Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1882-02-14

Dtsease to he found IN IT.. - 80
Rs",,'c et ON the Hudson beIev ~,
Ouxht n Sn.-stsesments Made TIA
ennenee River Product. -
:: Inc New York World is engaged in ;nxe,
oa.a.lng the very interesting subjec, Of th
eapaoIIity OF ice formed Of impure water 70
colluhicatlng disease. 1t has been pener.lI,
t,,s 'nat the reduction of the tempera
tho e y. sa'er 10 the freezing point DESTROYED
ona..;.s organisms, which in impure waite,
o.,;", a.e .he sources Of disease; but inv est
ea',on appears to throw doubt upon- IL no
70 destroy. the truth of this theory.
The attention of Professor Ranbae, puu
Peiiy, the head Of the Geological Burean !.
newport. X. l., having been called 20 ~.
subject, he said: " 'n'
=. AS 10 the possibility of ice convevine
ulsease' think there is no doubt that ice car
convey any disease that the water from which
IL IS frozen can convey in so far "a sucb ,
a use arises from the germs of low vepeta.
pie organisms The question was mt TO me
last year by the Sanitary Association of New.
port as to whether ice in freezing freed itsel,
from the organisms. We know already thu,
comparatively slight variations of tempera.
lure. much less than those between freezing
ana boiling. will destroy adult bacteria in
water. but their germs withstand both a severe
freezing and IN some cases actual boiling.
10 determine this point we tested SAMPLES OF
ice taken from the centres of blocks. and
i"nnd IN every instance that they infected
sterilized beef infusions with the germs NJ
putrefcations which are present in all water
and atmospheres in forty-eight hours. OF
course, every precaution was used in these.
as In all our experiments for the National
board ~ Health, to prevent the infection of the
samples by germs floating in the atmosphere.
am inclined to think that there is on the whole
more Danger OF ice carrying contamination
tiian the water from which it is frozen for the
Following reasons: In warm weather sewage
ana other organic matter coming into a pond
is much more rapidly oxidized and dissipat.
ed than in winter, when this process is very
much retarded by the low temperature For
this reason ice formed on such pond should
contain, it would seem. a considerably larger
amount OF contamination than the water
would have in the summer. The ability of
Ice to carry disease should consider affected
by the same conditions as would affect the
water as regards the question of dilution."
would impure ice used in refrigerators
large or small impart disease to the meats
contained therein?''
IF brought in contact with meat, infected
ice would doubtless infect the meat used
simply as a cooler and not in contact with the
meat and where the water from the ice could
not drip on the meat it would not be likely to
infect it so long as the refrigerator remained
IN use and constantly wet, for very extensive
experiments made by Dr. Smythe and myself
proved cOnclusively that neither germs nor
adult bacteria can disentangle themselves
from wet or moist surrounding The dan
ger would be after the refrigerator had be-
come dry and the impurities of the ice had be-
come pulvariolant and so liable to float in the
atmosphere"
us there any way of discovering that dis
ease has reached the meat as just suggested?'
''NO."
''What sort of water do you believe capa-
BILE of producing the purest ice?'
al believe to be wholesome the ice formed
in any stream which does not receive the sew
age nor the refuse from factories nor an un-
usual proportion of agricultural drainage
The same remark should apply to lake ice,
with the exception that in malarial regions
pond ice is open to suspicion"
"Are there any special districts in this vi
cinty OF near New York or any other centre,
the ice from which you would not recon-
mend?"
81 am not sufficiently acquainted with the
local sources of supply to answer that query"
GLOW far removed from sources Of contain
nation on the Hudson wonld you have ice
collected in order to be reasonably sure of its
purity"
mo ice collected on the Hudson below
Troy can be really pure. should think that
it NAV be- and probably is reasonably pure and
safe by reason of the great dilutions of its
COMMUNICATIONS at any points few miles dis
tant from town sewers or at 100 feet or more
distant from the shore
"What classes of disease would probably
he conveyed by ice gathered from waters into
which drainage fows?'
..Principaly typhoid fever and intestinal
diseases. and possibly fever and ague."
s'From the knowledge of the qualities of
water in rivers and lakes, which would pro-
duce the purest ice?'
Il should say that rivers would produce the
most pure water, all things being equal. for
there would be less stagnaiion in rivers than
in lakes
The World quotes several instances, appar-
emily well authenticated, in which death has
resulted from the drinking of water melted
from ice which had been cut from places
where impurities existed. The statement OF
Professor Pumpelly that no ice cut below
TROY on the Hudson can be really pure, must
he rather startling to the people of the me-
,ropolis who look largely to that source for
their supply, and will have the effect of bring
ing into greater demand the ice from the Pc
nobscot and Kennebec.