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STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



In March a second milk contest was held at Flint. This contest in- 

 cluded samples of milk Avhicli were carefully prepared for the contest 

 and samples that were taken from the wagons without Avarning. 



The samples in these contests scored as follows: 



FLINT MILK CONTEST (MARCH, 1916). 



(L. H. COOLEDGE.) 



REPORT ON BACTERIOLOGICAL WATER ANALYSIS. 



The bacteriological analyses of water are made under the direction of 

 L. Zae Northrup, but those examinations made in connection with 

 dairy surveys were conducted at the suggestion of Mr. Cooledge. Eighty 

 samples of water were examined bacteriologically during the year 1915- 

 16. Of these, 19 samples were from the city water systems from Flint, 

 Saginaw, East Lansing and the College, the remaining 61 were from 

 rural communities. Fifty or 63 per cent of all samples were polluted 

 with sewage bacteria. Seven or 37 per cent of all city samples were sew- 

 age polluted and the remaining 43 polluted samples constituted 70 per 

 cent of all samples analyzed from rural sources. 



Twenty-one samples were taken from wells in use by dairies supply- 

 ing Flint; this number includes three samples from the Flint city water 

 supply. The average bacterial count of the latter was 16.693 per cubic 

 centimeter and the samples were unquestionably polluted with sewage 

 organisms. 



The average bacterial count of the rural wells supplying dairy farms 

 near Flint was 20,220 with a minimum of 31 and a maximum of 63,000 

 per cubic centimeter. Only two of the rural wells in this case would 

 have been above suspicion. This condition obtains very commonly and 

 is a deplorable one since the health, not only of individual families and 

 of small localities, but of the public using milk from these dairies is en- 

 dangered by these polluted water supplies. The universal contamina- 

 tion of these wells may be almost unmistakably attributed to the fact 

 that they are surface wells. 



Sixteen samples of water were collected for bacteriological analysis 



