G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. lTl 



THE DELHI BOIL. 



Intestinal worms, or entozoa, are, as is well known, fre- 

 quent guests of the animal body, not even excepting that of 

 man, and take up their abode, uninvited indeed, but none the 

 less persistently, in almost every part of the system, whether 

 in the intestines, the viscera, the eyeball, the brain, the mus- 

 cles, or the skin. A newly discovered form of its intrusion 

 appears to occur in what is called the Delhi boil, an affection 

 which prevails in India, especially where impure water is 

 used for ablution. The dogs drinking this water have these 

 boils on the nose, while human beings are affected at the 

 points where the skin is rubbed in the act of washing. A 

 microscopical examination of the boil is said to show the 

 presence of eggs of an intestinal worm belonging to the 

 group of Distomata, of which the sheep-fluke is a well-known 

 representative. These appear to penetrate the skin and pro- 

 duce the ulcer in question. 12 A, August 25, 329. 



NET-WORK OP COAGULATED BLOOD. 



An Australian microscopist corroborates the statement of 

 Neumann that the net-work formed by coagulation in human 

 blood can be distinguished under the microscope from that 

 of the blood of other animals. If a small drop be placed on 

 a microscope slide and carefully watched, at a temperature 

 of fifty-five to sixty degrees it will be found to be broken up 

 into a small pattern net-work, while that of other animals, 

 such as the calf, pig, etc., requires a longer time for coagula- 

 tion and fills a larger pattern ; each species tested, however, 

 having its own peculiar design, is readily recognized under 

 the microscope. 17 A, September ', 132. 



AX EIGHTH RIB IX MAX. 



Mr. Perrin makes a communication to Nature in regard to 

 the occasional occurrence of an eighth true rib in man, al- 

 though it has been generally considered that seven form the 

 absolute limit. This eighth rib is sometimes found on one 

 side only, still more rarely on both sides, and it is suggested 

 by Mr. Perrin that cases of this abnormal character possibly 

 occur more frequently than has been suspected. The max- 

 imum normal number of sternal ribs appears to be ten, but 



