260 MICRO-ORGANISMS IN WATER 



abstracted is chemically very pure, but in spite of this 

 the mud was found to contain pathogenic bacteria which 

 proved fatal when introduced into animals. Lortet 

 states that he succeeded in isolating the Staphylococcus 

 pyogenes aureus (see p. 498), the tetanus bacillus, the 

 B. coli communis (see p. 411), and the typhoid bacillus 

 (see p. 410) from this muddy deposit. 



Sanarelli 1 discovered an organism in the water 

 supplying the laboratory in the University of Siena 

 which not only proved pathogenic to cold-blooded 

 animals, frogs, toads, eels, and other fish, but also in 

 varying degrees to guinea-pigs, rabbits, dogs, cats, mice, 

 hedgehogs, fowls, and pigeons. In consequence of the 

 colour to which it gives rise when cultivated on potatoes 

 Sanarelli has called it Bacillus hydrophilus fuscus (see 

 p. 431). Water from other sources was investigated to 

 see if this organism was present, and out of twenty-six 

 different waters examined two were found in which it 

 was detected. 



It has recently been stated by Casado y Fernandez 2 

 that the tubercle bacillus (see p. 422) was found in 

 ditch-water, and that a child contracted tuberculosis 

 through drinking this water. 



Although, perhaps, no organism has been so ex- 

 haustively studied as regards its behaviour when arti- 

 ficially introduced into various waters as the B. anthrads 

 (see p. 416) it had, until a short time ago, never been 

 with certainty detected as occurring in water. Addi- 

 tional interest and importance must, however, now 

 be attached to the numerous researches which have 

 been made in this direction with anthrax, as this 



1 ' Ueber einen neuen Mikroorganisrnus des Wassers,' Centralblatt 

 fiir r><tkteriologie, vol. ix., 1891, p. 193. 



2 ' Infeccion tuberculosa por el agua contaminada,' Eevista de Medi- 

 cina y Cirugia Prdctica, 1890. 



