In Brussels the conditions under which the flesh of tuberculous animals is seized, no matter how good its general condition, are: 1. (a) Tubercle having its seat in both thorax and abdomen; (b) tubercle, whether it be thoracic or abdominal, with presence of tubercles in any other part of the body outside these cavities; (c) tubercle generalized in the following organs: lungs, pleurae, peri toneum, liver, or mesenteric glands; (d) . tubercle of the lungs or pericardium in volving the pleura extensively; (e) tubercle of any organ of the abdomen involving the peritoneum extensively. 2. Tubercle observed in no matter what part of the body, or what the number of tubercles, when the animal is markedly wasted.
No slaughtering can take place in Berlin except at the abattoir, and no meat can be sent away from the abattoir without first being stamped as having passed the expert examination. The in spection is entirely in the hands of veter inary surgeons. They make, first, a rough inspection of the carcass and cut into the glands of the neck, especially the retropharyngeal. The liver and lungs of every animal must also be cut into. If the appearances are suspicious, the surgeon further examines the spleen and the various glands of the body. The flesh of all animals affected with tuber culosis, but not so extensively as to jus tify total seizure, and of those in which only a few cysticerci are found, is cooked for two hours in boiling water, and twice a week sold to the poor for a trifle.
In Copenhagen, also, a slaughter of animals can take place only at the slaughter-house, where the veterinary inspection is made. All the animals are first inspected as they stand in the mar ket, and any animal found with danger ous infectious disease is isolated and slaughtered apart from the others. None of the organs may be removed until the veterinary surgeon has made his rounds. The latter, after a general inspection of the carcass, cuts into the glands of the neck, examines the pleurfe, peritoneum, lungs, and liver, and, should there be nothing wrong with them, al lows the meat to be stamped with a blue mark, as of good quality. If he find
any inflammation or suppuration about thorn, he undertakes a methodical ex amination not only of those of the neck, but also of the submaxillary, axillary, bronchial, mesenteric, inguinal, and lumbar glands. Cysticerci are always looked for by cutting into the muscles at the root of the tongue. Tubercle, when generalized, is deemed a sufficient cause for seizure, but not when localized. A black stamp is freely used to mark meat as of second-class quality which is not considered sufficiently diseased to warrant seizure.
Shell-fish and Fish Poisoning. OYSTERS.—Of late this mollusk has oc cupied quite a prominent place among the toxic foods. In temperate zones such effects are seldom witnessed, but in tropical and subtropical countries oysters, which can be eaten without danger at certain times, become poison ous at others. In temperate zones, therefore, the toxicity is not, as a rule, inherent in the oyster, it is due to sewage-contamination or to infection of the pit in which the shell-fish is stored through insufficiently frequent renewal of the water.
Result of an examination of a sample of water taken from one of the oyster pits in which oysters were kept awaiting sale, and in which the water had been allowed to stand unchanged for several days. The original water contained about 400 micro-organisms per cubic centimetre, whereas in the stagnant water these had increased to over 10, 000. Artificial pits for the storage of oysters should be either situated between high and low tide, and so get their waters renewed every twelve hours, or, if placed beyond the reach of the ordinary tides, provision should be made for the fre quent renewal of the water; oysters should be consumed as soon as possible after leaving their beds. David Houston (Jour. Essex Technical Laboratories; Brit. Med. Jour., Dec. 19, '96).
To oysters, as is well known, have been traced eases of typhoid fever (see