148 
NEWS AND SUNDRIES. 
power, wires or connections, and is so constructed that any part 
can be replaced at small cost. The chemicals are placed in a 
glass retort; a carbon and zinc apparatus, with a spiral platinum 
attachment, is then adjusted so as to form a battery, and the 
light is ready. The pressure on a little knob produces an electric 
current by which the spiral of platinum is heated to incandescence. 
The Portable Electric Light Company was recently incorporated, 
with a capital of $100,000, under the laws of Massachusetts. 
The usefulness of the apparatus and the low price ($5) will no 
doubt result in its general adoption. Some of the prominent busi¬ 
ness men of the State are identified with this enterprise. In ad¬ 
dition to its use as a lighter, the apparatus can also be used in 
connection with a burglar-alarm and galvanic .battery .—Boston 
Transcript. 
\ The Parasites in Pork.— From the examination of one 
thousand hogs in the slaughter-houses of Montreal, Dr. Wm. 
Osier draws the following conclusions: 
1. The investigation shows that the hogs slaughtered for our 
markets present parasites in numbers sufficient to necessitate a 
more thorough inspection than is at present carried out. 
2. As regards Trichina Spiralis , which was found in the 
proportion of one to 250, we are of opinion that, considering the 
extreme rarity of cases of trichinosis, and the difficulties attend¬ 
ant upon a systematic inspection, a compulsory microscopic exam¬ 
ination of the flesh of every hog killed is not at present called 
for. 
3. In the case of “ measles,” the liver should be carefully ex¬ 
amined, and if present in it, the flesh of the animal should receive 
the special attention of the inspector; if only in the liver, the 
entire carcass need not be confiscated. 
• 
4. Echinococcus cysts in the liver render that organ unfit for 
food, but in other parts, unless very numerous and disorganizing, 
they may be cut out, and the carcass remain marketable. 
5. The public should be made aware of the possible dangers 
of eating, in any form, raw or partially cooked meat. The best 
safeguard against parasitic affections is not so much inspection of 
