August i6, 1889.] 



SCIENCE, 



tionality of Execution by Electricity," and was discussed by several 

 of the members, after which it was resolved that the association 

 petition the General Assembly of the State of New York to repeal 

 the electrical execution law at its next session. A paper by Mr. 

 William Bracken, on " Electric Traction by Storage-Batteries," 

 was then read by Mr. S. M. Young, after which J. F. Morrison, E. 

 T. Lynch, jun., C. C. Martin, E. F. Peck, and A. J. De Camp were 

 appointed a committee to nominate the executive con^mittee, and 

 to choose a place for the next convention. 



At the Thursday morning session, after the report of the com- 

 mittee on legislation, Mr. C. C. Haskins read a paper on " Dynamo 

 Room Accessories for Intensity, Potential, and Resistance Meas- 

 urements." Dr. Moses then read the proposed new constitution, 

 which was accepted, after which Mr. G. W. Mansfield read a paper 

 on " Electric Railways," and Professor E. P. Roberts read one on 

 " The Electrical Transmission of Power." The report of the com- 

 mittee on executive committee and place of next convention was 

 then received and adopted, Kansas City being the place selected, 

 and the executive committee being as follows : G. W. Hart, chair- 

 man ; L. A. Beebe ; J. A. Corby; B. E. Sunny; S. S. Leonard; 

 C. R. Faben ; P. H. Alexander ; Frank Ridlon ; and J. F. Morri- 

 son. The convention then adjourned. 



HEALTH MATTERS. 

 Disinfection of Springs, and Number of Germs in Ground- 

 Water. 



Dr. Carl Frankel, in the Zeitschrift f. Hygiene, reports a 

 series of experiments made by him to determine some points of 

 practical importance ; namely, what are the relative values of tube- 

 wells and pot-wells, and can they be disinfected by the measure 

 usually recommended .' 



With regard to tube-wells, from their mode of construction they 

 are not liable to contamination from surface impurities, as the pot- 

 wells are, and it becomes of the greatest consequence to know 

 whether they receive infective micro-organisms from more distant 

 sources. The result of these experiments is, that as a rule the 

 water entering tube-wells is absolutely free from micro-organisms. 

 But it still appears that a growth of micro-organisms takes place 

 in the tube-wells, and a consideration of all the circumstances 

 points to the growth of a pellicle of micro-organisms clinging to 

 the sides of the tube. Hence one way of disinfecting the tube- 

 wells is to brush them clear, and then completely pump off the 

 turbid liquid. In cases where this proceeding proves inadequate, a 

 concentrated solution of carbolic acid and sulphuric acid ^dropped 

 into the tube, and left for a day or two, will complete the disinfec- 

 tion. Disinfection of these .wells by lime is quite unsuitable, as it 

 forms a mortar, and seriously interferes with the entrance of 

 water. 



The ordinary pot-well, on the other hand, is incapable of disin- 

 fection, and Dr. Frankel agrees with Plagge that it is a hygienic 

 monstrosity. Considering how common pot-wells are in our 

 country districts, these are results which require careful attention. 



The tube-wells, which Dr. Frankel found to furnish water freer 

 from germs, were sunk in a part of Berlin which, at first sight, 

 would seem to expose them to great risk of infection. In reality, 

 however, after a time a thick pellicle forms in old soils, which ef- 

 fectually precludes the passage of germs beyond a certain depth. 

 Two sources of error have here to be guarded against. In the 

 first place, the pellicle or its equivalent, which prevents the passage 

 of germs downward, may be broken through at some point, or the 

 corresponding ground may be constituted in parts of pebbles or 

 gravel, which allows of the transmission of micro-organisms ; and, 

 in the second place, the chemical constitution of the water passing 

 away from these old soils will very likely be such as to lead to a 

 free growth of micro-organisms, as was the case in these experi- 

 ments. It is practically impossible to exclude all access of micro- 

 organisms to the well. 



The chief conclusions to be drawn from Dr. Frankel's experi- 

 ments are, that Abyssinian or tube-wells are infinitely preferable 

 to the ordinary pot-well, and that a disinfection of the tube in the 



manner indicated above is, as a rule, all that is necessary to make 

 the water quite free from micro-organisms. 



Phthisis in Armies. — According to Dr. R. Schmidt of Munich, 

 who has collected a mass of material connected with the statistics 

 of phthisis, the number of soldiers who suffer from phthisis in the 

 German army (excluding Saxony and Bavaria) is, says the London 

 Za«ir£/', 3 per 1,000; and the number of deaths from this cause, 

 0.9 per 1,000. In the Austrian army the numbers per i,ooo are 

 6.4 and 2.2 respectively; in the Italian army, 4.3 and 2.9. In the 

 Russian and French armies, only the number of fatal cases is 

 given, which is 12.5 per 1,000 in the former, and 2.2 per 1,000 in 

 the latter case. In the English army, which on account of long 

 service and foreign service is not to be compared with continental 

 armies, the number of cases per 1,000 is 11. 8, and the number of 

 deaths 6.2. At first sight, one would expect, that, as only men 

 who are found on examination to be healthy are taken as recruits, 

 the number of cases of phthisis ought to be very low. As a mat- 

 ter of fact, however, it is, ifi Bavaria at least, higher than among 

 civilians of similar age and sex. The reason of this remarkable 

 circumstance is discussed in an article in the Koenigsberger Zei- 

 (ung. How important a factor direct contagion is, the experiments 

 of Cornet show, as well as the fact that hospital attendants fall 

 easy victims to the disease ; but Dr. Schmidt believes that the 

 most frequent explanation is that recruits come into the army with 

 a latent tendency to phthisis, and that the conditions under which 

 they are then suddenly placed cause a more or less rapid develop- 

 ment of the disease. The knapsack, for instance, appears to have 

 a decidedly prejudicial effect, as is shown by the fact that those 

 regiments which do not wear it present a lower phthisis mortality 

 than those in which it is worn'. Again, the diet and the whole 

 regimen of the soldier are, according to Dr. Schmidt, calculated 

 to lessen the power of resistance to the development of phthisis : 

 consequently it is not to be wondered at that a larger proportion of 

 soldiers than of civilians develop it. 



A Good Word for the Gypsies. — There is so great a preju- 

 dice against this race, that it is with pleasure that we record testi- 

 mony in favor of what is claimed to be one of their good points. 

 Every one is familiar with the dusty and dishevelled condition of 

 the modern tramp ; but it is claimed by Mr. E. L. Wakeman, in an 

 article in \h^ Annals of Hygiene for May, 1889, that the gypsies 

 cannot be accused of uncleanliness. He has made a close study of the 

 race in many lands for more than a quarter of a century, and says 

 that he has never known a physically unclean gypsy, the only ex- 

 ceptions being a few individuals in the towns of southern Hungary 

 and in Havana. The gypsy-camps are always pitched near a 

 brook or stream, and the morning bath is as certain as the morn- 

 ing itself. The cleansing is not of the skin alone ; but the gar- 

 ments are constantly washed, and the straw bedding is likewise 

 daily spread out for a sunning and airing. 



The Utilization of Garbage. — According to the BuHetiii 

 of the Rhode Island State Board of Health for May, the city of 

 Milwaukee will soon abandon the cremation of garbage, which it 

 was among the first of the Western cities to adopt and advocate. 

 It is proposed to substitute a dry process in the place of combus- 

 tion. A company is at work with a new method which converts 

 cities' refuse into articles more or less salable. The garbage is 

 made to pass through a series of mechanical driers, and in the 

 course of ten hours becomes a brown powder. The oil is pressed 

 out or drawn off, and the residue can be sold as a fertilizer. 



Cremation in France. — The Municipal Council of Paris 

 has appropriated 383,299 francs for the erection of a crematory in 

 that city, and has levied a " cremation tax " to defray the expenses 

 of the incineration of the bodies of those whose friends cann.ot 

 afford to pay for it. 



Pasteur Institutes. — According to the Rome correspondent 

 of the London Daily Ne^us, the Municipal Council of Rome has 

 decided to devote a sum of money to the formation of a Pasteur 

 institute. Confidence in M. Pasteur's treatment of hydrophobia is 

 increasing in Italy, as is shown by the fact that little by little all 

 the principal towns are providing buildings for the treatment of the 

 disease by inoculation. 



