1897.] Biological Studies in Massachusetts. 503 
BIOLOGICAL STUDIES IN MASSACHUSETTS, No. 1. 
By G. C. WHIPPLE. 
Within recent years the subject of sanitary biology has be- 
come one of great importance. The marvelous discoveries and 
practical applications of bacteriology have been of benefit to sur- 
geon and sanitarian,and the people of the world to-day are better 
able to fight disease than ever before. Scientists all over the 
world are assisting in the work of establishing proper relations 
between man and his microscopic neighbors. Admitting, as 
we must, that the most important and far-reaching discoveries 
have eminated from the continent of Europe, we ought not to 
overlook the work that is being done on this side of the Atlan- 
tic, which is by no means insignificant or second-rate. To 
prove this it is not necessary to mention the names of men who 
have already acquired a reputation beyond our own borders, 
their work is evident in our improving water supplies, our 
better methods in all departments of sanitation, and the in- 
creasing popular appreciation of cleanliness. 
There is one branch of sanitary biology that has been carried 
on more extensively in Massachusetts than anywhere else,— 
namely, the microscopical examination! of drinking water; 
and it is, therefore, perhaps not undeserving of the brief de- 
scription here to be given. 
It is unnecessary to relate the early history of the subject in 
this state, for, although the work of Nichols, Farlow, and others, 
was most interesting and valuable, it was not until the State 
Board of Health began its investigations in 1887 that much 
attention was given to the quantitative determination of the 
microscopical organisms. The method of examination first 
used was the “cloth method” of G. H. Parker. Two hundred 
cubic centimeters of the water was poured through a funnel 
over the neck of which a piece of fine cloth was firmly tied, and 
1 The microscopical examination deals only with the comparatively large forms 
of micro-organisms, such as the alge, infusoria, etc., and is not concerned with the 
bacteria, the study of which forms an entirely distinct branch of sanitary biology. 
