THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



A MEASLY WILD DUCK. 



It is wull kuoAVii that, under certain eircum- 

 stanccs, the ttcsli of the hog becomes full of 

 white bladder-like substances, about the size of 

 a large pea, and that the pork is then said to be 

 ■•measly." These little bladders are in reality 

 living animals, belonging to the same order 

 {Kntozoa) of the great class of "Worms, as the 

 various species of worms found in the bowels of 

 man. Formerly they were called cystadids, and 

 supposed to be perfect animals, and how they 

 got into the Hesh of the hog was a mystery. Of 

 late years, however, it has been clearly ascer- 

 tained that they are merely the larva state of the 

 well known Tape-worm; and that, when measly 

 pork is eaten raw, the bladder-like creature 

 sometimes passes alive into the human intestines, 

 and there gradually develops into the tape- 

 worm. Knowing what we do of the filthy habits 

 of the hog, it is not difficult for us to understand 

 how the minute eggs of the tape-worm may oc- 

 casionally pass, in considerable numbers, fi'om 

 the human body into the body of a hog, and 

 tliere generate a large stock of the bladder-like 

 substances spoken of above. 



A\'e have recently been shown the body of a 

 male wild duck, or Mallard, which was so full 

 of a new and undescribed kind of cystadid, that 

 \ t)u could not put your finger upon any portion 

 (if the flesh without touching some. At first sight 

 they had the appearance of a number of very 

 elongate kernels of wheat imbedded in the 

 muscles. But on a closer examination they 

 proved to be bladder-like sacks, without any ex- 

 ternal articulations whatever, from one-fifth to 

 one-fourth of an inch long, about four times as 

 long as wide, of a cylindrical shape, tapered a 

 little at each end, and filled internally with a 

 viscid yellowish substance. If introduced, along 

 with a portion of the raw flesh of the duck, into 

 the human stomach, they would probably have 

 developed into some kind or otiier of intestinal 

 worm ; but we were by no means desirous of 

 ascertaining the particular species of worm, by 

 personally experimenting on this very interest- 

 ing, but rather ticklish, subject. 



In all sxrch cases as these, perfect security from 

 infection is attained by thoroughly cooking the 

 measly meat before it is eaten. This kills the 

 obnoxious cystadids, and of course prevents 

 them from subsequently developing into their 

 ulterior stages within the human body. 



The history of the notorious Trichina spiralis 

 — an almost microscopic worm which is some- 

 times found in the muscles of the hog— diflfers 

 somewhat from that of the above creatures, inas- 



much as this species does not pass through two 

 distinct stages of existence. But the same law 

 prevails in all such cases as these, namely, that 

 there is no fear whatever of any of these animals 

 being introduced alive into the human body, 

 except through the dangerous and every way 

 exceptionable practice of eating raw meat. 

 Neither, as is plainly shown from the example 

 quoted above, are we safe by simply abstaining 

 altogether from pork. The flesh of the wild 

 duck, and probably that of many other animals 

 hitherto unsuspected, and supposed to be pecu- 

 liarly cleanly, may prove to be as dangerous as 

 that of the hog, provided it be eaten raw or only 

 partially cooked. 

 "We repeat once more to all our readers — 



COOK ALL KINDS OF FLESH BEFORE YOU EAT IT. 



Of the many scores of persons who have died of 

 Trichina spiralis in this country, every one had 

 eaten either raw ham, or raw sausage, or some 

 other uncooked or partially cooked preparation 

 of pork. Accum, the English chemist, wrote a 

 book long ago wliich he entitled "Death in the 

 Pot." But the death that he spoke of arose 

 from the adulteration of culinary articles before 

 they went into the pot. "We say most emphati- 

 cally that there is "life in the pot." 



STRAWBERRY WORMS. 



The biu v^^ isi ititY li vi -hoi i i u {AnUiyloiKra 

 frayarice, X. Sp.)- — For nearly two years, we 

 have been acquainted with a little greenish leaf- 

 roller, measuring about one-tliird of an inch, 

 (See Fig. 75 «), which in certain parts of North 

 Illinois and Indiana, has been ruining the Straw- 

 berry fields in a most wholesale manner; and 

 which also occurs in Canada, judging from an 

 account in the Canada Farmer of Aug. 1, 1807. 

 It crumples and folds the leaves, feeding on their 

 pulpy substance, and causing them to appear 

 dry and seared, and most usually lines the inside 

 of the fold with silk. There are two broods of 

 this leaf-roller during the year, and the worms 

 of the first brood . which appear during the month 

 of June, change to the pupa state within the 

 rolled-up leaf, and become minute reddish brown 

 moths (Fig. 75 c) during the fore part of July. 

 After pairing in the usual manner, the females 



