The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1883-04-18
WONDERFUL REVELATIONS OF THE
MICROSCOPE.

enemy of mankind in the form of myriads OF
little death-dealing parasites. The air we
breathe and live in is charged with these
deadly little growths in proportion as it
is infected from various noxious sources.
Having by recent experiments and research
been shown TO be the most fruitful cause
/ of disease known, and the welfare and
health of every individual depending so
largely on the freedom from their destrue-
| tive ravages, il is but natural that the re-
ports of recent Investigators in this field of
scientific inquiry should be widely read, and
that every phase of these astounding discov-
cries should be subject to universal discuss
ion At first received with some suspicion
they have at length been thoroughly proven,
and are now. receiving the unqualified in
| dorsement of the leading scientific men
| throughout the world. But little else is
talked of in the schools and clubs of science,
and the medical and scientific journals are
crowded with the testimony that is being
added corroborative of the value of the mar
velous discovery which is pronounced the
greatest advance in medical science of mod
ern times.
To l.. PAsTRUR, the eminent French
| scientist, who by his learned investigations
has saved TO France so many millions of dol
lars, is probably due the honor of first point
ing out the terrible power of these germs
In recognition of his great service the govern
ment has recently voted him from the public
! treasury $4,000, with which to continue his
| experiments. He has described several va
rieties of these parasites, some comparatively
harmless, others extremely dangerous. One
! form he proved by q series of vaccinations
and other conclusive experiments was the
cause of death of many thousands of ami
! mails and herds of cattle; another the active
| agent in the death of fowls by cholera. Act
ing upon the knowledge he had gained of
the nature of these germs, he pointed out
means of relief that speedily prevented a
| Df bN or,A od tl,oy,
| tation.
TYNDAIL, with the aid of other eminent
English Investigators, made a number of ex-
aminations of the floating particles in the
atmosphere, and found numbers of living
spores capable of producing disease. In dry
and healthy localities but few germs were
found, and these of the harmless varieties,
while in low damp places, crowded houses
and unhealthy cities, the poisonous germs
were extremity numerous everywhere.
DR. RUDOLPH Koch, of Wallstein, Ger
many, man whose work in connection with
the organisms of contagious diseases has
made him a recognized authority upon the
subject, by experimenting after the methods
of NILLEMIN has discovered and published
an account of one of the most dangerous
varieties, to which it is proven more deaths
are due than to any disease incident to the
human race.
He describes it as a simple cellular organ
ism belonging to the same order as the bdc-
terra. When dried the germs may, without
losing any vitality, endure great extremes of
temperature. Being as fine and as light as
dust, invisible to the naked eye, they may be
blown any distance by the wind or carried
upon the clothing or body. Like seeds, they
may lie for months or years undisturbed
upon the furniture, floor, carpets, curtains.
walls, or in the bedding, and only requiring
a proper degree of warmth, moisture and
| food to waken into life, develop and grow
hriu live ~, 4bf l..
mucus and secretions of the human
body. When the system is unhealthy
or weak they attack the cells that make up
the animal frame. Any albuminous fluid
will furnish them with food for growth, and
q single drop is sufficient to contain hun
dreds. Examined with microscopes of great
power, which enlarge them so that they can
be seen and studied, they have the appear
ance of minute rod-like bodies having, when
active, some power of motion. They bend in
the middle like bow and straighten with a
| jerk tlfe9eends them a few times their own
length. At the temperature of the human
body they are the most active.
Their power of increase or reproduction is
| remarkably great. One germ in few weeks
time, under favorable conditions, will give
rise TO millions. The process is by simple
growth and division. Cold DESTROYS or nre-
vents their growth, and this is why refrigera-
ton prevents decay of meats and other ami
NAL foods. Exposed to warmth these small
organisms attack and eat up the albuminous
! tissues, leaving foul mass. The odors SO
common to this process are given off by these
minute organisms, and is about the only indi-
cation of their presence. This is the warning
OF nature and 1t is an instinct to avoid all such
smells. The foul breath, bad odors of old sores
ETC., leads man to avoid these germs in q
great measure. The danger of their pres
ence in the body can be imagined when their
rapid increase is considered, A few germs
/ rpadlIV QhanrhaH MT thas l.
breathing air containing them. They are
| thus drawn into the interior of the BODY
through the long and narrow respiratory
passages of the throat, chest and nose, which
are lined with soft membrane and covered
with sticky mucus In this fluid they find
ready lodgment and favorable condi-
tions., for development increase and
growth. The % cold' or catarrb
oz@na or chronic catarrh, hay fever
| ETC., are common manifestations of the eff
fects OF one of the least harmful of these
germs or micr0zymeS. In the DISCHARGES
from the respiratory passages at such times
thousands of the living animalcul@ are foun6.
Inc fever, debility, pains "in the bones -
! loss OF appetite, ETC., are indications of their
depressing effects upon the vital organs.
IL Is from germs of slower development,
| however, that the greatest danger follows.
10 the one most fully described by Koch is
Que more deaths than 70 any other known
cause. According TO the researches of Cur
TER, FLINT and DEJERINE, over eight million
! people die every year ffUm this cause alone.
Ihe annual deaths in France, England,
Germany and Russia from their destruction
was over one and half millions. In the
! United States and Canada over three hun
dred thousand persons perished in the last
year from the bacillus alone. The most
common disease resulting from it is con-
SUMPTION OF the lungs, but other organs of
the body are liable to be affected as they de-
Velop slowly but surely in any organ that
may be in a weak or unhealthy state.
If active and healthy, the liver, kidneys
and bowels have to a wonderful extent the
power of expelling these deadly animalculae
or parasites from the system. And this fact
furnishes an important indication for the
successful treatment of all the long list of
maladles caused by these parasites as will be
hereinafter shown.
The studies of LANCIsoA, an eminent Italian,
and WOOD, koRMAD and others, are interest
ing, as showing the large variety of chronic
diseases as heretofore classified, that result
from these germs. Among the most common
were liver complaint" biliousness or torpid