The Rock Island Argus., 1882-02-10

ably be conveyed by ice gathered ron
wa5ersinta which drainage floWss'
APrineipally typhoid fever and in
testinal diseases and possibly fever and
SsFrom yoar knowledge of the qualities
of water ia rivers and lakes, which would
produce the purest ice?o
TT should say that rivers would product
the most pure water, all things being equal
fer there would be less sfagnation in rivers
than in lakes
!" Would ordinary deeaying vegetation
produce impurities in waterg' -
Tin the cedar sWamps of the far North,
west one may. drink with, impunity water
which is highly charged with organic mat
ter. In Q. a.malarial region NE could not dc
that
Professor Pumpelly said he was very
pleased to find The World agitating the
subject It was q matter of vital impor-
stance to everybody and was particularly
interesting to the people at seashore resorts,
where danger exists through the people
getting their supply of ice from local ponds
through the country and where the water
and ice are q constant source OF danger.
DIR. Bell, editor of the SasitaqTan, was
also interviewed on the subject. $50 sure
am r. said DIR. Bell, that ice may be un-
healthy, that never en- any account put
any in my drinking water. I fill bottles
with water and put them upon the ice, and
should advise every one to do the same.
This is not new subject. It was taken
up several years ago by DR.. Rochester, Of
Buffalo. He was the first that demonstrate
ed that ice was dangerous to health if taken
from ponds containing foul water
sCan one tell from the appearance of
the ice whether or not it is unhealthya"
No; the germ forms, as they are called
are impalpable, without color or form, and
are as likely to be found i'm clear, bright
Ice as i'm that which is discelored. ,"
.sSuppose ice which contained elements
of disease was used for packing meat,
would the meat be contaminatedY
Undoubtedly it would, and frequently
is, / have no doubt. Impure ice is gener-
ally that taken from shallow country ponds
near the grazing grounds of cattle, or, as is
frequently the case, ponds that receive the
drainage from cesspool, and this is cut
and used for packing poultry. In such
a case the poultry would be unhealthy.
Even ice cut from the Hudson, if taken
too near the city of Troy, would not be
perfectly pure" As
do you know anything of the expert
ments of Professor Pumpelly at Newport2'
Eyes, but his experiments were mainly
to ascertain whether impure water became
purified by draining through soil" 4
What was the result?'
THAT the filtering through soil was not
effectual. DR.. Napother of Dublin, had
previously demonstrated that the elements
,ho51 ha ioa he
surface of water for a long distance.
A man died of typhoid fever after drink
ing from the waters of stream, and the
doctor traced up the stream for mile and
a quarter to the residence of man Ill with
typhoid fever The conclusion was that
that the germs of the. disease had foated
down the stream upon its surface.
HWere there not experiments at Newport
in regard to impure iceg"
t'Yes, the experiments of Professor Pun
pelly were made by the direction of the
National Board of Health. but he was also
r member Of the Sanitary Protective Associ7
alton of Newport, and his experiments as
to the passage of water through soil con-
vinced him that a certain pond contained
and impure water. There had
been company formed which proposed to
cut ice from this pond and the association
prevented it"
How as to your experiments with su-
per heated steam?r'
"T used steam as a disinfectant thirty
Tears ago when was surgeon in the United
states Navy. It is now an accepted fact
While | was Quarantine Com |
hadia room prepared on Hospital
sland in the Lower Bay where clothing |
md bedding might be subjected to bath |
Il steam and effectually disinfected. I am
convinced that temperature of 200 de-
+rees will effectually destroy all germ
orms of disease, and that the use of su-
steam is the most effectual me-
hod of disinfection.
TRITH ATTESTEn.