1895.] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 9 



ders, take delight therein and be thankful for the priv- 

 ilege of beholding them. 



[In this connection attention is invited to a article on home aquariums 

 in the December 3Iicroscope. Any one can cultivate these forms anil without 

 much expense. All needed directions are contained in that article by Tera- 

 pere, of Paris. Or, the forms naay be obtained fiom the author of the fore- 

 going article. — Editor.] 



The 'Oyster Epidemic" of Typhoid at Wesleyan. 



By prof. H. W. conn 

 middletown, conn. 



While it has for some time been suspected that raw 

 oysters may be a possible means of the distribution of 

 germ disease there have been no cases where the theory 

 has been positively demonstrated. The recent outbreak 

 of typhoid at Wesleyan University, is in this respect, 

 therefore, so unique as to be of especial interest and for 

 this reason the results of the investigation as to the 

 cause of this outbreak are given below in some detail. 



The history of the epidemic was as follows. About 

 October 20th there began to appear among the students 

 a number of cases of mild fever which were for several 

 days not regarded as serious. After about a week, how- 

 ever, one or two of them developed into typical typhoid 

 fever, arid several others were suspected of being of the 

 same nature. For a week and a half following October 

 20th new cases appeared somewhat rapidly, and by 

 November 1st there had appeared among the members 

 of the college about 23 cases of fever of more or less 

 pronounced typhoid character. After November 1st the 

 number of new cases diminished, although two appeared 

 on November 2ud, one on November 4th, and one as late 

 as November 8th. Subsequent to that period no new 

 cases have developed. There have been among the stu- 

 dents about 26 case of fever which have been with more 

 or less reason regarded as typhoid. Of these 23 have 

 been pronounced typhoid by the physicians in charge, 



