History, Modern -- 19th century; Nineteenth century
Even granting that an enormous number of the bacteria are harmless,
the wonder is that with so many foes on every hand we live an ordinary
lifetime. Fortunately, however, in the human body there is not only a
lack of food sufficient and “elbow room” enough for them to work their
dire effects, but there is that which “makes for righteousness” in our
physical organization as well as in our souls.
The moment that bacteria are introduced into the human body a certain
number of cells hasten to destroy them. These are called “phagocytes”
or devouring cells, because they eat up the bacteria. Whether the
patient survives or dies depends on whether the bacteria get the upper
hand of the phagocytes or the phagocytes the upper hand of the bacteria.
These statements are very easy to make, but the results have only been
obtained by prolonged and laborious investigations in the laboratory
and by experiments upon animals which have demonstrated these facts.
The bacteria are recognized by various methods: First, by form. Many
which are identical in appearance, however, differ greatly in effects.
A handful of turnip-seed and a handful of rape-seed look very much
alike, but if they are planted the plants differ so greatly that we can
recognize the difference in the seed by the difference in the crop;
hence the second method of recognizing differences in bacteria is by
planting them. Different methods have been practised. Some are sown on
the raw surface of a potato; others on bread paste; others in certain
jelly-like materials, such as gelatine or agar-agar. It was soon found
as a result of these experiments that the bacteria flourished best,
some in one soil, some in another. Again, the crops of mould which come
from them differ greatly in color, some being black, some red, some
white, some yellow, etc. A third method also is by staining them with
various dyes, when it is found that some bacteria will take one stain
best, others will take another, and so on through the whole list.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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