THE STORY OF THE BACTERIA. 131 



It follows directly from these simple but 

 undeniable facts that the sources of our ice 

 supply should be as carefully scrutinized in the 

 interests of the public health, as should the 

 sources of the water. But, unfortunately, under 

 the influence of the old idea that water was 

 thoroughly purified by freezing, it has become 

 the general practice of many of the dealers to 

 get their ice from almost any source, however 

 unclean, which is near or accessible enough to 

 the market to afford a profit. 



One of the most flagrant examples of this 

 bad practice is seen in the ice supply of New 

 York City, which is in large part drawn from 

 the sewage-polluted Hudson, and in many 

 cases from the immediate vicinity of the sewer 

 openings. Some of the ice which is supplied 

 to New York is cut on moderately clean ponds 

 or lakes, but the consumer is almost never 

 certain that he is not getting Hudson-River 

 sewer-ice, even when he may fancy he has a 

 cleaner supply. 



The fact is, ice should not be cut, at least 

 when it is to be used for drinking purposes, 

 from any source which would not be good if 

 used for drinking unfrozen. This is certainly 



