2,^6 The I'ltngMs Disease of India. [part il 



substance of the masses, it is obviously a matter of no special importance or interest, save 

 as affording a new example of the varied nature of the substrata on which this ubiquitous 

 mould will occur. 



B. — Cultivations of the Morbid products of the Pale variety of the affection. 



The next series of cultivations, regarding which some particulars must be given, are 

 those in which the material experimented with consisted of the roe-like masses and other 

 morbid products and tissues obtained from specimens of the ochroid variety of the disease. 

 The cultivations of such materials on rice-paste need not be specially alluded to, 

 as they gave results which differed in no essential particulars from those in the experi- 

 ments with the black matter. Some of the cultivations or rather macerations in water, 

 however, presented some peculiarities and points of interest. 



Cultivation V. — Some of the cancellated tissue and oily matter were removed from 

 the bones in a specimen described in the present report as Specimen I (page 345) of the 

 pale variety of the disease, and set in a wide-necked bottle of water beneath a bell-glass. 

 The water was once or twice changed at first in order to get rid of the spirit in which the 

 specimen had been preserved and was then allowed to remain undisturbed. No note- 

 worthy change occurred for some time. After the lapse of a fortnight the mouth and 

 neck of the bottle were observed to have become covered with a thin layer of mould? 

 which had also spread over a considerable portion of the surface of the fluid. It did not, 

 however, penetrate beneath the surface, and was widely remote from the diseased tissues 

 at the bottom of the bottle. When first observed, the mould was of a whitish and greyish 

 tint, and consisted solely of mycelial filaments without any fructification, but subsequently 

 the mycelium gave rise to a crop of poor, partially aborted heads of common Penicillium 

 and Aspergillus. The bone and fatty matter at the bottom of the fluid remained to all 

 appearance entirely unaltered. 



During several weeks no further change was observed, save a gradual evaporation 

 of the water and a proportional spread of the mould downwards over the interior 

 surface of the bottle as the latter became exposed to the air. The fragments of tissue 

 at the bottom now gradually assumed a distinct pale pink hue, and light flocculi of 

 a similar colour could be seen attached to them, loosely adherent to the sides of the 

 bottle beneath the water or forming a light deposit at the bottom. On examining 

 this cloudy flocculent matter microscopically, it was found to be principally composed 

 of a granular basis, which, whenever in mass, presented a distinct pink tint ; whilst 

 even the thinnest flakes of it when examined slightly out of focus were more or less 

 characterised by a similar colour. A few mycelial filaments were also present, together 

 with myriads of active Bacteria and Vibriones, numerous active and encysted Paramecia, 

 and a sprinkling of large active Rotifers. All these organisms, animal as well as vegetable, 

 were in many instances of a distinct pink colour, which was more marked, the larger 

 the mass of the organism affected by it ; and specially bright in some of the Rotifers. 



