The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1909-11-09
siderable opposition to the plan even
from members OF the clergy.
Or. Stiles Announces Discovery.

pital service announced his discover,
t'of a parasite, known as the hook worn
as cause OF laziness of the poor PEG
pie OF the south.
Immediately a humorous light wa
taken OF the matter New York pa
pers announced that the germ Of lazi
ness" had been discovered and vari
Gus cartoons protraying policemen
leaning against lamp posts held firml!
in the grip OF a monster hook worn
and peacefully SHOCKING. There wer,
others OF a like nature. All OF thes.
had a retarding effect upon the in.
vestigations.
Other scientists, for various rea
sons. did not take up with the idea
as a huge joke.
However DR.. stiles was sure Of hi'
| ground and was not TO be silenced
He had the support Of the department
and Immediately took up further in.
vestigations that have in the subse.
quent years proven his discovery and
even all Of his theories. He continued
to lecture as we'll as investigate, win.
ming other scientists to his way OF
thinking until at the present time all
the scientific world recognizes that the
hook worm is the real cause of the
southern malady.
Something of the Hook Worm
The hook worm is only about one
| fourth OF one-half an inch in length
1t looks like small piece OF small
thread, burt examined under the mic
roscope 1t becomes a rather composite
animal having head, body, mouth, di-
gestive apparatus and everything that
pertains to insect life. 1t is called the
hook worm because of its shape, some
what resembling a small hook.
It lives in the intestines Of man
clnging to the inner membrane and
securing it's substance by puncturing
the lining and sucking the blood. The
incision Is made in the intestines by
means OF two sharp chitinous 1ancets
within the mouth and a dagger like
tooth with a long gland at it's base.
After the puncture is made 1t fastenes
its leecn like mouth to the opening.
Just how long a hook worm re-
mains in one feeding ground is not
known but 1t has been found that sew
eral incisions are necessary In the
GVuTSC OIl6 1lCc&i. lIby move ire
quently, however. Here arises a cues
ton that for some time bothered the
scientists. How could these minute
worms absorb enough blood from their
victim TO produce the effects that are
so common among the crackers of the
south, even in cases where they are
thousands Of them clinging to the in
testines of a single person? This was
solved when IT was discovered that
the wounds continued to bleed after
the worm had moved to other feeding
grounds.
A test showed that the worms Sc
crete fluid from the small gland at
the base of the fand-like tooth which
effectualy prevents the blood from
coagulating and thus makes a wound
that will bleed for some time.
How the Paraeits Enters the Victim.
It was found that the hook worm
was prevalent in sandy regions. This
was also found to be part of the life
history of the little bug as moisture
is necessary. The eggs are laid in the
intestines of the victim when they
are elected. This is necessary as oxy-
gen is necessary to the development
Of the larva. But how it got back into
the system was for a long time a mys-
terry and was only solved by accident.
This accident happened to Looss, a
German scientist who was investigat-
ing with the hook worms of northern
Africa.
During one of his experiments he
accidently spilled drop OF fluid con-
tanning hundreds Of hook worm larva
on his hand. He did not pay any at
tention to it until he noticed a smart
ing sensation Of the cuticle where the
drop had fallen. This set him to
thinking. but to be sure he put an
other drop on the back of his hand.
A few moments later he detected the
same sensation. In seventy days he
had quite severe case of the hook
worm disease or uncinariasis as II is
called by the profession.
In short, subsequent tests showed
that the larva lies in wait for a contact
with human flesh That contact is it's
instructive opportunity. 1t siezes hold
and burrows through the skin by
means OF the hair follicles and the
pores, mainly by the former. From there
1t enters one Of the arteries, is car
ried to the heart and. then to the lungs.
Here 1t makes a landing, so to speak.
burrows through the air cells and
crawls along the mucous membrane up
the wind pipe and down into the
stomach. Such was the extraordinary
journey found to be travelled by the
insects to reach the intestines In ex-
tersive experiments on puppies.
When 1t is considered that eae1 adult
female lays thousands of eggs it is
easily seen that children and older
persons running bare footed in the
sand, the Matching place of the larva,
will be infected, though the greater
majority OF the larva ultimately die
waiting for the chance contact of flesh.
Some also find their way to the intes-
tines through the drinking water, un-
washed fruits and vegetables.
The disease is almost concIusively
proven to have been brought to Amer
lea by the negroes who were brought
from Africa in anti-bellum days and
the American hook worm are the DOS
terity of the African species. The
greater percent OF the negroes OF the
south have the disease also but II
seems TO have less effect on them thar
on the poor whites.
War Declared Against Little Vampires
This is in brief the main points il
the discovery of the hook worm anc
it's action ON the systems of the south
ern sufferers. However 1t is impossi.
bic in this to tell the vast amount Of
research and toll, the humiliation anc