117 



paratus. After being discliarged from the body of tbe mosquito 

 the worm found its way into the stomach of the human sub-ject 

 through the water drunk. The parent selected as its habitat 

 one of the lymph channels of man. Thence it discharged 

 myriads of embryos, which found their way into the vessels 

 w^hich carried on the circulation of the blood. The embryos 

 were incapable of further development, or of performing the 

 functions of reproduction. They could only attain sexual 

 maturit}^ by the intervention of an intermediary host. That 

 host was furnished by the mosquito, which dined on the blood 

 of man. The embryos exhibited an extraordinary periodicity, 

 being present from 7 p.m. till 7 a.m., and disappearing from 

 the blood entirely during the day. No one knew where they 

 went. That periodicity was influenced and modified by sleep. 

 The filaria v>^as very frequently associated with certain patho- 

 logical conditions. Another peculiar characteristic was that 

 if the patient slept in the day-time, and kept awake at nio-ht, 

 the filaria appeared in the blood in the day, and not at night. 

 Taken into the stomach the filaria might be acted upon by the 

 gastric juice, but it sometimes succeeded in penetrating' into 

 the tissues, and had a peculiar aptitude for selecting the lymph 

 tracts as its resting place. 



There was a conversational discussion upon the subject of 

 the paper, and the opinion was expressed that having mos- 

 quitoes here the filaria might also be found, but so far it had 

 not been detected. 



Dr. Whittell asked whether the parasite affected the 

 Europeans as well as the natives. Dr. Mann said the Chinese 

 drank water from the paddy-fields, and to that water mosqui- 

 toes had access, whereas Europeans were very careful to drink 

 only filtered water. In answer to further questions. Dr. Mann 

 said females predominated ; the male worm had only recently 

 been found. A portion of it was found in the neighbourhood 

 of the groin-gland of a patient in Amoy, China, but the dis- 

 covery was so recent that no further information had been 

 obtained. 



Annual Meeting, October 3, 1882. 



His Honor Chief Justice Wat, President, in the chair. 



The list of donations to the Library was read. 



The annual report and balance-sheet were read, (See p. 121.) 



The President, in moving the adoption of the report and 

 balance-sheet, said that the former very clearly defined the 

 operations of the Society. That evening he would retire from 

 the Presidency of the Society. He had filled that position with 

 pleasure to himself, but perhaps not to the Society. During 



