78 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Parasitic Animals. 
It is a curious and interesting fact, that there is 
scarcely an animal from the highest to the lowest; from 
man, down through the whole series of organized ex¬ 
istence to the microscopic infusoriae, which is not the 
prey of other creatures, that find in their various or¬ 
gans and tissues a sustenance and a home, where all the 
changes of animal existence, nutrition, growth, and re¬ 
production are carried on, frequently without the know¬ 
ledge of the superior. To this class of animals, that 
live within and draw their subsistence from the bodies 
of others, the name of Eutozoa has been given, and for 
the purpose of illustration we have copied from Prof. 
Silliman’s Journal, No. 80, a figure of one of the spe¬ 
cies which infest that noble animal the horse. 
Horse’s Eye—(Fig. 47.) 
The animal here shown belongs to the Filaria, a kind 
of worm, named from their round, thread-like appear¬ 
ance, and of which many species are known to exist in 
man and in animals. The worm in the engraving is a 
representation of one figured and described by Dr. 
Lee of New-York, as it was to be seen last year in the 
eye of a horse exhibited in that city. Dr. Lee says, 
‘‘ It was first observed in February last, (1839,) when 
it was about half an inch in length, since which it has 
increased so as to measure at present about four inches, 
resembling a portion of white thread or bobbin, with an 
enlargement at one extremity of half an inch or more 
in extent. The animal is confined exclusively to the 
anterior chamber of the eye. in which it swims with 
the greatest ease and activity, doubling itself in every di¬ 
rection and performing the most graceful and rapid 
evolutions.” Soon after the worm was discovered, there 
was some inflammation of the eye, but this had passed 
away, and the eye when seen by Dr. Lee had as natural 
and healthy appearance as the other. 
In the Transactions of the American Philoshphical 
Society is an account of a similar worm in the eye of a 
horse, furnished by John Morgan, M. D • in this case 
the worm was white, three inches in length, like fine 
round bobbin; but instead of being confined to either 
chamber of the eye, it passed at pleasure and with 
great rapidity from one to the other, which made it 
much more difficult of observation than the one exhibi¬ 
ted in New-York. The horse’s eye was also much swol¬ 
len and inflamed, and it was with difficulty that the eye 
could be kept open more than a few seconds at a time. 
The irritation produced by the passage of the worm 
over the extremely sensitive ciliary processes is sup¬ 
posed by Dr. Lee to have been the cause of this inflam¬ 
mation. 
Singular as this fact of worms existing in the eyes of 
animals may be, and the cases we have selected here are 
by no means solitary, it is not this class of worms 
which are the most common, or of the greatest interest 
to the farmer. Many of the diseases of man and 
animals are now satisfactorily traced to these eutozoa, 
and a short history of some of them cannot fail to be 
interesting. 
L Ccenurus cerebralis .—This parasite is found in the 
brain of animals, particularly that of sheep, and gives 
rise to that common and fatal disease called the stag¬ 
gers. It has an elongated, flattish body, and a head 
furnished with a rostrum, hooks, and suckers. Direc¬ 
tions for its extraction may be found in works on the 
sheep. 
2. Cysticercus .—Some species of this eutozoa infest 
the muscular system of man, and have been found in the 
human eye. They are usually enclosed in a cyst or 
condensed capsule of surrounding substance. These 
parasites occur in animals, particularly the hog; 
giving rise to that condition of the muscles called 
“ measly pork.” 
3. Diastoma hepaticum .—This is the fluke worm, 
found in the gall bladder and ducts of many ruminating 
animals ; and from its being present in the liver in 
great numbers in the disease of sheep called the rot, 
it is supposed to be the producing cause of that fatal 
disorder. This parasite in its shape resembles a melon 
seed, is hermaphrodite an 1 oviporous. and lives on the 
biliary secretions of the animal it infests. 
4. Filaria bronchialis .—This animal is the cause of 
that distressing and fatal disease in cattle called 
bronchitis, and causes death by filling the bronchial 
tubes in such numbers that breathing is impossible 
The disease called the Gapes in poultry is also causec 
by a filaria, (see Cultivator vol. 7, page 116, for an ac 
count of this disease and its cure in fowls.) It has 
been found in the lungs of persons suffering from con 
sumption, and in the lungs of inferior animals when af¬ 
fected as they sometimes are with tubercles. 
5. Tania solium. —This is the tape worm of the hu 
man body, and frequently attains an enormous length 
It is much more common in some countries than in oth 
ers, though found in all. Those passed, rarely exceec. 
twenty feet in length ; but in dissections they have been 
found extending from the pylorus to the rectum, and 
then by no means fully stretched out. This is one of 
the most formidable parasites to which man is subject 
6. Ascarus lumbricoides. —This worm occurs in the 
hog, and the ox, as well as in man, and seems to pro 
duce little inconvenience unless occurring in considera 
ble numbers. It is very common in children, and when 
found in great numbers, as it sometimes is, always in 
dicates serious derangement. 
7. Filaria ovale. —This is the hair worm found in 
fishes, found in the liver of some, and the muscular 
part of others. It is frequently observed in the sun fish 
of the lakes, in the summer season, rendering them un¬ 
fit for eating. 
8. Filaria medinensis. —This is the well known Gui¬ 
nea worm, found in warm climates, “ most often seen 
in the morning dew, sometimes ten or twelve feet long 
and not thicker than a horse hair.” This worm is in¬ 
sinuated under the skin, where it is felt like 
or \vire, but though 
string 
is 
sometimes 
a tense 
several feet in 
length, it produces little pain until the skin is perfora¬ 
ted. Great care is required to extract this filaria with 
out breaking, and when drawn out, its appearance is 
like an elastic white thread. It is found in various 
parts of the body, although most usually in the feet or 
legs. 
9. Filaria papillosa. —It is well known that hogs in 
warm climates are sometimes attacked with a weakness 
of the loins, which causes them to drag their hind parts 
after them rather than walk, and frequently proves fa¬ 
tal. This disease is caused by a filaria which multi¬ 
plies in the muscles of the loins, and causes paralysis 
of the hind legs. In some instances, where the hog was 
not too fat, making an incision on both sides of the 
spine at this part of the back, and making repeated ap¬ 
plications of spirits of turpentine to the wounds, has 
produced a cure. The turpentine probably passes into 
the muscles sufficiently to reach and destroy the filaria. 
Horses are sometimes affected in the same way, and 
from the same cause. In the United States it is uncom¬ 
mon, but may be considered common in India. 
10. Oxyurus .—This worm which grows to the length of 
two or three inches, is sometimes found in the lungs of 
animals, particularly swine, and is doubtless the cause 
of many casualties in that part of the farmer’s stock 
Animals in which they are found will sometimes fatten 
well, and appear to suffer no inconvenience from them 
in other cases they form turbercles and evidently cause 
disease. They somewhat resemble some of the ascari. 
The immense number of these parasitic creatures 
that have been discovered and classified, may be infer¬ 
red from the fact that about 80 varieties of the Ascarus 
alone are known, and this is by no means one of the 
most prolific genera. The method of reproduction in 
some of them is involved in mystery, but some of them 
are certainly produced from ova, and Prof. Owen of 
London, the most celebrated comparative anato¬ 
mist of the age, estimates the number of eggs in one 
Ascaris lumbricoides (the common worm of children,) 
which he examined, at sixty-four millions. 
Perhaps the origin of these parasitic animals is one 
of the most difficult questions to solve, belonging to 
animal physiology. Were they only found in the intes¬ 
tinal canal, the opinion of Linnaeus that they were ta¬ 
ken in with the food or drink, and therefore were ter¬ 
restrial or aquatic, would seem plausible : but such is 
not the case, the most secluded parts, as the brain, are 
infested ; and besides if we except some of the filaria, 
those worms which infest animal bodies, are never 
found out of them. Writers on this subject are at this 
time divided into three classes, those who advocate the 
doctrine of their spontaneous generation; those who 
maintain that these worms, &c. “ are produced by some 
living process or function of the organism, analogous 
to the secretion, lymph on a serous surface. An organ¬ 
ized portion of matter is thus formed, under the influ¬ 
ence of the vital principle of the original animal, 
which is afterwards thrown off, and becomes a separate 
being, and capable of an independent existence;” and 
those who attribute the origin and presence of worms, 
whether intestinal or visceral, in all cases to ova. 
The doctrine of spontaneous generation, or that 
which supposes these animals to arise from an organi¬ 
zed portion of the animal in which they are found, 
will probably find few advocates in this country, as to 
both there seem indispensable objections arising from 
the impossibility of there being any limit to the species 
produced, or any certainty in the order of their appear¬ 
ance, if these theories were true. Besides.there has 
never been a well authenticated case of spontaneous 
•generation, and a reference of any thins: to such a cause, 
can be considered only as an admission that we do not 
know how else it could be produced. “ If this theory 
were true, it is difficult to explain why the law should 
be confined to the lower order of animals, and not also 
extend to the higher. We should expect occasionally 
to see a man, a quadruped, or a bird, spring up from 
some dunghill or fermenting vat ; but this is a pheno¬ 
menon which even Ovid never dreamed of.” 
The microscopical discoveries of Ehrenberg have done 
much to elucidate the question of production and pro¬ 
pagation of these various animals, proving as he has, 
that all are provided with organs of reproduction, and 
in many cases their fecundity and rapidity of multipty- 
ing is truly astonishing, thousands if not millions of 
ova being produced at a time. The old doctrine then, 
which attributes the origin of all vitality, to an egg or 
germ, is not likely to be falsified in this case; and it 
may reasonably be concluded that these creatures that 
exist in and prey on the higher order of animals, are 
produced and disseminated in this well known way. 
The distinguished observer just named maintains that 
these minute ova can be easily carried by the circula¬ 
ting fluids to every part and tissue of the animal sys¬ 
tem, but they only fix themselves or propagate in those 
places to which they are adapted. Thus the D. hepa¬ 
ticum is never found except in the gall and bladder, 
liver, and their ducts ; the F. bronchitis only in the 
bronchial passages ; the A. lumbricoides in the intes¬ 
tines ; and the Trichina spiralis in the muscular tissue. 
Those who are acquainted with the writings of some 
of the most distinguished physiologists, such as Bre¬ 
mer, Blumenbach, and Rodolphi, are aware that nu¬ 
merous instances have occurred in which the existence 
of worms in the foetus of man and other animals, and 
in the intestines of birds just from the shell, was fully 
proved ; and the only rational mode of accounting for 
their appearance is, that they were derived from the 
circulation of the parent. It is probable that in this 
way, viz. by circulation in the blood, the ova of the 
filaria reached the eye of the horse, where, finding 
suitable food, it remained until it reached the size shown 
in the engraving. 
Agricultural Census of N T ew-York. 
We avail ourselves of the returns of the Agricultural. 
Census of the State, made by the direction of the United 
States, and lay it before our readers as one of the most 
interesting statistical tables that has yet appeared. We 
shall present the table, giving the aggregate of the U. 
States, as soon as it appears. We may append a few 
remarks. 
Items Aggregate .j Items. Aggregate. 
Horses and mules,-- 476,115 Tons of hay,. 3,160,916 
Neat cattle,. 2,202,438 Pounds of cocoons, • 2,103 
Sheep,. 5,381,225 Pounds of sugar, •• 10,093,991 
Swine.. 1,916,954 Cords of wood sold, 1,085,048 
Poultry of all kinds, (Value of the produce 
estimated value, • $2,373,029; of the dairy, ••• -$10,497,032 
Bushels of wheat,-- 11,853,507 Value of the produce 
Bushels of barley,•• 2,49S,170; of the orchard,-- $1,722,357 
Bushels of oats,- 20,728,739 Galls, of wine made, 14,710 
Bushels of rye,. 2,984,913 Value of home made 
Bush, of buckwheat, 2,244,438; or family goods,- $16,335,075 
Bush, of Indian corn, 10,085,142 
Pounds of wool,---- 14,093,134 
Pounds of hops,---• 362,762; 
Pounds of wax, lS4,02l' 
Bush, of potatoes,-- 30,000,508’ 
Pounds of tobacco ! 
gathered,. 6,567 
Value of roduce of 
market gardens, • $462,308 
Value of nurseries 
and florists,. $76,550 
Number of pers ns 
employed,. 525 
Capital invested,-- $258,608 
It will be remembered that the census relates to the 
year 1839, so far as the products of crops are concerned, 
and that the yield of these in gener.al was much less, 
particularly in wheat and corn, than in 1840. There 
are evidently some errors in the report, as printed, such 
as the number of sheep in Onondaga County, and some 
minor ones we have noticed ; but these may in part be 
considered incidental to a first attempt, and will not be 
likely to recur hereafter. To perfect accuracy in de¬ 
tails, such estimates can make no pretensions ; still they 
furnish a mass of facts most interesting to the statesman 
and all who take an interest in the progress of the coun¬ 
try. From the State census of 1835, it appears that the 
number of neat cattle was then 1,885,711, giving an in¬ 
crease in five years of 316,727. The number of horses 
and mules was then 524,895, being a decrease of 108,- 
420. The number of sheep was then 4,261,765, increase 
1,126,460. The number of swine then, was 1,554,358, 
showing an increase of 362,595. It will be seen at once 
that it would have been very interesting to have been 
able to have gone through the present table and compare 
the results ; but with the exception of these items, agri¬ 
culture was entirely left out of the State census. Such 
an omission we hope will not occur again, and as the 
United States will probably follow up the system so well 
commenced, we may hope to be able to review our pro¬ 
gress once in five years hereafter, and doubtless with 
the best results. 
Diseased Peach Trees. —A correspondent of the 
Farmer’s Cabinet, who has evidently bad some acquaint¬ 
ance with the subject on which he treats, says, ‘‘ The 
most effectual remedy for unhealthy trees I have ever 
seen tried, is to lay bare the immediate roots around 
the trunk of the tree, and apply plenty of soap suds.” 
The Mokelt.o Cherry. —Such has b< en the spread of that 
enemy of the plum and the cherry, the black blight, or canker, 
that these favorite fruits are fast disappearing from some sec¬ 
tions of our country. As the carefully cutting out these ex¬ 
crescences from the plum tree, as fast as they show them¬ 
selves, will preserve that tree, it is probable the same effect 
would be produced by a similar treatment of the cherry when 
attacked. Mr. D. W. Neil states in the Frederick (Va.) He - 
aid, that some six years since he removed from a Morel 1 o 
chetryall the black'knotty excrescences that had appeared, 
and by continuing to do so each year since, when they have 
sh. wn themselves, the tree is still doing well and produces 
fine fruit 
