The Weston Democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1875-current, 1876-09-25
4 CHAPTER on LEECIlES.
Interesting Talk with tho Oldest Phl,bo,o
EnIbI.

or, Ms some call it, has ceased to prove
really lucrative, md is rapidly becoming
one Of tho lost arts, though there Aro
some practitioners in New York city.
In Cincinnati the veteran in this line IS
old Mr.. Gafeny, with whom a correspon-
dent lately had this clint:
81 suppose. he observed to US in re-
ply to n query regarding the birthplace
Of his geological collection, "thAt you
wish to know where Ieeches arc brought
from? They cUmc from the marshy
lNnds OF Sweden, Poland mud Hungary,
Germany, France and Spain.
"a very good lecrh is also found in
Lancashire, England; and l am told that
n variety, unrivaled for medical pur.
poses, is obtained iu Australia. have
not seen any specimen Of this variety,
but 1 know that Australian leeches IRE
used in San Francisco. The Swedish
leech is tho finest species OF all. 1t is q
vigorous, brown leech, with q belly
speckled almost exactly as some species
OF snakes are specklel on the back, and
marked also by longitudinal stripes OF n
pale color. Next to the Swedish lcech,
that furnished by Hungary and Poland
is most highly priced"
"What do you think Of tho American
lGechl"
"Tho American lcech / believe 10 DO
utterly valutlcss. I have received fine
looking specimens from Mississippi and
Pennsylvania, but I found them utterly
worthless. They are far inferior even to
some European varieties OF tho hjrutlo
dccora, which cannot easily be induced
to bite unless blood be drawn to excite
them. consider six Swedish leeches
equal to at least one hundred o! my
American variety. Tie comparative
value of lcech depends greatly upon
It's vigor, its readiness to bite mud Ca
pacity for Sucking. Whom Swedish
leGch is taken in the hand and squeezed,
it will gather itself up into compact
kernel, and become rs hard rs grain Of
corn under the fingers.
"IM Sweden they catch leeclles by
throwing flesh hides into the water, to
which hides the loccllcs attach them.
selves. Iu healthy condition tho
leech almost always remains ut tho bot
tom OF its pond, occasionally bnrrowing
III mud; wh1n tho mud or water il vio-
lently disturbed, the lceches arise to
fastru upon tho distGrbGrs Of their peace.
Newly captured lecchcs arc placed in
bags or boxes containing moist turf for
them to burrow in, and arc then ready
for expectation.
"Tho lOcch merchants III Languedoc
keep their stocks in enormous ponds,
and feed them by driving horses or cows
into these ponds, upon which unfortu.
nate animals the leechcs fasten. re-
member not long since reading Of a boy
who had driven IL horse into one Of his
employers leech ponds, according to
daily custom, nn'l while waiting for the
leeches to fill themselves, fell asleep,
with tho greater part OF his body lying
in the shallow waite, Of the pond. Tie
lceches fastened upon him by hundreds,
aud hlcd him to death before his
friends, who saw the horse return with
out him, could awake or savc him.
"Tbc lcechcs arc fed in these pouda
as preparation for their future jour
ncy. III their natus5l state they feed On
fish and tortoises aud any reptile Or pis-
catorial life Tint fall in their way. They
arc omniyoro:s rs blood suckers, attack.
ing indilTcrently cold blooiled or warm
bl0oded creatures. A short time ago n
gentleman living on Mount Auburn had
occasion to purchase Il dozen leeGbes OF
the species hirM1O medicinaiis, md
having used ton he placed the remaining
two i'll his aquarium. In few days
these two leeches hui killed everything
in the aluariuni-tho gold mud silver
tish, the juvenile alligatOrs aud even the
hard shell tortoise.
"From whit ports are lecchcs chiefly
expoitedi" We asked.
"Oh, from Hamburg and Bremen. l
remember it WIS IL common sight ut tho
English and Irisl! ports, some years ago,
to sec the decks OF newly arrived MGR.
chant vessels swarming with tho !ecchts 8
which had escaped from tho vessels or
bags in which they lmd been confined.
Those exported to America are generally
fall Of blood, and at Rhode lslnnd thuro
are immense purging ponds in which the
new y arrived leeches nro placed, aud
left to digest their last meal. Until it
has been perfectly ligeStel they are
useless These ponds belong to Mr..
Wittc, who does nearly all the import
ing for American lecch doctors, aud
he charges an extra price for the pondci
lecch.
/" Why is that :"
" Because the leeches must remain Mt
least year in tho purgipg pond. 1t
takes IL year for them to get rid Of one
good meal. You see, the lcech can live
On almost nothing; itg vitality is abso-
lutely prodigious; it has been known to
live in tho human stomach and to make
its home in the human intes.ines. am
SO accustomed to treatling upon leechea
accidentally QOr they will escape every
now md them TINT can recognize the
peculiar feeling OF q lcGcli under the
sole or heel OF my boot quite rs we'll
almost rs l could under my bara hand.
L" but never yet killed n Swedish
leech by trcading upon it. Its muscular
power Of resisting pressure by the con-
traction Of its tiny rings is absolutely
extraordinary; and it is generally quite
ms lively after being troll upon rs it was
before. 1t is Il iAct, I believe, pretty
widely recognized, that the vitality Of
M animal is greater or less in proper
lion to the rate Of its growth. Now the,
leech grows very, very slowly, indeed. !"
Here Mr.. G.!eny took Il small Swedish
innnll nmL of q mimi mud ulncnl il in thn