The Portland daily press., 1869-05-01


Triehiaa.
1t may be asked what have farmers to do
with trichina? What connection has this
terrible disease with Agriculture? We an
"er' cuitivators Of the soil generally raise
hoss' ana pork seems to be the natural habi-
tat oil these death-dealing worms. We do
not intend in this article to DISCOURAGE
farmers from raising pork, but only wish n
inform them OF the nature Of this maladv
which has excited considerable alarm both IN
this country aud in Europe. We remember
Of hearing DIR. Gleason lecture a few yeau
ago in our cities ON the importance Of taking
care Of the body as well as the soul. lie was
down on pork as an article Of food and hated
hog most intensely, and he used 10 exhibli
70 his audience. when speaking Of pork as
food for man, the picture Of hogs head.
The artist had drawn a very uely picture and
she lecturer took delight IN exposing Il 10 Che
gaze OF bis hearers, hoping thereby 10 make
them hate hog as much as he did, and wish
ing to disgust them 50 much that they would
never more eat fresh pork or salt He would
ask with great emphasis. ~Who ever knew
Jew TO be afflicted with that disease OF the
hog called scroiula? Co into any butchers
shop and there you win find scrofu'a IL every
hogs heck, however much corn the animal
may have eaten.'
We believe the lecturer didn't know then
much about trichinosos: ii he had, no doubt
he would have exhibited picture Of some
portions Of the human muscles with millions
of worms creeping through them. A cores
pondent OF the New York Evening Post
writing from Germany gives an interesting
account OF a lecture by Professor Gerlash on
the subject of trichina delivered in Hanover.
The lecturer had studied this disease for some
years and had collected mass of facts. he
says since the year 1854, not less than 2S
swine have been imported with trichina in
Hanover; in Brunswick 80; in Saxe-Weimer
2; in Saxe-Altonburg 1; in Mechlenburg-
Schwerin 80; in Schleswig- -Holstein %; in
Prussian Saxony 43; and in Magdeburg above
10. From eating this diseased pork six hun
dred became infected and one hundred and
fifty died. In many other towns hogs have
been infected, and the total number of infect
ed swine discovered from the year 1854 to
1867 is 367, of which the greater part were in
North Germany. The Professor thinks there
has been decrease in the number of i'm
ported animals since that time.
There is one curious fact in relation to the
territorial distribution of the trichina. Not a
snOle case hos hoan dieoouorad IN, Co.1tI, Cor
many (some imported cases excepted) and in
Vienna only two. Western Europe is free
from it. In Russia the disease has been dis
covered in human bodies, but it is not certain
whether it had been produced there or i'm
ported from abroad. In our own country
there have been cases, and some recent ones
in New York city, where they have all sorts
of diseases. In Calcutta and China more
cases have been reported.
In regard to the spread of the trichina in
the animal world, all mammals are not sus-
ceptible to infection, but only the carnivora.
Trichina are not found in the vegetable
eaters. Beasts and birds of prey have little
or nothing to fear from them, but carbon
eaters have the most to suffer, and among
these especially the swine and the rat. Be.
tween these ANIMALS the disease is kept in
constant circulation. The swine get them
from the rats, the Professor says, and the lat
ter again from the former. The rats in
Blankenburg which were examined were
found to be, in the majority of cases, inject
ed. The lecturer thought the trichina dis
ease il not nativa fo Garr.auu b,,f hos boo,,
imported from China or India. In China it
is most widely spread But the question
arises, did it come thence by the swine or the
rat? One fact ought to exonerate the rats.
The rat wandered to Germany by way OF
Russia and Poland as early as the year ITO,
and yet the disease dill not appear in that
country. Prof. Gerlach thinks the swine
must have brought it to Germany by way Of
England, where the Chinese swine had been
introduced, the English bastard-swine being
nothing else than an Improved Chinese breed
The introduction of the Chinese swine and
the discovery of the trichina disease happen
ed about the same time. 1t is quite certain
that the disease was not known in Europe in
the earlier centuries. This is an encouraging
fact; for when a disease has been imported
there is hope, or good reason to hope, that it
can be banished. That it has been imported
into our country there can be no doubt And
now let us look at the best way to avoid the
disease and Danish it from the laud. Accord
ing to Prof. Gerlach's statistics the most of
the cases have occurred in North Germany
and Prussia, while in South Germany but
few cases of the disease have appeared. Now
the eating of the raw swine flesh prevails to
great extent in the North, but very little is
thus eaten In the South; hence the preya-
lence of the trichina in the countries where
raw pork is eaten.
1t has been recently said that these worms
have been found in our Goldfish; but we are
happy to know that Prof. Gerlach does not
believe that the disease makes its appearance
in fishes and birds, and so we may continue to
patronize our excellent fsh-market without
the fear of trchinosis, And it may not be
out of place here to warn those who are fond
of wild sports not to eat raw pork while So
journing in the woods and whipping our
crystal streams to tempt the beautiful trout to
his destruction. Farmers wives, too, must
see to it that not only fresh pork, but also
salted, is thoroughly cooked before they set it
upon the table. 1t is well, too, that rats
should be extsrminated as fast as possible and
not suffered to visit hogpens and steal the
food intended for the swine. Good farmers
will give their hogs fair chance to keep
themselves clean, and the animals will do it.
Such care makes the nnrk he and