ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE 
 PARASITES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Human Skin and Hair. 
 
 BY 
 
 B. JOY JEFFRIES, A.M.,M.D. 
 
 FELLOW OF THE MASSACHUSETTS MEHICAL SOCIETY; MEMI5ER OF THE AMEBICAN 
 OPHTHALMOLOGICAL SOCIETY; OPHTHALMIC SURGEON TO THF, MASSACHU- 
 SETTS CHARITABLE EYE AND EAR INFIRMAEY; OPHTHALMIC STTEGEON 
 TO THE CAENEY HOSPITAL; LECTURER ON OPTICAL PHENOMENA, 
 AND THE EYE, AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY; LATG 
 LECTURER ON DISEASES OF THE SKIN AT 
 BEBK8HIBE MEDICAL COLLEGE. 
 
 BOSTON : 
 
 ALEXANDER MOORE, 
 
 1872.
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by 
 
 Alexander Moore, 
 
 la the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at "Washington. 
 
 •TBBEOTTPED BY JOHN C. BKQAN & OO. 
 65 Congress Street
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Animal Parasites of the Human Skin ... 7 
 Vegetable Parasites of the Human Skin . . 55 
 False Parasites of the Human Body . . .87 
 
 (V) 
 
 H*^^> 
 
 70GU20
 
 Eiometisal 
 Library 
 
 ANIMAL PARASITES 
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Man's cutaneous envelope, like the integument 
 of the lower animals, is subject to be temporarily 
 visited bj parasites, or perhaps become a perma- 
 nent abode for them. However unpleasant this 
 idea may seem, only too many of the human family 
 in the most civilized countries are annoyed or ren- 
 dered miserable by the presence of the animal para- 
 sites. Amongst the poor and dirty, the unfortunate 
 children suffer a great deal from them, and we have 
 seen serious trouble arise from their ravages. But 
 all classes of the community are liable to be infested 
 by them , — the wealthiest and the cleanest. Among 
 the lower classes, prejudice, ignorance, and even 
 superstition, help to favor the production and con- 
 tinued existence of these parasites ; and in the upper 
 
 (7)
 
 8 ANIMAI. PARASITES 
 
 classes a lack of knowledge of their nature, and 
 the means to avoid or get rid of them. The 
 mental agony of a young lady on finding her 
 auburn tresses the home of the only too common 
 insect, can only be appreciated by those who have 
 realized it. We have known the most refined to 
 sufier thus for months, merely from shame to 
 apply to a physician, or ignorance of the very 
 simple means necessary to be freed from what 
 is naturally regarded as so loathsome. Where 
 soap and water are attainable, man can keep his 
 body clear of these animals. If every teacher in 
 the public schools could be authorized to send a 
 child so infested home, and at the same time knew 
 enough to direct the mother or family what to do 
 to relieve the child of its trouble, it would at 
 least be a comfort to those physicians who, in at- 
 tendance at the great charitable institutions, come 
 necessarily in immediate contact with the thou- 
 sands of poor people and their little ones, whom 
 sickness and misery are constantly sending there. 
 The animal parasites are the pest of the public 
 schools. Neglect and ignorance alone foster their 
 presence. By explaining the natural history, the 
 habits, habitats, methods of propagating, and
 
 OF THE HUJMAN SKIN. 9 
 
 means of getting rid of these animals, we hope 
 to be able to assist our readers in keeping a mens 
 Sana in corjpore sano, — a sound mind in a healthy 
 and cleanly body. 
 
 The animal parasites of the human skin may be 
 divided into two classes ; those which live on the 
 skin, and those which live in the skin. We will 
 commence our study with those of the first class, 
 namely, the pediculi, of which there are three 
 kinds, — the head-louse, the crah-louse, and the 
 hody-louse. The first of these is met with only 
 on the hair of the head ; it is entirely confined to 
 the scalp, and never attacks the other hairy parts 
 of the body. It is unfortunately too familiar an 
 object to require any special delineation of it to 
 be given here. The color varies, livid or pale 
 gray, and is said to change according to the hair. 
 The male insects are fewer in number than the 
 females ; the latter are also much larger. They 
 have three pairs of legs, and all the feet are sim- 
 ilar. The last tarsal joint has a large claw on its 
 outside, and on its inside two straight, thick, 
 horny stumps, and a large bristle. A microscope 
 of moderate magnifying power will show this 
 structure of the animal.
 
 10 ANIMAL PARASITES 
 
 When the eggs are laid, they stick firmly to the 
 human hair, and are called nits. This we will 
 more particularly explain further on. In six 
 days the young escape from the Q^g^, and are 
 ready to lay eggs at the age of eighteen days. A 
 female lays some fifty eggs in all. We thus see 
 why such enormous quantities of the animals are 
 often seen, and how they propagate with such 
 astonishing rapidity. 
 
 It is easy enough to tell when a person is in- 
 fested with these vermin, because the animals 
 creep about upon the head, and their eggs are 
 large enough to betray themselves to thd" naked 
 eye, especially on dark hair. As the insect can 
 run about, the eggs will be found strung along the 
 whole length of the hair. 
 
 We said this kind inhabits only the scalp, where, 
 by their creeping about, but more especially by 
 their biting the skin, in pursuit of nourishment, 
 they cause intense and constant itching, and hence 
 intense and constant scratching on the part of the 
 person infested. We all know how tender the 
 scalp is made by hard brushing, combing, or vio- 
 lent shampooing, and can therefore readily under- 
 stand that the constant digging the finger-nails
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 11 
 
 into the skin of the head to allay the itching, will 
 finally cause inflammation of the cutaneous surface. 
 An artificial eczema, as dermatologists call it, is 
 produced, and this all the more in those persons, 
 children for instance, who are predisposed to 
 eczematous eruptions. This inflammation causes 
 a fluid to exude from the skin, which, with the 
 blood coming from where the cuticle has been 
 deeply torn by the nails, dries up and forms crusts 
 and scales, mixed also with the natural fatty secre- 
 tion of the scalp, from the sebaceous follicles. 
 Hence the loathsome appearance which such a head 
 presents. Moreover, the greater the amount of 
 exuded fluid, the greater amount of food for these 
 vermin, and the more rapid their growth and mul- 
 tiplication. Thus we see that the irritation of the 
 lice caused itching ; this led to the scratching, 
 which, continued for a length of time, produced an 
 artificial eczema, or inflammation of the skin. The 
 exuded fluid of eczema is food for the pedicuU, 
 under the crusts and scales the animals can hide ; 
 the matted hair affords better opportunity for the 
 eggs or 7iits to hatch, and so a person who has 
 eczema of the head offers a much better field for 
 the cultivation and propagation of these vermki.
 
 12 ANIMAI. PARASITES 
 
 Now dirt and poverty predispose to eczematous 
 eruptions ; and those with such disease are, in 
 these circumstances of life, more liable to come im 
 contact with others infested with pedicuU, and 
 thus the animals are transferred from one person 
 to another. We all know how quickly one infested 
 head in a school, or public institution, affects the 
 other children, even when considerable care and 
 cleanliness are exercised. But these insects 
 never come except from contagion. The vermin 
 crawl from one person to another. The eggs or 
 nits are not transferred, for these adhere tena- 
 ciously to the hairs where they are deposited by 
 the female insect. All stories of the spontaneous 
 generation of these or any other vermin are simply 
 ridiculous, and arise from ignorance, and the lack 
 of accurate and truthful observation. Care and 
 cleanliness are necessary on the part of all who are 
 forced to come in immediate contact with the dirty 
 and squalid. Some sympathy, we hold, should 
 be felt by the community for physicians who are 
 obliged to do this, as it is quite as disagreeable 
 for them as for others. Moreover, to say they 
 are used to it is no argument, since the getting
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 13 
 
 used to it involves what others uever have to un- 
 dergo. 
 
 Probably the human race all over the world 
 are infested more or less with pedicuU , It is even 
 doubtfnl whether there are different species of this 
 insect, or pecUculus capitis. One observer thought 
 he found a particular species on African negroes. 
 Lice are described as being rare among the Bra- 
 zilian Indians, and among the Indians of Magda- 
 lena, in Columbia ; but travellers have found them 
 among the New Hollanders, and the Asiatic and 
 American Indians. Their dried brood has been 
 found in the hair of the Peruvian mummies. At 
 one time, it was asserted that there was a partic- 
 ular pedicidus tabescentium, or louse of the con- 
 sumptive, and good people rather preferred to be 
 supposed to have them than the common head- 
 louse, which, however, they ivere. 
 
 The next animal parasite of tlie human skin, 
 whose natural history we will study, is thQ pedicu- 
 lies pubis, or crab-louse, which resembles the 
 pedicuhis capitis, but is shorter and broader. It 
 does not run about on the surface, but grasps *the 
 hair close down to the skin with its fore-legs, 
 which are provided with strong crab-like claws.
 
 14 ANIMAL PARASITES 
 
 The animal holds on so tight, that it will be 
 crushed before it relaxes the grasp of the hair ; 
 it deposits its eggs, the nits, on the hair, just as 
 the pediculus capitis does ; but as it cannot run 
 about, these are always placed on the hair close to 
 the skin, and hence often overlooked. To this wc 
 shall recur again, when speaking of the treatment of 
 these vermin. This animal lives on all the haired 
 portions of the body except the scalp, which is the 
 domain of the pediculus capitis. They never in- 
 terfere with each other. When both are present 
 on the same person, the head-louse will be found 
 on the hair of the head, down, for instance, to the 
 whisker, and never below ; whilst the crab-louse 
 infests the whiskers up to the scalp, which he never 
 occupies ; he does, however, take possession of 
 the eyebroAVs and eyelashes. Why this is, is not 
 yet known. The insect is transferred from one 
 individual to another by contact, and by the agency 
 of clothes, linen, and beds. It is said to be most 
 abundant in southern climates. 
 
 This pediculus lives on human blood, and, in 
 obtaining it from the skin by biting deeply and 
 firmly, it causes often considerable irritation, 
 varying, of course, Avitli the cutaneous sensibility
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 15 
 
 of the person affected. . This itching calls for 
 scratching, which finally produces a papular, or 
 eczematous eruption, the seat of which, however, 
 points towards the cause, and a careful examin- 
 ation will detect the pediculi on the hair close to 
 the skin, and the nits also near by. As these 
 parasites do not cause so much irritation as the 
 loediculi cajpitis, and infesting portions of the body 
 covered by the clothing, they often remain unob- 
 served, frequently living and thriving on an indi- 
 vidual for an indefinite period, especially among 
 those whose change of raiment or ablutions occur 
 about as often as the equinoxes, but not with the 
 same regularity. The ravages of the head-louse, 
 and the ravages of the finger-nails and comb to 
 allay the itching of the scalp, often produce, as we 
 said, an artificial eczema, or inflammation of the 
 skin, which, when long continued and excessive, 
 may finally cause the glands in the neighborhood 
 to swell up or break down into abscesses on the 
 neck, for instance, or behind the ears. This rarely 
 occurs with the pediculus pubis; yet in a person 
 predisposed to glandular swellings, the glands in 
 the groin may swell up from long-continued 
 scratching, and consequent eczematous eruptions,
 
 16 ANIMAL PARASITES 
 
 from this insect. But pustules are not so readily 
 caused on the other haired portion of the body as 
 on the scalp ; moreover, the head being uncov- 
 ered, is readily scratched when infested by ver- 
 min, and the deep digging of the finger-nails is 
 more irritating than the rubbing of the clothes. 
 
 The third and last pediculus to be described is 
 the jjediculus vestimenti, clothes-louse, or body- 
 louse. It is similar to the pediculus capitis in 
 external form, only larger, the principal distinc- 
 tion being the size. It is whitish in color, and 
 from one-twelfth to one-sixth of an inch in length. 
 There are three legs on each side, having four 
 joints, and terminating in claws. The habitat, or 
 place of living of the insect, is the clothes, in the 
 folds and seams of which the eggs are deposited, 
 appearing as little yellowish-white shining dots. 
 It feeds by biting the skin — principally those 
 parts nearest its haunt : namely, where the clothes 
 
 come in most immediate and constant contact withi 
 
 I 
 the cutaneous surface. Hence its ravages are seen) 
 
 on the neck, l)ack, and shoulders, around the waist, I 
 
 and wherever bands or straps give a resting-place 
 
 for the insects, an opportunity for the eggs to 
 
 hatch undisturbed, and hy lack of change of ap- 
 
 I
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 17 
 
 pare], a constant field of food. But though the 
 skin is mostly afiected at these parts, any portion 
 of it which is covered may sIioav signs of the ver- 
 min, since the patient will not only scratch where 
 the insect bites, but any part of the cutaneous 
 surface ; it being a well-known fact, that to allay 
 the sensation of itching it is not necessary to 
 scratch exactly where the source of irritation 
 exists. 
 
 Since the insect lives in the recesses of the 
 clothes, and sallies forth from there to prey upon 
 the skin for existence, a person so affected is quite 
 free of vermin when naked, a few adhering to the 
 skin, whilst the clothinsr removed mav be a livino; 
 mass of them. It is the constant wearing of the 
 same clothing, therefore, which affords a perma- 
 nent home for these insects. According to the 
 numbers present, and the cutaneous sensibility of 
 the individual infested, will be the amount of irri- 
 tation produced, and the consequent amount of 
 scratching. At first the slight itching occasions 
 only streaks of white or red from the marks of the 
 finger-nails, but afterwards excoriations are seen 
 from the further injury of the skin. These exco- 
 riations, will have little drops of dried blood, the
 
 18 ANIMAL PARASITES 
 
 skin becomes quite red, aud, as with the other 
 forms of pediculi, exhibits the scabs described — 
 papules, vesicles, and pustules. When the insects 
 have preyed upon the individual for a long time, 
 the continued irritation causes continued conges- 
 tion and infiltration, increasing the deposit of pig- 
 ment in the skin, which finally becomes rougher, 
 darker, and thicker than natural — sometimes ab- 
 solutely as black as the negro's. 
 
 The presence of these vermin, as with the other 
 kiuds, cause, from the scratching, artificial ecze- 
 matous eruptions, and in general call forth, on the 
 cutaneous surface, any disease of this tissue to 
 which the individual so afiected is liable, or pre- 
 disposed to. The enormous numbers of these 
 vermin which have at times been seen, and their 
 apparently rapid production, has given rise to the 
 idea that they were also generated spontaneously. 
 But this, as we said above, is owing to incorrect 
 observation and erroneous deduction. The jjed- 
 iculi vestimenti^ like the other pediculi, thrive best 
 when let alone, and where morbid cutaneous se- 
 cretions attract them. They may be always 
 detected on the clothing, if not on the body. The
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 19 
 
 general domain of their ravages tells the derma- 
 tologist what insect he has to deal with. 
 
 In the old days of superstition and credulity, 
 the death of any person specially noted in history 
 was very apt to be attributed by those succeeding 
 them, or those who wrote their history, to the 
 ravages of these several forms of lice, especially 
 this last — the clothes-louse. For instance, Aris- 
 totle relates that the poet Alcmanes, and the 
 Syrian Pherecydes, died of ^^/^^Amas/s; i. e., of 
 insects living on the body. Other more recent 
 authors report the same of Herod, Sylla, even 
 Plato, Philip the Second, and so on. However, 
 nowada^^s, we understand that a person lying in 
 bed sick, unable to move, uncleansed and neglected 
 from superstition or otherwise, will soon attract, 
 from those coming in contact with them, the par- 
 asites that the want of bodily ablution, and igno- 
 rance of a former age, allowed to accumulate till 
 death might be readily attributed to them. In a 
 civilized country, where soap and water, and med- 
 icines which kill these vermin, can be obtained, 
 there is no longer reason or excuse for their pres- 
 ence, as we shall next see.
 
 20 ANOIAL FARASITES 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 We have given a sketch of the habits, habitats, 
 and appearances of the three animal parasites of 
 the human skin which live upon it, of the family 
 of pediculi. AVe also spoke of the eftect upon the 
 cutaneous surface of their seeking nourishment in 
 the skin, the result of the intense itching caused 
 thereby, and the consequences of the irritation 
 from the person's endeavors to allay this. In this 
 chapter we will endeavor to explain how and where 
 these insects deposit their eggs, in w^hat w^ay they 
 can be destroyed as well as the animals themselves, 
 and thus enable those annoyed and chagrined by 
 their presence to rid themselves of them and their 
 effects. 
 
 The head-louse and the crab-louse lay their eggs 
 on the hairs, to which they are very firmly ftist- 
 ened, so that endeavoring to remove them will 
 sometimes even pull out the hair itself. They arc 
 called nits, and are struno: alono- on the hairs like 
 beads. The pediculus of the head, as it can run
 
 OF THE HUMAJ^ SKIN. 
 
 21 
 
 about, lays its eggs more scattered on the liair 
 than the pediculiis pubis, which can only move by 
 grasping the hair with its crab-like claws, and thus 
 pull itself from one to another ; hence it lays its 
 eggs close down to the skin on the hair, and where 
 there are many these are strung close to each 
 other, consequently often overlooked, even when 
 somewhat carefully sought for. The eggs of these 
 two insects are very much alike, and attached to 
 the hair in the same method, so that a single de- 
 scription will answer for both. A proper knowl- 
 edge of them is so essential to understanding the 
 methods of destroying them, that we shall give a 
 somewhat minute description in explanation of the 
 figures here given. The eggs, as seen, are pear- 
 shaped. The posterior end is pointed, the ante- 
 rior truncate, and furnished with a flattened round 
 
 Fig. 1.
 
 22 
 
 ANIIVIAL PARASITES 
 
 cover. Fig. 1 represents the ordinary appearance 
 of the egg when seen with a magnifying power of 
 about eighty diameters. "\Ye here see how the 
 Qgg is fastened to the hair, and why they stick so 
 firmly, being cemented as it were with a strongly 
 
 Fig. 2. 
 
 glutinous substance. Fig. 2 shows the egg when 
 rendered transparent in the glycerine, and exam- 
 ined with a magnifying power of one hundred and 
 thirty under the microscope. The broad end of 
 the egg has a lip, to which is attached a conical 
 lid, studded with little nodular processes. This 
 lid fa}ls off when the animal is ready to come out 
 of the shell. We see such a one at the side of the
 
 OF THE HUIHAN SKIN. 23 
 
 hair which has come off from the egg iu which the 
 insect is curled up. In the other egg on the hair 
 the pediculus is seen in the process of develop- 
 ment. We now know what a nit is, and how the 
 insect escapes from this egg. The shell is quite 
 hard, even with difficulty broken between the fin- 
 ger-nails. It entirely escapes long-continued and 
 hard combing, and is not destroyed by ordinary 
 washing with soap and water, or shampooing. 
 This is a point people generally are quite ignorant 
 of, but to be especially remembered. 
 
 The other kind of pediculus which lives se- 
 creted in the folds and seams of the clothes, lays 
 its eggs there. They are seen as minute, round, 
 yellowish-white dots, quite different from the eggs 
 of the other pediculi, and never found sticking 
 to the hairs. 
 
 All these insects are regarded as loathsome, and 
 yet every human being, from the highest to the 
 lowest, is liable to become infested with them, for 
 all classes of the community come in greater or 
 less contact with each other ; and it is by contact, 
 or by clothing, or utensils, that the animals are 
 passed from one to another. We cannot easily 
 avoid them, but we can always readily get rid of
 
 24 ANIMAL PARASITES 
 
 them and their effect on the skin, provided they 
 have not continued their ravages too long, for 
 their careful treatment by those experienced in 
 cutaneous diseases is sometimes requisite to relieve 
 the patient of their trouble. We mean that se- 
 vere and persistent iuflammation of the skin is 
 often caused by the presence, and consequent irri-, 
 tation, of these animals we have described, call-' 
 ing for the best efforts of those who have made 
 diseases of the skin a special study, in order to 
 subdue it. 
 
 The treatment oiphthiriasis^ or the presence of 
 lice, is quite simple, if three things are borne in 
 mind, namely : that we must kill the live insects, 
 destroy the eggs, and care for the condition of the 
 skin left afterwards. Now there are a number of sub- 
 stances of the mineral and vegetable world, which 
 are quite deadly to these animals when brought iu 
 contact with them, such as sulphur, mercury, seeds 
 of stavesacre, of sabadilla; the root of pyrethrum 
 or pellitory, many of the essential oils, and alco- 
 hol. All the patent medicines and other adver-j-, 
 tised nostrums warranted to destroy these vermim 
 contain some of these substances ; but as many
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 25 
 
 of such medicines are irritating to the skin, their 
 indiscriminate use is likely to do much harm. 
 
 Sulphur can be used as vapor baths or fumiga- 
 tions, but equally as well in the common sulphur 
 ointment of the Pharmacopoeia. Its smell pre- 
 vents its use by those who object to it, and other 
 things do equally well. Mercury can be used as 
 the common mercurial ointment, or two or three 
 grains of the bichloride of mercury can be dis- 
 solved in an ounce of water, and a few drops of 
 alcohol added, to assist solution. When applied 
 to the skin in this way the danger of salivation 
 amounts to nothing. Seeds of stavesacre can be 
 used as ointment, one part to four of lard, or an 
 infusion of them in vinegar. Sabadilla seeds can 
 be used as a powder when ground up, or as an 
 ointment, one part to eight of lard. A few drops 
 of the essential oils, as oil of cinnamon or rose- 
 mary added to these ointments, disguise or im- 
 prove the odor. The root of the pyre thrum or 
 pellitory is generally used in powder. Some of 
 the strong essential oils are also serviceable. 
 
 We thus see that there are a variety of sub- 
 stances we can employ, some one of which is 
 always within every one's reach. To get rid of
 
 26 ANIMAL PARASITES 
 
 these insects on the head, we must remember that 
 although the fine tooth-comb, steadily used, will, 
 when the hairs are not matted and there is no se- 
 cretion, remove all the live animals, yet it will not 
 destroy the nits or eggs, or break them away from 
 their attachment to the hairs. These eggs can 
 only be broken down by repeated washing ivith 
 alcohol or weah vinegar, or the strongest soft soap, 
 such as the German Schmierseife, or smearing 
 soap. The cure is not complete till the hairs are 
 free from them. When there is no objection, as 
 in children, it is better to cut the hair short, as 
 thereby we get rid of large numbers of nits, and 
 can bring whatever we use in more immediate 
 contact with the animals we desire to destroy. 
 When the hair is matted together b}' secretions, 
 and the skin inflamed, it is absolutely necessary to 
 cut the hair short, and use steady cleansing with 
 soap and warm water, otherwise the animals con- 
 tinue to propagate under the products of the 
 inflammation, and multiply innumerably. 
 
 It is not necessary to sacrifice the hair in women. 
 Combing, Avashing, and the application of some 
 of the above remedies are quite efi*ectual. When 
 there is severe inflammation and much eruption on
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 27 
 
 the head, especially of children, it will be safer to 
 consult some physician who pays especial attention 
 to diseases of the skin ; remember, however, to 
 avoid all who advertise in any form whatever, by 
 newspapers, handbills, pamphlets or almanacs, 
 and equally avoid patent medicines and quack 
 nostrums. These, unfortunately, only too often 
 succeed in fleecing the ignorant and credulous, 
 because the general practitioner disregards or 
 treats but lightly what in reality needs knowledge, 
 thought and care. 
 
 We have explained that the pediculus pubis, or 
 crab-louse, lived on all the haired portions of the 
 body except the scalp, which territory he always 
 leaves intact for his cousin the pediculus capitis. 
 This insect, it must again be remembered, cannot 
 run about, but holds on to the hair close to the 
 skin. Coml)in2: and rubbinof will not dislods^e it, 
 but it is readily, like the pediculus capitis, killed 
 by some of the substances mentioned. A powder 
 called Capuchin powder is used in Europe, to de- 
 stroy both these species of vermin. It is composed 
 of equal parts of seeds of stavesacre, cocculus and 
 sabadilla. To efiect a cure, all parts of the body 
 infested, or likely to be, must be thoroughly
 
 28 ANIMAL PARASITES 
 
 \ 
 
 rubbed. Some of the ointments, though not so 
 cleanly to apply, are more effectual than the pow- 
 ders in destroying this insect ; and washing them 
 off with strong soap, and hard rubbing, breaks 
 down the egg-shells, and prevents the young from 
 hatching:. Thorousjhness and care are the secret 
 of success. Any portion of the haired portion of 
 the body neglected, may be the seat of continued 
 contagion. The eyelashes even do not escape, 
 and the figures we have given are drawn 
 from the eggs of the pediculus pubis, found on 
 the lashes. ^Ye can understand now how it is 
 that some tribes of men whose habits are partic- 
 ularly uncleanly, still manage to be comparatively 
 free of these vermin. It is because they use 
 strong-smelling fats and ointments for smearing 
 the surftice of the body, and rubbing into the hair 
 in their manner of dressing it. Perhaps the ne- 
 cessity of some defence for the bod}', so much 
 exposed in hot climates from the attacks of in- 
 sects, originated the use of many ointments among 
 savage tribes, especially those living in the tropics. 
 In speaking of the pediculus vestimenti, or 
 clothes-louse, we said, when the person infested 
 had removed his clothes, he had removed the
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 29 
 
 insects, except any that might be then biting the 
 skin: so that to get rid of these vermin, clean 
 clothes and a thorough ablution is all that is nec- 
 essary. After they have lived and multiplied on 
 the individual indefinitely, as is often the case 
 amongst the lowest classes in civilized countries, 
 and among dirty semi-barbarous people who live 
 in climates requiring constant clothing, then the 
 products of the inflammation of the skin may con- 
 ceal some of these insects and their eggs, render- 
 ing an application to the skin of one of the 
 remedies above mentioned necessarj^. Boiling 
 clothes that can be washed, effectually destroys 
 both eggs and insects. A heat of 150 degrees 
 Fahrenheit applied to clothes that would be spoiled 
 by boiling, will also destroy all the animals and 
 their eggs concealed in the folds and seams. In 
 some parts of the world the common people bury 
 infested clothing in hay for several weeks ; in this 
 way the insects are killed, and the eggs prevented 
 hatching:. Strewinsr clothinof with some of the 
 powders we have mentioned above, also suffices to 
 disinfect it, without hurting the cloth in any 
 way. But the treatment of the clothing, like the 
 
 k
 
 30 ANIMAL PARASITES 
 
 treatment of the skin, must be thoroughly attended 
 to. 
 
 Of the million and a half of men who composed 
 the Noi-thern and Southern armies during the re- 
 bellion, we doubt if many score escaped being in- 
 fested by these parasites. We should not like to 
 say what proportion of the thousands of recruits 
 who passed through our examination, had to be 
 made clean before becoming soldiers. We have 
 known of officers being furloughed from the field 
 to return home, and once more get free of their 
 travelling companions in the shape of vermin. 
 Had every army surgeon, Xorth and South, been 
 quite familiar with the habits and habitats of 
 these insects, much suffering might have been 
 saved. Those who did understand the proper 
 and efficient methods of* prevention and treat- 
 ment, often labored strenuously for the personal 
 cleanliness of their command. Of course all ef- 
 fort failed when the accidents or necessities of 
 war prevented for weeks, or months, perhaps, 
 change of clothing, requisite ablutions, and the 
 wasning of under-garments. The horrors of the 
 Southern prisons were rendered still worse by 
 the loathsome presence of vermin, which the in-
 
 OF THE HIBIAN SKIN. 31 
 
 mates fruitlessly got rid of, as contagion soon 
 caused them to become as infested as before. 
 There was, however, great ignorance as well as 
 great neglect. Even in times of peace, the sur- 
 gical staff of our prisons, institutions of correc- 
 tion, school-ships, asylums, children's homes, 
 etc., kuow only too well how hard it is to enforce 
 a personal cleanliness, which shall prevent the 
 presence of contagious vermin. With great ar- 
 mies in the field it is impossible ; but not neces- 
 sary with these in times of peace. 
 
 We do not propose to speak here of the vari- 
 ous insects which attack man by stinging, or 
 those which draw blood from the skin for food, as 
 they cannot be strictly called parasites. We 
 mean of the former class, scorpions, ants, spiders, 
 etc., and of the latter class, bed-bugs, fleas, mos- 
 quitoes, gnats, many species of flies, etc. 
 
 We w^ill, therefore, now pass to the considera- 
 tion of some of the animal parasites which live 
 in the skin, or which may, under certain circum- 
 stances, deposit their eggs there. The • great 
 blue-bottle fly, miisca vomitoria, lays its eggs in 
 the orifices of the human body, or in wounds and 
 ulcers. The removal of their larvae is a matter
 
 ^2 ANIMAL PARASITES 
 
 of care and importance. So also with the com- 
 mon flesh-fly, musca carnaria. They thus add 
 greatly to the misery of certain endemic diseases, 
 as the aflections of the eye in Egypt. The house- 
 fly may also deposit its eggs, and its larvae be 
 found in wounds, and the orifices of the body. 
 The eggs and larvae of the bot-flies may live on 
 the skin, and there form boils. In South Amer- 
 ica this parasite is reported as by no means rare 
 upon man. Von Humboldt called it cestnis hu- 
 maniis. It is not yet, however, settled whether 
 this is difierent from the bot of the horse, sheep, 
 ox, stag, and other bot-flies. Fluctuation will be 
 sought for in vain in the tumors produced by 
 them, but an orifice will be found in the swelling, 
 from which a little moisture constantly oozes, and 
 through which the hinder part of the cestrus is . 
 kept in communication with the air. The prog- 
 nosis is favorable, and immediate cure is only pos- 
 sible by incision, and the removal of the cestrus. 
 
 The Medina-worm, or Guinea hair-worm , /?/a- 
 7'ia onedinencis, is an inhabitant of another por- 
 tion of the world, and need not, therefore, be dis- 
 cussed here. On the other hand, we must take 
 some notice of the sand-fiea, pulex penetrans, since
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKTNT. 33 
 
 it occurs in South America, and where our coun- 
 trymen may more often come in contact with it. 
 It is smaller than the common flea, and has a pro- 
 boscis as long as the body. The male insect does 
 not penetrate the skin. This is done by the fe- 
 male, which swells up extraordinarily after it has 
 burrowed under the skin of men and animals. 
 Yon Humboldt thought it attacked only Euro- 
 peans, and not the aborigines. It is described as 
 an animal so small that it can only be seen by 
 sharp eyes, with a good light, for which reason 
 the seeking for the flea, after its immigration, is 
 generally left to children. It perforates the skin 
 down to the flesh, and, concealed in its little 
 canal, swells up into a white, globular vesicle, 
 which, in a few days, may become as large as a 
 pea, the pain constantly increasing ; this is the 
 abdomen of the female filled w4th eggs, or, more 
 correctly, with larvse. Neglect of the disorder, 
 or careless rupture of the vesicle, that is, the ab- 
 domen, by which the young are scattered in the 
 wound, where they then mine fresh passages, 
 leads to bad sores, to inflammation of the glands 
 of the groin, to mortification, and, in conse- 
 quence, to amputation or mutilation of the limbs,
 
 34 ANBLiL PARASITES 
 
 or even to death. The toes are especially at- 
 tacked by the flea, although other parts of the 
 body are also visited. Persons who are staying 
 in the places where the flea is common, must have 
 their feet examined every two or three days. 
 When the animal has once made an entrance, the 
 orifice of the canal, which is marked by a red 
 point, may be sought, the passage widened by a 
 needle, and the flea drawn out, but without tear- 
 ing it. With fresh punctures it is best to wait a 
 day, until the occurrence of the white vesicle, 
 that is to say, the swelling of the abdomen with 
 the brood, allows the animal to be more readily 
 detected. The cavity remaining after extraction, 
 is treated like a simple wound. In Brazil they 
 fill it with oil, snufi", or ashes. 
 
 There are two animals remaining for us to de- 
 scribe, inhabitants of the human' skin. One is 
 the acarus scabiei, or sar copies hominis^ the itch 
 insect, which causes no end of trouble in and on 
 the skin. The other, and perfectly harmless para- 
 site, of man's cutaneous envelope, is the acarus 
 folliculorum, or pimple mite, of which J^ir/. 3 is 
 a representation. This is a very enlarged view 
 of the animal, since its true length is from one-
 
 OF THE HU3IAN SKIN. 
 
 35 
 
 hiuiclredth to one-fiftieth of an inch in length. 
 Our figure here saves us any minute description 
 of this parasitic animal. The true pimple mite 
 was found by Henle and Gustav Sii|ion, in 1842, 
 almost simultaneously, and independently of each 
 
 Fig. 3. 
 
 other. They are found generally and most abun- 
 dantly in the glands of the skin which secrete the 
 grease, either opening on the surface, or into a 
 follicle, from which the hair springs. They are 
 of very frequent occurrence, it even being as- 
 serted that no one is free from them, and are dis- 
 covered in the sebaceous glands of the face, chin, 
 nose, and forehead, by pressing out the contents 
 of the gland, and adding a drop of colored oil to 
 it on the glass slide of the microscope. They
 
 36 ANIMAL PARASITES 
 
 sometimes occur singly ; sometimes several, ten 
 to twenty, are found in the contents of one folli- 
 cle. When in large numbers, their presence may 
 possibly caus^ an acne-like eruption. We have 
 often smiled at the success of the advertising 
 quacks, who pretend to treat diseases of the skin, 
 in duping their victims, and in fact the public in 
 general, in reference to this harmless animal. 
 When a sebaceous follicle becomes, on the face 
 or nose for instance, distended by its natural con- '■ 
 tents, the oriffce of the follicle is filled with a ' 
 soft, cheese-like substance, to which dirt and dust '., 
 adheres, presenting the appearance of a little ; 
 black dot on the skin, over the centre of a whit- ! 
 ish minute protuberance. Pressing with the nails 
 each side of this, and we can force out a small 
 cylinder of greasy substance, the black dot being 
 one end of it. Now from this resembling a mag- 
 got with a black head, it is generally sujDposed to 
 be one ; and the quack tells his clients that it is a 
 worm of the skin, supporting his assertion by the 
 statement that worms live in the skin. What the 
 true pimple mites are, and their comparative size, 
 you, however, now know ; and, shall we say, 
 should not be again duped .
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN, 
 
 37 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Our chapter is headed by a magnified drawing 
 of the little animal we are to describe. It is 
 about one-sixtieth to one-seventieth of an inch in 
 length, just visible to the naked eye. By living 
 
 Fig. 4:. iTCH-iCiTE. — Male. 
 
 in the skin of man it produces the disease known 
 as itch. To understand how to treat this trouble- 
 some afiection intelligibly, we must first study the 
 natural history of the animal, its habits and hab- 
 
 I
 
 38 ANIMAL PARASITES 
 
 itats. Before doing this, however, it will be in- 
 teresting and instrnctive to glance at the general 
 history of this little creature, called in English the 
 itch-mite, and in Latin, sarco^tes hominis, or 
 acarus scabiei. 
 
 There is strong evidence in support of the idea 
 that some of the diseases spoken of in the Bible 
 as prevalent among the Jews were, in reality, due 
 to the ravages of the itch-mite in the skin. 
 Probably, when mankind began to people the 
 world, these insects began to people them^ de- 
 rived, by contagion, from the lower animals 
 previously in existence. From a passage in Aris- 
 totle's "History of Animals," it has been supposed 
 that the insect was known to him as the cause of 
 itch. The old Arabian physicians, in their writ- 
 ings, mention it cjuite plainly, — Avenzoar, for 
 instance ; but apparently we must come down to 
 the twelfth century for indisputable reference to 
 the itch-mite, in a work entitled ^^ Physica" 
 written, curiously enough, by Saint Hildegard, 
 the Lady Superior of the Convent on the Rupert>- 
 Bcrg, near Bingcn. From that time downwards, 
 the insect has been seen and spoken of by the 
 medical writers of the times, as Guv de Chauliac,
 
 r 
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 39 
 
 Gralap, Benedictus, Paracelsus, Ambrose Pare, 
 Scaliger, Fallopius, Joubertus, Vidius, Schenck, 
 HaffeurefFer, Riolanus, Mouffet, and many others. 
 These names carry us down to the early part of 
 the' seventeenth century, to Jansen's discovery of 
 the microscope, in 1619. The knowledge of the 
 use of the then primitive instrument soon spread, 
 and the itch-mite was studied by it, the first 
 rou2^h drawino: of the animal beino- o-iven l^y 
 Hauptmann. During this (the sevententh) cen- 
 tury, the various writers on medical topics show 
 more or less knowledge of this mite. We will 
 not, however, tire our readers by quoting their 
 names. Some of them mention the custom, 
 which has been a common practice from that day 
 to this, of extracting the itch-mite from the skin 
 b}^ means of a needle. Although, by this time, 
 the mite had been depicted, and its association 
 Vv'ith the itch disease recognized, jet it was not 
 till 1687 that Dr. Bonomo, of Leghorn, and Ces- 
 toni, an apothecary, studied our litt]^ friend in 
 what we should now call a common-sense way, 
 and thoroughly exploded the old ideas, handed 
 down from one generation to another, that the 
 itch-disease was due to thiclcened bile, drying of
 
 40 ANniAL PAEASITES 
 
 tJie blood, irritating salts, mdancliolic juices, and 
 specitil fermentation, — the presence of the itch- 
 mite, when admitted, being accounted for hy 
 equivocal generation. These observers saw and 
 described the iiisects quite perfectly, found their 
 eggs, and discovered the females laying them, and 
 came to the conclusion that the itch-disease, or 
 scabies, arose solely from the presence of an ani- 
 mal which is incessantly biting the skin, and 
 thereby causing the patient to allay the itching hy 
 scratching. They also explained the contagious 
 character of the affection by the transference of 
 the insects from one individual to another. Be- 
 cause these discoveries were true, they were 
 denied and combated by the medical writers of 
 those days ; yet nearly one hundred and fifty 
 years passed before any better natural history of 
 the mite appeared. King George II. 's physician, 
 Dr. Eichard Mead, of London, reported Bonomo 
 and Cestoni's observations to the Royal Society, 
 and published them in Xo. 283 of the "Philosoph- 
 ical Transactions." 
 
 We have given this little historical sketch to 
 show how old the disease is, and how old a 
 knowledge of its cause is also. Notwithstanding,
 
 OF THE HUJUAN SKIN. 41 
 
 from that time to this (1872) there has not failed 
 to exist medical men or naturalists who deny the 
 connection between the disease called itch and the 
 itch-mite. It is with medicine a,s everything else 
 in the world — denial of truth excites notoriety, 
 so desired by the many. 
 
 In view of what we have above said, it seems 
 impossible to conceive that a correct knowledge 
 of the itch-mite should be, since Bonomo's time, 
 repeatedly lost in some of the great centres of 
 medical teaching, to be again regained. In 1812, 
 a prize was ofiered in Paris for the discovery of 
 the little inject ; and a certain apothecary, named 
 Gales, gained it, by exhibiting before a medical 
 commission the cheese-mite. Consequently those 
 v/ho searched patients with itch did not find this 
 animal, and a prize was once more offered ; and 
 Raspail showed the cheese-mite again, and, when 
 the judges were satisfied, proved it was such, and 
 exposed Gales* duplicity. The cause of the. itch- 
 mite had henceforward its adherents and oppo- 
 sers ; whilst, in various parts of the world, the 
 lowest classes understood it, and the fiiethods of 
 its destruction; for instance, the old women in 
 Corsica, who picked them out with needles.
 
 42 ANIMAL PARASITES 
 
 Reuucci, a native of the island, probably familiar 
 with these old ladies' occupation, finally, in 1834, 
 taught the Parisian medical world how to find the 
 itch-mite ; and, from that time to this, the insect 
 and its ravages have been more thoroughly and 
 scientifically studied, and the literature of the 
 subject grown up into quite a dermatological 
 library. In 1846, Dr. C. Eichstedt, of Greifs- 
 wald, and Prof. Kramer, of Kiel, independently 
 discovered the male mite. IVe who, nowadays, 
 have treated the itch-disease, and studied the 
 natural history of the itch-mite, naturally feel as 
 if we knew pretty much all about it; yet, so late 
 as 1844, Prof. Hebra, of Vienna, gave the Ger- 
 man physicians a knowledge of a new and terrible 
 phase of this insect's habits and habitats, in what 
 is known as the Norwegian scabies, the first 
 recorded case having occurred in that country. 
 And so it probably will always be in the ever- 
 advancing science of medicine, the present genera- 
 tion smilino^ at the errors and i2:norance of the 
 preceding one. But when a truth, like the one 
 mentioned^ of Hebra's, is discovered, then others 
 are rapidly and constantly being found to confirm
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 43 
 
 it. Other cases were soon reported by observers 
 in Germany. 
 
 We suppose, by this time, onr readers Avant to 
 know a little more about the insect itself, anil per- 
 haps have had hardly patience to read down so far 
 as to learn about the stran<2:e-lookin5: animal headins^ 
 our article. At present we include the itch-mite 
 in the special class of acarina, and if our readers 
 want to know more about the other members of 
 this class, as the sugar-mite, the cheese-mite, etc., 
 we would refer them to an article in the September 
 number of the "American Naturalist," for 1869, 
 by our friend A. S. Packard, Jr., Avho gives nu- 
 merous and beautiful illustrations, accompanied by 
 pleasantly told descriptions. What we here say will 
 fill up this chapter for the acarics scabiei, or sar- 
 cojptes liomini., or itch-mite. The animal is tortoise- 
 shaped. The head distinct from the trunk, with 
 four pair of jaws. Eight legs, four in front and 
 four behind. The larva has but six legs. Beside 
 the leo^s are lono: bristles. The male differs from 
 the female in appearance, as to the bell-shaped 
 suckers on the ends of the legs, and also is not so 
 large. This insect has, besides man, been found 
 in the skin of the horse, lion, llama, ape, Neapol-
 
 44 ANIMAL PARASITES 
 
 itan and Egyptian sheep, and the ferret. It has 
 been thought, also, that the mites found in many 
 other animals are the same as man's irritating com- 
 panion, their growth being favored or retarded by 
 their place of development, thus accounting for 
 the apparent difierences in shape and size. The 
 itch-mite lives in the skin, in little passages dug 
 by itself, or, sometimes, just beneath the epidermis 
 or scarf-skin. These burrows the animal makes 
 extend into the deeper layers of the epidermi.^, 
 down to and into the true skin, or rete mucosun}, 
 as it is called. The acariis moults three times, 
 not, how^ever, specially changing in form. The 
 eggs are oval in shape, quite large for the size of 
 the animal, and may be laid by the female to tlie 
 number of fifty. AYe give here three drawings, 
 to show how the animal gets into the skin to form 
 the burrows, now called " acarian furrows" by 
 dermatologists. 
 
 In Fig, 5 the mite has got down beneath the 
 epidermis. In Fig, 6 it has commenced digging 
 the burrow longitudinally, and the place (/") where 
 it was in Fig. 5 has, by the gradual growth of the 
 cells, come up nearer to the surface of the skin. 
 In Fig, 7, the point (/) has thus come u^ to the
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 
 
 45 
 
 surface, whilst the mite has gone along further 
 with its burrow. An animal, when it gets on to 
 the skin, crawls till it finds a suitable soft place, 
 when it tips up on its fore-legs, and commences 
 to work its way in. The female, as it progresses, 
 lays its eggs behind her in the burrow, and when 
 
 c 
 
 \/^^/\yv\/VAA/\Ay\/\/\y< 
 
 I'ir/. 5. 
 
 Fig. 6. 
 
 Fig. 7. 
 
 exhausted, dies. These eggs will be seen, in a 
 regular row behind the female, in the burrow, 
 under the microscope with one himdred multiply- 
 ing power. It is not settled how long it takes 
 the eggs to hatch — from seventy hours to six or
 
 46 ANIMAL PARASITES 
 
 seven days. Probably one egg is laid every day. I 
 Now, it must be remembered that the skin is con- 
 stantly wearing off, and as constantly renewed by 
 new growth from beneath ; hence, as will be seen 
 by these illustrations, the eggs hatching in the 
 furrow will come to the surface in time for the 
 animal to escape from its shell when fully formed. 
 These canals which the female acari burrow, have 
 generally a serpentine form, and are from a 
 twelfth to a quarter of an inch in length. They 
 show on the surffice of the skin a whitish dotted 
 appearance, the dots corresponding to the eggs — 
 the female, as seen in the cuts, being at the bJuid 
 end of the burrow. Ignorance or forgetfulness of 
 this fact has been the cause of the itch-mite escap- 
 ing detection. There v/ill l^e a little pimple or 
 vesicle on the skin over where the mite went in ; 
 and, as we see from these figures, the animal is 
 not there, but off at some distance deeper in the 
 skin ; hence, if we open the little vesicle, or cut it 
 out, the insect escapes us. The old women in 
 Corsica, and other parts of the world, knew bet- 
 ter, and with a needle dug out the acarus from the 
 end of the burrow. A surer way of obtaining it, 
 and the whole burrow, is to clip this off with a
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 47 
 
 fine pair of curved scissors, commencing at the 
 blind end, Avhere the mite lies buried. Of course 
 a little experience is required to do this success- 
 fully. Then, if we place this little lamina of 
 epidermis on the microscope-slide, and a covering- 
 glass over it, but without fluid, we shall most 
 likely find the female acarus and the eggs she has 
 laid behind her. A magnifying power of sixty to 
 one hundred times is quite sufficient. 
 
 After this animal had been proved to be the 
 sole cause of the disease called itch, medical men 
 thought it was always necessary to find the mite, 
 to be sure that their patient had the itch. From 
 the history above given, and explanations just 
 made, we can see how natural it was that they 
 should so often fail in this, and therefore conclude 
 that their patient was not the victim of this ani- 
 mal parasite ; consequently he w\as not properly 
 treated, and did not get well — he continued to itch. 
 Hence, to account for this, and cover up ignorance, 
 was invented the "Jackson Itch," the "Seven- 
 years' Itch," and, lately, the "Army Itch." We 
 conclude the first did not derive its name from 
 our former President, but was only popular dur- 
 ing his reign. The second was ingenious ; for if a
 
 48 AXIMAL PARASITES 
 
 patieDt was told he had tho "' Seven-years' Itch," 
 he naturally concluded that he could not get rid 
 of it in less than that number of years, which gave 
 time for treatment. As time goes on, soap and 
 water, and personal cleanliness, become more 
 popular, hence the itch-mite has become less and 
 less common. In the old New England days it 
 was the pest of the village-school, the town poor- 
 house, and the city jail. During the rebellion, 
 the great armies, on the march and in the field, 
 of course had no opportunities for personal clean- 
 liness, so as to prevent the contagion of the itch- 
 disease, therefore it spread with great rapidity by 
 contact, and the effects of the mite's presence in 
 the skin would also be severe. The various arni}^ 
 surgeons had not been accustomed to any such 
 cases ; they searched in vain for the insect, and, 
 repeatedly failing to discover it, finally concluded 
 there must be an*itch-disease not due to the itch- 
 mite, and called it the " Army Itch." These cases 
 often were furloughed, and, in the cities at home, 
 came under the care of those who, from special 
 study of cutaneous diseases, were more familiar 
 with the means of obtaining the parasite, as we
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 49 
 
 have above described, when search for it always 
 revealed the true cause. 
 
 This mite, in burrowing into the skin, produces 
 intense itching, and sometimes a vesicular erup- 
 tion on the surface; but this is all. The intense 
 itching, however, causes those infested to scratch 
 themselves incessantly, night and day ; and they 
 consequently tear and lacerate the skin in every 
 direction. The mite, as we have said, needs a 
 delicate part of the skin to dig into — between the 
 fingers, for instance — and here the peculiar look- 
 ing burrows are first sought for. The portion of 
 the skin of the whole body particularly ravaged 
 by this unpleasant parasite are so definite, that 
 those familiar with cutaneous diseases can, at a 
 glance, say whether the patient has the itch. It 
 must be remembered that several other diseases 
 of the skin cause as bad itching as the itch-mite ; 
 but the special portions of the general integument 
 are, however, so marked to the practised eye, that 
 we no longer feel any need of finding a mite in 
 its burrow to establish our diagnosis and treat- 
 ment. In fact, we might spend a long time in 
 fruitless hunt, when the trouble has lasted some 
 time, or treatment has been attempted. 
 
 4
 
 50 ANIMAL PARASITES 
 
 We seem, perhaps, very precise and prosy in 
 all this ; but, during and since the war, so much 
 scabies has been diffused through our country, 
 that many family physicians are called upon to 
 treat what they have never before seen, and their 
 want of immediate success should not tell aofainst 
 them. We only desire the community and phy- 
 sicians to understand that the Jackson Itch, the 
 Seven-years' Itch, and the Army Itch, all are due 
 to the presence in the skin of one and the same 
 animal, namely, the acarus scabiei, or sarcojptes 
 hominis, the itch-mite depicted at the commence- 
 ment of this article. 
 
 How now, finally, can we get rid of our minute, 
 insinuating, and irritating friends? They lie 
 stored away beneath the hard layer of the scarf- 
 skin ; this, therefore, must be removed, in order 
 to expose them; then something fatal to them, 
 but not hurtful to the skin, must be brought in 
 contact with them, and finally the excoriations and 
 eruptions caused by the constant scratching must 
 be properly treated. The severity of these latter 
 symptoms depend, of course, on the length of 
 time the person has been affected ; that is to say, 
 upon the number of itch-mites which are commit-
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 51 
 
 ting ravages upon him, and partly on the degree 
 of the sensibility of the skin. As long as the 
 person lives, the mite will flourish on him, till it is 
 destroyed by proper methods. In the illustrations 
 marked 1, 2, 3, the mite, as is seen, is quite deep 
 in the scarf-skin ; our first effort towards treat- 
 ment must therefore be to soften and break down 
 or rub oft' this epidermis. Every one is familiar 
 with the efiect of the long-continued application 
 of warm water and soap to the skin, how" it swells 
 up the scarf-skin, softens it, and renders it easily 
 scraped or -I'ubbed oft". Therefore a person with 
 this highlj^ unpleasant trouble, must first thor- 
 oughly soak himself in hot water, and rub all parts 
 of the body which are the abodes of the mites 
 with the strongest soft soap. This will be half 
 an hour's Avork. The more delicate the skin, the 
 shorter time required. Next, the common sulphur 
 ointment must be rubbed thoroughly over the 
 body. This touches and is fatal to the itch-mite, 
 already exposed in whole or part by the burrows 
 being broken down by the soft soap and hot water. 
 If it does not produce too much irritation, the 
 ointment may be left on over-night, and removed 
 by a hot bath in the morning. With delicate
 
 52 ANIMAL PARASITES 
 
 skin, sulphur soap can be used instead of sulphur 
 ointment. If one such application as described 
 does not suffice, it must be repeated. All the 
 patent and popular medicines advertised latelv, 
 on account of the itch being so widely spread 
 through the country, are pretty sure to depend 
 for their success on the presence of sulphur, the 
 smell of which is hid, more or less, by other in- 
 gredients. There are many other substances used 
 by physicians to destroy this parasite. The above- 
 described method will be sure to succeed if thor- 
 ouglily carried out^ as of course a, few mites left 
 will soon multiply and again annoy the patient. 
 Those who are out of the reach of medicines and 
 hot baths, may often succeed in getting rid of 
 their minute friends, by bearing in mind the gen- 
 eral laws of treatment; namely, that the hard 
 scarf-skin must be softened and broken down, and 
 afterwards, whatever kills the acari, and does not 
 hurt the skin, be applied. Necessity Avill be the 
 mother of invention. 
 
 Nothing is more difficult, or, in fact, dangerous, 
 than to ofive medical directions to be followed hw 
 the community. We would most strongly advise 
 any one suffering from the ravages of this little
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 53 
 
 pest to apply to a physician, and let him conduct 
 the treatment. Those who make a specialty of 
 cutaneous medicine, fortunately, nowadays, have 
 a large choice of substances and methods of appli- 
 cation, which can be adapted to the social condi- 
 tion, the degree of cutaneous sensibility, and the 
 age and sex of the patients applying to them. 
 This is of more importance than would at first 
 sight appear. It must be remembered that the 
 skin is torn and lacerated by the victim's scratch- 
 ing, from which we have an artificial inflammation 
 of the surface, to be always taken into considera- 
 tion in our method of treatment. A thick-skinned 
 laborer needs very different applications from a 
 delicate child, or feeble Avoman. We therefore 
 again caution against self-treatment. 
 
 A single word in regard to the clothing : All un- 
 derclothes should be washed thoroughly. Outside 
 garments, contrary to the generally-received idea, 
 do not need anything done for them. In the 
 great hospital at Vienna, fifteen hundred cases are 
 treated yearly, and no attempt at -disinfecting the 
 clothing is found necessary. The mite lives in the 
 skin. It will therefore be seen that contagion 
 comes from personal intercourse, particularly from
 
 54 AI^IMAL PARASITES, ETC. 
 
 hand to hand. The most high-bred, reiined, and 
 cleanly, are not exempt. Although thus highly 
 contagious, from the mite being passed from one 
 to another, yet students of medicine in contact 
 with it rarely get the itch ; and the writer has 
 examined and handled hundreds of cases with 
 impunity.
 
 VEGETABLE PARASITES 
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 We have given an account of some of the most 
 common of the animal parasites which live on 
 and in the hnman skin. We now propose to 
 explain the vegetable jpar«527es which succeed •in 
 growing on and in the skin and its appendages — 
 the hairs and nails. They all belong to the class 
 of cryptogams and order fungi, like the common 
 moulds, seen to spring up and cover everything 
 where warmth, moisture, and a quiet resting-place 
 give opportunity for development. Whether they 
 all are the same, or different species, and whether 
 variety in soil and locality influences the form of 
 their development, we leave for botanists hereafter 
 to decide. It is enough for us to know that there 
 are microscopic vegetable organisms which ger- 
 (55)
 
 56 VEGETABLE PAKASITES 
 
 minate in the scarf-skin of the human body, in 
 the nails, in the little follicles from which the hairs 
 grow, and in the root and shaft of the hair itself; 
 and that their presence produces partial destruc- 
 tion or total loss of the hair or nails, and on the 
 skin certain morbid appearances which have been 
 classified among cutaneous diseases. 
 
 We shall confine ourselves to those which thus 
 give rise to diseases of the skin, for there are many 
 more vegetable growths that infest the mucous 
 membrane and internal portions of the body. A 
 knowledge of the presence of these vegetable or- 
 ganisms in certain cutaneous affections, and their 
 being the cause of them, does not date back be- 
 yond 1840, when the microscope had commenced 
 to reach a degree of development which rendered 
 its use constant not only in anatomy, but als© in 
 clinical medicine. From that time to the present, 
 scientific physicians and surgeons have steadily 
 and constantly been sweeping the fields of their 
 microscopes as the astronomers ' have swept the 
 starry field with their telescopes, and thus from the 
 efforts and studies of a large number of trained, in- 
 telligent, and laborious observers, the atoms of light 
 in the heavens, and the atoms of animal and veg-
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 57 
 
 etable life on and in our planet and its inhabitants, 
 have revealed new worlds of existence to us. 
 
 What, now, are these microscopic germs which 
 plant themselves and grow on and in our skin and 
 its appendages ? The elements of which they are 
 composed may be divided into three morphological 
 formations : 1. SjDores seen under the microscope 
 as round or oblong cells with definite outline ; on 
 these cells, in certain positions, is seen a brownish 
 spot. 2. jSporidia, or strings of spores, looking 
 like a rosary. 3. TJiaJIus fibres^ as they are called 
 — that is, long, generally pretty straight, fibres, 
 with double parallel outlines. 
 
 Figure 8 represents these several elements and 
 their mode of development, which is as follows : 
 First, a long thallus fibre increases in length, then 
 we see contractions at several difiTerent points, giv- 
 ing it the appearance of a rosary, and finally by 
 further contraction the separate spores are set free. 
 Variety in the relative size and number of these 
 separate elements constitutes, most probably, the 
 various difierences in the appearances seen in the 
 cutaneous diseases which are caused hj their pres- 
 ence. These several afiections we shall describe 
 in a future chapter, and confine ourselves in this
 
 58 
 
 VECrETABLE PARASITES 
 
 to explaining how and why vegetable organisms 
 plant themselves, and grow on and in our skin and 
 appendages. 
 
 In the first place, w^here do these microscopic 
 
 Fig. 8. 
 
 Showing the mode of reproduction of the 
 achoriou . — Bennett. 
 
 spores or seeds of fungi come from? The* world 
 is full of them. They are present in all vegetable 
 mould, and are carried everywhere by the air and 
 water. The dust from our window-panes will 
 reveal them under the microscope. The air we 
 
 It is with the greatest 
 
 breathe contains them.
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 59 
 
 difficulty that fungous mould can he prevented from 
 germinating: for instance, in or on vegetable and 
 animal substances. Every one knows how soon 
 dampness produces mould. Now the vegetable 
 parasites of the skin are, as we said, one or sev- 
 eral species of fungi. So constant is the presence 
 of spores in nature, that it has really become more 
 difficult to explain why more do not germinate on 
 our bodies than why any do. A certain and steady 
 degree of warmth and moisture are requisite for 
 the development of vegetable life. Besides this 
 is needed rest and quiet of the seed, that it may 
 take in its nourishment from the surrounding me- 
 dium. Your inkstand will have no mould on it if 
 it is in daily use. The same with your jars of 
 preserves and pickles. A well-raked garden-path 
 has no weeds, as also a well-tilled field. The 
 reason why the vegetable spores do not germinate 
 more often on the living body is, that the body's 
 growth and constant change of tissue^ throwing off 
 of old to be replaced by new, interferes witli their 
 opportunity. Warmth aud moisture are present, 
 but the third element requisite to development is 
 wanting; namely, a quiet resting-place. Hence 
 we readily see that the more we use soap aud
 
 60 VEGETABLE PARASITES 
 
 water to macerate and wash off the effete scarf-skin 
 from our bodies, the less liable will the skin and 
 its appendages be to afford a suitable soil for the 
 germination of the vegetable parasites. Medical 
 experience shows this most perfectly. The cuta- 
 neous diseases due to the presence of vegetable 
 growths are more frequent amongst the lowest 
 classes, where dirt and lack of cleanliness prevail. 
 But dirty persons in the upper classes are equally 
 liable to be infested ; immunity being in direct 
 ratio to the use of soap and water. We have no 
 need to pause here to discuss the point whether 
 people at all ages offer a better field for the ger- 
 mination of vegetable spores when their bodily 
 health is reduced. It is at present enough for us 
 to know that these parasites will flourish on the 
 most healthy person, greatly assisted, of course, by 
 lack of personal cleanliness, because then the seeds 
 of the fungus have all the conditions requisite for 
 their development. In disease, one condition is 
 to be remembered as favoring the opportunity for 
 growth of the vegetable parasites : it is, that then 
 the healthy renewal of tissue is either much re- 
 tarded, or perhaps wholly ceases. Hence spores 
 have a better chance to develop. Bodily cleanli-
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 61 
 
 ness, also, during disease, is much less readily 
 carried out, and we frequently have also the addi- 
 tional needed element of moisture in the fluid 
 natural and morbid products of the skin. 
 
 How, now, do these microscopic spores get into 
 the epithelium or scarf-skin, the nails, or into the 
 hair-follicles, and the hair itself? The spores, 
 from their extreme tenuity, penetrate themselves 
 quite deeply into the cracks and fissures of the 
 epidermis and hair, and more rapidly and still 
 deeper when the filaments are formed. These 
 push, sometimes merely mechanically, into readily 
 formed cavities of the body, as in the follicles of 
 the hair, or by elevation of the epithelium. Or- 
 ganic action, however, soon taking place, the hard 
 spore presses on the soft tissue and causes resorp- 
 tion, thus enabling the spores, filaments, and 
 mycelium to penetrate the tissues of the body. 
 This is only the process of germinating we see 
 exciting such great force everywhere in nature, 
 enabling the vegetable seed to break through its 
 hard husk, and the young plant to push its roots 
 into the firm soil. The penetration, therefore, of 
 these spores into the tissues of the body, as in the 
 case of the skin and its appendages, the hair and
 
 62 VEGETABLE PARASITES 
 
 nails, is simply mechanical, and as readily ex- 
 plained as the migration of any other foreign 
 bodies from one place in the body to another. 
 The vegetable growth pushes aside the animal 
 tissue. Pressure always produces absorption in 
 the animal organism ; hence the spores, in penetrat- 
 ing and pushing deeper into the underlyiug tissue, 
 cause atrophy of the fibres of the skin in those 
 places. The cells containing the fat disappear, 
 as a section of the skin will show, and a cavity is 
 formed which is thinner at the spot where the 
 growing parasite has fixed itself. We have, there- 
 fore, now seen where these vegetable spores come 
 from, they being on every substance the skin comes 
 in contact with, even the air, in which they float; 
 and we have also seen how they penetrate the 
 special tissues we are considering. Let us study, 
 now, the efiect of their presence and growth in 
 these tissues. 
 
 The mere presence of the vegetable parasite in 
 the epidermis is not of itself an injury, since it 
 produces only slight thickening and some discol- 
 oration, with a branny condition of the surface. 
 Unfortunately, however, itching is also caused, 
 sometimes quite excessive, rendering the conse-
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 63 
 
 qiient scratching not only disagreeable, liiit pos- 
 itively injurious. The effect of the parasites in 
 the shaft of the hair and the hair-follicles is much 
 more deleterious, so far as the life and growth of 
 the hairs are concerned ; for these latter may in 
 consequence either drop out entirely, or become 
 brittle, dry, and easily broken and rubbed off, 
 those remaininsr beins; lis^hter in color, and not 
 so strons: and^ healthy. Absolute loss of hair 
 from the whole surface of the cutaneous envelope 
 may be caused by vegetable parasites, or the en- 
 tire scalp rendered as smooth and free of them as 
 a billiard-ball. Of course this must not be con- 
 founded with baldness, the result of natural or 
 premature loss of the hair. Further than this, 
 the presence of vegetable growth in the epidermis 
 or hair-follicle produces an eruption of a peculiar 
 character, simulating some natural cutaneous dis- 
 eases, and causing, also, itching and consequent 
 scratching. The nails, when infested, become 
 brittle, dry, thickened, and crumbling. More- 
 over, masses of vegetable growth may lie half 
 imbedded in the skin, which, producing loss of 
 the hair, and being of a yellowish color, finally 
 'give the cutaneous surface a most revolting appear-
 
 64 VEGETABLE PARASITES 
 
 ance, as well as simulating the products of true 
 disease of the skin. It will be seen, therefore, 
 that it is not only extremely interesting, but abso- 
 lutely necessary for the physician to be thoroughly 
 acquainted with the natural history of these veget- 
 able parasites, so that he may be able to detect them 
 when on the skin, or its appendages, the hair and^ 
 nails. He must also be acquainted with all their 
 phases of development, and the appearances their 
 presence produces, and thus be able to distinguish 
 the effects they cause from similar ones, the result 
 of, so to speak, true diseases. Fortunately the 
 more extended use of the microscope by medical 
 practitioners places this recognition more and 
 more in their power. It is our object here, how- 
 ever, to let the laiti/ know of their existence, and 
 the consequences of their continued growth on the 
 surface of our bodies. 
 
 These vegetable spores are microscopic objects, 
 varying in size, being some thousanths of an inch. 
 As we said, their smallness enables them to pen- 
 etrate every natural cavity, such as the folds in 
 the skin ; and the}?- are carried everywhere by the 
 wind where dust can get. Their form is generally 
 oval or spherical. They are very firm, so as to be
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 65 
 
 scarcely crushed between the glass slides of the 
 microscrope. Before they are thrown off they are 
 not so firm, but more elastic and pliant. They do 
 not lose their power of germinating by drying, 
 except under a heat of 150*^ Fahrenheit. Being 
 less dense than water, they float upon it, and are 
 by that means also spread far and w^ide. They 
 are nearly colorless — gray, brown, or yellowish 
 when possessing any color. When in numbei*s, 
 they give a gritty feel, and mouldy taste and 
 smell. They are not much affected by chemical 
 agents. Tincture of iodine gives them a dark, 
 yellowish-brown look, like other purely nitrogen- 
 ous substances. AYhen their cellulose walls are 
 not colored blue by the action of the iodine, their 
 nitrogenous contents become brown. On treating 
 them with hydrochloric or nitric acid, or hot sul- 
 phuric acid, before adding tincture of iodine, the 
 nitrogenous part coagulates, contracts, separates 
 from the sides of the spores, and remains, forming 
 irregular masses in the centre. On applying, 
 afterwards, tincture of iodine to these parts, they 
 become brown, and the cellulose walls greenish 
 — the complementary color of the blue of the 
 cellulose and the brown of the tincture of iodine. 
 5
 
 66 VEGETABLE PARASITES 
 
 The structure of the spores is very simple. All 
 present a cell without a nucleus, unless the brown 
 or yellowish spot on them can be considered as 
 such. The cellulose walls are thin, but firm and 
 resisting. 
 
 If, now, the reader has had the patience to come 
 so far with us, he has learned that there are 
 minute microscopic seeds of fungi scattered broad- 
 cast in the earth, water, and air, and that they can 
 insinuate themselves into the skin and its appen- 
 dages, the nails and hair. When they have thus 
 planted themselves and germinated, they prevent 
 the hair's proper growth and condition, discolor 
 the skin, gather in tubercular masses upon it, 
 cause peculiar eruptions, and are accompanied by 
 sometimes excessive itching. All this simulates 
 other cutaneous ajffections of a non-parasitic 
 origin. 
 
 We will grant that except the loss of hair, and 
 occasional loathsome appearances produced by the 
 presence of these vegetable parasites, they are not 
 to be feared or regarded with any special horror, 
 certainlv not with the extreme dis£:ust the animal 
 parasites involuntarily create. Why, then, is it 
 so necessary for physicians to be familiar with the
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 67 
 
 parasitic cutaneous diseases, and why also should 
 the community understand something about them 
 and their cause, the fungus? Our answer is sim- 
 ply that these cutaneous affections are liigldy con- 
 tagious^ by the transportation of the spores from 
 one person to another. Every one who has had 
 any experience in boarding-schools, day-schools, 
 children's hospitals, etc., knows how, like wildfire, 
 "ringworm," or "scald head," will spread among 
 the inmates and attendants, and how difficult it is 
 to eradicate these when once started, even with 
 the best attention and persevering labor. It is 
 well known, also, how a barber's shop, whose soaps 
 and brushes are invested with vegetable spores, 
 will spread amongst the customers a parasitic dis- 
 ease, which, together with some others not par- 
 asitic, gets the popular name of " barber's-itch." 
 Some of the vegetable parasitic diseases are more 
 contagious than others. It would also seem as if 
 these affections were at times almost epidemic, yet 
 we know they arise from contagion, or individual 
 contact. 
 
 There is still another method by which the hu- 
 man race becomes infested : namely, from the 
 lower animals, and these pass the parasites from
 
 68 VEGETABLE PARASITES 
 
 one to another. Thus the following has been ob- 
 served : a rat or mouse gets a vegetable fungus 
 growing upon its skin and hair ; this is commu- 
 nicated" to the cat, which catches and plays with 
 the animal ; the child handling the cat becomes 
 thereby affected, and finally the parents or nurse, 
 from the infant. The peculiar contagious charac- 
 ter of parasitic disease is, as we have said, best 
 shown by children's schools, foundling hospitals, 
 and the like institutions. 
 
 Finally, we hear some one ask how do any of 
 us escape the planting, germination, and ravages 
 of these vegetable parasites, since, w^hen present, 
 they are so contagious and so readily transplanted, 
 and moreover are so innumerable in earth, air and 
 water. It is in truth difficult to answer this, 
 otherwise than as we have above : namely, that, 
 like all other seeds, few find a suitable place to 
 develop; ^. e., quiet, warmth, and moisture to- 
 gether. Moreover, the continual throwing off of 
 effete material from the surface of the skin must 
 rid us of thousands of spores which are ready to 
 germinate. The most potent means of preven- 
 tion, however, is the continual brushing, combing, 
 and shampooing the hair, and of scrubbing the
 
 OF THE HIBIAN SKIN. 69 
 
 body with plenty of soap and water. Dirt and 
 uncleanliness are the inheritance of poverty ; hence 
 it is that among the lowest classes most parasitic 
 diseases are found ; that they are not, however, 
 confined to them, our own experience, as that of 
 other dermatologists, amply conjQrms, for we have 
 seen enough even where cleanliness ought to be 
 next to godliness. .
 
 70 VEGETABLE PARASITES 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 We have explained what the vegetable parasites 
 were, where they come from, ancl how they pen- 
 etrate and develop in the human skin and its 
 appendages, the hair and nails. Xow we will 
 endeavor to explain more particularly the ap- 
 pearances on the general cutaneous envelope of 
 the body which are produced by the presence and 
 growth of these fungi or moulds, and also to teach 
 our readers how, if possible, to recognize their 
 existence, and the safest and best means of pre- 
 vention and cure. This is, however, by no means 
 an easy task, and we cannot hope to succeed so 
 well as we did in our books on the eye, and the 
 methods of restoring or preserving sight. The 
 reason is, the difficulty of describing a cutaneous 
 affection so that even those familiar with it can 
 recognize a given case. It is, however, quite 
 necessary that the community — the laity, as the 
 profession call them — should have some general
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 71 
 
 idea of the vegetable parasitic growths, and the 
 morbid or unnatural appearances they produce on 
 the surface of our bodies. Perhaps the best plan 
 will be to take up in turn each disease, as there 
 are not many, describe what it looks like, what it 
 simulates, what its consequences are, and what 
 can be done for cure by its unfortunate possessor, 
 or that possessor's parents or attendants ; in other 
 words, to give a medical history, as little techni- 
 cal as possible, and as clearly and concisely ex- 
 pressed as the subject will allow of. 
 
 It must be remembered that these vegetable 
 parasitic diseases we are about to describe, are 
 not new affections recently appearing in the world, 
 but are probably as old as man himself. Veg- 
 etable* moulds existed before man's advent on our 
 globe ; and when he appeared, they attacked and 
 developed on his skin, as on that of other animals. 
 As far back as any medical writings extend, we 
 can trace the descriptions of diseases which we 
 now readily place in the list of those due to the 
 presence of a vegetable mould. It was not till 
 about 1842, that the physician's inseparable com- 
 panion, the microscope, brought to light the cause 
 of these several cutaneous troubles, and showed
 
 72 VEGETABLE PARASITES 
 
 US the spores, and their method of germinating on 
 our bodies. The various fungous diseases had 
 been, by one dermatologist after another, classed 
 with this or that set of idiopathic diseases, accord- 
 ing to their general resemblance. When, as 
 years went by, and in one after another of them 
 the vegetable parasite was discovered by the new 
 field of inquiry being more carefully studied by 
 many busy observers, we naturally soon arrived 
 at better methods of treatment, and having learned 
 the cause, soon found means of removing it, in 
 these before so intractable complaints. The suc- 
 cess of treatment, and the novelty of discovery, 
 brought the vegetable parasitic diseases very 
 prominently forward, not only amongst the pro- 
 fession, but also the laity, who soon learned 
 where to apply for relief, induced by the success 
 witnessed in other's cases. Thus some idea of 
 these affections has spread abroad in the commu- 
 nity, here in America, during the last ten years 
 especially. This has given capital opportunity 
 for travelling and advertising quacks to placard 
 the streets, and their temporary offices, with 
 startling and fearful pictures of these diseases, to 
 impress the pocket and brain of their credulous
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 73 
 
 customers. It is very true that there are enough 
 medical men who do not advertise, and yet are 
 arrant quacks ; but it is still truer that all those 
 who do, in any form, are sure to be impostors, 
 who live and grow rich by fleecing the credulous. 
 Scald-head, honeycomb ringworm, or, in tech- 
 nical language, favus, is the first of the parasitic 
 cutaneous diseases we will attempt to describe. 
 It depends on the presence of a vegetable forma- 
 tion, called achorion Schonleini, from Prof. Shon- 
 lein, who discovered the fungus. This fungus 
 consists of numerous little oval or rounded bodies, 
 which are the spores or sporules we described in a 
 previous number ; they are about one three-thou- 
 sandth of an inch in diameter. Besides these, 
 there are numerous tubes, varying in diameter ; their 
 subdivision forming the spores, as seen in the figure 
 accompanying the previous article on this subject. 
 Favus attacks three separate structures of the 
 skin: namely, the openings of the little follicles 
 from which the hair grows, the epidermis or scarf- 
 skin, and the nails. The hair follicles are the most 
 frequent seat of the disease, and it is most com- 
 mon on the scalp. When the fungus starts to 
 grow, little yellow specks are seen scattered here
 
 74 VEGETABLE PARASITES 
 
 and there; which, under the magnify ing-glass, 
 prove to be minute rounded, bright-yellow crusts, 
 depressed in the centre, and having one or more 
 hairs passing up through them. These minute 
 yellow crusts gradually and steadily increase in 
 size, till they are about one-fourth of an inch in 
 diameter, and then the edge is elevated above the 
 surface of the skin. It can now be raised from 
 its bed, and, if done with care, a circular depres- 
 sion is seen, corresponding to the convex lower 
 surface of the crust; this soon fills up, the subcu- 
 taneous tissue having been compressed. A new 
 favus cup, however, shortly makes its appearance 
 again, unless proper means are taken to prevent 
 it. These masses of the fungus may be scattered 
 separately, or if increasing greatly in number, 
 they become thickly set together, touching and en- 
 croaching on each other, thus forming irregular 
 yellowish tubercular masses, rising considerably 
 above the skin, in which the hairs are tangled. 
 For other characteristic symptoms, we have itch- 
 ing, a change in the appearance of the hairs, and a 
 peculiar odor of the crusts . The itching generally 
 attracts attention first, inducing the person to 
 scratch the afiected part, and thereby produce
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 75 
 
 propagation of the affection from the scalp to other 
 parts of the body. The hairs lose their gloss, be- 
 come dull and dry, and assume a grayish or red- 
 dish color. They break more readil}^ than 
 natural, are often twisted or split longitudinally, 
 and pull out more easily. When this vegetable 
 mould has grown a long time on the scalp, the 
 hair follicles are destroyed, and the hairs fall out, 
 producing permanent and irremediable baldness. 
 The sebaceous follicles, which secrete the natural 
 and necessary oil or fat of the skin, are also de- 
 stroyed, so that the parts affected become dry, and 
 like parchment to the feel. The odor is quite 
 characteristic, resembling that of mice; ^.e., a 
 sort of mouldy smell. 
 
 The presence of the parasite, and the consequent 
 itching and scratching, produce a certain amount 
 of eruption and rash over the parts affected ; the 
 neighboring glands may also swell up, and form 
 lumps under the skin. The dirt which predisposed 
 to favus, of course predisposes to the presence of the 
 animal j)arasite which inhabits the scalp, and which 
 w^e have already described. This increases the 
 itching, and complicates the whole course of 
 the disease. They are, however, much more
 
 76 VEGETyVBLE PARASITES 1 
 
 readily gotten rid of than the vegetal3le parasite. 
 Favus may cover the whole scalp, and destroy all 
 the hair. The person, by scratching, carries off 
 some of the favus mould, and transplants it on 
 other portions of the body. Hence, when of long 
 standing, we are pretty sure to see patches of 
 favus masses on different portions of the body. 
 The vegetable matter also gets, by scratching, 
 beneath the nail, where it takes root and germi- 
 nates, as there it finds all the requisite elements 
 for development ; namely, a steady degree of 
 warmth, moisture, and a quiet resting-place. 
 After the spores have remained for some time, 
 and commenced to germinate beneath the nail, 
 the latter becomes thickened over the affected part, 
 while the color changes, becoming gradually more 
 and more yellow, from the favus mould shining 
 through. As the fungus grows and increases, it 
 gradually presses on the nail, causing further 
 changes, the longitudinal stride become very evi- 
 dent, and fissures are formed. By degrees, as the 
 pressure on the subjacent nail continues, it becomes 
 thinner and thinner, until a perforation occurs, 
 and then a favus cup makes its appearance exter- 
 nally, more or less deformed, however, owing to
 
 OF THE HUIMAN SKIN. 77 
 
 the pressure previously exercised upon it from 
 above. 
 
 In an excessive case of favus of the scalp or 
 body, the appearances are so marked, that any one 
 who has ever seen a case, or a good portrait of one, 
 would be in no doubt as to the nature of the affec- 
 tion. But there are many other diseases of the skin, 
 some of the appearances of which so simulate the 
 various stages of favus, that we can hardly recom- 
 mend any one, unless forced to by being away 
 from medical advice, to attempt treatment except 
 under the advice of a physician ; not, however, 
 an advertising quilck dermatologist. The only 
 treatment we can with safety recommend, is to 
 soften the favus crusts in some oily substance, in 
 order to remove them, keep up for weeks a steady 
 daily epilation, or pulling out of the hairs, 
 around and over the affected part, and rubbing in • 
 a solution of two grains of corrosive sublimate to 
 an ounce of water. That this latter medicine 
 taken internally is a deadly poison, we believe 
 every one now knows. It does no harm exter- 
 nally, and serves to destroy the spores and pre- 
 vent their germination. The epilation of the 
 hairs is a difficult work, as they are very brittle
 
 78 VEGETABLE PARASITES 
 
 and readily broken off, instead of pulled out. 
 There is, of course, considerable risk of conta- 
 gion, especially of the nails, for the operator. 
 Favus, fortunately, is not a common disease, and 
 is found naturally amongst the lowest classes, 
 where misery, and its accompaniment, dirt, give 
 a large planting field to these spores, floating in 
 the air and water, and on nearly every substance 
 with which the skin comes in contact. During 
 disease, this fungus, achorion Schdnletm, does 
 not flourish well. 
 
 Ringworm of the head and body is the next 
 parasitic disease we will describe. Its technical 
 name is herpes tonsurans^ and it is due to the 
 presence of a fungus called trichophyton tonsurans^ 
 showing under the microscope the spores and 
 sporular tubes we have above described, in the 
 root and shaft of the hair. The first symptoms 
 of the growth of the parasite is itching, followed 
 by a generally vesicular eruption, taking a circular 
 form. The hairs, where the affection exists, be- 
 come dry and dull, losing their lustre, and gray- 
 ish or reddish, according to the color of the per- 
 son's hair; i. e.^ light or dark. They are also 
 twisted and very brittle, breaking off a little way
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 79 
 
 above the skin, and looking as if the hair had 
 been cut short, like a tonsure. With the contin- 
 uance of the itching, the skin swells somewhat, and 
 looks of a darker color ; the fungus also appears 
 on the hairs and surface of the skin. Finally, the 
 hair follicles are inflamed, and the tissue around, 
 and the matter then formed, tends to destroy the 
 fungus itself. Thus more or less baldness is pro- 
 duced on the scalp, and on the body where the 
 hair is not so strong, and the integument diflfereut ; 
 this disease forms reddish-looking scaly rings, fa- 
 miliar to all as ringworm. Of course the symp- 
 toms and appearances will vary according as the 
 disease is on the scalp or body. All sorts of 
 remedies are popular amongst the various classes 
 of the community. Epilation, and the application 
 of a parasiticide, as above described for favus, are 
 the two quickest and best methods of treatment. 
 The success of the popular remedies is entirely 
 due to their irritating the skin, and thus making it 
 throw off more quickly the diseased hairs and 
 surrounding scarf-skin. 
 
 Alopecia areata is our next disease to be noticed. 
 It is due to the presence of a fungus called micro- 
 sporon Audouini, mostly the spores above de-
 
 80 VEGETABLE PARASITES 
 
 scribed, infiltrated, so to speak, through the hair, 
 rendering it so brittle as to break off close to the 
 skin. The disease has no popular name. It pro- 
 duces bald spots, when the hair is as cleanly re- 
 moved as by the very closest shaving, the skin not 
 showing any other signs of the disease. At first 
 there is some slight itching, and the hairs soon 
 commence to fall out. This may extend to every 
 hair upon the body. Generally, however, it is 
 confined to the head, and when occurring in a 
 young person, gives their scalp, as smooth as a 
 billiard-ball, a truly extraordinary appearance. 
 When it has lasted some time, the skin becomes 
 slightly puffy and parchment-like. It is not, ap- 
 parently, so contagious as the affections previously 
 spoken of. A patch of scalp quite destitute of 
 hair is an important matter, especially when below 
 where any head-gear will cover it, particularly for 
 young ladies. When the whole scalp is clear, and 
 the eyebrows gone, then it assumes still more im- 
 portance ; for, no matter what the deceptions of 
 fashion may be, we believe young ladies like to 
 have some real hair of their own. The ravages 
 of this parasite are hard to repair. Often the hair 
 ceases to grow again, or only in spots ; treatment
 
 or THE HUMAN SKIN. 81 
 
 must be energetic, and properly conducted. Epi- 
 lation of all the hairs surrounding a spot, steadily 
 pursued, and the application of some remedy to 
 kill the spores, are the means employed. Stimu- 
 lation of the skin afterwards, even to repeated 
 blistering, may induce the hair to grow again. 
 
 Barber's itch is the name which has been given 
 by the community to the next disease to be de- 
 scribed : sycosis, or mentagra, is its technical 
 name. It, however, must be remembered that 
 this name of barber's itch would also naturally be 
 applied to ringworm on the bearded face, or, in 
 fact, to any itching eruption of the face. Eliny 
 described the disease perfectly, just as it raged in 
 old Rome under the Emperor Tiberius Claudius 
 Csesar. It was passed from one to another of the 
 male population by their practice of kissing when- 
 ever they met. The fungus found is principally 
 the spores of microsporon mentagrophytes, which 
 infests the hairs and hair follicles. These latter 
 swell up into hard lumps under the skin. The 
 surface looks red, swollen, itches, and the hairs 
 fall out or are readily removed by the slightest 
 pull. Pustules are formed where the diseased fol- 
 licles are, and the whole bearded part of the face 
 6 '
 
 82 VEGETABLE PARASITES 
 
 presents a most loathsome appearance, such as to 
 induce the unfortunate person to submit to almost 
 any treatment — even that of cauterizing with hot 
 iron, employed in old Rome. Nowadays the mi- 
 croscope has shown us the cause of the trouble, 
 and nature points to the cure by the dropping out 
 of the diseased hairs. Epilation, the application 
 of a parasiticide and cleanliness, will very rapidly 
 get rid of the disease. Ignorance of this, or igno- 
 rance of just how this should be done, the all- 
 important point, allows many unfortunate men, 
 not of the lower classes, to go about, a nuisance to 
 themselves and their surroundings, from the really 
 loathsome appearance of a part or the whole of 
 the face. Proper treatment is very efficacious and 
 successful. 
 
 Chloasma, Liver Spots, are the popular names 
 given to the last of the parasitic diseases of the 
 skin we are to speak of, although in reality this 
 cutaneous affection, as we shall see, has nothing 
 whatever to do with true chloasma, or wdth the 
 changed color of the skin accompanying organic 
 or functional troubles of the liver. It is simply 
 because this parasitic disease resembles the others 
 in appearance, that the popular names have been
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 83 
 
 applied to it. It is sufficient to state here that 
 chloasma, liver spots, and the j'-ellowish or brown- 
 ish discoloration of the skin, are entirely due to 
 irregularly distributed or increased amount of the 
 jpigment of the skin, which, according as it is pres- 
 ent in greater or less quantity, causes the differ- 
 ence of color in the various races of mankind. 
 The parasitic affection we are speaking of, also 
 renders the surface of the skin of a more or less 
 dark brown color ; hence the laity, and, we must 
 add, only too many physicians, confound them. 
 The technical name of the affection is jpityriasis 
 versicolor, although it has nothing to do with ordi- 
 nary pityriasis, the name having been given to it 
 from its varying color, and long before its cause 
 was discovered by Dr. Eichstadt in 1846. This 
 cause is the presence in the scarf-skin of a fungus 
 called microsporon furfur , a vegetable growth con- 
 sisting of oval or rounded spores, of considerable 
 size, and usually collected into large clusters like 
 bunches of grapes. Besides these we have under 
 the microscope the jointed and branching tubes. 
 The spores and tubes are also found on and in the 
 hairs, but not to such an extent as in ringworm of 
 the head or body.
 
 84 VEGETABLE PARASITES 
 
 The affection is generally seen on the trunk of 
 the body, more rarely in the extremities, although 
 sometimes covering the whole surface of the skin, 
 with perhaps the exception of the head. The 
 portions of the body covered by the clothing are 
 most often affected. We see spots no larger than 
 the head of a pin, up to patches several inches in 
 diameter, and of irregular outline. These are 
 light brown or yellowish, hardly differing from 
 the normal skin between, or darker brown up to 
 almost black. The larger patches are made up 
 by the gradually spreading and coalescing of the 
 commencing fine spots. The affected surface will 
 be found less smooth than healthy skin, and 
 a fine disquamation going on. The scarf-skin 
 can be more readily scratched up, and when 
 placed under the microscope we see the vegetable 
 parasite amongst the epithelial scales. The pres- 
 ence of this mould causes itching, varying greatly 
 in amount, hardly annoying to some persons, and 
 to others positively unbearable. It naturally is 
 most likely to be found amongst those classes in 
 the community where a flannel shirt is only re- 
 moved when a new one is purchased ; yet of all 
 the parasitic affections of the skin, this is the one
 
 OF THE HUMAN SKIN. 85 
 
 which we have most often seen in the highest and 
 wealthiest classes. It is contagious, though not 
 so much so, apparently, as some of the other veg- 
 etable parasites. We have seen that it does not 
 especially affect the hairs, is principally confined to 
 the scarf-skin, and is nothing more or less than a 
 weed among the epithelial cells. 
 
 The proper treatment is so simple and so effica- 
 cious, that we sometimes lose our patience, when 
 we find those applying to us have undergone all 
 sorts of useless treatment internally, which is of 
 no more service than dosing a river to kill the 
 weeds in the meadows watered by it. We have 
 only to macerate off the epidermis, and by the 
 application of a parasiticide prevent the germina- 
 tion of the spores until they are finally entirely 
 gotten rid of. Soaking in hot water, and rubbing 
 with strong soft soap, will remove the scarf-skin af- 
 fected J and the application afterwards of a solution 
 of two grains of corrosive sublimate in an ounce 
 of water is all that is needed to, in a few days, 
 cure an uncomfortable and often suspicious-looking 
 affection, which, without proper treatment, will 
 flourish on the skin for a lifetime. The confound- 
 ing this parasitic disease with the pigment change
 
 86 VEGETABLE PARASITES, ETC. 
 
 of color of troubles of the liver or other organs, 
 which the laity naturally enough do, but which 
 physicians, at least, never should, gives plenty of 
 opportunity for the ^ale of patent quack medicines, 
 beauty washes, et cetera, and helps support the 
 newspapers by the advertisements of travelling 
 charlatans. 
 
 "VYe trust now that our readers have, from these 
 chapters on the vegetable parasites of the human 
 skin, derived some idea of what the parasites 
 themselves are, the appearances they produce on 
 the cutaneous envelope and its appendages, the 
 hair and nails, and the means to in some measure 
 get rid of them, or at any rate avoid their plant- 
 ing themselves and growing on the surface of the 
 body. They cannot also but be struck with the 
 excellent opportunity ignorance offers to quackery 
 in reference to these affections. Eemember, an 
 ounce of preventive is worth a pound of cure, 
 and that preventive is simply plenty of soap, and 
 lots of hot water.
 
 FALSE PARASITES 
 
 OF THE HUMAN BODY. 
 
 Omitting those articulated animals which only 
 wound men when they are irritated, or do not live 
 at all upon its juices, we here give Dr. Kucheu- 
 meister's Report on the False Parasites of the 
 Human Body. These are : — 
 
 1. The scorpions. The common European scor- 
 pion has six eyes, and can only produce local phe- 
 nomena, which are said to disappear by treatment 
 with oils or ammonia, and in which, perhaps, col- 
 lodion would prove useful. It is supposed that 
 the effects increase with the age of the animal, and 
 with more southern climates. The eight-eyed In- 
 dian species is said to be much more dangerous. 
 Only local phenomena can be laid to the charge of 
 the twelve-eyed species in Algiers. 
 
 2. The true house spiders. Their bite scarcely 
 
 (87)
 
 88 FALSE PARASITES 
 
 inflicts a worse Avouiid than that of a flea. How- 
 ever, some of the larger southern spiders may be 
 more dangerous. Treatment with cold applica- 
 tions (cold earth or collodion) is sufficient. It 
 may also be mentioned that a hysterical patient 
 of Lopez pushed spiders under her eyelids, in 
 order that the surgeon might remove these par- 
 asites. 
 
 3. The hunting spiders. To this class belongs 
 the celebrated Lycosa tarantula, first referred to 
 by Ferrante. Many are inclined to regard the 
 tarantula dance, which was said to occur after the 
 bite, as a sort of chorea. It appears to me that in 
 this case too little reference has been made to the 
 following circumstance : it may probably happen 
 that in particular cases the bite of the tarantula 
 may produce violent local irritation, and that per- 
 haps it was observed accidentally by the people 
 that violent dancing, and keeping up the perspira- 
 tion in bed, quickly healed these local symptoms. 
 To excite a desire of dancinsr in those who were 
 bitten, and thus to obtain a perspiration, it is well- 
 known that two melodies were played — the Tar- 
 antula and the Pastorale. Subsequently this cir- 
 cumstance was confused or forgotten, and in course
 
 OF THE HUMAN BODY. GY) 
 
 of years it came to pass that as soon as any one 
 was bitten by a tarantula, they played to him, and 
 he was obliged to dance. Hence it might easily 
 happen that people were unable to imagine a tar- 
 antula bite without its being followed by music, 
 and, in consequence, by dancing. Thus the bite 
 and the remedy came to be so mixed up together, 
 that the people, and with them Ferrante, could no 
 lono^er distinijuish between the two. The bite is 
 a product of the animal, the dancing a product of 
 the music, as we may every day see in the ball- 
 rooms. 
 
 4. The bees, and humble-bees, wasps, and 
 hornets. 
 
 5. The ants. Of course we need not here speak 
 in detail of the caterpillars, toads, and snakes, 
 which may accidentally wound and poison men 
 with their bite ; nor of the lizards, if any of them 
 are really venomous. They would not be men- 
 tioned here at all, if the popular belief had not 
 regarded some of the last-mentioned animals, as 
 well as salamanders, frogs, and tadpoles, certain 
 caterpillars, centipedes, beetles, etc., as actual 
 parasites of man, and supposed that these animals, 
 nay, even some species of fishes, such as the eels.
 
 yO FALSE TARASITES 
 
 could carry on a parasitic existence in the interior 
 of the human intestine. Unfortunately medi- 
 cal men have given their assistance to this non- 
 sense ; and I myself have seen one allowing 
 himself to be fooled by a patient with an eel, and 
 another with a frog. With such follies there are 
 only two ways of dealing — jest and scientific ex- 
 periment. The former has been done, and many, 
 perhaps, are acquainted with the satirical tale in 
 which a medical man in recent times has castigated 
 a fool of this kind, who chattered about the pres- 
 ence of living frogs in the body of a patient, in 
 the same style as Dr. S. C. H. Windier (^swindler) 
 once derided the infusorian theory of the process 
 of fermentation. But such remedies are not 
 thoroufT^h-ofoius:, and cannot effect a fundamental 
 cure. For the cure of these follies we are in- 
 debted to Berthold, of Littingen, and I here re- 
 produce literally his conclusions : 
 
 1. All observations on living amphibia having 
 remained loni? in the human bodv, and actini? as 
 the cause of long illnesses in it, are false. 
 
 2. Eggs of amphibia, when swallowed, very 
 soon lose their power of development in the stom- 
 ach. (Dr. Kretschmar, of Stolpen, informed me
 
 OF THE HUMAN BODY. 91 
 
 as an analogous case, that trout often devour fer- 
 tilized trouts' eggs at the spawning time, but that 
 these eggs, when again taken out of the stomachs 
 of the trout, and put uninjured into fresh water, do 
 not become developed.) 
 
 3. It is, however, possible that amphibia may 
 get into the human subject by intentional or acci- 
 dental swallowing. 
 
 4. Such animals may be again evacuated either 
 in a living or asphyxied state, when vomiting takes 
 place soon after they are swallowed. 
 
 5. If this vomiting only takes place at a later 
 period, the animals thrown up are dead; if no 
 vomiting takes place, the animals are more or less 
 digested, and we find either their epidermis or 
 bones, or nothing at all of them, in the faeces. 
 
 6. The only and true reason why the amphibia 
 cannot permanently live in the human body, is the 
 moist heat of at least eighty degrees Fah., which 
 no species of amphibia (frogs of all kinds, frogs' 
 spawn, the tadpoles of frogs and toads, salaman- 
 ders, tritons and their spawn, lizards, and slow- 
 worms, were employed in the experiments) can 
 resist from two to four hours. 
 
 The method of experiment was as follows :
 
 92 FALSE PAKASITES 
 
 Berthold put the animals just mentioned in vessels 
 with water and air, which were kept from two to 
 four hours at the temperature of the stomach, 
 eighty degrees Fah. 
 
 The ordinary caterpillars also belong here ; they 
 soon died, even at a low temperature, in water. 
 They can get into the stomach with salad, or as 
 far as concerns the smooth sixteen-footed cater- 
 pillar of Aglossa pinguinalis, which lives in old 
 fat or butter, and is therefore frequently found in 
 the kitchen and cellar with fat articles of food. 
 This caterpillar was found by Rolander and Linne 
 in the faeces or vomitings, and regarded by the 
 latter as very dangerous in the human intestine. 
 If they are soon thrown up, they are either still 
 alive, or retain their form ; but if this takes place 
 later, they must bear more or less distinct traces 
 of digestion about them. In the fseces they hardly 
 can be found again, or only in cases of very im- 
 perfect digestion, and with violent diarrhoea to 
 drive them very rapidly through the intestines. 
 The same applies to the Gordius aquatlcus^ which, 
 however, from the hardness of its epidermis, may, 
 perhaps, long resist, if not death, at least diges-
 
 OF THE HUMAN BODY. 93 
 
 tion. It might probably reach the stomach by the 
 use of worm-eaten fruit. 
 
 In southern countries, leeches {Hodmopis vorax) 
 are readily swallowed with water, and these are 
 said to be able to live some time in the human 
 body, causing violent internal hemorrhages. This 
 is mentioned by Larrey, and it was also expe- 
 rienced at the siege of Mahon. 
 
 Lastly, it may be stated, that hairs, fibres, and 
 undigested flesh, passed with the fseces, have been 
 described as parasites of man. The careful practi- 
 tioner will be easily able to avoid mistakes. 
 
 The hair of the processionary caterpillar (^Bom- 
 hyx processioned) , which forms on oaks a bag-shaped 
 cocoon often as large as a man's head , is very dan- 
 gerous to man. Nicolai's observations and re- 
 searches have proved that the caterpillar usually 
 appears during the middle of May, at first to the 
 number of from ten to twelve, on the bark of the 
 oak, from whence it wanders to the first buds and 
 twigs of the oak. Each single caterpillar is from 
 the fourth to the third of an inch in length, and 
 of the color of the bark of the oak. 
 
 They have long, stiflf, black and white hairs or 
 bristles, and a black stripe on the back. This
 
 94 FALSE PARASITES 
 
 little band of from ten to twelve caterpillars (prob- 
 ably relatives) keep together on a twig, and eat 
 during night and day" They grow rapidly, learn 
 to move more quickly, upwards of one hundred 
 and more uniting, and forming a wandering colony, 
 in order to attack larger branches. They wander 
 thus from twig to twig, casting their skin for the 
 first time towards the end of May, by rubbing 
 against the uneven bark of the oak. They are 
 now of from one-third to one-fourth of an inch 
 long, of a gray color, distinctly showing twelve 
 segments, and on the top of each segment a black 
 shield, with very short, velvet-like hair, of a pecu- 
 liar lustre. The laro:e hairs are rans^ed in from 
 two to three bunches on each segment, having 
 lower down on their sides eight spiracles, and eight 
 pairs of legs. 
 
 During the time of the casting .oft* of the skin, 
 the gray caterpillar becomes yellowish-brown, 
 lustreless, stronger, but lazier. The caterpillars 
 mostly gather where a branch w^ithers, and attach 
 themselves so firmly by spinning a cocoon, that 
 caterpillar and bark seem one. The cocoon is 
 thin and transparent, and attached to its inner 
 part is the cast skin. These caterpillars have quite
 
 OF THE ^UMAN BODY. 95 
 
 the appearance of the former, and begin their wan- 
 derings afresh — a caterpillar leading each troop, 
 having attached to ity tail other caterpillars, and 
 so on. They grow now very large, and collect 
 together, at the end of June or the beginning of 
 July, in increasing numbers. The caterpillars, 
 placing themselves side by side, or one above the 
 other, cast their skin a second time, and wander 
 again, leaving threads behind on the path of their 
 emigration. They are now excessively voracious, 
 and deposit largely the matter which is so obnox- 
 ious to men and animals. Being now more than 
 one inch in length, and very strong, they are seen 
 to make long journeys, annexing all smaller troops 
 which they meet on their way. They gather at 
 last on the trunk of a thick tree, placing them- 
 selves side by side to the extent of a man's hand, 
 and then one above another, in three or four rows, 
 after which some of the larger caterpillars are seen 
 to creep from underneath, and spin all round the 
 heap. The spinners are relieved by others at 
 regular periods, and from six to eight caterpillars 
 may be seen on the cocoon which is usually fast- 
 ened to the sunny side of the trees, rarely to the 
 stormy and northern side, at a considerable height,
 
 96 FALSE PARASITES 
 
 close to the twigs, and where a twig or branch is 
 decaying. A hole is left in the cocoon for the 
 passing in and out of the caterpillars, which is 
 always guarded by several large caterpillars. 
 These guards allow only larger caterpillars to pass, 
 preventing all smaller ones which may happen to 
 follow from entering, and appointing for their use 
 a separate place close to the nest, from whence 
 they are led by a larger caterpillar on new excur- 
 sions, to young leaves, the leader returning to its 
 nest. The larger caterpillars deposit faeces in the 
 nest, which, fallinsr amonsf the threads of the 
 cocoon, render the latter more opaque, and more 
 capable of resisting external influences. This 
 closing up happens usually at the end of July or 
 beginning of August. Each caterpillar prepares 
 for itself a separate case or cocoon inside the large 
 cocoon, which is of a gray -yellow color, and silk- 
 like appearance. The single cocoons of the cater- 
 jDillars resemble, in the method of their spinning, 
 that of Bombyx mori; they are, however, more 
 oval, smaller, and very rich in the yellow, powdery 
 substance, of which we shall have to speak. The 
 cocoons are formed in one night. The butterfly 
 escapes towards the end of August, by softening
 
 OF THE HUMAN BODY. 97 
 
 the threads of its cocoon with its saliva, and thus 
 dissolves them. It copulates, lays eggs, and dies. 
 Many of the chrysalides in the cocoons were de- 
 stroyed by white, worm-like, hairless parasites. 
 
 The inhabitants of Westphalia, in Germany, are 
 well acquainted with the important and dangerous 
 diseases and sufferings which are caused by these 
 caterpillars, both in men and animals. It is very 
 doubtful whether the noxious substance which acts 
 like a poison, creating redness, itching, and burn- 
 ing of the external and inflammation of the inter- 
 nal parts, and causing even death, consists of the 
 long hairs of the caterpillar. According to some 
 writers, the nest or cocoon is to be looked upon as 
 the cause of these disorders ; whilst others say 
 that they are caused by an acrid noxious juice 
 which the caterpillar is thought to secrete when it 
 creeps over the surface of the skin. Nicolai con- 
 vinced himself of the impossibility of the latter 
 cause, for he observed itching pustules on his fore- 
 arms, which were covered with clothing, though 
 the caterpillar had never come near them. On one 
 occasion, when attempting to attach to a board a 
 large caterpillar by means of pins, and for this 
 purpose piercing its black back shield, he saw on
 
 98 FALSE PARASITES 
 
 the edge of the shield a reddish-yellow, fine, dust- 
 like, saffron-colored powder proceed from the 
 shield, without the latter being altered in the least. 
 The interior of this spot showed no especial organ 
 nor opening. Later observations, however, are 
 said to have discovered underneath these reddish 
 spots two large warts, which almost touch one 
 another, and which are especially noticed when the 
 caterpillar casts its skin, and has become deprived 
 of its hair. The same dust was found by Nicolai 
 in the nests and cocoons in the parts which sur- 
 round the chrysalis. The caterpillar also exuded 
 this substance on being touched with a knife on 
 the black shields. On coming into contact with 
 the moist skin, it caused, after eight hours, red, 
 itching pustules, but produced no effect when 
 brought into contact with the dry or oiled skin. 
 The dust loses its peculiar power by being pre- 
 served in spirits of wine. Ratzeburg observed 
 that feeding the caterpillars shut up in a glass, 
 and the necessary repeated opening of the glass, 
 were sufficient to cause inflammation. Lameil, 
 Physician to the Lunatic Asylum at Charenton, 
 observed, after the lapse of ten years even, on 
 openmg aglass which contained a piece of a cocoon.
 
 OP THE HUMAN BODY. 99 
 
 similar effects. The microscope shows the dust 
 to consist of very fine, straight, spiry, minute hairs, 
 beset with barbs. They are exceedingly light, 
 swim on water, and are sometimes carried away 
 by the wind, flying about for some time in the 
 forest. The dust is carried on to objects and into 
 the air by the creeping of the caterpillar on a damp 
 place, by touching it, by moving through the air, 
 and by the falling of drops of rain on the bark. 
 This dust seems , however, only to be formed after the 
 second and last casting of the skin of the caterpillar. 
 In places where the caterpillar is of frequent 
 occurrence, the animals which come into the 
 forests are attacked by various diseases : sheep, 
 by inflammation of the eyes and violent coughing ; 
 cows and goats, by the same symptoms, with in- 
 ternal inflammations and ulcers all over the skin, 
 the violent itching of which, makes the animals 
 restless, and drives them almost to madness ; 
 horses more especially suffer from it. The dis- 
 eases of the eye caused by it are : Blenorrhoea of 
 the conjunctiva, dimness of vision, and perforation 
 of the eye. People become exposed to this poison 
 by staying in a forest, by sleeping, working, or 
 taking a ride, playing, cutting down wood even in
 
 100 FALSE PARASITES 
 
 winter- time, by gathering fruit, as strawberries, 
 which grow under the oak-trees, by collecting 
 grass, litter, or the fallen leaves of forests. The 
 diseases which follow are violent inflammation of 
 the eye, erythema of the e^^elids, blenorrhoea, 
 coughing, inflammation of the throat and the 
 lungs, violent itching and scalding eruptions of 
 the skin (nettle-rash), and general fever. The 
 question is, whether the above-described dust — 
 which is found, according to Xicolai, more partic- 
 ularly on the edges of the black shields of each 
 segment lining the shields with a brownish-red and 
 delicate border, and which is velvet-like, very 
 fine, lustrous, and soft, and which can be loosened 
 and shaken away at the caterpillars pleasure — be 
 merely a mechanical, or also, at the saine time, a 
 chemical irritant ; opinion difiers somewhat. 
 
 Treatment and Projphylaxis. — The destruction 
 of the caterpillars by burning and singeing them 
 by means of wisps of straw, or by sweeping them 
 off the trunks of the trees and crushing them on 
 the ground, is always dangerous to the operator, 
 since the dust is dispersed in the air. Obstacles 
 to their migration, such as coal-tar, tarred paper, 
 and digging trenches round the trees, are of no
 
 OF THE HUMAN BODY. 101 
 
 avail, as the caterpillar simply goes round them, 
 and crosses even small brooks. I think it would 
 be best to discover the nests, and wrap them up 
 with rags soaked in oil, and then to cut away the 
 branch, and to burn or bury it. It would be 
 well, however, to destroy the insect in the chrys- 
 alis state towards the end of July or middle of 
 August, before the butterfly creeps out, in order 
 to restrict its propagation, or to hunt up and 
 annihilate the latest brood which exists before the 
 second casting of the skin, without the dangerous 
 dust. It would, therefore, be necessary to search 
 from the beginning of May to the beginning of 
 June, for the wandering troops. The collector 
 of nests and caterpillars will do well to use a blunt 
 hoe, to wear gloves, and to oil the skin. There 
 are generally only one or two nests in each tree. 
 The caterpillar has but few enemies in the animal 
 kingdom, of which I may mention the ichneumon. 
 Birds seem to be afraid of it. Precautions ought 
 to be taken to prevent persons entering infected 
 forests by means of notices, by the digging of 
 ditches, etc. The pasturing of animals in such 
 forests, and the gathering of fodder and litter, 
 should be forbidden. The gathering of fruits of
 
 102 FALSE PARASITES, ETC. 
 
 any kind should be unconditionally interdicted ; 
 and, in case nests are discovered when oaks or 
 pines are cut down, they should be carefully re- 
 moved, as mentioned above, without hewing them 
 to pieces, and the Avood-c utter advised not to place 
 himself towards the wind. 
 
 Direct Treatment. — When the dust has been 
 deposited on an individual, it is recommended by 
 Ratzeburg to employ cold douche baths. Nicolai 
 recommends milk poultices in the case of inflam- 
 mations of the ej^e and the erysipelatous inflamma- 
 tion of the eyelid ; rubbing in of oil on the more 
 sensitive reddened parts, or appljdng fomentations 
 or lotions with milk. When the throat or tonsils 
 have become inflamed, oily emulsions, salad oil, 
 and milk, are recommended ; but if the bronchi 
 and lungs are inflamed, a more powerful antiphlo- 
 gistic treatment is required : remedies which 
 allay and restrict the irritation, especially emetics, 
 when there is a tendency to sickness, and, on the 
 whole, a quick and energetic treatment. 
 
 Popular superstition augurs a year of dearth 
 from the appearance of this caterpillar, and its mi- 
 grations from west to south, or from southern 
 to northern countries.
 
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