Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-11-14
HOW 70 CATCH MICROBES,
Germs May Be Drawn from Liquids
bv Scientifically Prepared Traps.

Amazing as Pfol. ,ioi -
sounds. il is borne out by exp rilncht3
lust completed both in thia country ana
in France and England. In q "oro. ~
means that before very lonE tne ,,inf eod
holder who suspects the mix IS hn'atSu
with germs may set his trap. hnd In Il
very short time feel assured that u" mas
drawn out from the liquid nll ne mimi ,nfi
tisimal wriggly creatures that bhih6 "'0
ease and death. J
When these traps are perf"ctti ana
placed upon the market, the use Of them
viii do away with the boiling or water
or milk to kill the dangerous niicroDea,
and the person drinking the liquid after we,
it has been exposed to trap VIII iceI
satisfaction in knowing that it Is clear
of microbes instead of being filled WIN
their bodies, as Is the case when they are
killed by the boiling process.
There is not the slightest doubt, sayS
prof, Gorham in discussing this most in
tcresting discovery, that certain types
of microbes are attracted by oxygen-are
fond Of ii. we may say. NOW, II a cur
rent of electricity is passing through
water oxygen is liberated around one Of
the wires through which the current Is
brought into the tank. Bacteria VIII nm
mediatcly be attracted to the wire Whefe
this gas is generated
has been made whereby the microbes
have been enticcd into a solution snita-
bic for a culture. BY this means ihcy
are mrcd through series OF tupeS IRON
receptacle, which, perhaps. may be caIe'
a trap.
''rhc trap is. of course, separate from
the main vessel and II the current -
kept on and conditions of temperature
and other elements arc suitable the mann
receptacle may be purified.
Something Of this sort has alreadY
been used with success IN france;
There. Il current Of electricity is passed
through water to form ozoh" ana ms
ozone destroys instead of trapping the
microbes. BY ozone. we do not mean
what the poet has in mind when he sings
Of pine forests Ozone, chemically
speaking, is a single molecule while oXy-
gen is represented by the symbol OF, or
two molecules
LAS for the use Of the microbe cleo
trio trap to purify milk, there IL, how
ever, a serious question to be raised
The carving off of oxvVcn would break
down the structure Of the milk and cause
certain changes that might very well al
the elements in milk by heating it is one
of the objections raised against the sys-
tenn of pastcurization.
The trap might, however be of great
help in obtaining concentrated samples
of the bacterial life in Il large quantity
of liquid. Since the flow of oxygen at
tracts the microbes great many o.
them might be drawn together into the
liquid of the trap in few minutes, ana
then the variety and number of them in
the smaller space would be useful if only
to make cultures for further eXainina-
ton.
Regarding the"question as to the CONF
parativc efficiency of the trap and the
present generally used method of max
ing cultures from the substance under
observation there is something TO be said
on both sides.
"A satisfactory culture may. be made
in from l. to II hours, while the collec"
ton of Il diSproportionately large num-
Der of microbes in a trap may be made
-. Sy., boz 1t-<.
once obtained in the trap there is the
question as to whether they can be stud
led better there or in a culture.
Il know that it has been asked whether
in the case of an army in the field a more
rapid method of determining the purity
or impurity of water might be desirable
In the Russian Japanese war, the Japan
csc army surgeons went far enough III
advance of the main body of troops to
be able to make cultures and determine
the quality of drinking water. This was
an interesting evidence of the hygienc
preparedness of the japanese. and it was
the first time in history. | understand
that wells and streams and ponds wera
labeled fit and unfit, when the thirsty
men came to them at the end of day s
march.
LAS said. it takes from l. to Is hours
to make a thorough culture of microbes.
although in a shorter time one may ar
rive ut an approximately correct idea Of
whether the water is very bad. That
may have been what the japanese bac-
tcriologists did since it doesn't seem
reasonable. | suppose, that they should
always have been j. hours ahead Of the
main army.
1T may be that with further expert
ments the microhe trap will prove as sat
lsfactory for careful work as the culture
Is today, yet there is no question that by
the use of electricity microbes can either
be attracted from the liquid they inhabit
or killed in it by the generation Of
ozone
In the matter of using electricity's
magic for food publication, however
Prof. Gorham has already made start :
ling discovery that is soon to be put into
operation by one of New York City S
largest milk corporations This is treat
ment by the violet ray whereby milk. in
moving over series Of violet ray tubes,
becomes cleaascd of all microbes. par
| tcularly of the dangerous bacili of ty-
phoid and tuberculosis.
The most familiar Of the ultra violet
rays Is the so-called X-ray, or Rocntecn
ray, which is only one Of many of the
ultra violet rays. These are described
roughly by Prof. German as IL radiation
proceeding from the interior of Il glass
bulb, the inner atmosphere Of which has
been reduced very nearly to the unat-
talnabie perfect vacuum on through
| cd.
| This bulb is the Crookcs tube, so-called
| from Sir William 'Crookes the English
scientist. The discharge of electricity
rays that pass through solid substances
without being rcfracted or reflected but
that. strange to say, find their greatest
obstacle in glass.
l. II have been sterilizinS milk" says
Prof. Gorham, by passing a thin
stream of it over a tube. but that was in
laboratory work only. Now one Of the
largest milk firms in the country, located
| III New York City. is preparing to use the
system of purifying certain grades of its
milk. BN this system the stream of milk
from a central tank is passed over Il
number of ray points. and thus by the
| time it reaches the sterilized cans at the
END OF the sluices from the main tank It
| Is thoroughly cleansed."
At the present time Prof. Gorham is
doing extremely important work for the
Shell Fish Commission of Rhode Island
IN passing upon the cleanliness Of tho
oyster beds Of that state.
Through his observation more than 600
acres of oyster beds. where the oysters
We're found TO be exposed to typhoid in
lection, have been condemned and no
oysters can be taken from them until
the sewage contamination has been re-
moved.
Through his findings, too. those oyster
ueaiers whose oysters come from clean
beds are given certificates to that effect.
but In the work so far Prof Gorham
mas confined himself to the culture meth
od, since he finds that the use of electro