The Express.
London, England, 1849-10-19 00:00:00

CHOLERA.

A large meeting of this society took place
Wednesday last, in consequence of the pr. silent, Groans
BUSK, Esq., having signified his intention of making some
remarks on the recent announcement of the discovery of a
fungus as the cause of cholera.
In commencing his remarks, Mr. BUSK stated that he
should confioe his attention to the papers of Dr. William
Budd, Dr. Britten, and Dr. Sways., each of whom had
written pipers and given drawings of bodies which they
supposed to be fungi. In the first place, he remarked that
amongst the varied bodies figured by these gentlemen, therm
was only one set that bore so close a resemblance to each
other as to claim anything like a common character. With
regard to the figured bodies from air and water, they were
not definite enough to yield any possibility of clu-ing them
with one body or another. With regard to the more definite
hither figured by Drs. Budd, Britten and Swayne, and found
in their preparations, he had with one exception found these
in the matter passed by cholera patients on board the Dread-
nought. These bodies, which were described as fungi, were
of three different kinds. First, there existed a celluthibody,
which was more particularly figured by. Dr. Swayne, and
existed in two of his preparations, one in the possession of
Dr. Lankester, and the other in his own, which evidently ex-
hibited the characters of the spore of a uredo, and on examen
Mg some specimens of uredo from a loaf of bread bought at a
baker's, it was found to correspond precisely with the
spore from the cholera patient. As this species of fungus
was very common in bread that had been kept, and easily
resisted the digestive action of the stomach, the presence of it
iu a few cases was well accouotel fur. The second class of
bodies, and which under a high magnifying power with a
bad light, looked exceeding like the last, consisted of small
portions of the inner membrane of the grain of wheat. In
the coarser kinds of flour this membrane was not separated,
and he had no doubt that these bodies were introduced
with the bread eaten as food. A third form of these mere
definite bodies was evidently due to the presence of undigested
starch granules. Drawings of all these bodies were exhibited.
and their strong resemblance to the bodies figured by the Bris-
tol observers was at once recognised. In conclusion, the author
stated that he did not wish to pronounce an opinion that the
existence of a vegetable organism, as the cause of cholera,
was impossible ; but from the observations he had now laid
before the society, he considered that such • cause for the
production of cholera bad certainly not yet been demon-
strated.
Mr. C. WOODWARD, of Islington, said that he believed
that things which persons took into their stomachs might
Produce some of the appearances described by Drs. Britten
and others. Mr. Topping had shown him, under the micro-
scope, the ordinary chalk mixture, sad the appearance pre-
sented by this substance was precisely similar to some of the
things flamed In the drawings from Bristol.
Mr. VARLET, In support of the probability of the
truth of the fungoid theo, gave an account of the rapid
development of fungi in the bodies of flies ; and exhibied
drawings of the sun.
Dr. LANHESTEtt said that he did not think the sup-
porters, or rather reproducers of the fungoid theory would
have thought their observations sufficient to warrant their
conclusions, if there had not already existed the hypothesis
of the fungous origin of cholera. From the first time he
had seen the drawings of Dr. Britten, he had doubted the
correctness of the oonclusions of Dr. Badd and the soles
quest advocate of the fungous theory. In the published
drawings of Dn. Britten, Budd, and Swayne, many things
had been evidently confounded under the common term fun-
gus. Inorganic, as well as organic, bodies of various kinds
could be easily identified. He had at first failed to detect
any bodies resembliog fungi at all, but in the prepwation
he had received from Dr. Swayne he recognised the spore
of a undo, as had been described by Dr. Bath. He had ob-
tained the same appearances as exhibited in some portions
substanceome
to
of Mr. Swayne's peepsrations, and the drawings of Dr. Brit-
Asuann,
Ifyrothme
magruteei
llals ether
thweasphaennoomt
etlikdeeicribcd. Sty
of -the bodies floured as fungi by the Bristol observers wen
evidently
tion ; and the same bodies which had also been said le be
epithelial scales in different stage of disintegra-
fungoid had been found in the eiontents of the bladder.
After some further observations the meeting broke up.

PARLIAMENTARY
AND FINANCIAL REFORM:'.