REPORT OF THE KING INSTITUTE, GUINDY
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(e) A survey of the water supplies of the Presidency is being undertaken
because a lack of first hand knowledge of local conditions has often made it
difficult to suggest the cause of unsatisfactory supplies or to recommend remedies.
The following supplies have been visited during the year under report :
—
Bellary and Alipuram Jails, Guntakal Railway station, Adoui, Cuddapah,
Hospet, Chidambaram, Cuddalore Jail, Villupuram Railway station, Tiruvannā - -
malai, Vellore, Katpadi Railway station, Vellore Jail, Ranipet Certified School,
Borstal School, Tanjore, Salem Jail and Negapatam. Various recommendations
resulting from these visits have been made.
I I
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— P U B L I C
A N A L Y S T .
1. A list of samples examined is given in Table XVI.
2. Alum in bread.—Of the 60 samples of bread examined from the various
hospitals, none have contained alum. Thus 92 samples of bread have now been
examined since the issue of the Surgeon-General’s circular requiring that bread
supplied to hospitals shall be free from alum. No alum has been detected in any
of the samples. As mentioned last year, all of thirteen samples examined pre-
viously to the issue of the circular were found to contain alum.
A rather high proportion of the samples have given an acidity figure
somewhat in excess of the standard laid down in the circular, showing that some
bakers have used a flour which was commencing to turn sour, but none of
the samples gave such a high figure as to suggest that a badly soured flour
was used.
3. The analysis of a sample of “ Solid Hydrogen Peroxide ” is interesting.
Hydrogen Peroxide is a liquid which is very useful as a mild antiseptic but
unfortunately it is very unstable at tropical temperatures. The preparation
examined which when dissolved in water yields a solution containing hydrogen
peroxide was found to comply with the manufacturers’ claims as to strength of
solution.
4. Lead preparation for treatment of cancer.— In England Professor Blair
Bell has obtained some very promising results in the treatment of cancer by
intravenous injection of preparations containing lead in the colloidal condition.
One of his difficulties has been that his preparations have proved unstable and
unsuitable for general issue. Mr. Hawley has prepared a stable preparation of a
lead salt in colloidal form by an adaptation of Amberger’s V method for the
preparation of colloidal silver which is believed to be novel in its application to
lead. Animal experiments have shown that the necessary dose of lead can be
given without ill-effect and the preparation is being tried by Lieut.-Col. Bradfield
at the General Hospital and by Dr. T. H. Somervell at the South Travancore
Medical Mission. It is as yet too early to say whether the treatment will prove
of value.
5. Legal.—A draft of an Act to amend the Madras Food Adulteration Act,
1918, was placed before the Legislative Council in March and was referred to a
select committee of members including the Director of Public Health and the
Public Analyst as expert members. 'The draft as approved by the select com-
mittee is very similar to that suggested in the Public Analyst’s report last year,
and will, it is hoped, be passed into law in the autumn.
Arrangements are being made by Government with a number of the larger
municipalities for the Public Analyst to Government to act for them, the
municipality paying a proportion of the cost of the appointment. As soon as
these arrangements are complete it will be possible for regular sampling of food
samples of a non-perishable nature (e.g., ghee) to commence. Samples of milk
cannot be sent from a distance to the Public Analyst’s laboratory until the
amending Act—which authorizes the addition of a preservative to samples taken
under the Act—becomes law.
Thirteen samples of “ Best Ghee” were purchased casually by members of
the staff in various bazaars in the District (Madras, Saidapet, Pallavaram,
Chingleput, etc.). Of these twelve were genuine and one was adulterated con-
taining about 30 per cent of foreign fat.
* C. Amberger (Zeit. Chem. Ind. Kolloide, 1912, 11, 97).
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