On the Fungi Groiuing in Mines. 51 



fortunately, the fungi which occur in the diseases of man, 

 have seldom been examined by [)ersons intimately acquainted 

 with these fungi, so that the species or even genera in 

 question are often doubtful. It is, however, certain that 

 many of those which are found on different parts of tlie 

 mucous membranes of animals, in a more or less advanced 

 stage of growth, are like the fungi of yeast, referable to 

 common species of mould. It is not probable, that in 

 these cases, fungi originate disease, though they frequently 

 aggravate it. The spores of our common moulds float about 

 everywhere, and as they grow with great rapidity, they are 

 able to establish themselves on any surface where the 

 secretion is not sufficiently active or healthy to throw off 

 the intruder. Where the spores are ver}^ abundant, they 

 may sometimes, like other minute bodies, obstruct the 

 minute cells of the luno[s, but there is no reason to believe 

 that they induce epidemic diseases." 



I may here remark, that I had not seen the foregoing 

 paragraph when I first formed the idea that fungi spores 

 might have something to do with the lung diseases common 

 amongst miners, but whilst hunting up information on the 

 subject, I came across this passage which certainly upholds 

 my preconceived idea. The greater proportion of the fungi 

 which I have been describing, are certainly closely related 

 to the moulds referred to by Professor Berkeley ; in fact, 

 I have very little doubt that they are nothing but huge 

 overgrown members of the same family, swollen to ex- 

 travagant dimensions by the heat and moisture by which 

 they are surrounded. In Dr. Cunningham's report of his 

 " Microscope Examination of Air," conducted in India (1872), 

 he says, "That spores and similar cells were of constant 

 occurrence, and were generally present in considerable 

 numbers. That the majority of cells were living, and ready 

 to undergo development on meeting with suitable conditions 

 was very manifest, as in those cases in which preparations 

 were retained under observation for any length of time, 

 germination rapidly took place in many of the cells." 



With reference to the size of these spores, Dr. Cooke 

 remarks, that "The largest spore is microscopic, and the 

 smallest known scarcely visible under a magnifying power 

 of 360 diameters." Taking into consideration the confined 

 space in which miners must necessarily work, and the 

 immense number of spores from such a quantity of fungi as 



E 2 



