The Jeffersonian Democrat. [volume] (Chardon, Ohio) 1854-1865, 1860-04-20
Under the Microscope.

Some years ago, minute bit Of monde
script something. looking more like frag-
ment Of an old trunk, with all The hair
worn off, than ANYTHING else, was sent to
an eminen; microscopes 10 determine what
it was. The microscopes placed it in the
"held," and pronounced il u be piece
Of human skin-the skin of fair man
covered with the hairs which grow on the
naked part OF the body. Now the frag-
ment had been taken from under a nail on
an old church door in Yorkshire, where,
just one thousand years ago, the skin OF
Danish robber had been nailed up, kite
wise, as warning to all evil doers. Time
and weather had long ago destroyed all
traces of this Danish Marsyas; but the
tradition remained in full force, when
some one more anxious than the rest
scraped away portion of The door from
under one Of the nails, transmitted the
same to a microscopic, and printed the
result as we have given it.
Another time, microscopy was made to
play even more important part as evi.
dence. In certain late murder, where
the victim had his throat cut through both
SHIRT and neckerchief. the prisoner attempt
ed 10 explain away the presence of blood
on a knife, which was assumed to have
been the instrument of murder, by saying
that he had cut some raw beef with il. and
forgotten to wipe it aherward. The knife,
with the blood upon its blade and shaft,
was sent 10 microscopic, and the follow.
ing was the chain Of facts which he educed
from IL:
1. Tie stain was blood.
2. 1t was not the blood Of dead flesh,
but of living body, for it had coagulated
where i; was found.
3. 1t was not the blood of an OK. q
sheep, or a hog.
4. 1t was human blood.
8. Among the blood were mixed Ger.
tain vegetable fibres.
6. They were cotton fbres, agreeing
with those of the murdered mans shirI
and neckerchief, which had both been Gu,
through.
7. There were present, also. numerous
tesselated epithelial cells.
That is, the cells of the mucous mem
brane (called epitheliai cells) were tesse.
laled, or disposed like the stones OF pave
ment, which proved that they came from
the lining Of the throat. For the mucous
membrane lining of the throat is composed
OF tesselated cells; that covering the roo
Of the tongue, OF columner cells, or CELL
arranged in tall cones or cylinders ant
that lining the viscera is ciliated, or carry
ing small waving hairs at she tips. Thu.
the microscope revealed beyond doub
that this knife had cut the throat of a liy
ing human body, which throat had beer
protected by certain cotton fabric. TIL,
evidence tailed so exactly with the actua
and supposed condition Of things, that i
was held to be conclusive, and the mur
derer was hung. Without the microscop,
he might have escaped punishment alto
gether.
The human hair is singularly beau
tful thing to look at under the microscope
1t is made Of successive layers Of overlap
ping cells, gradually tapering 10 poin
like the thinnest and most infinitely twist
ed cone. The edges are serrated with
shallow saw like teeth it is perfectly
translucent, and marked with great many
transverse lines exceedingly irregular and
sinuous. Hogs bristles are more like hu'
man hairs than any other animals, but