34 BULLETIN 880, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
hours; lot No. 2 contained trichinous meat which had been cured 
for 72 hours; lot No. 3 contained trichinous meat which had been 
cured for 96 hours; lot No. 4 contained trichinous meat to which no 
salt had been added. 
After the meat was taken out of the incubator it was washed for 
2 hours in running water and a portion trom each lot was digested 
in an acidified solution of scale pepsin. The decapsuled larvee were 
then examined to determine the effects of the exposures. The 
results follow: 
Lot No. 1 (cured 48 hours): The larvee were normal as to color and 
state of contraction and responded vigorously to heat stimulation. | 
Lot No. 2 (cured 72 hours): About 50 per cent of the larve ex- 
amined responded to heat stimulation. 
Lot No. 3 (cured 96 hours): Twenty-five larve were examined. 
Of these 22 were pale in appearance and uncoiled, and only 3 were 
tightly coiled. 
Lot No. 4 (uncured): The larvee were markedly active. 
From the data presented above it is evident that the action of salt, 
if continued long enough, has a decided influence on the larve and 
in some manner lowers their vitality, evidenced by their loss of 
tolerance to certain temperatures which unsalted larve or larvee that 
have been exposed to the action of salt for shorter periods resist 
without any apparent loss of vitality. An 18-hour exposure of smal!- 
sized sausages to a temperature ranging between 42° and 44° C. 
apparently requires a preliminary exposure to the action of salt for at 
least 96 hours in order to bring about the death of the parasites. 
Although an exposure to heat for 16 hours also gave negative 
results, it was found that shorter exposures, namely, 12 or even 14 
hours, resulted in infections when meat so exposed was fed to rats. 
A 5 or 6 hours’ exposure of the meat to temperatures ranging between 
50° and 54° C. also requires a preliminary salt exposure of about 96 
hours’ duration in order to insure the destruction of the parasites. 
In view of these data it is evident that in the case of fresh summer 
sausage and certain other products that are not dried after smoking, 
the duration of preliminary curing process prior to smoking is an im- 
portant factor in rendering the products innocuous. 
APPEARANCE OF DECAPSULED LARVAD FROM SALTED PORK. 
Dead larve in salted pork present a characteristic appearance 
after decapsulation by artificial digestion. They are ali uncoiled, 
and have the appearance of the figure 6. The esophageal cell body, 
which has a brilliant coloration in the normal larva, has lost its 
color and appears pale. The tissues of the worm are shrunken and 
wrinkled and the germ cells as well as esophageal cells appear to 
be plasmolyzed. Sometimes numerous vacuoles may be seen in 
wh 
