Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1866-04-21
From the Clevelan Herald.
American Trichinoe.


The question is settled. The trchina
plague Is not eonfued to the GermaniC
swine our American hogs are even more
ia need Of powerful vermifuge than thei,
European cousins. Wofmy pork il
served up daily at our tables, and with
every moslhfu of tenderloin we invite the
fate OF Herod, who bad his life wormed
out OF him through contempt for the Mosaic
condemnation Of the hog
With the view of settling once for all
the vexed question as to the existence OF
the dreaded parasite in. American hogs,
which has already seriously affected the
trade in the Ga'den City, the Chi.
cngo Academy Of Sciences appointed q
Commission of experienced medical men to
examine and report. The result Of their
labors is before US in document, covering
the natural history of the pesky aoOrms aud
the extent 10 which they have made them
selves at home in the muscles of Chicago
porkers. The report is at once alarming aud
re'assuring.
Twelve physicians and surgeons, acting
separately, examined the flesh and muscles
OF 1894 hogs, taken indiscrminately from
the Chicago packing houses, and found
among them twenty eight specimens offlict-
ed with trichn@, showing that abouis Que
in fifty of the hogs brought to Chicago are
afflicted with these parasites. The number
Of worms found in the muscles of. these
specimens varied from 48 to 10000 in o
cubic inch. The proportion OF trchinous
pork found in this examination is Startling
when compared with the Investigations in
Germany, where the proportion was
but one trichiDous hog in 10000. The
proportion Of worms in some of the Chics
go hogs is SO great that the Commission
are OF the opinion that man ealing an Or
dinary meal of their flesh, improperly
cooked, would speedily be bored through
and through by about million of these
living corkscrews, and be devoured by
worms before descending to the grave. la
oue Of the European cases Of death from
trichire upwards Of two millions of worms
were found in the muscles of the victim, but
he was q stout German one million would
probably do the business for thin, bilious
Western Yankee.
So far the horrifying part of the Com
mISsoner's report now for the ceEsoling
Trlchip@ can be prevented in hogs by rear
ing them in properly constructed pens and
keeping them on strictly vegetable
diet. TrichDa lives only in animals, and
mast pass through two different kinds of
animals, in order to be perfected
Should these precautions be neglected,
and richnous pork find its way into the
larder. all that is necessary is TO properly
cook IT, Cooked to a temperature of 100
deg, Fahrenheit. or thoroughly salted and
smoked for at least ten days, the trichipG
are done for, aud only add to the richness
of the meat. Picking is no protection, for
the little jokers seem to enjoy o dip in the
brine, which has the effect on them that
sea bathing has on the human system.
strengthening them for their work. On
the whole, the Commission consider that
pork is good thing after oil, for as only
one hog in forty eight 10 trchinous, bat one
in three hundred wormy 10 a degree to
cause danger, and even these rendered in
nocuouS by proper smoking, drying or cook
ing, they see no reason why people should
not enjoy their raSher, slice of ham, tender
loin, and spare rib with as much gusto as
before TricIinG spiraHs was heard of.