NEW YORK WATER NOTES.

NEW YORK WATER NOTES.

Dr. E. H. Bartley, Dr. Z. Taylor Emery, and Dr.J.H. Raymond, comprising the committee on public health of the King’s County Medical Society have presented a report on the sanitary aspect of the water supply of the borough of Brooklyn. They state that analysis proves that the western end of the system is undoubtedly polluted, while the eastern end is comparatively free from contamination. The degree of pollution (it seems) increases gradually from east to west until at Springfield and at Baisley’s ponds it reaches its maximum. These two sources of supply have become so manifestly dangerous that the department of water supply has shut them off from use. The report states that the results of the examinations made in 1897, 1898, and 1899 all agree in the fact that Brooklyn water contains the bacillus coli communis—a bacillus inhabiting the intestinal canal of both man and many of the domestic animals. Sixty-two per cent, of the samples examined in 1898 contain the colon bacillus. In 1899 thirty-seven per cent, of samples examined contained this bacillus. The largest per cent, of samples containing this bacillus were collected in the months of March, April, and May. This shows that the drainage from cow stables, horse stables, and vaults finds its way into the supply.

报告指出,虽然新主the Milburn pumping station to Ridgewood may relieve Brooklyn from the danger of a water famine, it will not relieve the borough from the dangersof the pollution of water. Sooner or later we may have an infection of our water supply, with typhoid fever contamination, the possibility of which ought to make us shudder. At any rate, the possibility, and even the probability of such infection is by no means remote, and the committee feels that, it is the duty of this society to use Its influence to avert such a calamity. In this connection attention is called to the fact that the sanitary patrol of the watershed in 1897, which has since been discontinued, was the means of preventing the infection by typhoid fever patients of two of the feeders of ponds from which a part of our supply is taken. The committee desires to offer for adoption the following resolutions: