Genre:

Essay, Spoof

Subjects:

Zoology, Natural History, Animal Behaviour, Politics, Government

    A detailed 'zoological' description of 'Tænia Officialis—the Red-Tapeworm' which is described as a 'one of the entozoa which infest the body-politic, and is perhaps the most pernicious of them all'. Particularly common in 'every department of State', its characteristics include 'a strong attachment to place', the power of 'being cut up almost indefinitely without apparently being worse for the operation', and 'an almost total absence of energy'.