Baltimore daily commercial. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1865-1867, 1866-06-01

WASHINGTON. May 81, 1866.
The following Is a copy of despatch received at
the State Department from our Consul at Elsinore:
CONSULATE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERIcA,(
II At ELsINoRE, May 9Th, 1866 !
=. Assistant Secretary Of State, Washington:
or: from our American papers l notice that the
question OF trlchnae IN hogs also commences creating
some excitement in the States. The report of the
terrible mortality in Germany, caused by the eating
OF pork infected with trchina created great excte7
ment here; and many examinations of pork and hams
as well In the raw state as alted smoked and cooked
have been made. From the careful manner in which
these examinations have been made, and from the
pubhshed results. l am fully persuaded that pork
thoroughly salted an smoked, and well cooked is as
harmless as pork has BEEN 1t is the eating of
the unboiled or but very imperfectly smoked and
salted meat as sausage, etc. so largely consumed in
GeIhlany. where the presence and danger of live
1 shall take the liberty here to allude to a few of
me eHaln1natlons winch nave been made here and
thelr results not so much because they may add any
thing new. but that they may be useful in sustaining
facts already reported upon.
One OF the hrst experiments was maze with a
smoked ham which was found to contain trichnfe in
the capsules, notwithstanding the ham had been
smoked and salted. The finding of these trichinae
created great panic at the time, and the police
finally succeeded in finding the counterpart of the
ham. Experiments were at once made with them
both shall not here detail the minute examine
tons but merely give the general result. One pound
OF TINS ham was ted to pig, which previous exam
in2ton had satlShed the examiner to be perfectly
from trchinae. The meat was eaten by tho pig with
great avidity.
After an expiration Of some length of time the pig
was killed and examined, and found to be perfectly
free from trchina. A piece of raw pork was next
examined and found to contain a live trichinae The
experiment with this pork was on rabbits The
two rabbits which were afterwards I'D with This
meat were afterwards found to contain trichipR but
to very great extent
third experiment was made with a smoked ham.
and the animal eating thereof found to contain
an astonishing mum Der of trichina. the examiner
calculating the number to have reached a couple of
hundred thousand. The weight of the muscles of
the rabbit vas nearly pound. and it is certainly re-
markable how so small an animal containing so
enormous number Of parasitical animals. never
theless felt as well the other rabbits and had as
good an appetite as any of them.
1t became query how so large a quantity of
small amount of meat which had been fed to The
rabbit, and the examiner therefore concluded that
the rabbit therefore must have eaten other meat
infected with trchin aside from that fed to it. Tins
causing greater infection. This opinion was further
strengthened by the ondness of the rabbits for meat
Some Of the rats found on the premises were there
number of other examinations of rats have taken
place with the same results, and there can be no
question that the rats great cause to injecting
the hoss with trichine.
A very elaborate examination has also been made
to find whether tho methods of smoking and salting
used here. sufficient to kill the trichne in the
hOGS and the result has been that though smoking
and sailing would kill the trichine the usual mode
Of boiling and frying was also found sufficient 70 kill
If small rabbit can feel comfortable with couple
of hundred thousand trichin in its muscles and that
CHI R were as lively rats well can be- the poison
by trichnae sinks down to be very small affair." if
little precaution is used.
trust our pork ralsers and pork consum will not
be over alarmed, but cook smoke salt, boil and fry
our excellent American pork as usual, and feel per-
fectly safe in eating the same.
We have the trichine here but people have got over
the first scare. and eat as much pork ever
We have rtndcrpest cholera in this country as
yet.
have the honor to be, &C., your very obedent SER
want, GEO. K. HANSEN,