1890.] RAFTER AND MALLORY—ENDEMIC OF TYPHOID FEVER. 85 
(these tables are not given here) it appears certain that while the rain- 
fall was heavy in the early part of the season, the amount and distribu- 
tion of precipitation was such in August, September and the early part 
of October as to produce unusual dryness in a region having an open, 
porous soil, as for instance, the village of Springwater. Such a condi- 
tion would lead to increase of pollution of the wells by privy drainage, 
and if the specific bacillus of typhoid fever became present in any way, 
would be likely to lead to an endemic of typhoid fever. 
The recent studies of the causation of typhoid fever have resulted 
in a material modification of the views held only a few years ago, and 
this part of the subject as embodying recent work is not only of consid- 
erable interest but of great value. The literature of this special 
department of etiology has however, multiplied so greatly that we do not 
consider it necessary to go into an extended account here. Those 
interested in the recent views will find them admirably presented in the 
Fourth Annual Report of the State Board of Health of Maine, recently 
issued. 
The definite identification of the bacillus of typhoid in the well 
water from Springwater, by Dr. Ernst, is, however, of more than local 
interest, inasmuch as this identification has not yet been made suffi- 
ciently often to take from a new identification the element of interest 
which always attaches to a new physical discovery. 
Including the identification at Springwater, the typhoid bacillus 
has been successfully isolated and demonstrated as present in drinking 
water fourteen times to date. It has also been identified once in air, 
making fifteen times in all. 
Of these fifteen well attested cases of identification, five have been 
made in this country and two of tnem by Dr. Ernst. The previous 
identification by him was in water from filters used in Providence, 
Rhode Island, and this was further vertified by another bacteriolozist 
(Dr. Prudden) working independently. 
Dr. Charles V. Chapin, Superintendent of Public Health, Provi- 
dence, has given, in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal for June 
20, 1889, an account of this identification at Providence, together with 
a résumé of all the instances of definite identification to that date, from 
which we have compiled the statement of total number of identifications, 
We regret that we are unable to give the detail of each of the cases 
of typhoid fever occurring at Springwater last fall. We are unable to 
do this, not only from @ lack of disposition on the part of the attending 
physician to prepare full records of their cases, but because of a lack of 
appreciation of the importance of such records on the part of the health 
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