REPORT OF THE KING INSTITUTE, GUINDY 11
It was not possible to complete the water survey t o ur undertaken in 1927,
as Mr. Raghavachari was fully occupied with the work for the Committee on
Water and Sewage Purification at Kilpauk and could not consequently be
detailed for this work. When the work at Kilpauk permits of some respite this
work will be resumed. The experience gained during the survey in the previous
years has been of very great help in assessing the sanitary quality of individual
supplies with reference to local conditions and in suggesting suitable improve-
ments where needed.
(E) CHEMICAL SECTION.
The work of the section has been, as usual, mainly (1) the routine chemical
analysis of protected water supplies in the Presidency. In addition to this a
fairly large number of analyses (see Table XIV) were carried out for the Govern
-ment Water Filtration Committee from the Kilpauk Experimental Station and
various other small investigation schemes in this Presidency.
(2) Foodstuffs for analysis have again consisted mainly of tenderer's
samples from hospitals in the City and the Presidency, though a few were from
private individuals (for list of samples see Table XVII). Of 57 samples of bread
analysed, only four did not come up to the standard laid down in the Surgeon
-General's circular.
Butter.—Six samples were analysed and all contained excessive amounts of
water. Only two came very near the limit fixed in the Food Adulteration Act.
Ghee.—Of the six ghee samples received, four did not contain any ghee at all
or were grossly adulterated, and there were enquiries as to whether vendors of such,
foodstuffs could be prosecuted. The Public Analyst replied that until the Food
Adulteration Act was brought into force in the area, no legal action was
sustainable, There was also an enquiry from the Government of India as to the
steps necessary to prevent the admixture of ghee with vegetable ghee which is
now so extensively put on the market. The reply was to the effect that the only
remedy was the general adoption of the Food Adulteration Acts.
Tea .—Five samples of tea were submitted by the Secretary, United Planters'
Association. None of them contained any tea-leaf at all. Government are now
considering regulations to be made under the provisions of the Madras Preven-
tion of Adulteration Act prescribing standards for tea and draft standards have
been published.
Ginger.—Two samples of ginger were submitted by a shipping company on
behalf of the exporters for the preservative content (sulphur dioxide), probably
these were intended for export to England where, under the new Preservative
Regulations, the addition of preservatives to foodstuffs is very rigorously
controlled.
(3) Analysis of drugs.—Surgeon-General in his Circular P. No. 52-E, dated
11th March 1929, directed the various medical officers in the Presidency to send
occasional surprise samples of drugs either of stock mixtures or prescriptions for
verification. The full effect of this circular will be felt in the year 1929-30, but
the small number of samples examined during the year under report show the
very serious need for analytical control of dispensed prescriptions. In some
cases samples did not contain any of the specific drug prescribed, while in others
very serious, deficiencies were found.
(4) The Chemical Section also continued to help other sections in the prepa-
ration and standardization of various solutions ; work of a bio-chemical nature
such as determination of urea, sugar, albumen, globulin, etc., in pathological
fluids included in Table XIII was done in this. section.
(F) WORK FOR THE COMMITTEE ON WATER AND SEWAGE
PURIFICATION.
(i) Water experiments at Guindy—Period IX—April-July 1928.—The
experiments (recorded under period VIII in last year's report) on the rela
- t i v e m e r i t s o f s u b m e r g e d a n d p e r c o l a t i n g s a n dfilters were continued. The
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