78 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 
these worms, may thus scatter about, during a single year, 
more than a thousand joints, and if each of these contains but 
5000 eggs, he would thus diffuse 5,000,000 eggs, each con- 
taining an active embryo, ready to leave its shell the moment 
that it enters the stomach of a calf, cow, or ox. Young ani- 
mals seem to be more liable to be infected by them than old 
ones. Fortunately these young worms retain their vitality 
for but one year when enclosed in the flesh, and after that 
die and, withering away, leave only a very small yellowish 
spot, containing calcareous particles. The adult worm, if 
left undisturbed, will live in a person ten or twelve years, 
constantly dropping its joints. Among the Burates, or Cos- 
sacks of the Baikal region, this species is very abundant. 
Their habits of eating chiefly the raw or slightly cooked flesh 
of cattle, sheep, camels, horses, and goats, while they devour 
the liver, kidneys, and fat quite raw, would lead us to expect 
that this and other parasites might abound in their bodies, 
which proves to be the case. According to Dr. Kaschin in 130 
post mortem examinations only two bodies were found with 
out this tape-worm, aud among 500 hospital patients every 
one had it. Sometimes as many as fifteen specimens were 
found in one person. 
It has been supposed until within a short time that the 
beef tape-worm (Zwenia mediocanellata) was very rare in 
Great Britain and the United States, where the pork tape- 
worm was thought to be the only one that was at all common 
in man. Dr. Cobbold has shown, however, in his late works 
on parasitic worms, that the beef tape-worm is really quite as 
common in England as the pork tape worm, the wealthier 
classes generally harboring the former, and the poorer people 
the latter. Iam convinced that, even if not so common as _ 
the pork tape-worm, the beef tape-worm is by no means so 
rare in America as is generally supposed. The Museum of 
Yale College possesses one large specimen, raised by a citizen 
of New Haven, and many other museums in the United States 
no doubt contain them, labelled, however, “ Tenia solium.” In 
fact, probably not one pbysicion t in a thousand, in the country 
at large, possesses the knowledge of the subject requisite for 
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