92 EEPOET OF TPIE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



are liberated at one end and appear, under a low power, as hairs proceed- 

 iii.ur from tlie body of the fiber. Wool may remain thus saturated in the 

 acid for several hours without appearing to undergo any further change 

 as far as is revealed by the microscope. Wheii treated in mass in a 

 bath of sulphuric acid, strength 00° B., for several minutes, and after- 

 wards quickly washed in a weak solution of soda and finally ia pure 

 water and dried, it feels rough to the fingers, owing to the separatioa 

 of the scales. I have preserved a small quantity of wool thus treated 

 for the lasttwelve years, my object being to ascertain whether the chemi- 

 cal action to which it was exposed would impair its streugtii. Wool thus 

 treated seems to possess the property of resisting the ravages of the larva) 

 of the moth. This specimen, although openly exposed for the period 

 named, suffered no injury, while the imbrications appear to have re- 

 sumed their natural position and appear finer. From these experiments 

 it would seem not improbable that a new article of commerce might 

 profitably be produced, as wool thus treated seems to be moth-proof. 



It is fouiul in i)ractice that when sable brushes are washed in a weak 

 solution of pure pheuic alcohol, and afterwards in warm water, the 

 moth worui will not eat them. 1 mention this chemical fact because it 

 shows that a change of this material is brought about by the phenol as 

 to its edibility, and this may explain whj' wool treated with sulphuric 

 acid is rendered moth-proof. 



The fibers of dyed black silk may be viewed with interest under the 

 microsco[)e. If a lew threads of its warp are placed on a glass slide and 

 one or two drops of concentrated nitric acid placed in contact with them, 

 the black color changes first to green then to blue, a lifelike motion is 

 observed in all the libers, they appear marked crosswise like the rings 

 of an earth worm, the surface of each fiber a])])ears loaded with par- 

 ticles of dye-stuff, and finally the fibers wholly dissolve in the acid. If 

 we now treat a few threads of the weft in the same manner, a similar 

 change of color takes place. When the fibers a.'^sume the blue color, a 

 dark line is observed in the center* of each running longitudinally the 

 whole length (which dark line is doubtless the dividiug line of the two 

 original normal threads formed directly by the two spinnerets), the 

 dark air-line or shadow finally breaks up, and in the course of a few 

 minutes the silk is wholly dissolved. Were ramie, cotton, flax, or hemp 

 present, they would be observed, as all these libers remain unchanged 

 under this treatment. If wool be present, rapid decomx)osition will fol- 

 low, giving off copious fumes of nitrous acid, allowing, hovrever, suflicient 

 time to observe the separation of the scales of the wool fibers and to 

 demonstrate by observation under the microscope that the fibers are 

 those of wool. In making these experiments it is not necessary to use a 

 glass disk over the treated fibers. If a disk or cover is pressed on them 

 while undergoing this treatment the lifelike motion of the silk will not 

 be so apparent. 



PARASITES IN DOMESTIC FQ-WLS. 



I have incidentally examined several sick domestic fowls in order to 

 ascertain their ailments. The first examined was in a moribund condi- 

 tion when received, and died within an hour after it was brought to my 

 notice. Its comb was of a deep red color, abnormally so, the tips being 

 somewhat black. On dissection, its general viscera presented nothing 

 peculiar, but on removing that of the thorax and abdomen, the lungs 

 excepted, I observed, on the intercostal muscles bordering the ribs, what 

 resembled a superficial reddish pigment, in streaks, while small specks 

 of various forms covered the lining of the abdominal cavity. These va 



