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Sunday, February 13, 2011

Letter of the Day: February 13

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 07319

War Department,
Office of the Surgeon General,
Army medical Museum and Library,
Washington

February 13, 1904

Capt. Harry M. Hallock
Asst. Surgeon, U.S. Army,
Fort Porter, N.Y.

Sir:

I have read with great interest your report of the finding of Taenia nana in your command and beg to congratulate you upon your painstaking work. You are almost the first in this country, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is about to issue a bulletin upon the subject, reporting five cases at the Government Insane Asylum. Perhaps you have a paper prepared for publication in one of the journals; I hope so because I would like to see you gain precedence.

I write especially to ask if you will do me the favor to send me some materials containing the ova for demonstration at the Army Medical school? If you could send me a significant number of worms to give each member of the class a specimen they would be greatly appreciated. I trust you may be able to send me some ova at least. May I suggest that you try to obtain them by washing the stool several times in a large quantity of water, pouring off the supernatant portion and retaining the sediment? In this way most of the fecal matter will be poured off while the worms and ova will sink to the bottom. Then preserve them in equal parts glycerine [sic], alcohol, and water.

Yours very truly,
James Carroll
1st Lieut. Asst. Surgeon, U.S.A.
Curator, Army Medical Museum.

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