NEMATODA 171 



" Having detailed these facts and inferences, I now wish to 

 bring to your notice some other particulars connected with the 

 Cumberland outbreak. 



" Dr Dickinson, of Workington, tells me that he was at first 

 suspicious that his patients were suffering from fever, but was 

 not quite able to make out what the disorder was. At length 

 certain symptoms occurred, which suggested that it might 

 possibly be the German flesh-worm epidemic making its appear- 

 ance in this country for the first time, and, therefore, in view of 

 verifying the facts of the case, he sent me portions of the flesh of 

 the pig. He describes the symptoms, which in their character 

 corresponded with those previously recorded as experienced by 

 persons similarly attacked. Dr Dickinson remarks, towards the 

 close of his communication, that the victims form a small family 

 who have carefully reared their own swine. The British farmer 

 is thus here introduced to us at his own table playing the part 

 of ' host' at her own table, I should say, for, to be more pre- 

 cise, it is a widow, her daughter, and a man-servant who are 

 suffering. Dr Dickinson informs me that for two or three weeks 

 before he was called to see them they had been eating sausages 

 and boiled pork from one of their own home-fed pigs, which 

 pig, by the way, turns out to have been an old sow. He 

 brought away some sections of the leaner portions of the flesh 

 for microscopic examination. You will observe that there can 

 be no mistake about the source of the food on this occasion. 

 Hitherto, Trichina has not been observed in our British-fed 

 swine in more than one or two, or possibly three instances. 

 Therefore it would be very interesting to ascertain how it hap- 

 pened that this poor pig became trichinised. In my communi- 

 cation addressed to the 'British Medical Journal/ I wrote as 

 follows : " Dr Dickinson has at the present time under his care 

 a family suffering from the so-called flesh-worm disease, 

 resulting from the consumption of ham prepared from pigs 

 reared by the family themselves. A portion of ham sent to me 

 swarmed with recently encapsuled Trichinae. Dr Dickinson being 

 thus the first person who has diagnosed trichiniasis in the living 

 subject in England, I hope he may be induced to give us further 

 particulars/ The editor, in commenting upon this letter, 

 added a practical point, which I wish especially to bring to your 

 notice. He says : ' The subject of parasitic diseases of 

 domestic animals is one of widespread and increasing interest. 



