The fungus-disease in India : a report of observations / by T.R. Lewis and D.D. Cunningham.
- Timothy Richards Lewis
- Date:
- 1875
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The fungus-disease in India : a report of observations / by T.R. Lewis and D.D. Cunningham. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![cultivation, it may be remarked that species of tliat genus may very frequently be observed in Calcutta on such materials as skin, cartilage, &c., after the rainy season has set in. We have recently had a striking Aspergiuu8 develop- cxamplc of this in regard to one of ed^on animal substan- ^]^q commoncst spccics of Aspergil- lus. The costal cartilages adherent to the skeleton of a dog were observed to present a mouldy aspect, and this on closer examination was found to be dependent on the presence of an abundance of minute white points. Under a low magnifying power these were found to con- sist of peritliecia, presenting the normal features charac- terising those of Eurotium. They were connected with a thin web of white creeping mycelium which formed a net-work over the surface of the cartilage. The peri- thecia showed the normal cellular structure and were full of roundish or fusiform spores. The perithecia varied considerably in size, ranging from -jyo''' to j^-g''' in diameter, and the spores measured on an average ^ jVt by ji^Q-a, or when circular -yyV-s*' Plate I., Fig. 8). No asci could be detected. A portion of the cartilage was removed and set in a moist chamber for further examination. Some of the perithecia assumed a yellowish tint, but the majority remained unchanged, and the principal growth observed occurred in the mycelium. The filaments of this became greatly developed, ramifying and anastomosing over the cartilage and forming closely adherent net-works over the surfaces of the perithecia. They presently gave origin to an abundance of erect filaments bearing the ordinary fructification of Aspergillus. In many instan- ces these filaments appeared to arise directly from the perithecia, but this was apparently due rather to their origin from adherent mycelial filaments than to the ger- mination of the spores in the interior of the perithecia, or any outgrowth from their walls. The heads of the Aspergillus were at first white, and ultimately assumed the bright green tint characteristic of Aspergillus glau- Gus. Spores which had escaped from ruptured perithecia also quickly germinated, and the s[)ecimen rapidly](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2232222x_0083.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
