Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-06-06
THE TRICHINE HUMBUG.


We are of those who never believed in
trichin@. The Northern press in this coun-
try for year or two past, has teemed with
frightful accounts of the prevalence of tri-
china in pork, and a good many people
have been iostled from their propriety by
the statements paraded before the public re-
garding the ravagcs Of these animalculc.
The triChinr sensation started in Continental
Europe. Some patient, plodding German,
with microscope, set out on voyage of
scientific discovery, with a full determination
TO find something. He found certain minute
bodies in the muscular tissue of hogs,
and connecting that fact with the
fact that the poorer orders of the peas
ant class in interior Europe are subject to
great mortality, he at once gave public an
nouncement that his new-found microscopic
animalcula were prolific source of disease,
and that by the use of pork the great public
was being victimized. Such an announce
ment in the pretentiOus style Of pseudo
science captivates certain class, especially
news-writers and editors. BY this latter We
hicle of communication the trichne excite
ment spread to this country, and seized hold
Of the Northern press, which is nothing if
not sensational This is a brief but fair
statement Of the case as it now stands.
We publish below 2 communication from
the American Consul at ElsinOre to the
United States State Department, giving the
result of certain experiments touching tbese
mysterious, morbifcanimalcules, and weven-
ture to say that the results arrived at in these
experiments will be found almost invariably
true, or in other words, thatwhen the flesh of
swine has been properly cured bysalting and
smoking, or properly prepared for human
digestion in the fresh state by sufficient
cooking the meat-trichine so-called and
all-is not only innOcuous but nutritious,
and, that any sensible meat-grower or meat
eater who suffers his soul or stomach to be
disturbed by talk about trichina is simply
humbugged.
The following is copy Of dispatch re-
ceived at the State Department from our
Consul at Elsinore:
CONSULATE or THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
AT ELsINORE May 9. 1866.
Hon f. W. Se,rdrd Assistant Secretary Of State
Rdshingfon.-SIR-FTOm our American papers
notice that the question of trichne 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 trchine, caused great excitement here 'and
many examinations ef pork and hams, as well as
in the raw state sailed, smoked and cooked,
have been made From the careful manner in
which these examinations have been made and
from the published results, am fully persuaded
that pork thoroughly sailed and smoked, and well
cooked is as harmless as pork has ever been. 1t
is the eating of the unboied but very imperfect
ly smoked and salted meat as sausages, etc, so
largely consumed in Germany, where the pres
ence and danger Olive triching may be expected.
/ shall take the liberty here TO allude to a few
of the examinations which have been made here
and their results, not so much because they NAV
add anything new, but that they may be useful in
sustaining facts already reported upon.
One of the first experiments was made with
smoked ham. which was found to contain trichln9
in the capsules, notwithstanding the ham had
been smoked and sailed. The finding Of these
triching created great panic at the time, and
the police finally succeeded in finding the coua-
tsrpart of the ham. Experiments were at once
made with them both. shall not here detail the
minute examinations, but merely give the desired
result.
One pound Of this ham was fed to pig, which
n previous examination had satisfied the exam
liner 20 be perfectly free from trichnG. The meat
was eaten by the pig with great ayidity. After
an expiration of some length of time the pig was
killed and examined, and found to be perfectly
free from trchin9. piece of raw pork was next
examined. and found to contain alive tTichinG
The experiment with this pork was made on rab-
bit. The two rabbits which were fed with this
meat were afterward found to contain trichina,
but 10 no very great extent.
A n smoked
ham, and the animal eating thereof was found to
contain an astonishing number of trichin9,
the examiner calculating the namber 10
have reached a couple of hundred thousand. The
weight Of the muscles of the rabbit was nearly a
pound. and lis certainly remarkable how so small
an animal, containing so enormous n number OF
parasitical animals, nevertheless felt rs well rs
the other RABBITS and had as good an appetite rs
any of them. lt become n query how so large n
quantity Of trichinR could have developed them
selves from the small amount of meat which had
been fed 10 the rabbit. and the examiner therefore
concluded that the rabbit must have eaten some
other meat infected with trichln3 aside from that
fed to II, thus causing greater infection: This
opinion was further strengthened by the tOndneSs
of the rabbit for meat. Some of the rats found on
the premises were therefore killed and examined
and found to contain trichinic, and some OF them
to an astonishing degree.
A number of other examinations Of rats have
taken place with the same results, and there can
be no question that the rats are great cause to
injecting the hogs with trichin@.
A very elaborate examination has also been
maze 10 una WnelueT lile SMOKING anu
sailing used here is sufficient to kill the trichnp
in the hogs, and the result has been though smok-
ing and sailing would kill the trichine, the usual
mode of boiling and frying was found sufficient to
kill the parasites.
If small rabbit can feel comfortable with a
couple of hundred thousand trichiniu in its mus
cles. and that the rats which were found TO con
tain certain trichinw were as lively as rats well
can be, thc.poisoning by trichinN sinks down to a
very small affair, if a little procaution is used.
trust our pork raiscrs and pork consumers VIII
moi alarmed smoke
and fry out excellent American pork rs usual, and
feel perfectly safe in eating the same. We have
the trichina here, but people have got over the
first scare and eat as much pork as ever.
We have no rindcrpest or cholera in this cOun-
try n yet,
! have the honor to be- sir.
Your very obedicnt servant.
GEORGE X. HANSEN,
L. 5. Consul at Elsinore.