TRICHINOUS INFECTION OF MAN AND ANI3IALS. 173 



States is greater than in German}-, still, the disease is of rare occur- 

 rence on this side of the Atlantic compared to the old country ; and 

 we can ascribe no cause for the greater prevalence of this disease in 

 Germany, except it be the habit of eating their ham or sausage in 

 the raw or uncooked state. 



Thus our only safety from the use of pork, which is alwa3'S more 

 or less liable to contain trichinae, from any part of the country, is 

 through cooking. Salting and smoking, unless long continued, have 

 but little effect upon the vitality of these parasites. Raw ham or 

 sausage should never be allowed upon a sanitar}' bill of fare ; and 

 even boiled ham, when large and fashionably prepared, as seen in 

 many of our eating saloons to-day, not uufrequenth' contains these 

 living worms. Hence our lives ma}" be prolonged and our health 

 improved by more attention being given to the domestic duties of 

 the household. Then will all meats be served upon our table in a 

 manner both to nourish and promote our happiness. 



As another means of prevention, special attention should also be 

 directed to ' 'village hogs," that are allowed to roam at large and 

 thus become public scavengers. In fact, the known habit of swine 

 to root in their own excrement affords another means for the spread 

 of this contagious malady. If one hog in a pen or drove becomes 

 infected, the rest are almost sure to be in due time ; for that the 

 trichinae may pass away with the discharge from the bowels, and 

 thus be taken up by the others, there can be no possible doubt. 



More attention, also, should be paid to the cleanliness of our 

 public slaughter houses, with a view of controlling the ravages of 

 all infectious and contagious diseases among our domestic animals, 

 which often arise from want of sanitary regulations in their manage- 

 ment. Besides, few butchers have the necessary knowledge to guard 

 the people against the possibility of infection in the meats they vend. 

 All public abattoirs, therefore, should be under the supervision of a 

 competent veterinary surgeon, who should have full control of our 

 meat supplies, and thus be able to prevent an infected article from 

 ever reaching the table even of a single plebeian family. 



SANITARY INSPECTION. 



The actual recognition of this parasite in the flesh of swine during 

 life, observes Leuckart, is of great importance. The symptoms in 

 many of the artificial cases of infection are not characteristic. The 



