NATURE 



[May 3, 1894 



ANOTHER 



NEW BRANCHIATE OLIGO- 

 CII.ETE. 



agitation which determiDed the crusade against bid drainage 

 and unsanitary appliances in this country. 



But the inquiring spirit of the scientist, which abhors blind 

 empiricism, and seeks always to reach the root of the matter, 

 has again been exercising itself on the question of the spread of 

 disease by sewergas, and it is significant that in the most recent 

 report to hand on sewer-air, the direct connection of the latter 

 with the distribiilion of zymotic disease is declared to be still 

 wrapped in mystery and uncertainty, and we lind our precise 

 and scientific information on this subj ect as meagre as it was 

 some thirty years ago. All the more important and welcome, 

 therefore, are some very original investigations which have just 

 been published by Dr. Alessi, who has not contented himself 

 with finding very few and harmless microbes in sewer-air, but 

 has submitted the whole question of its relation to typhoid 

 fever to a searching experimental inquiry. 



For this purpose the eft'ect of inhaling sewer-air and the 

 gases from putrifying materials was examined on animals — rats, 

 rabbits, and guinea-pigs being selected, .-^ftcr exposure to 

 sewer-air, which was accomplished by placing them in a box 

 with a perforated bottom communicating directly with a drain, 

 they were inoculated with a small quantity of only a slightly 

 virulent cultivation of the typhoid bacillus, whilst other animals 

 were similarly treated, except that they were not compelled to 

 inhale these noxious gases, but were kept in their ordinary 

 surroundings. The rats, after inhaling this foul air, began to 

 lose their vivacity, and after a lime grew thin, although they 

 eat voraciously, and out of forty-nine which were inocula'ed 

 with typhoid germs thirty-seven died exhibiting the typical 

 symptoms of typhoid infection. Of those forty-one rats, how- 

 ever, which, although infected with typhoid, had not inhaled 

 sewer-air, only three succumbed. Thus the inspiration of drain- 

 air had so far predisposed these animals to infection from typhoid 

 that a small dose of an almost harmless growth of this organism 

 proved very fatal to them. Guinea-pigs and rabbits exposed in 

 like manner to gases from materials in a condition of active de- 

 composition also acquired a predisposition to typhoid infection, 

 for out of seventy-two guinea pigs inoculated, fifty-seven died, ! 

 whilst not one of those treated with typhoid germs in ordinary ' 

 surroundings succumbed. Every one of the eleven rabbits 

 similarly treated died, but not one of the inoculated animals 

 kept in ordinary surroundings. Dr. Alessi also found that the ' 

 inhalation of these gases from putrid substances enabled a 

 small dose of a weakened culture of the B. coli iwiimiinis, 

 normally present in the intestine, to produce fatal results when 

 purposely introduced into the animals thus exjiosed. 



It was also ascertained that it was during the first two weeks 

 of exposure to these noxious gases that the animals were most 

 easily predisposed to typhoidal infeciion, for no less than ninety 

 per cent, of all the animals inoculated during the first fortnight 

 died, whilst seventy-six per cent, succumbed of those inocu- 

 lated in the third week. This fact may, says Dr. Alessi, partly 

 c\pliin how it is that some people who habitually breathe con- 

 taminated air do not appear to suffer any evil results, h.aving 

 gradually in course of time become accustomed to it, whilst a 

 stranger exposed to the same conditions without previous ex- 

 perience may suffer very severely. The degree of predisposi- 

 tion, however, whilst varying in different animals, would also 



iiustbe regarded as a noteworthy and an 

 I'i . . to our knowledge of the distribution of 



di>ease, anording as they do so remarkable an experimental 

 confirmation of the wisdom of a policy of sanitation dictated by 

 ioitinct and intuition. 



A BOfT tw.i ycari .since I described in the columns of this 

 "'*■ 1. xlv. p. 109) an Annelid belonging lo the 



family . which was unique in th.it family in the 



I f branchial processes upon the posterior 



Thii worm, as I reminded the readers 



■ ' ' ; 247) was lound in the " Vic- 



Society's (j.irdcns — a locality 

 " ing invcrtcbralc animals. I 



have njw ■( another Oligoch.x'tous An- 



nelid in wli ' , of a very similar nature to 



ihoie of /'■.!/;. /ij«/.j ...„./:.; arc found. This worm was sent 



NO. r2 7Q, VOL. 50J 



to me by Dr. Michaelsen, of Hamburg, a well-known authority 

 upon this group of animals : it had been collected by him in 

 South America during a recent expedition for collecting pur- 

 poses to that country. With great generosity he has handed 

 over to me for study the bulk of the Oligocha;ta which were 

 brought home by hiiu from Pat.agonia, the .'Vrgentine, and 

 Chili ; and the species upon which I desire to s.iy a few words 

 here was among those worms. It was discovered in the river 

 at Valdivia, in Chili. The worm, like Brandiiiira, is a member 

 of the family Tubificid.x, but it clearly represents a new genus 

 of that family, into the general characters of which I do not 

 propose to enter here. The collection contains several species 

 of ihis new genus, for which I suggest the name of Htipiy- 

 odrilui. The gilled species is not unlike the common Tiibifcx 

 of our streams and lakes in outward appearance, but it differs 

 from Ttil'i/ex and agrees with IWanchiura in having a series 

 of branchial processes attached lo some of the posterior seg- 

 ments of the body ; as I have only examined one specimen, it 

 is impossible to say whether the limited number of these gills, 

 in comparison with those of Sraiichiiira, is a distinguishing 

 mark ; but, in any case, they differ by reason of the fact that 

 they are lateral in position, being attached to the body just below 

 the lateral set^ ; in Bramhiura it will be remembered that they 

 are dorsal and ventral in position (cf. Quart. J cum. Miir. Sci. 

 March, 1S92, for the more complete description o( Braiic/iiura). 

 It is well known that the Tubificids, as a rule, live imbedded in 

 the mud with the tail — and not the head — end extruded, and 

 generally waving about in the water ; it is thus intelligible how 

 the development of gills upon the posterior, rather than the 

 anterior, end has come about. The single specimen which I 

 have examined possessed about thirteen pairs of branchi.v ; these 

 were at first very small, but gradually increased in size towards 

 the end of the body, those upon the terminal segments being, if 

 anything, larger than those upon any of the preceding segments ; 

 in Braiicliiura the gills diminish in length towards the cxlreinity : 

 it may be that my specimen of Htspcroarilui branchialus had 

 recently lost the tail, but there were no obvious signs of this. 

 The genus differs from Briiucluura — and, indeed, from any other 

 genus of Tubificidn; known, unless my PhrtoJrilus be accounted 

 a Tubificid — in that the spermatheca; (which are unusually long) 

 open behind the male pores, instead of, as in the other Tubi- 

 ficidx, in front of them. I mention this point to show that I 

 have not confounded this new gilled Tubificid with Braiicliiura. 



Frank. li. ISeddard. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCA TIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



O.KFuKD. — In a congregation held on April 26, Prof. A. H. 

 Green and Prof. C. Lapworth were appointed Examiners in I he 

 Final School of Natural Science (Geology), and Prol. II. 

 Marshall Ward and I'rof. F. W. Oliver were appointed Ex- 

 aminers in the same school in liotany. All the appointments 

 were made for one examination only. 



Notice is given that the final examination for the degree of 

 Bachelor of Medicine will begin on Monday, June 4. Names 

 to be sent in by .M.iy 19. The examination (or the degree of 

 Master of Surgery will begin on Wednesday, June 13. Names 

 to be sent in by May 30. The first examination for the degree 

 of Bachelor o( Medicine will begin on Friday, June 22. Names 

 to be sent in by June 7. 



The degree of D.C.L. /lonoris causii, was conferred on Wed- 

 nesday on Prof. August Weissmann. 



At a meeting of ihe Hoard of Faculty of Natural Science on 

 Tuesday last, new regulations for the preliminary examinations 

 in .Animal Morphology and Animal Physiology were approved 

 of. The new regulations will come into force in Michaelmas 

 Term, 1S94. 



At a meeting of the council of University College, Liverpool, 

 held on Tuesday, it was announced that Lord Derby had tele- 

 grapheil his intention lo provide for the endowment uf the chair 

 of .'Vnalomy. It was icsolved that Lord Derby be requested to 

 allow his name to be I'crmanently associated with the chair. 

 Formal intimation was also given of the endowment of a ch.iir 

 of Pathology by Mr. George Holt with ^{^lo.coo. It w.-is de- 

 cided that the new chair should be called the fieorge Holt Chair 

 of Pathology, and that candidates for the chair should be invited 



