Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1867-03-28
HORRORS OF THE WATERFALL.

A scientific writer in the London Lancet having
investigated the subject, has demonstrated by ex-
pertinent that in every chignon not composed OF
the natural hair of the wearer, there are myriad
parasites, named gregarnes, which infest each In
dividual hair These insects are invisible except
by microscopic test, but in their substance and
habits are more offensive than the famed grey-back
which made Libby Prison such den of horror
On every half inch Of each hair are thousand OF
these inexpressibly disgusting epioza- They live,
move and have their being in millions upon each
hair of the clagnon; and when the myriad hairs
that compose these ''adornments'' are considered,
are las the sands of the seashore, or as the stars
of heaven, for multitude" Subjected to mode
rate degree of heat they become instinct with life,
and wanderat will among and around the capillary
cells, seeking what they may deyour." Each is
a ped,lus hunsani capitis-as much so as the iden-
tical one on which Burns wrote the ode, when he
saw it 'on the lady's bonnet" Neither acids, al
kalis ether, nor three hundred and fifty degrees Of
dry heat kills them. Practically they are indes-
tructible. According to the authority quoted, in
the conditions of ball room the gegarines ''re-
vive, grow and multiply, by dividing into many
parts, called germ globules; these fly about the.
ballroom in millions, get inhaled, drop on the re-
feshments in fact enter into the interior Of peo-
pie Dy nunQTeuS Vi ways, anu tnuS Tedcu IuelF Spt
cifc gregarian Development
poorer people, especially peasant women of the
Mordwines and the Burlakes, near the Volga, who
do q large trade in it. "When the Burlake goes
out to work in the spring he perhaps puts clean
shirt on, but he decidedly never takes it of until
he returns home in autumn" Verify, here is a.
fine chance for parasites
A learned professor in London has actually prac-
tcay tested and demonstrated the vitality of these
parasites. Six hairs of ctignon, subjected to
l2O degrees of heat, and placed around the neck
of hen, which had been clean shaved for the
purpose he placed the bird in front of stove for
a short time. He tells the result as follows:
At the end of this period the "gegarines' which
had been placed in felt were carefully examined
They had undergone great development and more
than score showed unmistakable signs OF life
But on removing the hairs from the neck OF the
hen and placing them under the microscope, most
taken place The hairs were swarming with the
released epioza: nearly all, indeed, were more or
less detached from the envelope, and presented
manv of the unmistakable peculiarities OF the
ttnedicalus huu,am capitss." In many the mouth
was furnished with proboscis, the antenn@ as
long as the thorax, and the depressed segments of
the abdomen were clearly visible. It was abun-
dainty evident that no process to which the hair
had as yet been submitted had even impaired
much less destroyed the vitality of the "grega-
rines.
The horrible facts of the above investigation are
Of extreme concern to the ladies, who have so nu-
merously adopted the habit of wearing these pur.
chased chignons and many will hesitate longer to
carry upon their heads load of disgusting para
sitics, whose origin is only less appalling than their
immense number, their unlimited power OF re-
production, their easy awakening from a Sor99aney 9a.s
ton or destruction. Let the ladies ponder.