Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1901-09-07
BATTLE OF GERMS.
Destructive Agencies Combated by
Friendly Parasites.
vast Field of Scientific Investigation
Which May Yield Valuable Re
suits TO Animal and Vege-
table Life.

The deeper science digs into tn
secrets of nature the more wonderful
the balancing of forces appears, and
not the least of these marvels of adj
iustment is the counteracting or
breaking down of agencies destructive
to life by the activity of other or
ganisms.
In vague way this balancing of
the forces of life and death was real
lied long ago, but now Investigation
has revealed much that was formerly
hidden 1t has even become possible
for man to protect himself and his
property, to some extent, against
harm by using minute living organ
isms to check and undermine those
which are his foes, says the Cleve-
land Leader.
The most striking recent instance
of this kind is afforded by the work
of the department of agriculture in
combating the insects that prey upon
the fruit trees of California. Parasites
of organisms which are themselves
parasites Of the trees are saving or
chards and groves by destroying the
foes of the fruit. \ destructive scale,
as the little creature is called eats
the trees, and it, in turn. IS eaten by
a ladybug imported from Australia.
So the balance is restored, and benefi-
cent forms Of life. viewed from the
human standpoint, at east, have
their due advantage over the forces
of destruction.
The success of such ingenious levy
ing Of microscopic warriors for some
of mans hardest fighting suggests
the possibility of destroying the
smallest germs of disease which are
living organisms by discovering some
thing still more infnitesimal to prey
upon these pernicious forms of de-
structive energy, as they do upon
man. 1t would be rash to say that
this is going too far for human
knowledge or resources.
Well-known and very significant
facts indicate that just such agencies
may yet be used to break the power
of deadly germ diseases. Nature
might well have some such way of
preserving a fit and wholesome bal
ance between life and death, in the
highest Of all her organic forms.
II is weN understood. For example.
that when virulent disease is intro
duced where it never before existed
its ravages are far worse than any
havoc which it causes in countries
where it has been q. curse for genera
tions or centuries. Smallpox Simply
slaughtered the Indians of America
when it was brought into this CON
tinent from Europe. Pulmonary
tuberculosis. or consumption Of the
lungs, has practically depopulated
certain islands of the South seas
where the natives seemed not to
have encountered the disease before
white men brought it into their
earthly paradies.
On the other hand, in countries like
Japan, where race has been settled
for many hundreds of years, with lit
tie change in the essential habits or
conditions of life, the resisting pow
er of the body when assailed, as it
always is, more or less, by disease
germs, appears to have been so devel-
oped by the survival of the fittest, or
otherwise, that many cases of con-
sumption result in cures which would
be deemed wonderful in other lands.
Is it not possible that this growing
ability to come in contact with dead
iy germs and still retain good health
may be due to the development of
the right kind of organism or secre-
ton of the body to attack, in turn,
and destroy the most fatal foes of
man?
There is a vast field of investiga-
ton opening in this direction which
may yield results which now seem
less substantial than any of the fairy
tales of science. 1t may be that dis
coveries are to be made in the con-
troll of natural forces affecting the
health and strength of the human
body, it's lie and duration, which will
be as revolutionary and epoch-mak-
ing as any of those marvels of inven-
ton which made the last century ia
nous forever in the history of our
race.
The Poor I'm Porto Rico.
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