THE GERM THEORY OF DISEASE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1892, 15 May 1890, Page 41

THE GERM THEORY OF DISEASE.

The wonderful and iuiportanl revelations that have been made and are constantly being made with the microscope transcend, in their importance to the well-being of man, the discoveries of all the telescopes in Christendom, the monster Lick included.

Scientists and microscopists tell us the atmosphere we breathe is filled with

LIVLNG ORGANISMS, and that there are species of them that are very dangerons to persons who inhale them, more especially if affected with catarrh, threat, or lung difficulties.

We desire at this time to call your attention to the cause of so many cases of sickness among those who attended the last meeting of the State Grange. For two weeks we have been a victim of the poisonous inhalations while there, and propose in this paper to have something to say about these unseen (to the naked eye) denizens of the air, that are so detrimental to the health of mankind.

ATMOSPHERIC MICROGRAPHY is one of the latest sciences whose small beginnings do not date back more than three decades ; but at present many scientists scattered over the civilised world are giving the best years of their lives in studying the character and habits of the bacilli in their manifold forms.

It is well known to all readers of the literature of the day that Dr Pasteur, one of the greatest savants in all Europe, has spent many years in searching for the cause that produces hydrophobia. Dr Gamellia, of Odessa, with several confreres, is endeavouring to discover the germs that produce cholera. There are also a great number of physicians in nearly all parts of the world who are endeavouring to find the cause of consumption and other forms of tuberculosis, and with wonderful accord they have directed their investigations to the UNSEEN LIVJNG ORGANISMS OF THE AIR, and to these they ascribe the cause of most of the diseases that flesh is heir to.

At a meeting of the Academy of Sciences held in Paris in 1860, Dr Pasteur read a paper explaining the comprehensive and intelligent, system he had adopted in investigating, analysing, and classifying atmospheric germs. His investigation revealed many curious objects among the minute articles held in suspension in the air, among which are found grains of dust raised from the soil, carbonates and sulphates of lime, little globules of magnetic iron that have come into our atmosphere perhaps from infinite space, with other forms of inorganic matter. With these are found butterflies' scales, the debris of dried insects, vegetable pollen, filaments of seaweed and other lifeless organic substances. Associated with this infinite variety of small particles are

MICROBES OF DIFFERENT SPECIES which have the ability to live by means of organic matter suspended in the air. The statement would be incredible, without the aid of a microscope, that living organisms, 1500 of which if collected would not be as large as the head of a pin, are living, thriving, and fattening on other organisms, animate and inanimate, defying, or rather rising superior to, the laws of gravitation, and remaining at will suspended in the atmosphere we breathe.

Farmers living comparatively isolated from each other are blessed with an atmosphere coming direct from Nature's great laboratory, purer and healthier than is found in cities ; yet microbes, bacteria, and other dangerous living organisms exist only in lesser quantities Put vegetable mould under a powerful magnifying glass, and you will find it

A MASS OF LIVING ORGANISMS.

This mould or apparent dust is frequently found in furniture, also in wall paper in rooms that have been closed up for some time. When the doors and windows to each room are first thrown open, permitting the vitiated air of the room to mingle with the pure atmosphere from without, an atmospheric condition is formed for microbes to propagate, at which times they are morr> dangerous to man. Therefore rooms should be well aired and kept clean by frequent dustings before being used. These remarks will apply with equal force to churches, to assembly rooms, to Grange halls, or to rooms in dwelling houses.

We remember, during our attendance at Grange meetings in this hall, that we were the first one to enter it after the door was unlocked, and we found the atmosphere in it dense and heavy — exactly the place for myriads of microbes to congregate, and it only required the vitalising atmosphere that soon came in at the door to arouse them from their dormant conditions and send them out on their deadly errands. These conditions are often brought about at our State Grange meetings, where 300 or 100 human beings are densely packed. With the animal heat and the natural emanations thrown off from the human body, with doors, windows, and window blinds tightly closed by some timid member who is in constant terror lest some person on the balcony on the opposite side of the street should look in and find that at some stages of our work the candidates were or were not blindfolded — with these conditions the atmosphere in the hall soon becomes

TOO VILE FOR DESCRIPTION, and of course dangerous to health. It is at such times, with the little pure air working its way through the doni that is oc-

casionally opened, that the deadly microbes begin their work. , This they do by attaching themselves to the weaker parts' of the human bodjj for instance, if one is troubled with nasal catarrh, they will gather in largo numbers in the nose and head. If the throat, bronchial tubes, or lungs are sore or weak, they will soon betake themselves to those parts, arid persons thus afflicted will find themselves trying to expel these uncanny tenants by clearing the nose, by coughing, or by expectoration, wondering at the same time how in the world they c'apght such a cold, when in fact

IT IS NO COLD AT ALL, but the presence of the bacteria in some of its manifold forms. It is said that microbes differ from most expressions of life in this, that in the process of propagation they do not have to come in contact with the opposite sex ; some varieties seem to crumble to pieces at will ', each piece or fragment is endowed with life. Other varieties seem to be jointed or more like buttons placed on a string, and when desirable the string is broken and each section goes immediately to woik forming other sections or joints, and thus the process goes on. At every inspira^ tion of breath we take in more or less of these enemies of man, but constitutions nofc weakened by worriment, mental or physical exhaustion, as a rule repel their assanltg as readily as a well-fortified fortress would the attack of an enemy. Yes, we drink in unseen living organisms in the water we use, and

EAT THEM FROM OUR TABLES.

Only a few weeks ago we were amusing ourself with our microscope, when we placed a drop of water on the glass plate, and to our astonishment on applying our eye to tho microscope we saw the most vicious and repulsive forms of life imaginable disporting themselves as though they were attending a high jinks party. The very idea of taking these lizards, reptiles, and sea-serpents wiggling and wiggling into our stomachs was most repulsive, and we almost wished ourself an angel to avoid such a catastrophe. But as we reflected that we could cook their goose by boiling the water, we concluded we bad better remain on this mundane sphere a while longer.

Our next experiment was to place under" the microscope some of the mealy substance that accumulates around the stems of figs that have been packed two or three years. In this we discovered a large number of

BIG BUGS AND LITTLK BUGS, resembling in form and appearance the tumblebug we sometimes see in the road on a summer day. At first they seemed a little confused at the new condition of things, but soon became reconciled to their new lot, and meandered around as lordly as heirs to some throne, little thinking had we left them on the figs some hungry person (not ourself) would have made a meal of them. Thus we see life is a constant warfare with the seen and unseen forces of Nature. — Amos Adahs, in the Scientific Press.