FOURTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT 19 



tended. The health of the community can be greatly improved 

 by a study of the geolog>' and the bacteriology and chemistry of 

 the water supply, the fruits and vegetables and other food of 

 the people from a physiological standpoint, the insect pests, the 

 general sanitarj- conditions, the animal parasites of the intes- 

 tines, the examination of the blood with reference to fever 

 parasites, as well as an examination to determine the prevalence 

 of tuberculosis, beriberi, venereal and skin diseases, etc. The 

 present Director of Health realizes the benefit to his w^ork of an 

 intense sanitaiy survey in the provinces. Sanitary commissions 

 have been formed, and the work is being carried on in two toMms. 

 The Bureau of Science is cooperating and is responsible for the 

 bacteriological work. It is proposed to extend the work as 

 rapidly as funds will permit. 



General. — Owing to resignations and the large number of 

 routine tests, other lines of work have been handicapped. When 

 the demand for examinations necessaiy to suppress infectious 

 organisms is decreased, other sanitary measures should receive 

 more attention. The bacteriological examination of foods and 

 drugs will result in cleaner and more wholesome products. We 

 have been able to establish definite chemical standards for our 

 foods and drugs, and so in time we should also have definite 

 bacteriological standards. Due to lack of personnel we are un- 

 able to test many substances that are examined bacteriologically 

 in the United States. For example, the following indicates the 

 nature and number of some such samples examined in the Denver 

 Bacteriological Laboratory of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture as given in the American Food Journal (1915), 5, 

 September: Air, 5; butter, 45; butter-milk, 12; butter starter, 

 lactic acid cultures, 7 ; candy, 71 ; cheese, 4 ; cornmeal, 60 ; cream, 

 253; figs, 4; gelatin, 82; starch, 5; wash water from hands of 

 persons handling food, 6; wash water from tanks in creameries 

 and bottling houses, 8. 



SECTION OF BOTANY 



Personnel. — The work has been very greatly restricted during 

 the past year by depletion of the force. The chief botanist, Mr. 

 E. D. Merrill, was away on leave of absence from April 4, 1915, 

 until the close of the year, leaving but a single technical employee. 

 Dr. W. H. Brown, in the section. During the part of the year 

 that Mr. Merrill was in Manila, he continued as heretofore to 

 render service in the University as associate professor of botany 

 and head of the department. He also gave a special course of 

 ten lectures on medical botany in the post-graduate medical 



