The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-05-12
MANS TINY, DEADLY FOES
TIE WORLD or THE DISEASE
PRODUCING GERMS.
HOw the Infinitely 9nnali Plants and AMI.
mails That AmIct Mankind Are studied
-scieace's weapons Against Them
Problems About Them Yet to BE Solved.
Copyright. 1907, by Erlsrv sodOUtck

-seieace's weapons Against Thorn
Problems About Them Yet 10 he Solved.
Copyright, 1907, BY Ersrv sedCOtck.
1t 10 now pretty we'll known to every one
that most Of the diseases which afhiot
suffering mankind are due to the growth
Of minute organisms in the blood and
tissues. This was guessed q long while
before there were microscopes powerful
enough to reveal the organisms.
At that time n man who was i'll was said
to be afflicted by humors, Later on it
became the general theory that many
diseases were caused by ferments, and
such maladies were called zymotio. To-
day 1t is known that these ferments are
actually exceedingly small bodies Of eye
table or animal substance,
1t may surprise many persons to learn
that the bacillus OF tuberculosis and the
germ Of diphtheria are not minute worms
or insects. but microscopic vegetables.
They are. indeed, very near the border line
between the kingdom Of animals and The
kingdom Of plants, but in all their essential
characteristics they resemble a rosebush
a great deal more than they resemble a fish.
So all true bacteria are classed as vegetable,
despite the fact that many Of them are
capable Of swimming about and not a
few perpetuate their species by a device
closely resembling the laying Of eggs.
I In these lower orders Of beings, Of course,
the differences between animals and vege-
tables are 80 slight that it is sometimes very
hard to d~iherentiate between them. There
are microscopic plants which wave their
branches and move about. and there are
microscopic animals which at first glance
seem to be devoid Of life altogether.
But all the came there are way OF telling
them apart, and one Of these ways 10 by
examining their food supply. A plant is
capable Of taking nitrogen from the air
and converting II into food. An animal,
no matter how low it's state, must have
it's food prepared for II. Examined with
| this fact In mind. bacteria are found to be
| plants and not animals.
OF course there are many diseases I'M
| doubtedly caused by minute animals rather
| than by plants. One Of these is malaria,
in which the damage is done by a very
small parasite which invades the red COR
puscles Of the blood.
Again there are investigators who believe
that hydrophobia Ia caused not by q bac-
| terium, properly so called, but by a parasitic
protosoon, as these small animals are
termed. Yet again a number Of authori-
ties say that smallpox may be caused by
an animal rather than by a plant.
All the same, investigation shows that
the majority Of the organisms which
cause disease are minute plants. h
tubercle bacillus, which causes consump-
ton, is undoubtedly q crude and low form
of fungus. The baoilli OF diphtheria, cholera,
typhoid fever. boils, erysipelas, eczema,
lockiaw, pneumonia. appendicitis, peri
~tonitis, blood poisoning, pimples. scarlet
fever, measles, ohiokenpox, dysentery
cholera morbus and influenza are undoubt-
eddy plants.
Like the higher orders OF vegetables
bacteria are divided into all sorts of genera
and species. There are as many varieties
Of baoterio-cocoi, for example. as there are
Of potatoes. and the differences between
two varieties are so slight that it is often
we'll nigh impossible TO distinguish one
from the other.
In general all bacteria are divided into
three families-the cocci, the bacilli and
the spirilla. The oooci appear under the
shape, though usually their general effect
is that Of rotundity. They vary in diam
eter from l-50o00th to I-l250oth OF an
inch and each one is commonly enclosed
in a small transparent capsule OF gelatinous
matter.
Sometimes the oooci float about in the
blood separately. but more often they COM
bine in more or less regular ways: Often.
for instance, they are encountered in long
chains, the capsules Of one sticking to the
capsules Of it's immediate neighbors.
When they are 50 found they are called
s~treptocooci. At other times the ooooi form
irregular masses, much like punches Of
grapes. When they do 30 they are called
staphylococci. Again they often float
about in pairs, and In that case they are
called diplooooci.
not as round specks but as long % or
cylinders, with rounded or qua ends.
They are usually about 1-25o0oth OF an inch
in diameter and from l.l0oOoth TO l-3ooOth
Of an inch in length. The minute organism
which causes tuberculosis Is the most
familiar of the bacilli.
II is comparatively thin-about 1-75o00th
OF an inch Rcroes-and under the microscope
IL has somewhat the appearance OF the little
silk threads In a dollar bill. In length IL
varies from 1-Soo0th to l.aoOOth OF an men.
diphtheria. leproey, typhoid fever and the
deadly cattle disease anthrax. .
The spirilla consist OF little flaments OF
a spiral or curved shape. Some are long
and quite elaborate in their convolutions,
but others are small and short and greatly
resemble commas The cholera microbe is
a spirillum. Another is the bacterium OF
relapsing fever.
II NAV be wondered how bacter1ologtsts
find Il possible to observe with any degree
or accuracy organisms OF such small! size,
but as a matter OF fact the modern micro
scope makes IL easy to see them. The aver
age microscope magnihes 1000 dianeters
and 30 enlarges a coccus OF one twenty-five
thousandth Of an inch IN thickness TO
I-25th of an inch. II is obvious that an
object appearing to be l-25th Of an inch In
diameter is easily seen and studied.
A greater difficulty lies In the fact that
most bacteria are coloriess and transparent.
This makes II exceedingly difficult to see
more than their dim outlines, but the diff
GUILTY is got around by dyeing them with ami
line dives. The pneumocoocus, Tor example,
is very hard to see in its natural state. but
II the slide on which IL is placed lie flooded
with a solution OF m~ethylene blue. carbol
fuchsin or some other stain, the cocci take
up a good deal Of the pigment and show
up quite clearly against the transparent
glass upon which they lie.
In nature bacteria OF different species
frequently grow together, and 30 when the
hacteriologist want to study one species al
his leisure he must separate II from the
others. This is done by making what lie
called a culture upon some appropriate
medium the g%elatinous juice OF seaweed
the serum OF blood OF something OF the sort
This culture Is q sort OF seed bed, and IL IL
possible so TO prepare 1t that one species Of
germ will grow upon IL rapidly while an
other will languish or perish.
Thus, IL a bacteriologist has a mixture
Of tuberculosis and pneumonia bacteria
and wants TO cultivate and study the latter,
he plants the mixture upon a culture medium
that affords eood ground for the pneumo-
coccus but Is unfavorable to the growth
20 ,ha ,uharcla hacillus The result 10