42 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. I, No. i 
The results of the experiments described in another part of this paper 
prove that degeneration may begin in less than three months after 
infection, but no data are at hand to show how soon the process may be 
completed; nor, on the other hand, is it known how long the cysticercus 
may remain in the tissues of its host before it dies and degenerates. 
The various degenerative processes occurring in Cysticercus ovis have 
not been worked out in detail and, hence, will not be considered at length. 
They are quite similar, at least in some of their variations, to the processes 
of degeneration which affect C. bovis and C. cellulosae. A very common 
occurrence in the case of C. ovis , as already alluded to, which seems to be 
quite unusual in the case of the other two species, is the tendency of 
degenerate cysts to reach a size which is very large in comparison with 
the cysticercus itself. In some instances it appears that the increase in 
size of the cyst may go on indefinitely, fresh calcareous material being 
continually deposited in the cyst, associated with a breaking down of 
the inner layers of the capsule and a new growth peripherally. 
Tike the beef cysticercus, Cysticercus ovis tends to degenerate com¬ 
paratively early when located in the heart. For example, the cysts in the 
heart of a lamb killed 83 days after infestation (p. 24), so far as observed, 
were all degenerate. Some of the cysticerci in other locations, including 
the muscles of mastication, were degenerate, but the great majority 
were alive. Except in the case of the heart, no definite relation has been 
observed between the location of the cysticerci and the liability to early 
degeneration. 
The association of live and degenerate cysticerci in the same carcass 
is a matter of interest, though of less practical importance than in the 
case of beef and pork measles. In beef measles the association of live 
and degenerate cysticerci in the same carcass is fairly common. It is 
often stated in regard to Cysticercus cellulosae that if any of the parasites 
in an infested carcass are degenerated it is likely that all of those present 
will also be in the same condition. This is by no means invariably true. 
In a case of pork measles seen by the writer in October, 1912, at an 
abattoir in Chicago, most of the cysticerci were undegenerated, but 
degenerate cysticerci were quite common, particularly in the diaphragm 
and superficial muscles. In the case of C. ovis, so far as the writer's 
experience goes, if the cysticerci found in the heart, diaphragm, muscles 
of mastication, and other parts of the carcass readily accessible for 
examination are degenerated, the cysticerci in other parts of the body are 
likewise, as a rule, in a similar condition. Nevertheless, if C. ovis were 
transmissible to man, it would be unsafe, when only degenerated cysts 
are found on inspection, to pass a carcass for food upon the assumption 
that any that might be present in uninspected portions of the muscula¬ 
ture would also be degenerated. Live and degenerated cysticerci 
occasionally, at least, occur together in the same carcass. As noted 
