The Winslow mail., 1898-05-14
BAADNE66 BAgl4LU6,
Discovery Of the Microbe Discouras-
Ing 70 Its Victims,
setentists Say the Loss of Hair Is
Attributable to the Pres=
erce of the Nfcro=Or-
ganisms.

! 1t is an understood thing nowadays
that all physical failings which cannot
be otherwise explained are the work
of the versatile and industrious MI
crobe. This useful little creature is to
medical science what tru1nps are to the
whist player according to the good old
rule. When in doubt, our learned
friends play the bacillus. No one
therefore. will be surprised to hear that
badness has been added to it's numer-
Gus triumrhs. The theme is elaborated
with much interesting detail by MT
Clarke Nuttall in the Contemporary he-
view. The discovery was made, it ap-
pears, by N. Sebourand. one of the late
NJ Pasteur's pupils. This gentleman
has found out all about the bacillus OF
baldEess-wlrat it is like, where IT lives,
and how it accomplishes the work OF
destruction. A shining Uranium can no
longer be claimed as mark Of superior
intelleet-a reflection which used to be
some set-off to an otherwise depressing
experience. 1t is rather unkind to de-
prive the sufferer of this innocent con-
ISOLATION for the loss OF his locks, but
NJ. Sebourand is ruthless. Badness, he
says, is zone of the most purely micro
bial diseases he has ever seen.'
Moreover. it is only variant of other
skin affections which are something
worse than unbecoming. They are all
caused by the same microbe, little
modified according to circumstances.
It is a small transparent bacillus, which
multiplies by dividing into two. These
qualities, it may be observed, are
shared by good many other species,
and cannot be called very distinctive.
The organism in question has, however,
peculiarities of its own. When bent on
producing badness it locates itself in
convenient little space just above the
root of the hair, and below the surface
of the skin. How it gets there in the
first instance we are not informed, nor
is it easy to guess; but once on the spot
it thrives and multiplies, and at last
gets wrapped up into kind of CO.
COON" This mysterious proceeding is
preliminary to an insidious attack upon
the hair follicle. AS Mr.. Nutal Cb-
serves, so long as the latter is untouched
it will defy the microbe and continue
to send forth hairs, whatever may be-
come of them. On the other hand, the
':cocoon'' is situated above the follicle,
and is, therefore, unable to make dr.
rect attack. Accordingly, the bacilli
proceed to manufacture toxin,
which passes down the hair to the root
and acts as a slow poison. Then a
struggle for life ensues, The follicle
does not succumb all at once, but tries
10 go on doing It's duty. First, the ex-
isting hair begins to decay, it becomes
weak, loses color, and falls out; another
springs up to take it's place, but that is
weaker still. Others follow at short in
tervals, the follicle showing progress
sive decline. until it is at last unable.to
make and further effort, and badness
is fully established.
The process always begins at the
tester, according to NJ, Sebourand, and
spreads in a. circular fashion, IKE the
concentric waves which are formed
when a stone is thrown into water.
Hence the familiar round patch, with
it's stealthy but sure enlargement. This
is a very pretty and interesting demon
straticn, but it is little too complete
to be altogether convincing. Those "co-
coons" and the action of the toxin"
arc more suggestive of the imagination
than of the dry light of pure observa-
ton. No doubt badness is the result of
a degenerative process in the tissues of
the scalp, which is quite likely to be ac-
comranied by the presence of some
micro-organislns, but that it is directly
caused by specific bacillus is an as
sumption for which sufficient evidence
has hardly been offered. If il were so
one would naturally expect the discov-
erer of the cause to be ready with his
remedy, or at least his suggestion for
one, A specific naicrobe located in a
particular and accessible s9ootis easily
dealt with. Find the germicide that he
most dislikes and rub it in. Almost any
mercurial ointment ought to be q GER
tain cure for badness, according to M.
Sebour2nd's hypothesis. But, appar-
emily, he holds out no hope at all to the
victims of his new bacillus. They have
still to rely on the old hair washes,
which act, so far as they act at all, by
stimulating the circulation, and are,
therefore, in. agreement with the theory
that badness is caused by degenera-
tive process due to failure of nutrition.
This is further corroborated by the in
fiuence of old age, of weak health, and
mental anxiety on the growth OF the
hair, and also by the fact that shaving
the head frequently results in new
and luxuriant crop.-London STANDARD