Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1857-07-01
From the Philadelphia Inquirer
The Wonders of the Microscope.

From the PHILADELPHIA Inquirer.
The Wonders of the Microscope.
In work recently published, we are surpris-
ed to find the following passage:
"Animalcules have been discovered so minute
that thousands of them do not equal grain of
sand in bulk, yet, as these creatures have life
and the power of motion, they may be supposed
to be possessed of the functions of living beings.
How exceedingly minute must be their heart,
lungs, nerves, DC. !"
According to Ehrenberg, a cubic inch of wa
ter NAV contain more than 800,O00,O0O of ami
malcue and single drop placed under the mi
croscope will be seen to hold 500, 900, 900, an a.
mount perhaps nearly equal to the whole num-
Der of human beings on the globe.
"In thousand species of the insect kind
Lost to the naked eye so ,wondrous small,
Were millions Joined grain of sand would cover all,
Yet each within its little bulk contains
heart which drives the torrent through its veins
Muscles to move its limbs Alright; a brain
And nerves disposed for pleasure or for pain;
Eyes to distinguish, sense whereby TO know
What's good or bad, is or is not its foe."
The statements put forth in the above passage
require to be qualified. They are too unguarded
and will be very apt to mislead the uninitiated
reader.
In the first place insects and animalcules are
referred TO as if the terms meant one and the
same thing. This is qnite incorrect. An insect,
strictly speaking, if it be considered in its per-
feet state, is distinguished from the other artcu-
lated animals, by the possession of six legs
and two antenne, and by the division of the
body into three regions, called respectively, the
head, the thorax, and the abdomen. There are
no such creatures as insects among animalcules
In the next place, the passage is so worded
that the reader is led to believe that animacules
qoithout exception are as highly organized as the
vertebrated animals, man himself being inclu-
ded in the category. What authority have we
for this sweeping generalization Would Gu
vier, Agassiz, Owen, Oxen, Carpenter, or any
other naturalist endorse such sentiments! As
suredly not. The truth is that the lnfusoria or
animalcules of Ehrenberg with the exception of
the Rotitere, or wheel animalcules, are crea-
lures of extreme simplicity of organization.
DR.. Ehrenburg, to whom we are indebted
more than TO any other naturalist for our knowl-
edge of the Infusoria, divides this living world
into great classes which are distinguished from
each other by their structure; viz: the Poly
gastrica, or many stomached animalcules, and
the Rotifero or wheel animalcules.
These animalcules are called lnfusoria, be-
cause they are most abundant in water which
| contains vegetable matter in state of decom-
position. To develop them it is only necessary
to put some leaves in jar of water and let
| them remain there until the water becomes fe-
It'd, which it will be in short time if it is not
changed. A drop of this water placed beneath
the microscope will show them. But stagnant
: water is not their only home; they are found in
) the waters of fountains and rivulets, on the
broad surface of rivers and seas where they
congregate in myriad numbers SO as some
times to change the color OF the clearest in which
they live.
It is to the action of vibratile cilie that the
motions of the polygastric inusoria are entirely
due, and this fact would seem to indicate that
their movements are not directed by conscious
ness. No organs of sensation have been shown
to exist in any of these animals nor have any
indications of nervous system been discovered.
, So far from being organized animals, the truth
is that there is strong tendency at present to
transfer large proportion OF them to the vege-
table kingdom. It is now certain that the
spores of certain fresh water plants move about
by means of vibratile ciliG, for short time af-
ter they are discharged into the water, and in
this stage of life they were actually figured by
Ehrenbere as aninalcule; in The course of few
hours. however, the cilio become absorbed, the
spores attach themselves to the stones in the
: stream and develop into plants, fixed and immo-
yable except from the influences of the current.
The power of making its way through the water
is. therefore, by no means that distinctive at
i, tribute of animal life which it was once sup.
posed to me. Moreover, it is certain that many
of the polygastric nfusoria are allied to plants
in their chemical constitution and also in their
power and increase under the influence Of light
and at the expense of water and carbonic acid.
: They appear to take up food through the entire
surface of their body, and not through any par
I ticular opening To this class of anmalcules
the sentiments contained in the above are alto
gether inapplicable.
But they will apply, IN some respects, to the
Rotifere or wheel animalcules, which are far
more highly organized, in fact quite different
class of creatures, resembling the poygastic in.
! fusora, only in the minuteness OF their size, and
in the soft and transparent texture of their
bodies. A distinct nervous system unquestlon-
ably exists in the Rotifere. A pair of ganga
: are found in the neghborhood of the head, and
from these single flament or nervous thread
:, runs down on either side of the body. They al
so usually possess from one to four eyes, which
may be known by their red color. These ami
mails are of different forms but all have ciliated
: cup-shaped, wheel like organs, at the entrance
= to their mouth in constant rotation, and by
0 whirlpool which carries to their mouth any par
ticles of food which may be atloat in the watery
element. The mouth is wide hollow, and sit.
uated at its bottom is the gullet, the entrance to
which is armed with set of acute spirous teeth
The intestinal canal extends through the body
and is surrounded with a gandular apparatus
which may be regarded as liver
Notwithstanding their complex organization
and active powers the Rotifer@ may be dried
up and preserved for any indefinite length ot
: time without any loss of their vitality When
dry, the bodies of these creatures arc so brittle
that the slightest touch will crush them; but
on the return of moisture they again spring into
3 existence, unfold their little wheels, and give
= rise to a fresh progeny.
The powers of reproduction of the Rotifero
are most extraordinary. They are propagated
from eggs and with such rapidity, that in few
/, DAYS their progeny amounts to millions. Con
sidering the incredible numbers, the universal
distribution. and the Unsuitable voracity of the
infusora and that it is the particles of decayng
animal and vegetable matter which they devoul
and assimulate we will surely be indebted to these
active invisible scavengers for the salubrty of oul
atmosphere and purity of our waters. Nor is
this all: they perform still more important
Office in preventing the gradual diminution oi
the present amount of organized matter on the
, earth. To such an extent do they increase, and
! so rapidly do their myriad generations follow
each other that the shells of intusoria which
perished thousands Of years ago, are now found
in fossil state and constitute large proper.
ton of the materials of extensive tracts of coun-
try, entire ranges of hills and masses of rock be-
ing sometimes composed of their minute enve-
lopes.
We have selected the passage above quoted,
for criticism. not to bring discredit on the work,