1880.] 



MICROSCOPICAL JOUR^NAL. 



107 



microscopists appears to be : How 

 does the parasite establish itself 

 upon the animal, and in what man- 

 ner is the skin impregnated by its 

 spores? No doubt a scratched or 

 abraded surface would readily meet 

 the requirements of the fungus ; 

 but in the absence of such prepara- 

 tion, it is highly probable that the 

 motile spores are introduced by ab- 

 sorption. Something analogous ex- 

 ists in the human family, and the 

 terrible malady known as the fun- 

 gous foot of India, prevalent among 

 the shoeless portion of the popula- 

 tion affords an example. This fun- 

 gus resembling to a Mucor^ but 

 scientihcally classed as Chionyphe 

 Carteri^ perforates and honeycombs 

 the bones of the foot ; the cavities 

 becoming filled with the mycelium 

 of the plant, when, if speedy am- 

 putation is not effected, death soon 

 ensues from exhaustion. Mr. H. 

 I. Carter, F. R. S., is of opinion 

 that this disease is occasioned by 

 the entrance through the sudorific 

 ducts of minute spores in an amoe- 

 boid state, and which attain a 

 monstrous growth, as the black 

 fungus in the human body. 



It is certainly within the micro- 

 scopist's province to ascertain and 

 accurately describe the character 

 and habits of these destructive 

 pests. When the conditions under 

 which they flourish are once known, 

 such may be removed and the foe 

 ousted from its source. But to deal 

 empirically with an enemy like this, 

 or, when known, to adopt merely 

 vacillating measures, is to trifle 

 with a destructive and insidious an- 

 tagonist, with the probable result 

 of rendering the mischief chronic. 



Although epidemics among pre- 

 served animals seem usually to run 

 their course and vanish for a time, 

 as with the civilized portion of hu- 

 manity, yet a primary cause must 

 exist to account for each outbreak, 



probably resolving itself in its ori- 

 gin into an interference with the 

 ordinary processes of Nature; in- 

 ducing a sudden and abnormal de- 

 velopment of some putrefactive 

 vegetable ferment which breaks out 

 in a predominant form of disease. 

 Hospital gangrene was supposed by 

 Berkely to be of this nature. 



This much is certain, that the 

 salmon, by its environments, is sub- 

 ject to conditions of so artificial a 

 character as to render it improb- 

 able that any indigenous wild animal 

 can submit to them without impover- 

 ishment, or adapt itself to the rapidly 

 altering circumstances. Hence, un- 

 less there is a general reversion to 

 natural conditions, only those will 

 remain which can survive amidst 

 the increasing pollution consequent 

 upon trade extension and the deve- 

 lopment of mineral resources. 



It, therefore, follows that all 

 available means should be adopted 

 in order to conform to natural re- 

 quirements, and that the fish should 

 be permitted to follow their habits 

 without the interposition of bar- 

 riers, which interfere with tenden- 

 cies and instincts that are actually 

 bound up with the creature's exis- 

 tence, and which may be justly re- 

 garded as so many inflexible laws 

 laid down by Nature for the pre- 

 servation of a species. 



Directions for Cleaning 

 Diatoms. 



So many microscopists are inter- 

 ested in diatoms but do not succeed 

 well in their attempts to clean them, 

 that a short and thoroughly practi- 

 cal article on the subject will be 

 valuable to many readers of the 

 JouENA-L. There will be nothing 

 in this article that is particularly 

 new ; but in most contributions to 

 the subject, the directions are either 

 intended to apply to special cases, 



