12 CHEESE. [1899 



The piece of Ham showed the great damage caused by the maggot 

 workings well. This slice was about four inches long by two and a 

 half broad, and a quarter of an inch thick, and in this the piece of fat 

 overlying the meaty part (about an inch across at the widest part 

 and two inches in length) showed distinct perforations caused by the 

 maggots, and other injury caused by the attack, so that it was 

 separable as a layer from the meat ; but in the other parts of the 

 slice I did not find any maggot-damage either to the solid meat or to 

 the solid fat, only to the softish fatty part between the fat and lean 

 attached by one side to the meat. 



The following communication was sent me by my correspondents 

 regarding Ham "skipper" infestation in course of some special 

 correspondence, and contains serviceable information relatively to salt 

 having no bad effects on the maggots, and other useful points of 

 observation. 



In regard to the enquiry whether the maggots were born in the 

 Ham after the death of the pig — taking the word "born" here and 

 also the word "germinate" in the second line of the communication 

 to be equivalent to " hatch " — the maggots would hatch from eggs laid 

 by the fly after the meat was salted. It appears to be quite proved that 

 this Bacon and Cheese Fly will not lay eggs on fresh or unsalted meat, 

 and, taking the liberty to alter one word of which the technical 

 meaning is not quite certain in my correspondent's leading sentence, 

 it is perfectly correct " these insects [hatch] ,live and thrive in salted 

 meat." 



I subjoin their serviceable communication verbatim : — 



"July 13th, 1899. — There is, we think, no doubt but that these 

 insects germinate, live, and thrive in salted meat. We think that 

 in the late spring there were no flies nor maggots in our curing-room ; 

 since then and until lately we have had heaps of them — perhaps 

 millions ! These are si^f■<'^cured Hams, and the saccharine matter 

 may help on the germination and development. If salt does not favour 

 them, it most certainly does not destroy them. It is common in Bacon- 

 curing to find that maggots multiply and develop in the salt used in 

 the curing of the Bacon, and that where there is no trace of taint. We 

 think that these maggots came of flies which deposited their eggs in 

 the meat soon after slaiu/htcr, and we found that the salt did not destroy 

 their progeny. The Bacon keeps damp, even wet, from the salt and 

 from the Bacon being stacked side upon side ; but we are not conscious 

 of the being of these maggots in the curing-room, as they show up after 

 the Bacon has been smoked and dried. Are we wrong in supposing 

 that these maggots were born there soon after the death of the Pig ? 

 The smoke of the drying-stove, with its heat, did not destroy them. 

 Then, further, these sweet Hams are kept after cure in dry, well-aired 



