PARASITES OF MEAT AND PREPARED FLESH-FOOD.

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Transcript of PARASITES OF MEAT AND PREPARED FLESH-FOOD.

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134, Oxford-street ; and last, but not least, Lewis andAllenby’s silk long-cloth underclothing, the ooly possibleobjection to which seenn to be its darkish tint. In theWestern Arcade much machinery in motion may be seen,chiefly made up of knitting and sewing machines. Theself-acting sewing machine is well worthy of inspection ; ittakes but two minutes to wind up the clockwork, and thissupply of force lasts for one hour; the speed of working canbe moderated to any degree desired. A few other mattersin this department remain for consideration. The warmthof different sorts of clothing is illustrated by "dummy"thermometers in the West Quadrant. The thermometersindicate the results of experiments made for the Committeeby Mr. Whitley Williamcl. Pure silk and llama wool areseen to be amongst the coolest garmentq. The beat-absorb-ing property of various colours and materials is also to bea subject of exhibition. Cloaks made of very hygroscopicmaterial are shown, and the quantity of water which eachholds-(a) when drv, (b) after a little rain, (c) when situ-rated-has been collected and placed in flasks by the side ofeach cloak. The costumes worn bv the Greely expedition,to be lent by the United States Government, do not seemyet to have arrived. In a separate case Mr. FrederickTreves has supplied : (1) plaster cast of normal liver;(2) plaster cast of liver presumably deformed by tight-lacing ;(3) plaster casts of normal feet in a child and woman ;(4) plaster casts of feet deformed by improperly shaped boots.

PARASITES OF MEAT AND PREPAREDFLESH-FOOD.

IN his second lecture at the International Health Exhibi.

tion, Dr. Cjbbold treated of the cestoid parasites and theirlarvae—that is to say, of the tapeworms and bladder-worms,such as hydatids, measles, &c Meat sent to the marketswas liable to contain these entozoa; neither beef, veal, pork,nor even mutton and venison being altogether free. Onseven separate occasions he had noticed cysticerci ia jointsof mutton brought to his own table, and he had describedsimilar parasites from the flesh of a giraffe, as well as fromcommoner animals. As an argument in favour of hippo-phagy, it should be stated that horse-flesh was singularlyfree from parasites of this class, although other tissues, aswell as the viscera of equine animals generally, were apt tocontain bladder-worms. None of these equine parasites,however, was injurious to man. Having (by means of Sl1eetNo. 3 of the illustrations displayed in the South Gallery)explained the general structure and development of the beeftapeworm, the lecturer dwelt at some length upon the

dangers arising from dispersion of ova by the employmentof fresh sewage, and upon the inestimable value of experi-mental research in determining the mode of origin of thedifferent species of tseniae that attack man and beast.He referred to the labours of Leuckart, Moaler, and variousother Continental helminthologists ; but he stated thatin this particular matter he had conducted more experi-ments than any one of his foreign co-workers. Revert.

ing to the prevalence of measly beef, it was shown thatout of 13,818 beasts slaughtered in the Panjab in the

year 1869, as many as 768 animals were infested with

cysticerci. This would b3 at the rate of about 5z per cent.(5’55). The percentage of the previous year was higher.Passing to the ravages of the prk tapeworm, its compara-tively dangerous character was noticed, not a few instanceshaving come under Dr. Cobbold’s observation where the

cysticerci were lodged in the human brain. Allusion wasmade to the Mosaic inhibition of swine’s flesh, and to theextraordinary prevalence of measly meat throughout theEast. In reference to the little tapeworm which proved tobe the sexually mature state of ordinary hydatids, he referredto the experimental labours of Von S;ebold, Naunyn,Nettleship, and others. Reverting to hydatids, a singularexperience was related in connexion with a plate of meat

that had been brought to him at a public restaurant. Therelative prevalence of the echinococcus veterinorum in Eag-land, India, Australia, and Iceland was next referred to,special stress being laid upon the investigations of Dr. J. D.Thomas of Adelaide. As regards India, it was stated on theauthority of Dr. James Cleghorn, that of 2109 beastsslaughtered at Mooltan 899 were diseased, and in mostcases both the lungs and liver were affected. This wasequivalent to 42 per cut. If asked how this wa to beaccounted for, tne reply was that the cattle in India hadready access to tanks containing foul water, and theyhad frequently been seen to swallow refuse and garbage,in which tapeworm eggs abounded. The ova of thetfenia echinococcus, expelled by dogs, must be very thicklydispersed throughout the low grounds of India. As regardspreventive measures, Dr. Cobbold insisted upon a morethorough meat-market inspection by competent persons-that is to say, by inspectors who had familiarised themselveswith the phenomena of parasitic disease. It was useless tosay that officials in general were already well informed onthis subject, inasmuch as he had been supplied with abun-dant proofs to the contrary. During the last thirty yearshe had received several hundred private communic itions onthe subject of parasite?, many of the applicants for informa-tion beiug officers of health. In one instance the cut endsof the intercostal nerves had been mistaken for parasites.and thus meat had been condemned without good cause. Inconnexion with the temperature necessary to destroy themeasles of beef and pork, Dr. Cobbold again emphasised thelabours of Professor Perroncito, showing that none of thesecreatures could survive a heat of 50’ C. or 122° F. prolongedfor a single minute. At this point of the lecture Mr. Birk-beck, bl.P., handed to the chairman a paper requestinginformation respecting the so-called " mackerel scare," inreply to which it was affirmed that the entozoa of this fishwere perfectly innocuous to mankind, whether they wereswallowed alive or dead. The parasite most commonlyencountered was the Filaria piscium ; but there were elevenother internal guests of the mackerel, besides two which fas-tened themselves on to the gills. Addressing himself ina very pointed manner to those who eschewed fleshfood altogether, the lecturer remarked that the vegeta-rians flattered themselves that by abstention from meat theyescaped many of the parasitic ills to which fl.sh is heir.So they did; but, speaking figuratively, they "jumped outof the frying-pan in10 the 6rf." At all event?, the mostcommon parasite known in England was almost entirelynourished by the cellulose and protoplasm of vegetables, andit was by means of a vegetable diet, and by the careless useof unfiltered water employed in the washing of eatads andother herbs, that certain parasites were introduced into thehuman frame. Some parasites might be starved by a milkdiet, but he feared the same could not be said in favour ofan exclusively vegetable diet. Be that as it might, in-stances had come within his knowledge where the employ-ment of open running waters for domestic purposes had ledto local endemic outbreaks of parasitism. He instanced thecase of a Yorkshire village, and explained its nature, thepassage of entozoal germs from neighbouring piggeries intoa little brook being the immediate cause of infection.At the close of the lecture Sir Lvon Ptayfair remarked

that before he had taken the chair he had been inclined tothink that as regards entozoa it was perhaps better toremain in blissful ignorance than to be made acquaintedwith the disagreeable but highly important facts that hadbeen detailed. He had, however, changed his mind, andnow thought that we all owed much to Dr. Cobbold andother workers in this branch of science. It was a pleasureto himself to have presided at a lecture given by an alumnusof the University which he represented in Parliament.

THE NEW WING OF ST. MARY’S HOSPITAL.

ON Wednesday last the Princess Louise (Marchiones-t ofLorne) opened a new wing which has recently been added toSt. Mary’s Hospital Her R3yal Highness arrived shortlyafter three o’chck, when the band of the 18th MiddlesexRifle Volunteers struck up the National Anthem.Lord Carlingford, K. P., President of the Hospital, received

the Royal party, who then proceeded to visit some of thewards. After this the Princess was conducted to a dais