98 BOARD UF AGRICULTURE. 
coceus eggs, but those of several other tape-worms, round- 
worms, and many other parasites, and is of itself unhealthy 
and often the prolific cause of disease. If water from a good 
well, or a well protected spring, cannot be had, the water 
should be carefully filtered, and by preference through char- 
coal. Most of the water consumed in our cities, both from 
wells and the water-works, is wholly unfit to drink without 
filtering. In cities with loose sandy soils the well-water is 
the worst possible. 
Finally, dog-kennels and other places much frequented by 
dogs, should be frequently cleaned and the litter burned, 
while frequent sprinklings with strong petroleum water or a 
solution of carbolic acid in water should be used to destroy 
the eggs that may have escaped from the intestine. By these 
precautions the numbers of this and several other dog-parasites 
might be much diminished. Dogs might also receive a 
thorough course of medical treatment, once in three months 
to expel all their intestinal worms, with great advantage, and 
this might, with propriety, be made obligatory by law. In 
this case the dogs should be confined while treated and all 
excreta should be burned. 
The frequency of this parasite is in direct proportion to the 
extent to which the precautions are neglected in different 
countries. In Iceland, the conditions for its rapid increase 
and perpetuation have been favorable, and in that unfortunate 
country, Dr. Krabbe states that there are at all times about 
eighteen hundred patients suffering with severe forms of this 
parasitic disease—-a number equal to about one-fortieth of all 
the inhabitants. In some districts, the proportion is said to 
be one in every seven, and scarcely a family can be found 
without two or more cases! It is also stated that one-sixth 
of all the deaths are due to diseases caused by this parasite! 
The number both of dogs and sheep in Iceland is very large, 
and the dogs mingle with the natives and live with them in 
their rude dwellings, and are used in bringing the sheep to- 
gether, so that abundant opportunities occur for propagating 
the parasite. According to Dr. Krabbe, there is one dog for 
every three to five inhabitants in Iceland, while in Great 
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