COLLECTION OF SPECIMENS AND MATERIALS 21 



and place of the collection of the water; (3) the character 

 of the watershed, its topography, and the uses to which the 

 country is put, if inhabited; (4) the proximity of houses, 

 barns, privies, or other possible sources of contamination 

 to the place of collection or the source of supply; (5) the 

 proximity of fertilized land to such place or source and 

 whether the said land is higher or lower than the adjacent 

 land; (6) such other information as may suggest a possible 

 deleterious influence on the purity of the water. If the water 

 is from a well the letter should report the depth of the w r ell, 

 the strata found in digging or boring it, and the depth of the 

 water in the well. 



357. The specimen should, when practicable, be collected 

 by a medical officer. If the water to be examined is delivered 

 through pipes or is pumped from a well or cistern the local 

 supply pipe and all pump connections should be emptied 

 by allowing the water to run for fifteen minutes before taking 

 the samples. 



358. BACTERIOLOGICAL EXAMINATIONS. Samples of water 

 for bacteriological examination should be collected in bottles 

 furnished for the purpose. Each bottle is sterilized before 

 leaving the laboratory, and the glass stopper is protected 

 by a piece of heavy sterilized muslin securely wired to the 

 neck of the bottle. The stopper should not be removed until 

 immediately before the bottle is filled. 



(a) In taking specimens from a faucet or pump (after 

 emptying the supply pipes and connections conformably to 

 paragraph 357) a small, gentle stream should be allowed 

 to flow, the stopper taken out, the bottle grasped near the 

 bottom, held in an upright position, and the stream permitted 

 to flow into the bottle until it is filled to the shoulder. The 

 stopper should then be replaced; both it and the cloth should 

 be secured by carrying the wire several times around the neck 

 of the bottle and twisting the ends tight. The stopper must 

 be handled only by the square cloth-covered top. The lip 



