The San Francisco call., 1898-07-10

the laboratory and put into the incu- bator, where it is kept at an even tenn perature for three days. Now the change is visible, for the plate is cov- cred with all sorts of growth and spores, being in reality a species of mold. By examining this growth un- der the microscope, it can be told ex- actly what sort of creatures inhabit the air we breathe.
 Dr. Pillsbury found the purest air out on Pacific Heights, each plate exposed out there yielding a very short growth. One plate had only ten points of infec- tion and contained no dangerous ba- cilli at all.
 The worst air was found at the cor ner of Market and Powell streets This was simply deadly and filled with the most disgusting kind of microbes The next worst was at Lotta's fountain. But both were so much alike as to be unworthy of comparison. The same germs were found in both.
 A small quantity of dust was also scraped out of a Crevice of the fountain. This was a most disgusting mass and contained several germs capable of pro- ducing the nastiest kind of sores
 The interior of several stores and public buildings was also tested and yielded results bad enough in them selves, but good when compared with the out-of-door plates. All of which would seem to indicate that our streets are in need Of more sprink- ling. The germs are first in the dust and then carried through the air by the wind to find Judgment or breed ing place, possibly, in some human beings lung. And the person will afterward wonder how he or she got sick.
 Aside from germs large amount of very fine sand and fiber was also found on the plates. This in itself is very bad for the health, because it clogs up the air passages and renders the mucous membrane inactive or inflamed. These solid particles often form in cake and beneath them a sore forms that pro duces a virus capable of poisoning the blood of the entire system. This sore is called cGtarrh and it is generally con- ceded to be worse in Sa-l Francisco than in any other city in he Union.
 It is gratifying to note that in all his examinations of nearly 100 plates Dr. Pillsbury did not find a single bacilli tuberculosis. This, however, does not prove that there are none in the dust of our streets but 1t shows that they are not as plentiful as Is gener- ally supposed. But Dr. Pillsbury has since found by experiment that the bacilli do not live more than a couple of hours If expectorated on a sidewalk where the sun can strike them For some unknown reason sunshine is death to the bacilli. The same degree of heat produced by sunshine will only serve to increase their activity. But the dead bacilli are not at all desirable. for they are capable of producing bad sores However, as none were found the oth CTS are not likely to do much damage.
 The most disgusting organism found in large numbers by Dr. Pillsbury was the Coli commuism This showed up in nearly all the plates exposed ont of doors, and In most of those inside the down town stores. It was worse at Powell and Market streets than any, where else. This germ is a product of horse droppings and is very little larger than bacilli tuberculosis. In appearance it is very much like the germ of typhoid fever. Of course, 1t is not so deadly in its work, but still it is capable of producing ul ITS, aggravating sore throats and making nasty sores out of simple bruises. It's worst feature however, is its disgusting aspect. When it is known that on windy day we breathe hundreds of thousands of these organisms it Is enough to make one sick. And all because our city fath-