72 MILK-AKALTSIS. 



the beginning of July. The ease, however, to which the 

 writer of the letter directed attention, dated as far back as 

 before the 8th of June. The case in question was that of the 

 farmer who had occupied one of the farms, and who died on 

 the 8th of June. Even the nature of his illness is involved 

 in doubt. The man's death, indeed, is entered on the regis- 

 ter as caused by heart disease, from which he had been 

 known to have suffered for at least a year ; and the sudden- 

 ness of his death is quite in accordance with the register. 

 Some few weeks before his death he had an attack of 

 diarrhoea of a suspicious character, and that circumstance was 

 seized upon as a reason for setting down his case as one of 

 typhoid fever. It is, however, hard to believe that the 

 excreta from this man can have jioisoned the farm-well, and 

 that the water from that well should have poisoned the 

 milk which was sent to London, -nithout poisoning any one 

 on the farm ; and the wonder becomes the greater since 

 the water from the well was occasionally, though not usually, 

 employed for domestic purposes. 



As already mentioned, the reported case of typhoid oc- 

 curred very much too early to account for what was called the 

 London outbreak. It is very curious to observe that thei er- 

 mination of the outbreak did not accord with the theory. That 

 which was designated the " infected milk," ceased to be sup- 

 plied to London on the 11th of August, and forthwith — ^within 

 two or three days — the epidemicwas reported to have deehned. 

 The period of incubation in typhoid fever is ten days or there- 

 abouts, therefore the stoppage of the poisoning on the 11th 

 should not have been felt till towards the 21st. 



It has been mentioned that when the returns of the Re- 

 gistrar-General were published, the mortality in Maryle- 

 bone from typhoid fever was found to have been lower than 

 usual. The following are the returns, week by week, em- 

 bracing the whole period of the panic. Population of Mary- 

 lebone, 159,254. 



