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DISEASES OF SILK-WORMS 107
sick worms, to which the name of morts-flats or reste-petits
had been given; but as much ignorance prevailed in
regard to this disease, which came to be known as Jlacherie,
as had existed over pebrine.
On the nth of the previous April, Professor Bechamp
had already published a pamphlet on this second silk-
worm disease, and afterwards, in July, 1868, forwarded
his account to the Academy of Science, which inserted a
—
reference to it. 1 In this pamphlet he wrote: "A non-
corpuscular seed may and often does contain, as observed
by M. de Monchy and by me, other products besides the
spherules of the vitellus and the fatty globules. They are
the motile points, much smaller than all the others that
surround them, and often excessively numerous. We call
these motile points microzyma aglaics temporarily, until we
determine positively their significance. To sum up, so long
as their parents are unknown, the best course will be to
procure seed only that is not corpuscular, either internally
or externally, and that is free from the microzyma aglaia."
In his Communication of the 20th May, he went further
in his description, and showed that in this other disease the
vibrant corpuscles might be entirely absent, while, instead,
motile particles were noticeable, like those he had ob-
served in chalk, and equally minute, and on these he
now bestowed the name of microzyma bombycis, on account
of the way in which they were coupled two by two, like a
2
figure of eight.
The next Reports that we find on the subject of silk-
3
worm disease come under the date of the 3rd June, 1867.
They are two letters from Pasteur addressed to M. Dumas.
Regarding the first the writer has to make a curious
explanation. It is dated "Alais, 30th April," and in a note,
Pasteur says that this letter left Alais on the 4th May and
that by a postal error it only reached Dumas on the 22nd
May. Be that as it may, the 30th April is, any way,
1 Comptes Rendus 67, p. 102.
2
Les Grands Problemes Midicaux, par A. Bkhamp, p. 26.
3
Comptes Rendus 64, p. 1 109 and C. R. 64, p. 1 1 13.