2go TiMEHRI. 



of the filaria to its ordinary length. After death the 

 worm may occupy either the entire length of the tubular 

 sac, or be so contra6ted as to leave the tube empty at 



one or both ends The internal organs 



are not sufficiently differentiated to be recognised with 

 anything like certainty, although when carefully scru- 

 tinised from time to time during the twenty-four or 

 forty-eight hours that the parasites may continue to 

 live, something like differentiation of an alimentary canal 

 may be recognised." (TiMOTHY Lewis). The im- 

 portance of this parasite and its connexion with certain 

 diseases such as Elephantiasis and Chyluria cannot be 

 over-estimated. That it occurs in all cases of Elephan- 

 tiasis has not by any means yet been satisfaftorily 

 determined; but its connexion with Chyluria may be 

 considered to be fully established. 



And although it is not absolutely established that these 

 diseases depend solely upon the Filaria for their produc- 

 tion, yet the intimate relation shown by these diseases 

 and the almost invariable presence of these parasites 

 point very strongly to the relation of cause and effe6l. 

 The idea then at once occurs that if only we can prevent 

 the ingress of these parasites into human beings, we 

 shall at once commence to eradicate these formidable 

 and oftentimes incurable diseases. Now the credit of 

 this idea and the establishment of it on a definite and 

 rational working hypothesis belong entirely to Manson. 

 He has proved very conclusively by numerous experi- 

 ments made in China that the mosquito attacking a 

 subje6l affe6ted with the Filaria sanguinis hominis 

 imbibes along with the blood of the subje6t numbers of 

 these Filaria, which is only natural, seeing in what 



