346 MEASLES IN THE PIG. 



thousand reared in England or Scotland is found diseased, 

 whereas the Irish pigs suffer much from this disease, and 

 some years to an extent of six, seven, and eight per cent. 

 The Irish have an adage that every pig has its measle, and if I 

 consider what number of animals have a few cysticerci in their 

 flesh,the per-centage of measly animals is far higher than above 

 stated. When we speak of a measly pig there is an accumula- 

 tion of many hundred such parasites in the animal's body. 



I found that the malady was most prevalent in those 

 counties in Ireland where pigs are reared in small lots by 

 poor people. The disease has diminished considerably of 

 late years, in consequence of the pigs being fed in larger 

 numbers by farmers. I found that measles were very rife in 

 some parts of Cork, in Limerick, Tipperary, and Queen's 

 County. Of the counties in the province of Ulster, Monaghan 

 is by far the greatest sufferer by this disease, and I regret 

 that I have not had an opportunity to follow out my in- 

 quiries further as to the causes which lead to the extraordi- 

 nary losses by this disease in special counties. 



It is certain, however, that those pigs suffer most from 

 measles that live in common with human beings ; that are 

 allowed to roam about at will; and to eat human excrement 

 around the cottages, in the roadside, &c. A very few people 

 affected with tapeworm discharge joints enough to contami- 

 nate an immense number of pigs. Each tapeworm has an 

 average lifetime of two years. It produces in that time 

 1,600 joints, and each of these contain 53,000 eggs, making 

 in all 85 millions.* Every egg is capable of developing into 

 a cysticercus, but fortunately the great majority of the joints 

 of a tapeworm are destroyed. Were they not, every pig 

 would soon be measly, and every man, woman, and child 

 suffer from tsenia solium. 



* Leuckart, loc. cit, p. 83. 



