The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-03-19
INCENDIARY MICROBES.
Bacteria which Promotes spontane-
GUS Combustion.

NJ. Jean oe lloVerdo in La Nature
An inherent tendency in our minds often
leads us to imagine that habits, dislikes,
acts and passions like our own belong to
the beings that surround US. 10 our lower
felIow-creatures to the animals of the sta
bic and the beasts of the woods. to the-ty-
rants of the air and the peaceful jewellers
in the waters But rare are the living crea-
lures that have as good a title to living
attributes that have as good title to these
attributes as the microbes. Their invisible
world seems like an echo of our strife, and.
combats. of our activity, of our industries,
of our qualities and of our miseries. Some
of them, beneficial 10 man. enroll them
selves willingly in his service and rival
each other in strife to augment his re-
| sources, while others, without relation to
us seem to have no action on their SUR
| roundings; they live without care as anna
| tours as artists, or if you prefer the word,
| as coiorists. Sometimes they grow in our
| kitchens, color our bread red or our milk
blue; sometimes they transform into scar
| let the white SHOWS of Alpine regions or
| lend to the immensely of the ocean the va
ried tints of their respondent matter.
But side by side with these inoffensive
| dilettanti, who seem TO exist only for the
| joy of showing their brilliant colors of the
| sun, the microbian world also--alas-in-
| cludes number of groups of very bad
n-poisoners, murderers and van
dals, who, not content with attacking the
| lives of our selves and our domestic ami
| mails, carry their rage for destruction so
| far as to set fire to our property. And If
| they pay dear for it, for the flames destroy
! them also, they do all in their power 20
bring about this result. Many cases of
| spontaneous combustion are incontestably
| their work.
Although the cause of these conclusions
| seems to have been known and expert
mentally proved as far back as Liebig's
| time, it is only recently that 1t has been
| established to the satisfaction both OF
| scientists and practical men. Among the
| conversions brought about by the evidence
| of facts we may note that of a great Aus
! trian agriculturist, NJ. Benesch, who for
thirty years refused to put faith in the
| spontanety of such combustion. Never
| theless, several years ago, he was forced
to admit it by an accident that occurred
| at his farm at Meierhof.
In an inaccessible barn on a very high
| scaffold he placed, one after the other
500 loads of hay, cereals and legumes cut
green About the middle of the pile a
| mass of mixed oats and vetches began to
| grow hot. The employe of the farm, as
well as its owner, did not appreciate the
danger, and waited for time to cool this
| incomprehensive ardor They Jared badly
however, for several days of waiting serv-
ed only to encourage and make more act
| i've the work of the microscopic heaters.
! At the end of week light curl of smoke
| arose. from the barn, and caused disquiet
in the farm of Meierhof.
NJ Benesch, after his unfruitful appeal
| to time, had recourse to air whose con-
| tact, he thought would cool off the pile
| and dispense to the winds the vaporous
| products of this mysterious effervescence.
But scarcely had his laborers reached,
| with great toll the center of the pile,
| when flames burst out on all sides, trans
forming the heated forage into an i'm
| mense furnace. The laborers indeed did
! not get ont alive without great effort.
| Every presumption of incendiarism or the
| contact of burning body being impossI-
! Bile to maintain, this fire put an end TO
the previous scepticism of the proprietor
! of Meierhof in regard to the spontaneous
combustion of hay.
other facts, not less striking, confirm
| the spontaneity of these accidents so well
| that German insurance companies have
| given serious attention to the matter of
! foreseeing them in some way. The losses
| of one company from this cause reached
/ IN a feldNIVGiy GibIl lilllt tIc sum Vi -
| 100000 francs ($5C0 COO. We need none of
us expect that our farms will escape.
| Strangely enough, an excess of water
| brings on the fire. Last August a hay
! stack holding 1900 Kilograms Sixteen
! tons) took fire near Aulnaysous-B Bots, and
barn full OF hay burned spontaneously
| near Safnt-Amand. This was because the
hay harvest of 1898 took place in unfavor-
| able conditions, and the excess of moisture
a . hax fn 1af1 taufi ion
This spontaneous combustion, in fact is
only the last act in one of these secret
dramas that are played silently in the
| center of badly dried masses of forage
| or in the heart of bales of cotton or to-
| bacco. The microbes that exist in all these
vegetable matters, excited by the contact
of water vapor, grow and increase rapid
| w. Their batta.ions form for the attack
on the great fortressas of vegetable fiber,
which they dismantle and digest. This
work of disIocation and fermentation car
not go on without a certain production of
| heat which is localized by reason of the
defective conductivity of organic sub
| stances For this very reason the evil be-
comes aggravated; the theater of ali these
microbian opera tons is overheated, and
| instead Of extending their caloric activity,
| the microbes become their own execution
ers In short, it has been proved that In
places where. they flourish the temperature
rises to 800 degrees, changing the hay into
| carbonaceous matter, porous and very
light In these unsupported kilns the for
age being altered into finely divided car
bon, consumes without flame for want of
oxygen but when the pile is suddenly
opened the access of air causes the incan-~
descent mass to inflame instantly.
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