The fungus-disease in India : a report of observations / by T.R. Lewis and D.D. Cunningham.

  • Lewis, T. R. (Timothy Richards), 1841-1886.
Date:
1875
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The fungus-disease in India : a report of observations / by T.R. Lewis and D.D. Cunningham. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    CHAPTER IX. LESSONS TO BE DEB1V£D FROM THESE CULTIVATION EXPERIMENTS. It wiJl be evident from the above brief account of No peculiar species the rcsults of our attempts at culti- of vegetable organisms . „ , , |.- developed in cuitiva- vation 01 the vai'ious morbicl products tions of the various ^> xi i • j i j i , • i morbid materials. 01 the Qisease, that WO havc entirely failed in obtaining the development of any special species of fungi or other organisms from the latter. The forms which made their appearance in connection with them were only those which are prone to occur indiscriminately on substrata of a most miscellaneous nature, and the only feature characteristic of the speci- mens developed on these special substrata was the fact that, in some instances, they were stained of a red color. This, however, is a phenomenon not confined to culti- vations on such materials—we have observed its occur- rence under very various conditions and in very dis- similar media, among others in solutions of choleraic excreta (Plate I, Pig 9)—and, even had it been so, the circumstance would have been of no value as an indication of specific peculiarities in the colored or- ganisms. Any one who has studied the varied developments of common moulds, or other low vegetable organisms, must be well aware that mere color, independent o structm'al peculiarities, is as untrustworthy a basis for the determination of specificity in Mere color insuffl- i j. -j. • • ^ j. oient to determine spe- regard to them as it IS lu regard to higher organisms. It may, however, be argued that, allowing that our experiments showed no evidence of the presence of any peculiar specific forms in the products of the disease, it is sufficient that varieties characterised by certain features, such as color, were developed. It may be affirmed that the presence of peculiar colors implies a difference of con-