268 BOARD OF AGBICULTURE. [Jan., 



Prof. Brewer. I shall have but a few words to say, 

 although I consider this subject one of supreme importance. 

 There is no problem that is presented to the civilized world 

 to-day that is more difficult of a practical solution or of greater 

 importance than this one that Mr. Olcott has touched upon. 

 I do not know of a civilized country, except our own, that is 

 not trying to meet it in some way by intelligent investigation. 

 We have been told that this State does not want to hear 

 about it. The number of deaths that are caused directly by 

 this pollution of streams and pollution of waters every year, 

 in this State, is very large. Of that there is no question 

 whatever. ^Unfortunately, we cannot always put our finger 

 on the man and say, " This man was killed so, that man was 

 killed so," as we could if they were shot or killed at a railroad 

 crossing, or something of that kind ; but, nevertheless, they 

 are just as surely killed, and that people are surely killed is 

 just as susceptible of proof in one case as in the other. We 

 can only prove it, however, in the averages, and not, generally, 

 as to the individual. Sanitarians, as you know, study death 

 tables for the purpose of comparison. Those diseases and 

 accidents of which men die are classed in five great classes, 

 one of those being what are called " accidental," including 

 persons who die from wounds, and so on. Another class we 

 speak of as " developmental ; " those that are incidental to 

 the growth of the human race ; the teething of children, old 

 age, the diseases incident to child-birth, and so on. But these 

 two only kill off a small portion of the population. The great 

 mass that go down to their graves before they are three score 

 and ten, die of the other third class of diseases, which embraces 

 the local diseases ; all kinds of local inflammations, the con- 

 stitutional diseases, to which cancer, consumption, and so on, 

 belong. But the class of which we are speaking here to-day 

 we call " zymotic diseases." They include all the pestilences, 

 contagions, and all of those diseases which spread, as cholera, 

 as typhoid, as the plague, and so on, do through their conta- 

 gious nature. They are largely preventable diseases. I do 

 not believe the time will ever come when they will entirely 



