TKANSMIGHATIONS AND METAMOEPHOSES. 215 



planted in a provisional soil. After this it is trans- 

 planted into a richer soil, where it flowers and throws 

 out its numerous seeds. It comes to us from the flesh 

 of the pig, in which there lived vesicular worms, of the 

 size of a hazel-nut. The muscles are sometimes full 

 of them, and the pig is then said to be " measly." The 

 ancients noticed that the sucking-pig never takes this 

 disease ; and as Sus scropha is the aiame of the pig, the 

 term scrophula has the same origin as the specific name 

 proposed by Linnaeus. 



The measles in pork have been attributed to damp, 

 to feeding on acorns, to hereditary causes, to contagion, 

 even to injured corn and mouldy bread, All these 

 theories we find in pathological treatises. The only true 

 cause, however, is the introduction of the eggs of the 

 Taenia solium into the intestines. If we wish to prevent 

 this infection, we must not permit the animal to eat 

 man's excrements, nor to drink water in which sub- 

 stances that have become decomposed on a dung-heap 

 have been allowed to remain. 



The cysticercus of the pig, when introduced into man, 

 becomes a tenia with as great certainty as the seed of a 

 carrot will produce this plant if sowed in suitable soil. 

 The observation had been for a long time made without 

 any explanation being given, that this parasite especially 

 shows itself among pork butchers and cooks. This is 

 because these persons, more frequently than others, 

 handle raw pork. The same observation has been made 

 respecting children who have made use of the gravy 

 of raw meat. Minced raw meat (conserve de Damas) 

 has been prescribed with success in chronic diarrhoea. 

 The tape -worm has often been known to make 

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