The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1892-03-04

denies of certain diseases are caused by
pointed drinking water involves ques-
ions OF the grayest moment.
Another class of problems of equal inn
! portance is suggested in the disposal Of
/ garbage and other refuse. which fire.
! quently becomes public menace and a
/ fruitful source of disease. A nd allied
with this is the still broader question of
drainage and sewage disposal. A way to
/ dispose of the constantly-increasing sew
age SO as to injure neither themselves or
others Is what the citizens of every NUM-
cipality are seeking. In Europe some
towns. have farms, where the sewage is
! spread over wide area, while others
| filter it through sand-beds, or precipitate
1t chemically after turning it into a
stream. All these methods will be con-
sldered in this portion of the course.
The fourth section has TO do with soils
and building sites, which are sometimes
dangerous than is supposed. The bacteria
resulting from decomposition in the
ground itself are often unhealthfuf, and
| should be guarded against by carefully
cemented cellars, etc.
Ventilation is only a part, though an
/ important part, of the study which will
! be devoted to the air and the atmosphere,
! Chemical and ARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS will
! be applied in the laboratories and eli
matte and meteorological conditions OBJ
served. One Of the popular fallacies which
the school viii dispense, by the way, is
/ that the air of large cities is far more inn
pure than that of the open country. Act
i ual analysis shows that in spite of the 90
/ OOO tons of carbonic acid gas poured into
the London atmosphere daily, the differ
/ ence between the air of the city and that
1 OF the country outside is not one part IN
| ten thousand.
Modern interest in pure food is shown
/ by the annual exhibitions held in all our
large cities. The school will investigate
/ authorizations Of food and their detection,
and will also take up milk and meat in
! SDection-a line in which the Universities
Veterinary School has already attained
! some prominence.
! Poisonous dyes in clothing, and meth
odS OF detecting the various materials in
! cloth, form the next part of the course,
/ followed by the investigation of illumi-
nants, electricity, gas and oils, with the
! hyglenlc effects OF each. Electricity has
/ seemed so far to be the best, as it gives
/ the most perfect light, and throws on no
| deleterious carbonIc acid gas.
! In The management of contagious dis
eases, methods of disinfection, notifica-
| ton, isolation and quarantine come next
/ in order, and will be treated both i'll the
/ laboratories and by lectures. The latter
method is also largely employed for the
instruction on vital statistics, registra-
ton, etc., and in the study OF trades dan
gerous TO the individual or offensive to
the general public.
Lectures in sanitary Jurisprudence, the
law of nulSanceS and an outline OF the
duties of health officers, appropriately
close the course.
Closely allied with the course in hy-
glene Is that in bacteriology, which also
has twelve parts. The apparatus is natu-
rally somewhat different from that OF the
ordinary chemical laboratory, and stu
dents have to be especially instructed in
It's use. The course consists in the prep
afatlon OF bacteria mixtures, or cultures
the Detection and separation OF different
species, etc. Pathogenic or disease-pro-
! duclng bacteria receive the closest atten-
ton, The microscope being, of course, a
prime factor in their identincation The
eject of various distinction methods,
both chemical and thermal, will be effi-
GENTLY tested. Many of the most delicate
| experiments are to be performed in sep
arate glass room, thus providing an unva-
ryIng temperature and securing an al
most total exclusion of dust.
More than one class of students will be
represented among the workers III the
school. While it will undoubtedly at
tract some specialists men who intend to
MAKE hygiene a life-work, they Will not
constitute the whole body of students.
There Will be engineers, who expect to
give especial attention to municipal
water supply and drainage; architects,
who wish to know sanitary plumbing
physicians, who find that medicine can
not afford TO exclude bacteriology, and
many others who wish simply to secure
certificates of proficiency in the duties of
public health officer. Indeed, it is not
possible to point to a class in the COM
munity which will not be affected by The
work done here. SO universal is the
need for an intelligent comprehension of
the health problems of modern civiliZa-
ton that the development OF this school
will be widely noted, and il is not too
much TO prophesy that a very few years
will see the enterprise of the University
of Pennsylvania initiated in other quar-
ters-E w MulnfOrd