398 
THE VETERINARIAN, JUNE 1, 1880. 
Ne quid falsi dicere audeat, ne quid veri non audeat.— Cicero. 
TRICHINOSIS AND TRICHINOSIS. 
Under the title above quoted, the Lancet of May £0th 
refers to Mr. Power’s report on the outbreak of trichinosis 
among the boys of the training ship ff Cornwalland the 
remarks which appear in the pages of our contemporary 
suggest some not altogether satisfactory reflections as to the 
kind of evidence which is deemed necessary to establish the 
existence of a disease which we had thought could be de¬ 
termined with absolute certainty by any expert who was 
familiar with the general characters of the parasite on which 
it depends. For our own part, we had, until now, enter¬ 
tained the conviction, based on many observations, that 
among nematodes Trichina spiralis was easily recognised; 
it is not, therefore, reassuring to be told by a high authority 
that trichinosis, as we have hitherto understood the term, 
may after all only be “ trichinosis of a particular sort.” 
Most of our readers will remember something of the 
circumstances attending the outbreak on board the “ Corn¬ 
wall,” to which public attention was called at the time of its 
occurrence. At first the disease was believed to be typhoid 
fever, but certain difficulties which arose out of this assump¬ 
tion demanded investigation, and the whole matter was 
ultimately placed in the hands of the Local Government 
Board, who directed one of their most experienced medical 
officers, Mr. Power, to make an inquiry. 
In the course of the investigation certain facts pointed 
Mr. Power’s attention to the food as a possible cause of 
disease; and, as the evidence became more and more com¬ 
plete, the suspicion assumed the character of certainty. 
Salted pork, which had been imported in barrels from 
America, formed a considerable item in the meat supply ; 
and it is impossible to peruse Mr. Power’s report without 
