1887. Poisoning at Retford of Eighty Persons from eating Pork Pie or Brawn.—Symptoms commenced at various intervals, from eight to thirty-six hours.

1889. The Carlisle B Case.—Poisoning by pork pies or boiled salt pork. Number of persons attacked, about twenty-five.

1891. Poisoning by a Meat Pie at Portsmouth.—Thirteen persons suffered from serious illness. Portions of the pies were poisonous to mice.

The symptoms in all these cases were not precisely alike; but they were so far identical as to show as great a similarity as in cases when a number of persons are poisoned by the same chemical substance. Arsenic, for instance, produces several types of poisoning; so does phosphorus.

Severe gastro-enteric disturbance, with more or less affection of the nervous system, were the main characteristics. These symptoms commenced, as before stated, at various intervals after ingestion of the food; but they came on with extreme suddenness. Rigors, prostration, giddiness, offensive diarrhœa, followed by muscular twitchings, dilatation of the pupil, drowsiness, deepening in bad cases to coma, were commonly observed. The post-mortem appearances were those of enteritis, with inflammatory changes in the kidney and liver. Convalescence was slow; sometimes there was desquamation of the skin.

In many of these cases Dr. Klein found bacteria which, under certain conditions, were capable of becoming pathogenic; but in no case does there seem to have been at the same time an exhaustive chemical inquiry; so that, although there was evidence of a poison passing through the kidney, the nature of the poison still remains obscure.

The deaths in England and Wales from unwholesome food during ten years were as follows:—

DEATHS IN ENGLAND AND WALES FROM UNWHOLESOME FOOD DURING THE TEN YEARS 1883-1892.

1883.1884.1885.1886.1887.1888.1889.1890.1891.1892.Total.
Diseased meat,1...........................1
Poisonous fish,232114329633
Unwholesome brawn,...1........................1
Tinned salmon,...2........................2
Putrid meat,...111......1.........4
Diseased food,...1........................1
Mussels,...1............1.........2
Tinned foods,............2...............2
Whelks,............1...............1
Winkles,.....................1......1
Ptomaines,........................1...1
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