The Helena independent., 1892-05-09
100000 IN ONE DROP. !.
That Number Of Bacteria Found In
Z Globuls Of Sour
Milk.
Small, But Quite Capable Of Do
ing q Great Deal OF
Mischief.
Hew They Arc Bred for Scientific Pur-
posss-study of Thoir Lifs Hlstory-
Whore Tnund.

Whore Found.
Written for The HELENA INDEpENDENT.l
- ACTERIA ARE SUCH LITTLE
TX thinRs-2, 100000 OF them oan be
~ found in single drop Of sour milk
that it is wonderful what biz part they
play in the world.
Bacteria are vegetable, and under the
microscope they are found TO be Of diflar-
ent kinds. Some are rod-shaped and nre
called s.basilli"-msaning little roads''--
on that account. Others look like cork
screws, while others yet have the form OF
balls. There are thousands of spscies,
and some OF them. when they get into pso-
ple's bodies, feed upon ths tissues and pro
duoe such diseases O. consumption, pneu-
monia. diphtheria, scarlet fever, choisra
and carbuncle.
But 1t is only few bad kinds Of baote-
ria that do such mischief. Most OF them
are quite harmless while some OF them are
30 beneficial that tho world could not very
we'll get along without them. Il y they
who dispose Of dead animal and refuse
vegetable matter BY preying upon II ana
thus reducing it to the useful elements ot
which it was originally composed. Inc
process called .'rotting" is their work, il
fact. Different species make fermentation,
raise oil the bread turn wine or cider into
vinegar, curdle milk Or produce an acid
which renders it sour, and give 70 butter
its flavor II is lucky that 20 few of thsm
arc injurious. because they swarm every
where. The air il full Of their invisible
myriads.
The harmless bacteria can be safely lett
to take care Of themselves. II Il tho bad
ones which science 10 trying 70 ma out
about in order to discover how they may.
be fought against successfully.
The easiest way to study bacteria 10 by
breeding them in the laboratory and OBJ
serving how they act under various condi.
tions. Beef soup, boiled down to jelly.
suits them flst-rate as food; SO small
quantity Of 1t is put into glass bottle and
oorkea. Then the glass bottle containing
the jelly is heated until no life Of any sort
remains in it. Next. the cork is taken out
and the Jelly ia touched with particle Of
diseased flesh taken from an animal which
has died of diphtheria, say. OF course,
that diseased fragment ia filled with the
Some Of them are thus transferred to the
jelly and at once begin feeding upon it,
multiplying 20 rapidly that within twenty
four hours there are hundreGs Of thousands
Of them III the bottle. A single one Of them
il it got into cut in anybody's throat,
would make the person sick with diph-
liberia.
1t is the same way with other diseases
produced BY these vegetable germs. There
ia par ticular species that causes each one.
If the bacteria Of consumption. for cx-
ample, get q lodgment il the lungs. they
feed upon the tissues Of those organs and
destroy the air-cells OF which they are
composed, multiplying continually and
breaking down tho parts until the patisnt
AT the Army Medical Museum in Wash
ington there is, on a shelf, a small case
holding dozen bottles which contain,
in the shape described, an equal number
of the ost fatal diseases known to man
kind. The physician In charge kindly Of
fered to give them all TO the writer in half
nm hour.
lhe breeding Of these bacteria ia only the
first step in the study OF their life history.
Having thus got quantity of certain
and learn how they do their disease making
work, and for this purpose rabbits and
guinea pigs are made to serve useful turn
80 medical science. For the benotit of
mankind these unluoky little beasts are
given all sorts of horrible complaints by
equil ting water containing the germs into
their bodies with syringe. From the
time they are made sick IN this way to
their death, or recovery, they are kept in
contnement and studied, or else they are
killed and diss0cted.
Many OF these seemingly cruel expert
ments have an objscs Of much greater i'm
portance to as than mare study Of the lives
and habits Of dangerous bacteria.
1t has been found that these little para
sites, while feeding, produces poisonous
substance. Each species thus makes its
own peculiar poison, which can be got in \
pure state BY the art Of chemistry. Once
obtained, the poison can bo diluted With
water and aquirted with syringe into the
body of a beast or human being. Used in
this way it seems to have the marvellous
effect of making tho perasn or creature op-
Grated upon safe from catching the dis
ease. Rabbits after being thus treated or
inocuated with diptheria poison do not
take diptheria when inooulated wish the
bacterin of that complaint It ID the same
producing Immunity from the trouble
itself. Not only is this true, but theas
poisona appear to act to some extent as
cures for complaints in their early stages.
Koch's Lymph" is 4 preparation of con-
sumption poison. All this is very new
have some day to the human race!
It has been found out very recently that
bacteria attack plants also. They arc re-
sponsible for not a few OF the diseases
which farmers call "blghts.' causing the
leaves to wither aud the fruits to shrivel.
The government keeps up plant-hospital
in Washington, where vegetable patients OF
all sorts are made sick by spraying thom
with disease germs. These latter are OBJ
tained by breeding the bacteria from dis
eased leaves on beef jelly. The hospital is
greenhouse, devoted to the study Of sick
PLANTS, which are all burned finally, lest
they spread contRPion.
Only very recently has it been found
out that vegetables which bear pods such
ns peas and beans, depend largely for
their y odnctiveneos upon bacteria. These
microscopic organisms enter their roots
and form upon them watt-liks Jumps. They
gather nitrogen from tho air and feed this
important nutritive material to the plants
Each kind OF rod-benring plant has it's
own species of bacteria to serve il in this
fashion. Accordingly, after the matter
has como to be somewhat better under
stood, it is probable that the farmer will be
able to make his beans and psas produce
much more plentifully by .innooulatinp
thom with eprlnkling of earth which con-
tains the proper sort OF bacteria in obund-
ance. RENE BAruE
Copyright,
Strength and Health,