^Library 



1900] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 



Class C. — Samples in which there are living- or dead tri- 

 chinae bodies not disintegrated. 



All carcasses coming within Class C are removed from 

 the cooling room and disposed of by tanking, or they may 

 be rendered into edible lard at a temperature of 150 deg. F., 

 or made into cooked meat products if the temperature is 

 raised to the boiling point asufficienttimetocook thorough- 

 ly the interior of the pieces. Carcasses belonging to Class 

 B are rejected for shipment to countries requiring inspec- 

 tion and certification. In all this work (the microscopic ex- 

 amination, the cutting up of carcasses, the marking of 

 parts, and the keeping of records) the most careful and 

 painstaking efforts are maintained. The result is that the 

 pork exported to countries which require inspection is not 

 only absolutely free from trichinae, but has never been af- 

 fected by these parasites. The amount of affected pork 

 under Class B and Class C is less than 2 per cent of the 

 whole amount examined microscopically. The number of 

 pounds of pork examined microscopically for export to 

 countries requiring the inspection and to countries not re- 

 quiring it for the fiscal years 1892 to 1899, was in 1892, 

 38,152, 874 ; in 1893, 20,677,410 ; in 1894, 35,437,937 ; in 1895, 

 45,094, 598 ; in 1896, 22,900,880 : in 1897, 43,572,355 ; in 1898, 

 120,271,659 ; in 1899, 108,928,195. 



Before this work was undertaken, it wasestimated that it 

 would cost from 15 to 50 cents per carcass, but in fact the 

 cost has been only about 6 cents, per carcass. The cost per 

 poundof theporkexported was 0.248 cent in 1894, 0.2 cent in 

 1895, 0.264 centinl896,0.256centin 1897, 0.142 cent in 1898, 

 and 0.182 cent in 1899. There were many and strong ob- 

 jections to the work of microscopic inspection when it was 

 begun, but the results have been so gratifying, especially 

 from a commercial point of view, that not only is there little 

 criticism, butthe applications for inspection are numerous. 

 While there is room for discussion of the proposition as to 

 whether the packer or the Government should pay the cost 

 of the microscopic inspection, there is no longer any doubt 

 of the wisdom of having the inspection made under the su- 

 pervision of the Government, — Yearbook Ag. Dept. 



