimes they were seen on the third or fifth day, in many
cases at the end of twenty-four hours. A low temperature
prevented their development; but it went on without impediment in a temperature ranging from 50° to 64° Fahr.
He had not been able to determine whether the corpuscles
were newly formed in syphilitic blood, or whether their
germs pre-existed in the blood, and were only called into
activity by the disease. Dr. Lostorfer related a number of
cases of secondary and tertiary syphilis in various stages, on
which he had made observations. It was remarkable that,
in those patients who were improving under antisyphilitic
treatment, the corpuscles diminished, and at last disappeared.
Professor Skoda congratulated Dr. Lostorfer on his discovery,
and regretted that it could not be rewarded with a prize, as
would be the case in Paris. Professors Strieker and Hebra
also spoke a few words in confirmation of Dr. Lostorfer's
statement. Dr. Hebra suggested the examination of the
blood in smallpox, in order to ascertain whether it presented
any specific diagnostic signs.
The matter again came under discussion at the meeting of
the Society on February 9th. Professor Wedl opened the
proceedings by contesting the accuracy of Dr. Lostorfer's deductions. Dr. Lostorfer's discovery, he said, would be of
great importance if it were confirmed. He (Dr. Wedl) had
made some researches, and would now give the results. Dr.
Lostorfer had asserted that he could with certainty determine
the presence of syphilis from an examination of the blood;
NOTES AND MEMORANDA.
171
and, in confirmation of his statement, he had adduced the.
results of experiments on blood placed at his disposal by Professors Strieker and Hebra, who had spoken in confirmation
of the remarks of Dr. Lostorfer. Dr. Lostorfer ought to have
examined healthy blood with as much care as that of syphilitic
patients. Dr. Wedl had examined specimens both of syphilitic and of healthy blood ; and in both he had found the
corpuscles described by DL\ Lostorfer. — British Medical
Journal.
Improved Method for the Microscopic Examination of Urine,
&c.—Whatever can diminish his labour and save his time
must be welcome to the busy practitioner. The ordinary
method of examining; urinary deposits microscopically entails
a considerable expenditure of both; and the process has
generally to be repeated several times in order to discover all
the characters of the deposit. By the use of the simple contrivance of a " submersion tube," first described by Dr.
Dudgeon, in Vol. XI of the ' Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science,' this labour is greatly diminished, and a
large quantity of the urine can at the same time be examined
at one operation. The submersion tube is simply a brass
tube closed at the end by a thin plate of glass, which is
screwed on to the objective, so that the latter may be dipped
into the fluid under examination, which is contained in a
glass tank or trough placed upon the stage of the microscope.
The urinary deposit is, in most cases, quickly thrown down
upon the bottom of the trough, and thus the examination of
a large quantity of urinary deposit is at one time made quite
practicable. The advantage of such a plan as this will be
apparent in many cases ; as, for example, in the urine of
patients suffering from contracted granular kidney, with few
renal casts.
The only points to be attended to in the construction of
the submersion tube are, that the length the tube projects
beyond the object-glass shall be less than the focal distance
of the latter, and that the thin glass plate shall be cemented
to the brass tube in a perfectly water-tight manner. As the
fluid in the trough must be kept horizontal, the microscope
of the ordinary construction must, of course, be used perpendicularly, so that if we wish to be seated while making our
examination, the microscope should commonly stand on a
low table, or a common wooden chair. Objectives of various
powers, fitted with a submersion tube, are very useful for
examining minute aquatic, vegetable, and animal organisms
in a considerable quantity of fluid. They are especially
adapted for watching the development of the ova of fishes,
172
NOTES AND MEMORANDA.
amphibia, and molluscs, for examining the circulation in the
transparent membranes of fishes, and for all other purposes
when it is necessary that the object under examination
should be immersed in a considerable quantity of fluid. The
examination of vomited matters, neglected as a rule by
practitioners, will be, in some instances, also greatly facilitated by Dr. Dudgeon's submersion tube.
Mr. Adie, of Pall Mall, or any other optician, can make a
submersion tube to fit on to an objective of any power up to
a quarter of an inch, and perhaps even to objectives of higher
powers, though, for ordinary purposes, it is not necessary to
go beyond the quarter-inch objective.
It is scarcely
necessary to remove the submersion tube when examining
objects in the ordinary way between two plates of glass, for
the thin glass plate that closes the end of the tube does not
appreciably affect the distinctness of definition of the object
seen through it. The glass trough should be made of pieces
of plate glass cemented together with marine glue. For
examining urine it need not be more than two inches square
and one inch deep. We are of opinion, from a careful trial
with the submersion tube, that its advantages are such as to
encourage and simplify the use of. the microscope in the
wards and in private practice.—Ibid.