Connecticut western news., 1883-03-21
WONDERFUL REVELATIONS OF THE
 MICROSCOPE.
Discovery of the Most Deadly Enemy ( Mankind...The Bacillus and Its RavaEes.

MICROSCOPE.
 ManEind...TheB Bacillus and it's kavaEes.
 The scientific world has been greatly startled and agitated of late by the discovery with the microscope of the most dreadful 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 noxlous 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 destruc- tive ravages, it 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.. PAsTEUR, 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 $1O,O0O, 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 a series of vaccinations and other conclusive experiments was the cause of death of many thousands of an1- o1. f @Ioy, 0n{Sx agent in the death of fowls by cholera. Act ing upon the knowledge he had gained of l the nature of these germs, he pointed out l means of relief that speedily prevented a | spread of the diseases and ended the;.' devas- tation.
 TYNDA11 with the aid of other eminent | English investigators, made 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 l found, and these of the harmless varieties, while in low damp places, crowded houses | and unhealthy cities, the poisonous germs were extremly numerous everywhere.
 Dr RUDOLPH KOCH, of Wallstein, Ger | many, a man whose work in connection with | the organisms of contagious diseases has made him recognized authority upon the l subject, by experimenting after the methods l of VIILEMIN, has discovered and published l 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 simple cellular organ l ism belonging to the same order as the bac- te,'ia. 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 cnly requiring a proper degree of warmth, moisture and food to waken into life, develop and grow. They thrive and live in the blood, lymph, I mucus and secretions of the human body. When the system is unhealthy or weak they attack the cells that make up the anima! frame. Any albuminous fluid will furnish them with food for growth, and a 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 a bow and straighten with a jerk that sends them 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 pre- vents their growth, and this is why refrigera- tion prevents decay of meats and other ami nal foods. Exposed to warmth these small organisms attack and eat up the albuminoue tissues, leaving a foul mass. The odors sc common to this process are given off by these minute organisms, and is about the only ind
 cation of their presence. This is the warning of nature and it is an instinct to avoid all sllcF smells. The foul breath, bad odors of old sores etc., leads man to avoid these germs in great measure. The danger of their pres ence in the body can be imagined when thei may be readily absorbed into the system b, breathing air containing them. They art thus drawn into the interior of the bod, through the long and narrow respirator! are lined with soft membrane and covered with sticky mucus. In this fluid they hne ready Judgment and favorable condi tions for ,, ,de7eloopmee1ntt, increase ane ozena or chronic catarrh, hay fever etc., are common manifestations of the eff fects of one of the least harmful of thes, germs or nltcroeynes. In the discharge from the respiratory passages at such time: thousands of the living animalcula are found
 The fever, debility, pains Gin the bones,
 loss of appetite, etc., are indications of thei | depressing effects upon the vital organs.
 It IS from germs of slower development however, that the greatest danger follows To the one most fully described by KOCH is due more deaths than to any other knowr cause. According to the researches of Cur. TER, FLINT and DEJEa1NE, over eight million people dle every year from this cause alone. The annual deaths in France, England Germany and Russia from their destruction was oyer 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 l 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 maiadies caused by these parasites as will be | hereinafter shown.
 The studies ot LANCIsCA, an eminent Italian, and WooD, FORMAL and others, are interest ing, as showing the large variety of chronic | diseases as heretofore classified, that result rom these germs. Among the most common l were ''l1ver complaint,' biliousness or torpid liver, dyspepsia or indigestion, lung affec- | tons, bronchitis, kidney diseases, chronic dlarrhea, spinal complaint, fever-sores, white swellings, hip-joint disease, rheuma- tlsm, malarlal diseases, such as fever andague | OA CIOue 1eNoi, SeuoTdl dnu nervous debilities, female weaknesses, chronic catarrh of the head or ozena, many forms of un- healthy discharges from internal organs, and all the various scrofulous affections of the 1 skin, glands, bones, joints, etc., including consumption, which is but scrofulous dis ease of the lungs.
 In this large catalogue of apparently wide ly differing diseases, but really all depending i upon common cause, and therefore natu- rally to be successfully treated on the same l general principles, examination of the blood and secretions revealed large numbers of these parasites, and curiously enough the