The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1888-02-11

Death Lnrking In Raw POrk-Coiied
Worms In Herring-Tape Worms In
Rare Beef-An Inquisitive Doctors
| Suspicions Confirmed.
| II must be borne in mind, first Of all, that
nature herself adulterates seriously what
ever she gives us, and much Of this adultera-
ton is far more dangerous to human life than
that which is artificially added by man. 1t
is but a few years since the presence Of trich-
ing in pork was discovered, and to its rava-
ges traced the dreadful agonies and death
following the eating of raw slices OF ham
This creature is SO thoroughly understood,
and its presence feared by all classes, that few
persons can now DO found who would, under
any influence, eat u mouthful of raw pork.
The discovery of trichinous meat opened a
new phase Of the curious and complicate rela-
tionship Of tho animal and plant worlds or
course, this was not the first known Of the
dependence of worms upon other animal
creatures for their development, nor of the
tranSitionary periods, when such parasites
are dependent on the harborings OF vegeta-
bles, but it became necessary to trace out the
development of these creatures, and it was
found that uncommon care must be taken in
eating lettuce and succulent low growing
vegetables, lest the eggs Of dangerous para
sites DO taken into the body.
Closely following came the discovery OF
tho dependence of the most prevalent and
dangerous fevers on vegetable bacteria 1t
became clear that he that would live safe
from tho attacks of both animal and vegeta-
bio life Of the inferior types must be eter-
ol1 Hnrll,y al, Ng
food now visits our table which is not known,
under favoring circumstances, to harbor
forces that will disease, if they do not destroy
us. Absolute cleanliness seems to be the first
law of health. The Mosaic code was mainly
the work Of wise legislator endeavoring to
establish sanitary conditions among his peo-
pie. The second law of health is enforced
with equal emphasis by discoveries made
that animal food can never be safely par
taken of without thorough cooking. Indeed,
it seems wonderful that filthy race Of saw
ages can survive at all the denominations Of
vile habits and a raw diet.
No one in this country has shown keener
interest in hunting out what may be called
natures food authorizations than DR.. Joseph
Leidy, of Philadelphia Among other notes
from his work take the following: He liked
herring, but never ate one without carefully
removing certain coiled worms that may be
seen coiled on the surface of the roeS. From
piece of black bass or shad he would ex-
tract, before eating, II thread like worm that
80 closely resembles nerve that few would
distinguish the difference He was careful
in eating clans to look for and remove
minute parasitic leech. Tape worms he care
f,l To- - Nd laclu ral hot in oil
they could be traced to rare beef The COM
mon opinion is that pigs have more to do
with them; but Professor Leidy examined
over 100, and in all cases proved them to
have been received in the egg form from
beef insufiiciently cooked.
At an entertainment in Charleston he was
served with slices Of the drumfish. His host
desired that he should specially note how
much more delicious were certain gelatinous
portions. Carefully cutting open his fish the
doctor discovered a soft mass, which to him
seemed suspicious. The following day he
procured drumfish and dissected it. The
result was that he found in the flesh of the
tail several egg shaped masses, three inches
long, which proved to be a large coiled
worm. This was the delicate and dainty
morsel Of the previous days feast Eating
terrapin ut Philadelphia feast, our profess
sor received q peculiar impression from a
piece in his mouth that seemed to be an egg.
Removing it from his mouth to his handker-
chief, he reserved it for examination. It
turned ont to be a membraneous sac, con-
tanning thirty yellowish- white maggots, the
larvae Of some sort Of fly, and resembling
those of the botfly in horses.
With such examples before us we may
wisely be suspicious in every direction. With
both animal and vegetable parasites lurking
to destroy, both nfesting our food, while the
minuter bacteria assail us through our lungs,
we can neither eat nor breathe, much less
drink, in safety. An age of science brings
with it general alarm, and, while illustrat-
ing the glory of the power of the brain, shows
also what warfare man must carry on to
secure victory. Our line of defense is, how
ever, not so abstruse 1t is well known that
these minuter foes may be everywhere, and
yet wait forever for conditions appropriate
for their development. But granted for one
conditions, and the developement
occurs. The one requisite is to
avoid such conditions as are supposed With
food it is known to he death to the germs and
eggs Of the tape worm and other parasites
to heat to a degree not less than $50 dogs
Yet one person in five in the southwestern
section of our country is afflicted, at some
time, with tape worm; and the trouble is
largely on the increase in the eastern states,
owing to the large amount Of western beef
that is shipped to the eastern market.
The remedy is so simple that it seems not
difficult affair to quickly end the spread of
the pest Yet it is nearly impossible to reach,
by any published statements, one-tenth Of
the people The reading of the masses is still
confined to very local journals, If, indeed,
they read at all. In this cosmopolitan age,
when all things circulate with such rapidity,
information should keep pace with all ma
terial affairs, At present this is not so. A
piece Of meat never looks, to an ordinary eye,
more innocent than when it contains in its
muscles the cysts of our torturers, My adj
vice is, put no reliance on the appearance Of
raw meat, but invariably cook it thoroughly. ,,
M. Maurice, NJ. d., in Globe Democrat.