Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1881-06-15
MANS ENEMIES.

A Mohammedan legend relates that
when Abraham had been wronged w
the mighty hunter himrod, Jehovah
befriended the patriarch, and told Inn
TO select an animal 10 punish his enemy
Abraham chose the hy hut Jehovah
said 0If thou hadst not chosen tho ny,
1 should have sent creature thousand
Of which would not weigh as much ~ q
hy's wing" ~
This Is only q bit Of Oriental rhetoric,
figumtiye way Of emphasizing INC
power Of the Almighty, who can make
ihe smallest things the ministers OF his
wrath but in the light OF modern
seienoe II has become literal truth
Aome Of mans most powerful and per
sistent enemies are organisms no mihuie
that q thousand Of them would not
eanal tho hulk on weight OF q ny, The
lord Of creation, ~ he proudly styles
himself, il unable 10 cope with the most
inlnitesimal OF lls subjects, They TO-
fuse 10 acknowledge his sway, ami wage
perpetual warfare against him' Ills NJ
most skill and ingenuity are taxed ~
resisting and guarding against their a.
taoks, and often, IN spite OF all MS
maneuyels, they Out'general and deieal
linn, No hostile force OF his own race
could inaict such disaster upon him ~
do these microscopic representatives OF
tho lowest forms Of life, They plumber
aud dcyastate whole provinces, bringing
min upOn lOng-establahed aud flourish
ing industries, and poverty upon large
and prosperous communities, Neither
fire nor sword " 10 much 10 DO dreaded,
for the injury that they may do II tran
silent and repaIable, while these diminu'
tive foes not unlrequently take perma'
nont possession OF tho territory they
have conquered, and no force that ita
Iiehtful owners can call into tho field
sullccs to dislodgc them
Insects are terrible foes to man In
many eases, but he IL gradually getting
a mastery over them. Against the army
worm, the grasshopper, the potato bug,
and all their yOracious kindred, he IL
learning to fight successfully. Tho In
secls which are still most miscellaneous
arc generally tho smallest The phyl'
loxera, or grape louise, N almost micro
scopically minute, but tho injury II has
dono to tho French vineyards Is already
rockonel at hundreds OF millions Of
dollars. II has been greater terror IN
France than tho German armies, and
its invasion IL likely to prove more dis,
astrous. The Germans could be bought
of, though at heavy cost, but tho phyl'
loxca IL not TO DO got rid OF no easily,
II has its Sedan every season, and its
army OF occupation holds broader ter
ritory than Alsace and Lorraine II
will probably DO conquered in tho end,
but IL will be the dearest victory the
French have ever won.
Bat tho phylloxen, though o thou
sand times smaller than the fly, Is q
mammoth In comparison with many OF
tho creatures that are enemies TO man.
Just now the mere name OF one OF
these animalculp is menacing IN i'm
porlant branch OF our foreign COM
merce. The trichina is disturbing tho
business relations of two continents;
and not only merchants, but Legislators
and statesmen as well, are excited on
the subject, And what is this formid-
able trichinap A parasitic worm, about
hundrcdth of an inch in length, yet
more terrible to man than the anaconda
or bon constructor. It's very existence
was unknown fifty years ago, and its
real nature and habits were not under
stood till within twenty years or so.
The reader does not need to be told that
under certain circumstances it infests
the flesh OF the hog, and that the dis
eased pork, ii eaten by man without
being thoroughly cooked, may transfer
the parasite to the human muscles, with
dangerous and often fatal results. No
wonder that our foreign friends are
alarmed when they are told that Ameri-
can pork is liable to be of this trichinous
character. The reports may be false OF
exaggerated, perhaps set ahoat by inter
ested parties who want to keep our pork
out of their markets; but the trichina
is none the less frightful reality, and
the risk of its presence in pork cannot
BIO Too vigilantly guarded against both
at home and abroad, from commercial
no less than hygienic considerations
Boston Journal IF ChemishV