NOTES. ;^1.3 



Quaintance, S. J. lliintt-r, II. J. Webber, and others from tliis Department, deliv- 

 ered addresses, and stereopticon lectures were given during the evening on the boll 

 weevil, the 1)()llworm, and root rot. There were numerous testimonials as to the 

 effectiveness of proper cultural methods. Resolutions were adopted urging intensive 

 culture of cotton by approved methods and diversification, and calling on organiza- 

 tions of the State to en<;ourage the adoption of tested methods by farmers. A per- 

 manent organization was formed with George N. Aldredge, of Dallas, as president, 

 and J. H. Connell, secretary. The proceedings of the convention are to be i>ublished. 



Meeting of American Public Health Association. — The thirty-first annual meeting of 

 this association was held in this city October 26-30. A number of the papers had a 

 more or less inunediate bearing upon agriculture, and are briefly noted. 



• D. E. Salmon presented a report of the committee on animal diseases and food, 

 the main part of which was occupied with a discussion of the relationship between 

 human and 1)ovine tuberculosis. The conclusion from the paper and from the dis- 

 cussion which followed was that these forms are mere varieties of one disease and 

 are intertransmissible between man and animals. M. P. Ravenel pointed out that the 

 transmission of tuberculosis from man to animals, and vice versa, had been shown by 

 numerous direct experiments and clinical observations. The bovine bacillus was 

 stated to be from 25 to 30 times as virulent as the human bacillus as a rule, although 

 human bacilli have been found of considerable virulence for various animals. Suc- 

 cessful experiments by the speaker in transmitting the disease from man to various 

 species of animals were reported. Thirty-eight cases were cited in proof of the pos- 

 sibility of infection of man through ingestion of tuberculous milk and meat, and post- 

 mortem statistics on intestinal tuberculosis in children as related to the ilrinking of 

 tul^erculous milk were discussed. The speaker briefly referred to experiments, the 

 results of which have not yet been published, which show that infection of the lungs 

 and lymphatic glands may be produced by ingestion of tubercle bacilli without 

 the development of intestinal lesions. In dogs fed on butter mixed with tubercle 

 bacilli, the bacilli were found in the chyle within 35 hours after feeding in 8 out of 

 10 cases. 



Problems connected with the disposal of garl^age and other refuse were discussed 

 liy a number of speakers. The use of the.se materials for feeding pigs and for ferti- 

 lizer was shown to be quite common, especially in small cities. Several of the 

 speakers spoke favorably of the use of garbage for feeding pigs, but the general 

 opinion seemed to be that for large cities the burning of such materials- is often less 

 expensive and preferable from a sanitary standpoint. In Memphis, where a furnace 

 50 ft. long has been constructed for destroying garbage, the expense thus far has 

 averaged 15 cts. per ton, which is believed to be cheaper than feeding it to pigs. 

 Attention was called to the utilization of heat from burning garbage and waste 

 material in the form of steam power. From statistics obtained in England it 

 ap)pears that 1 ton of such refuse furnishes 40 horsepower hours of energy. The 

 temperature in the destructors should not be 400 or 500° F., but preferably 3,000° F. 

 It was pointed out that certain animal refuse may yield considerable revenue when 

 treated for the extraction of oil, and that in Cleveland a digestor is in use for the 

 removal of fats from fish refuse, which yields a revenue of from |!30 to $40 a ton, the 

 residue being burned or sold as a fertilizer. 



The purification of water by filtration was discussed by I\I. O. Leighton. The 

 speaker gave a historical account of filtration, and stated that the results have shown 

 that most impurities, including typhoid bacilli, are removed by it. His conclusions 

 regarding the value of filtration were based on analytical evidence and on the 

 eradication rif typhoid fever in different localities. Statistics from Euroj)ean and 

 American cities were favoral)le to filtration. It was stated that many filter plants 

 in America are defective in construction. 



