Isolation of Specific Pathogenes. 85 



plated, the characteristic colonies of the anthrax organism 

 being much more easily disc^emed after the destruction of 

 the numerous non-sporing water bacteria. Again, water 

 is sometimes the means of distributing the germs of 

 dysentery and diarrhoea, as shown by the decrease of these 

 diseases in Burlington, Vt. (Sedgwick, 1902), and other 

 communities where pure water-supplies have been sub- 

 stituted for polluted ones. Thresh (Thresh, 1903) 

 described an epidemic of over 1000 cases of diarrhoea with 

 14 deaths, which occurred in England at Chelmsford and 

 Widford, and was undoubtedly spread by the pubhc 

 water-supply. A somewhat similar epidemic of dysentery 

 occurred in Warren and Kittanning, in Peimsylvania, in 

 1906, as a result of contamination of the water,, in this 

 case a river-supply. It is possible that the examination of 

 water for the B. dysenterise may in the future help to 

 throw important Hght on its sanitary condition. 



