November 22, 1895.] 



SCIENCE. 



683 



for the infection of the milk was not so 

 easy. The milk might have become in- 

 fected in the hands of either the dealer or 

 the producer. Inasmuch as a few cases of 

 the epidemic developed that were not sup- 

 plied with milk from the dealer, but were 

 supplied by other parties that had been us- 

 ing some of the milk cans in common with 

 him, the presumption was strongly in favor 

 of the view that the infection occurred while 

 the milk was in the hands of the dealer. 

 It seems that the dealer was in the habit of 

 washing out his cans himself, and, while he 

 obtained most of his supplj' from the pro- 

 ducer in question, at times he secured an 

 extra supply from other parties. No par- 

 ticular attention was paid to the cans that 

 were used, so that they were often mixed 

 up and returned to different parties after 

 they had been cleaned by the dealer. 



No case of typhoid had occurred at the 

 house of either the dealer or the producer, 

 so that direct infection of the milk did not 

 seem probable. An examination of the 

 water supply was then made. At both 

 places shallow wells were found, that of 

 the milk dealer's being only thirteen feet 

 deep with nearly twelve feet of water in it. 

 The well was surrounded on several sides 

 by privies, an extremely foul one being 

 within twenty-five feet of the well. It was 

 the habit of the dealer to first rinse out the 

 m^ilk cans with water from this well, then 

 they were thoroughly cleansed with hot 

 water and soda, and finally rinsed in cold 

 water again that ivas taken from this well. 



Both the bacteriological and chemical 

 examination of water from the two wells 

 was made. 



Neither of the wells were good and that 

 of the milk dealer was grossly contam- 

 inated, having nearly 70,000 germs per 

 cubic centimeter. 



Typhoid bacteria were not discovered, 

 but this is not surprising. It is possible 

 that the privy near the well may have been 



used by some unknown person, as it was 

 close to and easily accessible from a rail- 

 road. There is no positive evidence, how- 

 ever, that the water was contaminated ex- 

 cept in the history of the epidemic. The 

 evidence, however, is so strong that there 

 can be no valid objection to the conclusion 

 that milk was infected by washing the cans 

 with contaminated water. 



H. L. Russell. 

 Madison, Wis. 



ELEVENTH INTERNATIONAL CONGBESS OF 

 AMERICANISTS. 



On the fourteenth of October, in the beau- 

 tiful Sal&n de Actos de la Escuela Preparito- 

 ria in the City of Mexico, was inaugurated a 

 scientific meeting, not only memorable for 

 our great sister Republic, but in many re- 

 spects unique and sui generis. 



Though to the official proceedings in 

 Spanish reference must be made for an au- 

 thoritative account of the mature work sub- 

 mitted to this august assemblage, yet the 

 readers of Science may not be uninterested 

 in a few words about the external and 

 social aspects of the Congress. 



The preliminary session on October 14th 

 was remarkably well attended and was 

 stamped by an air of elegance, distinction, 

 prestige, which is by no means noticeable 

 at our own science meetings. 



The Cabinet Ministers of Mexico, the 

 Ministers of the Great Powers of Europe 

 and America, the Governors of the Mexican 

 States, mingled with the men of science, 

 made an array which we could not dupli- 

 cate outside of Washington. The roll of 

 the delegates was called, and each one pre- 

 sented his credentials, which were then 

 scrutinized. 



In accordance with Mexican social eti- 

 quette, the President of the Republic, Por- 

 firio Diaz, was debarred from being present 

 because of the recent death of his father-in- 

 law, Romero Rubio. 



