Report on the Bacteriology of Water. 



191 



aquatilis ;* the Vibrio saprophiles, V. aureus, V.flavus, and V. flaves- 

 cens of Weibel,f the series of nine micrococci and bacilli isolated 

 by Adametzij; from certain drinking waters, and a number of forms 

 referred to by Bokorny,§ Kintaro Mori,|| Allen- Smith, % Mace,** 

 and several other workers during the last ten years. ft 



Enough has been said to give point to the statement that Schizo- 

 mycetes of various kinds are common in ordinary waters. Some of 

 the forms referred to are almost universally distributed, at least in 

 Europe and America. J J Others are mostly confined to foul or con- 

 taminated waters, containing decaying animal and vegetable matter,§§ 

 &c, such as pools on moorlands, dirty ditches and canals, docks, &c. 



There remains, however, a very large amount of work still to 

 be done in connecting particular forms with particular kinds of 

 water and with particular sources of contamination, which would 

 enormously extend the scope and enhance the value of the bacterio- 

 logical examination of water from a sanitary point of view. 



Other forms, again, are not known to be characteristic of any par- 

 ticular class of waters, but have occurred at intervals in any[|[[ of 

 them, suggesting that they have gained access as casual intruders. At 

 the same time it may be noted that the systematic determination of 

 forms in natural waters has not yet been sufficiently extensive to warrant 

 definite and positive statements as to the habitats of the species. A 

 shorter list, but one that is growing longer every year, includes forms 

 which are not typically characteristic of waters at all, but are patho- 

 genic species, which have almost certainly been introduced into the 

 waters with foreign matters. ^f^f 



We have so far confined our attention to waters which are at least 

 sometimes employed for household purposes, and are generally known 

 as " fresh " waters, though they differ enormously in detail if we 

 contrast those of dirty rivers with those of clear streams, or those of 

 open moorlands and marshes with those of wells and springs, and so 

 forth. 



* ' Zeitschr. f . Hyg.,' vol. 1, 1886, pp. 76—114. 

 f 1 Centralbl. f . Bakteriol.,' vol. 4, 1888, p. 225. 



X ' Mitth. der Oesterr. Versuchsst. f. Brauerei u. Malzerei in Wien,' 1888, H. 1. 



§ ' Arch. f. Hyg.,' vol. 8, 1888, p. 105. 



|| * Zeitschr. f. Hyg.,' vol. 4, 1888, pp. 47—54. 



f ' Medical News,' 1887, p. 758. 



** ' Annuaire d'Hyg. et de Med. Legale,' toI. 17, 1887, No. 4. 

 ft See Appendix A for further literature. 



tt E.g., Cladothrix dichotoma, Crenothrix Kuhniana, Beggiatoa alba, &c. 



§§ E.g., Clathrocystis roseo-persicina, Sphcerotilus natans, Bacterium janth- 

 inum, B. merismopedioides, &c. 



Illl E.g., Bacillus erythrosporus, B. subtilis, Micrococcus agilis, &c. 



HIT E.g., Bacillus anthracis, B. typhosus, Spirillum cholera asiaticce, and others 

 which give rise to disease. 



