69 



II. 



" One talks of mildew and of frost, 

 And one of storms of hail, 

 And one of pigs that he has lost 

 By maggots at the tail." — Cowper. 



Entozoic pests are more dangerous and more difficult to treat than those we have, 

 hitherto been considering. Their operations are obscure, and have in many instances, 

 been fatal both to man and beast. It is hoped that the following brief accounts of some - 

 of the most note-worthy of these pests will be acceptable. 



Tape Worms. 



The common Tape- worm {Tcenia solium) consists of a head (which is in reality the • 

 body), and a great number of joints [zooids), each of which contains sexual organs of* 

 both kinds, and is capable of independent life. The tail segments detach themselves asi 

 they arrive at maturity, one by one, and are voided by their "host"; whilst, from the 

 body of the worm, fresh zooids are indefinitely produced. The eggs from the voided* 

 joints become scattered on the ground, and disseminated in various ways. The pig- 

 frequently swallows them with its food. They sometimes find their way (probably in, 

 unfiltered water or on raw vegetables) to the stomachs of human beings. From the eggs, 

 thus swallowed embryos, or proscolices escape, and are carried by the circulating fluids to 

 remote parts of the body of the new host. They have been known to penetrate to the- 

 brain of man; and to cause epilepsy, and finally death. Obtaining a lodgment, the 

 embryos begin to absorb nourishment and to swell, developing at length into what are 

 known as cysticerci. These are bladder-like forms with the heads turned inwards. It is, 

 the presence of these in the flesh of the pig that causes the disease known as the 

 " measles." Measly pork splutters in the pan, the cysticerci bursting with the heat. 

 When raw or imperfectly cooked measly pork is eaten by man or other animal, the- 

 measles (cysticerci) pass into the stomach, and are acted upon by the digestive fluids.. 

 The bladder-like case or vesicle succumbs, but the head uninjured passes into the intes- 

 tines, and fastening itself by means of its sucking appendages, proceeds to develop into, 

 the mature tape- worm. Dr. Kuchenmeister, a physician of Zittau, in Saxony, was per-, 

 mitted to administer measly pork to two criminals condemned to death. After their 

 execution ten tape-worms were found in the intestines of one, and nineteen in those of 

 the other. 



Thus it will be seen that two hosts are necessary for the completion of the cycle of" 

 existence of the tape-worm — the earlier stages are passed in one, the later in another. 

 In the case of Tcenia solium, the earlier stages are passed in the body of the hog, rat s 

 etc., and the later in man or some inferior animal. Tcenia mediocanellata passes from, 

 the calf or ox, to man or the dog ; Tcenia marginata, from the dog to the hog, etc. ; 

 Tcenia crassicollis, from the mouse to the cat, etc. ; and Tetrarhynchus reptans, from the. 

 sun-fish to the shark, etc. 



But of all the tape-worms the most dreadful perhaps is Tcenia echinococcus. It is. 

 said that one-sixth of the deaths among the population of Iceland result from the 

 attacks of this creature, and that there were in the year 1863 ten thousand cases of 

 echinococcus disease in the island. The worm attains to perfection in the dogs with., 

 which the island abounds, and its embryos find their ways into the systems of the human 

 inhabitants, and produce the terrible results recorded. In England fatal cases resulting 

 from the same dreadful cause are not unfrequent. 



Of hogs slaughtered at the Montreal abattoir " seventy-six in one thousand and 

 thirty-seven were found to be measly — that is, infected by the cysticercus cellulosse, the . 

 cause of tape- worm — and thirty-one were found to contain the echinocoecus." — Dr. W t 

 Osier and Mr. A. W. Clements, reported in Montreal Daily Star, January 13th, 18 83. 



Hogs should be confined to a vegetable diet and milk. They should not be allowed^ 

 to roam at large, and to feed on the garbage of slaughter-houses, etc. The ordinary/ 



