REPORT 
ON t 
THE PURITY OT ICE 
FROM 
Onondaga Lake, the Erie Canal at Syracuse, 
and from Cazenovia Lake. State Board of Health of New York, 
Albany, September 1st, 1886. 
To the Board of Health of the City of Syracuse, N. Y. : 
Gentlemen-At a meeting of the State Board of Health, 
held on the 31st ult., at Albany, the accompanying report 
by James. T. Garnier, Consulting Engineer, on the purity 
of ice from Ononcnaga Lake, the Erie Canal at Syracuse, 
and from Cazenovia Lake was submitted, and on motion 
was adopted as the report of the Board, and ordered trans- 
mitted to the Board of Health of Syracuse. 
Very truly, 
LEWIS BALCH, Secretary. REPORT 
ON 
THE PURITY OF ICE 
FROM 
Onondaga Lake, the Erie Canal at Syracuse, 
and from Cazenovia Lake. REPORT ON THE PURITY OF ICE FROM ONONDAGA 
LAKE, THE ERIE CANAL AT SYRACUSE, 
AND FROM CAZENOVIA LAKE. 
To Lewis Balch, M. D., Secretary of the State Board of 
Health: 
Sir-The question of the purity of the ice of Onondaga 
Lake having been referred to me, I took occasion at the 
meeting of the Sanitary Committee at Syracuse, on Decem- 
ber 8th, to have a hearing of ah parties interested in the 
matter. Ice for the use of Syracuse is furnished by several 
parties. Messrs. Sawmiller, Knapp, Listman, Gee Bros., 
and others are among the ice dealers. 
Ice for city use is cut from Onondaga, Oneida, Cazenovia, 
and Cayuga, and other lakes and from several points on 
the Erie Canal. 
It appears that the City Board of Health on the recom- 
mendation of Dr. Englehardt forbade Messrs. Sawmiller 
Bros, from selling, for purposes where it come in direct 
contact with food or drink, the ice cut from Onondaga 
Lake. This firm complained that such action was unjust 
as the ice sold by them was pure and no more subject to 
sanitary condemnation than much of the other ice sold in 
the city. 
The request for an examination of the subject by the State 
Board of Health comes from the City Board of Health of 
Syracuse. I had already made personal examination of 
the sanitary condition of most of the waters flowing into 
the southeast end of Onondaga Lake. Such additional 
knowledge as was needed I obtained from witnesses at the 6 
hearing on December 8th. The principal stream entering 
Onondaga Lake in the City of Syracuse is Onondaga Creek, 
into which flow all the principal sewers of the city. An 
examination of the condition of this stream proves that its 
waters are very grossly polluted. Bear Trap Creek, another 
important affluent of the lake is probably comparatively 
pure. 
Onondaga is a small but deep lake. A large proportion 
of its water is derived from Onondaga Creek. The ice of 
the lake being made from water polluted with sewage is 
therefore open to suspicion ; but no positive judgment 
could be made of the degree of pollution of the ice with- 
out a series of analyses of samples cut from the lake at 
properly selected points, and analyes of samples of the 
water from the points where the ice was cut were also 
necessary. 
I therefore advised that the Committee recommend the 
City Board of Health of Syracuse to have a specimen of 
ice cut at the point where Onondaga Creek enters the Lake, 
another specimen two thousand feet north of this point, 
another two thousand feet northwest of the last point, and 
two more specimens within the next mile in a northwest- 
erly direction, and that specimens of the water of the Lake 
be taken at the points where the ice was cut. 
In partial accordance with these recommendations speci- 
mens of ice and water were taken from three points in 
Onondaga Lake, one in the wide, water of the Canal at the 
foot of Cherry Street, and the other in the center of Cazen- 
ovia Lake, three hundred feet from the east shore and in 
thirty feet of water. 
These specimens of ice and water have been analyzed by 
Professor Willis G. Tucker, of Albany, one of the analysts 
of the State Board of Health, and a biological examination 
made by Dr. William Hailes. 
Before attempting to discuss these results, it will be 
necessary to settle if possible certain general questions con- 
cerning the relations of impure ice to health. 7 
RELATION OF IMPURE ICE TO HEALTH. 
There is a popular impression that water in freezing puri- 
fies itself ; and for this reason many streams and ponds 
throughout the country are used for cutting ice for domestic 
supply that would be considered unfit for furnishing whole- 
some drinking water. The first question therefore, that 
arises in connection with this matter in the minds of the 
people is this: 
CAN ICE FROM CONTAMINATED WATER CAUSE SICKNESS ? 
This is best answered by reference to the experience of 
competent observers. The European records from which 
so much sanitary knowledge is drawn, are silent on this 
point, because ice has there been so little used, and because 
the ice supply of that region is largely brought from 
America and the far north. In the United States the 
attention of the medical profession seems not to have been 
directed to impure ice as a possible source of disease till 
1875, when a mild but well marked epidemic occurred at Rye 
Beach, N. H., which was very thoroughly investigated by 
Dr. A. H. Nichols, of Boston, and the results fully reported 
to the State Board of Health of Massachusetts. The proof 
was unusually conclusive that the epidemic disturbance of 
the digestive organs was due to ice cut from a shallow 
pond containing a large amount of decomposing organic 
matter. In Appendix " A " will be found the full report of 
this case, which is remarkable alike for being the first one 
on record, the most complete in its investigation, and the 
most conclusive in its proof that ice frozen from polluted 
water may cause disease. 
In the American Journal of Medical Sciences, January, 
1878, Dr. C. Smart, Assistant Surgeon U. S. A., published 
the results of a most interesting investigation on, "Moun- 
tain Fever and Malarious Water," in which he traced the 
origin of Mountain Fever to the melting snow water in the 
Rocky Mountain streams and inferred that the germs of 
this typho-malarial fever were brought down from the 8 
atmosphere by the snow, and, remaining frozen during the 
winter, passed into the streams with the melting snow in 
May, June and early July. 
In 1879, an epidemic dysentery occurred in the village 
of Washington, Conn., which was investigated by Dr. 
Orlando Brown, of Litchfield, and Dr. J. H. Raymond, of 
Brooklyn. The ice used by the persons attacked was from 
a small and much polluted stream. The analysis of the ice 
itself showed it to be grossly contaminated. No other 
origin being found for the epidemic, which was limited to 
those who used the impure ice, the ice was pronounced to 
be the cause of the dysentery. The case as reported by the 
State Board of Health of Connecticut is given in Appendix 
"B." 
In the Report of the Connecticut Board for 1882, an iso- 
lated case of typhoid is reported, where a private ice supply 
was cut from a pond which had received through a drain 
the dejecta of a typhoid patient. The details as reported 
are given in Appendix " 0." 
In Appendix "D" is given a quotation from the Report 
of the Connecticut State Board of Health for 1880, stating 
that several isolated cases of enteric trouble and one death 
were reported during that year, as due to free use of sewage 
polluted ice. 
The epidemic of Typhoid Fever at Plymouth, Penn., in 
the Spring of 1885, was investigated by many competent 
experts, and the accepted conclusion was that the epidemic 
was caused by the dejecta of a typhoid patient being thrown 
out upon the snow near the bank of a reservoir, from 
which part of the town was supplied with water. The 
germs of the disease remained frozen till the March thaw, 
when with the melting snow they passed into the reservoir. 
In Appendix "E" I have brought together quotations 
from a number of recognized authorities which show that 
the best sanitary authorities in this country are now con- 
vinced that ice from polluted water has caused disease. 
Although the cases quoted above vary very much in the 
completeness of the proof that impure ice caused the dis- 
ease in question, yet after a careful review of all the facts 9 
reported and of the opinions of experts, it must be con- 
cluded that ice from polluted water has been the cause of 
disease, varying in intensity from mild disturbances of the 
digestive organs to fatal dysentery and typhoid fever. 
If then, ice may be the carrier of disease, the next im- 
portant question to be considered is 
TO WHAT EXTENT DOES WATER IN FREEZING FREE ITSELF 
OF IMPURITIES ? 
First as to chemical impurities. With the purpose of 
determining to what extent water in freezing frees itself 
from dissolved organic matter, Dr. C. P. Pengra, of Ovid, 
Michigan, made in 1882 a series of experiments with vari- 
ous solutions of crystalioids and colloids. The solutions of 
urea, grape sugar and arsenic in freezing were purified of 
from 40 to 55 per cent of the organic matter. The ice from 
solutions of Albumen was purified of 20 per cent of the 
organic matter in the water. 
Experiments by Prof. S. P. Sharpies, of Boston, in 1879, 
on the water and ice from three ponds and one much pol- 
luted pond hole near a slaughter house, show the ice from 
the ponds to have contained from 17 to 40 per cent of the 
"free and albuminoid ammonia" found in the water from 
which it was frozen, while the ice from the much polluted 
pond hole had only 8 per cent of the organic impurity of 
the water. The details of these investigations are given in 
Appendix "F." 
In the case of Rye Beach the water from the contamin- 
ated ice, when analyzed after filtering, so as to measure 
only the organic mater in solution, contained of "free 
ammania," .0231, while the water from the pond contained 
.0197. Of "albuminoid ammonia," the amounts were 
.0165 and .0597. From this it would appear that the ice 
contained 25 per cent of the dissolved organic impurities of 
the water, but this is somewhat uncertain, as the ice was 
cut from the pond in winter and the water for analysis was 
taken the following summer. 
In the case of the Pittsfield ice supply, given in Appendix 10 
" E," the pond water seems to have contained of " free am- 
monia" about .020, and the ice from it, .007. Of "albu- 
minoid ammonia," the water .015 and the ice, .0013. All 
of the fractions here given denote parts per 100,000. 
The table of analysis of Onondaga Lake waters and ice 
hereafter given, shows approximately the following re- 
sults :- 
Free Ammonia, in 
parts per 100,000. 
Albuminoid Ammonia 
Onondaga Lake Water, 
.0252 
.0113 
" " Ice, 
.0032 
.001 
Percentage of Organic Im 
L- 
purity Retained in Ice, 
12 per cent. 
10 per cent. 
The analysis of water and ice from the canal show that 
the ice contains about 20 per cent of the dissolved organic 
impurity of the water, and from Cazenovia Lake the ice 
contains about 21 per cent of the dissolved organic matter 
in the water. 
These facts prove conclusively that water in freezing 
frees itself of only a part of the organic matter dissolved 
in it, and that ice may contain from 10 to 80 per cent, of 
organic impurities in solution in the water from which it 
was frozen. 
IMPURITIES IN SUSPENSION IN WATER. 
Besides the organic matter dissolved in water, it may 
contain a very large amount of organic matter in suspen- 
sion. 
In the Rye Beach case it appeared that only about 20 per 
cent, of the impurities in the ice had been in solution in the 
water. Four times as much suspended organic matter had 
been caught in the ice in freezing. Before filtering, the water 
from the ice contained of Albuminod Ammonia, .0704, and 
only .0165 after filtering. 
In Appendix " G " is quoted from the Report of the State 
Board of Health of New Hampshire for 1882, an account 
of the pollution of the water and ice of rhe Ammonoosuc 
River for twenty miles below the tanneries and glove 
factories of Littleton. Ice cut ten miles below Littleton 11 
contained so much hair and so many particles of flesh, that 
in melting a large cake of it an intolerable odor would be 
produced. Hair was visible in the stream twenty miles be- 
low the tanneries. 
Ice may therefore be grossly polluted by organic matter 
floating in the water from which it was frozen. 
PURIFACTION FROM LIVING ORGANISM. 
Chemical analysis can determine only a part of the im- 
purities of ice or water. The micro-organism which swarm 
in polluted waters can be detected only by the expert biolo- 
gist working with the microscope. While many of these 
organisms are harmless to health, others are endowed with 
powers terribly destructive to life. Some six or seven of 
the zymotic diseases, and possibly consumption, have been 
proven to be caused by various species of bacteria, living 
plants, whose minute spores may float by myriads in air or 
water, invisible except through the higher powers of the 
microscope, and undiscoverable by chemical analysis. Their 
powers of self multiplication are so great that they may in- 
crease a million fold in a few hours. 
Koch's researches have shown that the bacillus which 
produces Asiatic Cholera thrives in water under favorable 
conditions and multiplies itself in untold numbers. English 
sanitary observers have long held as the result of their ex- 
perience that water was the great carrier of Cholera and 
Typhoid Fever. Experience in this country has been the 
same. In both Europe and America there are many cases 
on record to show that an extremely small quantity of the 
dejecta of a typhoid or cholera patient may infuse the 
poison through millions of gallons of water and spread 
pestilence through a community. There is every reason to 
suppose that this probable power in minute quantities of 
typhoid and cholera poison to fatally pollute comparatively 
large bodies of water, is due to the action of a living organ- 
ism multiplying itself under favorable conditions with 
marvelous rapidity. That they do not always so multiply, 
is due to conditions of which little is understood. Some- 12 
times it is probable that one class of bacteria destroys an- 
other. Sometimes the proper food and temperature for the 
development of the plants are not present. The disease- 
producing germs are known to exist in great numbers in 
the excreta of persons suffering from a specific disorder. 
Hence it is that sewage is believed to be so dangerous a 
menace to any water supply. In every city there are many 
patients suffering from infectious diseases, the specific 
germs of which must pass into the sewers where heat, 
moisture, darkness and the presence of ammonia furnish 
conditions under which most bacteria thrive. When these 
pathogenic germs are carried out into a stream or lake they 
may either remain dormant, be destroyed, or, under pecu- 
liar and favorable conditions, they may multiply enormously 
and render the water extremely dangerous for drinking. 
Experience has shown that a sewage contaminated water 
supply, usually comparatively harmless, may suddenly, 
owing to some unknown change of conditions, become the 
carrier of the seeds of a fatal epidemic. 
For this reason all water known or liable to contain the 
specific germs of disease is now considered unfit for potable 
purposes if a better can be had. This conclusion has been 
recognized by the law power of the State and a statute 
enacted to "Protect Public Water Supplies from Sewage 
Pollution." 
Regarding ice the question then arises does water in freez- 
ing free itself from living organisms, and will such organ- 
isms if frozen into ice have their vitality destroyed. 
The experiments of Dr. C. H. Pengra given in Appendix 
"H " show that under the conditions which he produced in 
his labratory the ice contained ten per cent of the living 
organisms which occurred in the water from which the ice 
was frozen. 
In the same Appendix will be found Prof. Leidy's account 
of his finding in ice used for domestic purposes, "worms, 
immature Anguillulas, and a number of Rotifer Vulgaria, 
all living. " 
Prof. Kendrick of Glasgow, made a number of experi- 
ments to determine whether solutions could be sterilized by 13 
freezing. "The organic fluids were exposed to tempera- 
tures more than 120 deg. below 0 deg. F., but on thawing 
they were found to contain living organisms still." 
Ice therefore is proven to contain a considerable percent- 
age of the bacteria which were in the water from which it 
was frozen, and the vitality of many of these organisms is 
not destroyed by the process of freezing. 
CONCLUSIONS RESPECTING ICE POLLUTION. 
The facts above given, warrant, it is believed, the follow- 
ing conclusions: ' 
First. Ice frozen from impure water has caused illness. 
Second. Ice may contain from 8 to 10 per cent of the or- 
ganic matter dissolved in the water from which it was 
frozen. 
Third. Ice may contain, in addition to the dissolved im- 
purities, a very large amount of organic matter which had 
been suspended or floating in the water before freezing. 
Fourth. Ice may contain living animals and plants from 
the size of a visible worm down to the minutest spores of 
bacteria and the vitality of these organisms be unaffected 
by freezing. 
THE ICE OF ONONDAGA LAKE, THE ERIE CANAL 
AT SYRACUSE, AND CAZENOVIA LAKE. 
ONONDAGA CREEK. 
The City of Syracuse is situated at the south-east end of 
Onondaga Lake, which extends to the north-west nearly 
five miles. The breadth of the lake is from one-half to 
three quarters of a mile. At a short distance from the 
shore the lake is quite deep at the south-west end. The 
great body of the water in this upper end of the lake comes 14 
from Onondaga Creek, a large stream which enters near 
the south-east corner. The course of the creek for the last 
three miles is through the City of Syracuse, where all the 
sewers empty into it. The flow of the stream is probably 
from 10 to 25,000,000 gals, per diem, and its fall through 
the city about one foot per thousand. In examining the 
banks of the creek December 9th, 1884, I observed that so 
much sewage was then poured into the stream that deposits 
of filth were forming on its banks and in its channel. The 
slight fall, and reduced summer flow render the current 
sluggish and incapable of carrying away the greater part of 
the solids that come down with the sewage. They are 
therefore deposited on the bottom and sides of the creek. 
Several causes are acting to make the stream fluctuate. 
This rise and fall of the water tends to alternately spread 
the sewage over the banks and shallows of the channel, 
and then, with the subsidence of the water, to expose it to 
the action of the sun and air. 
At the time of my inspection there was a margin of from 
one to four feet wide of black, putrefying organic matter 
exposed along the shores. At places the organic matter in 
the bed of the creek is undergoing rapid decomposition and 
giving off the gases of putrefaction which rise in bubbles to 
the surface. 
Probably 5,000,000 gals, of sewage are daily poured into 
Onondaga Creek which in time of low water is liable to 
have a flow of not over 10,000,000 gals, per diem. The 
whole flow of the stream is thus converted into dilute 
sewage, from which the heavier matter is deposited when 
the current is sluggish, while the remainder flows a mile 
below into Onondaga Lake. In time of flood a part of the 
decomposing filth of the channel is scoured out and carried 
down into the lake, there to be deposited and continue the 
process of putrefaction. Probably two thirds of the water 
of the upper half of the lake flows in from this open sewer 
of Onondaga Creek. 15 
WATER ANALYSIS. 
In the following tables are given the analyses of speci- 
mens of ice and water taken from the same spot at the 
same time for the sake of comparison. They were taken 
by an officer of the City Board or Health from points where 
ice was being cut for the several dealers named, as is certi- 
fied by the affidavit given in Appendix "I." In Appendix 
"I" is given the report of Dr. Willis G. Tucker, the Chemi- 
cal Analyst. 
Specimen No. 3 was taken about 1,500 feet from the 
mouth of Onondaga Creek and 1,200 feet from the shore ; 
No. 1 was taken 3,000 feet from the mouth of the creek, 
and 1,200 feet from shore ; No. 2 is from a point two miles 
from the mouth of the creek and 600 feet from the shore. 
It may be said with reference to the biological examina- 
tion, that the method used of adding some of the water to 
be tested to sterilized gelatine and noting the time when, 
owing to the development of bacteria, the gelatine begins 
to liquefy and the extent of the liquefaction on different 
days, does not give a true measure of the number of micro- 
organisms in water, for of the forty-nine species of bacteria 
described by Dr. James Eisberg in his Bakteriologische 
Diagnostik, only fifteen species liquefy gelatine. Among 
those which do not liquefy gelatine is the organism which 
is supposed to be the cause of typhoid fever. The liquefac- 
tion method while it is sufficiently accurate for determining 
approximately the relative numbers of bacteria in the water 
and ice is not a measure of the absolute number. The 
results indicated by it would however be too small rather 
than too large. 
As regards the large amount of Chlorine shown by the 
chemical analysis, it is due principally to the water of the 
salt wells which run into the lake. 16 
Description of 
Sample. 
Color 
and Appearance. 
Odor at 100 
deg. F. 
Chlorine in 
Chlorides. 
Free Ammo- 
nia. 
Albuminoid 
Ammonia. 
Total solid 
Residue. 
Loss on Ig- 
nition. 
Mineral 
Matter. 
Oxygen absorbed at 
80 deg. Fah. 
Conclusions. 
In 15 min. 
In 4 hrs. 
Sawmiller, Onondaga 
Lake Water, No. 1. 
Light brownish green, 
slightly turbid; very 
slight sediment. 
Slight. 
24.50 
0.0226 
0.0095 
86.00 
20.00 
66.00 
0.1093 
0.2133 
Bad. 
Listman, ' Onondaga 
Lake Water, No. 2. 
Brownish green tint; 
slightly turbid ; 
slight flocculent sed- 
iment. 
Slightly disa- 
greeable. 
17.80 
0.0210 
0.0150 
66.50 
15.50 
51.00 
0.1693 
0.2080 
Bad. 
Gee Brothers, Onon- 
daga Lake Water, 
No. 3. 
Greenish tint; slight 
flocculent sediment. 
Slight. 
23.60 
0.0320 
0.0095 
85.00 
18.50 
66.50 
0.0853 
0.1866 
Bad. 
Knapp, Wide Waters 
Erie Canal, No. 4. 
Yellowish tint; slight 
sediment. 
Slight. 
0.74 
0.0160 
0.0080 
49.00 
14.00 
35.00 
0.1066 
0.2000 
Bad. 
Listman, Cazenovia 
Lake Water, No. 5. 
Greenish tint; slight 
sediment. 
Slight; pecu- 
liar. 
0.24 
0.0047 
0.0070 
14.50 
7.00 
7.50 
0.0933 
0.2133 
Doubtful. 
Sawmiller, Onondaga 
Lake Ice, No. 1. 
Very light greenish 
tint; very slight sed- 
iment. 
Slightly disa- 
greeable. 
0.18 
0.0020 
0.0010 
2.00 
1.40 
0.60 
0.0133 
0.0586 
Good. 
Listman, Onondaga 
Lake Ice, No. 2. 
Very light greenish 
tint; very slight sed- 
iment. 
Slightly disa- 
greeable. 
0.24 
0.0053 
0.0010 
1.80 
1.40 
0.40 
0.0160 
0.0400 
Not completely 
satisfactory. 
Gee Brothers, Onon- 
daga Lake Ice, No. 
3. 
Very light greenish 
tint; very slight sed- 
iment. 
Slight. 
0.20 
0.0027 
0.0010 
1.20 
0.80 
0.40 
0.0240 
0.0466 
Good. 
Knapp, Wide Waters 
Erie Canal (Ice), No. 
4. 
Very light greenish 
tint; very slight sed- 
iment. 
Slight. 
0.15 
0.0033 
0.0015 
1.10 
0.80 
0.30 
0.0213 
0.0480 
Good. 
Listman, Cazenovia 
Lake Ice, No. 5. 
* 
Very light blueish 
green tint; no sed- 
iment. 
Slight. 
0.18 
0.0013 
0.0010 
1.20 
0.90 
0.30 
0.0106 
0.0266 
Good. 
Analyses oe Syracuse Waters and Ice, March 20, 1886. Results parts per 100,000. Willis G. Tucker. 
Table I. 17 
Table II. 
REPORT OF BIOLOGICAL EXAMINATION. 
Pathological Laboratory, 
Albany Medical College. 
Secretary State Board of Health: 
Dear Sir-Upon biological analysis of samples of waters 
and ices sent from Syracuse, N. Y., I would report as 
follows: 
Locality. 
Date 
of Culture. 
Time of first Ap- 
pearance of Mi- 
cro-organisms. 
Time of Begin- 
ning Liquefac- 
tion of Gela- 
tine. 
Extent of Lique- 
faction of Gela- 
tine. 
Observations, etc. 
No. 1.-Water. 
March 9. 
March 22. 
If days. 
days. 
inch. 
8 days. 
Bacteria exceedingly 
numerous and de- 
structive of gelatine 
-(bad.) 
No. 1.-Ice. 
March 9. 
March 22. 
H days. 
21 days. 
2 inch. 
8 days. 
Destructive of gela- 
tine; organisms very 
numerous-(bad.) 
No. 2.-Water. 
Alarch 9. 
March 22. 
1| days. 
2J days. 
1-J- inch. 
8 days. 
Organisms very nu- 
merous-(bad.) 
No. 2.-Ice. 
March 9. 
March 22. 
1| days. 
2£ days. 
14 inch. 
8 days. 
Organisms very nu- 
merous, freezing de- 
lays destruction, de- 
velop slowly. 
No. 3.-Water. 
March 9. 
March 22. 
1| days. 
2J days. 
1J inch. 
8 days. 
Organisms very nu- 
merous. 
No. 3.-Ice. 
March 9. 
March 22. 
1£ days. 
2| days. 
1 inch. 
8 days. 
Organisms very nu- 
merous, but very 
small, and develop 
slowly. 
No. 4.-Water. 
March 9. 
March 22. 
1| days. 
24 days. 
1 inch. 
8 days. 
Organisms numerous 
and small. 
No. 4.-Ice. 
March 9. 
March 22. 
14 days. 
24 days. 
1 inch. 
8 days. 
Organisms numerous 
and small. 
No. 5.-Water. 
March 9. 
March. 22. 
days. 
2J days. 
4 inch. 
8 days. 
Numerous organisms, 
large and small. 
No. 5.-Ice. 
March 9. 
March 22. 
1-J- days. 
2i days. 
i inch. 
8 days. 
Numerous organisms, 
large and small, but 
develop slowly. 
All the above samples of water and ice show the presence 
of bacteria in great abundance-freezing does not destroy 
or remove them, but retards their growth somewhat. Bio- 
logically considered, all the above samples would be ranked 
as unsafe waters for potable purposes. 
WILLIAM HAILES. 18 
The chemical analyses above given show that the waters 
from each point in Onondaga Lake are polluted as well as 
that from the canal. The following are the amounts of free 
and albuminoid ammonia in the lake samples arranged ac- 
cording to their nearness to the mouth of Onondaga Creek : 
Free Ammonia. 
Albuminoid Ammonia. 
No. 3. 1500 ft. from creek 
.032 
.0095 
No. 1. 3000 ft. from creek 
.0226 
.0095 
No. 2. 10000 ft. from creek 
.021 
.0150 
There seems little to choose between them on chemical 
grounds. They are all polluted and from the sanitary sur- 
vey above reported the polluting matter is known to be 
largely sewage. 
The analyses of the ice show that the ice of Onondaga 
Lake contains probably from ten to twelve per cent of the 
sewage impurities dissolved in the same quantity of unfrozen 
water of the lake. Arranged in the order of nearness to 
Onondaga Creek the ice samples stand as follows : 
Free Ammonia. 
Albuminoid Ammonia. 
No. 3. 1500 ft. from creek 
.0027 
.0010 
No. 1. 3000 ft. from creek 
.0020 
.0010 
No. 2. 10000 ft. from creek 
.0053 
.0010 
There is little to choose between them on chemical grounds 
although that most distant from the creek has the largest 
amount of free ammonia. 
While the ice has freed itself from 90 per cent of the solu- 
ble filth of the water from which it was frozen ten per cent 
of the dissolved sew'age is retained in the ice. The ice of the 
whole lake is probably to that extent sewage polluted. 
But it contains also matter far more dangerous than that 
in solution and detectable by chemical analysis. The biolog- 
ical examination shows the presence of bacteria in great 
abundance in the water and in the ice. Here again there is 
so little to choose between the various samples that Dr. 
Hailes pronounces them all as unsafe for potable purposes. 
It is by some contended that wholesome waters may con- 
tain large numbers of bacteria. This is probably true, be- 
cause many species of bacteria are harmless. But where 
great numbers of bacteria are found in waters coming from 19 
a source known to supply large quantities of disease-pro- 
ducing or pathogenic species or their spores, then the pres- 
ence of numerous micro-organisms is strongly indicative of 
danger. 
CONCLUSIONS. 
From such clear and positive evidence but one conclusion 
can be reached. 
Onondaga Lake is contaminated with sewage and this 
contamination will continue to increase. The water con- 
tains numerous bacteria or their spores. The sewers of 
Syracuse are bringing down into the lake gBeat numbers of 
these micro-organisms. Among them is a varying percent- 
age of pathogenic germs. The ice of the lake in freezing 
takes up a portion of the bacteria brought down by the 
sewers. It therefore doubtless contains its proportion of 
the disease-producing germs from the Syracuse sewers. 
This cannot but be harmful to some susceptible persons at 
all times, while under certain unknown conditions they may 
rapidly multiply or increase in virulence and spread disease 
and death throughout the community. 
The danger from Onondaga ice is certainly real and in 
creasing. Syracuse can obtain an ample supply of ice of 
unquestioned purity from other points within the reach of 
the city. I am, therefore, of the opinion that the ice from 
Onondaga Lake should not be used for any purposes where 
it is liable to come in contact with food or drink. 
WIDE WATER OF ERIE CANAL AT SYRACUSE. 
Chemical analysis shows the water of the canal to be im- 
pure, and from inspection, the impurities are known to be 
from human rather than from natural sources. The canal 
ice contains some twenty per cent of the organic impurity 
of the water from which it was frozen. Both water and ice 
contain numerous bacteria or their spores. 
As better can be had there seems no good reason why this 
ice should be used for potable purposes. 20 
CAZENOVIA LAKE. 
Chemical analysis shows the water of Cazenovia Lake to 
contain less than half the "free and albuminoid ammonia" 
in the canal and only one-third of that in Onondaga Lake. 
While both the ice and water of the lake are shown to con- 
tain numerous bacteria, there is no evidence submitted to 
me to prove that these bacteria or spores are from danger- 
ous sources. 
There does not therefore, in my judgment, appear to be 
sufficient evidence to condemn the use of ice from Cazenovia 
Lake. 
' Very respectfully submitted, 
JAMES T. GARDINER, 
Consulting Engineer. 
Albany, July 19th, 1886. APPENDIX "A." 
Report on an Outbreak of Intestinal Disorder, Attribu- 
table to the Contamination of Drinking-Water 
by Means of Impure Ice. 
By A. H. Nichols, M. D., of Boston. 
Rye Beach is an attractive and popular seaside resort upon 
the coast of New Hampshire, about fifteen miles distant 
from the north-eastern corner of Massachusetts; during 
the month of July and August of each year it is thronged 
with visitors from the large cities. 
At the beginning of the season of 1875, there broke out 
among the guests of one of the large hotels of this place, a 
somewhat extensive, though comparatively mild epidemic. 
Being the only practicing physician in the vicinity, I was 
requested by the proprietors of the hotel to make a detailed 
investigation as to the causes of the disorder. The results 
of this examination revealed a novel and commonly unsus- 
pected source of contamination of drinking-water, and 
they have, therefore, seemed to me worth communicating 
to the Board of Health. The disorder in question may be 
comprehended under the general term disturbance of the 
digestive system, characterized by a sensation of giddiness 
and nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, severe abdominal pain, all 
of which was accompanied by fever, loss of appetite, con- 
tinued indigestion, and mental depression. The epidemic, 
although confined within very limited boundaries, baffled 
for a considerable time all efforts to trace the trouble to any 22 
specific cause; while the origo mali, when ultimately 
detected, proved to be contained in an article of ordinary 
consumption, usually considered as above suspicion as 
regards innocuousness. The first few cases coming under 
observation did not attract particular attention, inasmuch 
as the symptoms manifested did not differ essentially from 
those noticed among the visitors in previous years, and 
induced by drinking well-water of the place, which, especi- 
ally when the wells are low, is strongly impregnated with 
sulphate of lime, carbonate of lime, and magnesia. It very 
soon became apparent, however, that the trouble was limi- 
ted to the inmates of a single hotel, accommodating about 
800 guests, whereas the occupants of another public house, 
containing rooms for about 200, and distant but one-eighth 
of a mile, were enjoying an absolute immunity from all 
illness ; nor was any similar trouble known among the 
neighboring cottages, containing at least 500 visitors. 
This peculiar grouping of the patients rendered it, there- 
fore, tolerably certain that the whole disorder must be 
referred to some specific, local origin, to be sought for in 
the immediate vicinity of the hotel; and popular opinion 
pointed very strongly, from the outset, to the drinking- 
water. This was drawn from several wells, all sunk in an 
elevated ridge, and safely removed from drains, cesspools, 
dung-heaps, or other source of pollution. It was also 
ascertained, upon inquiry, that, in some instances, those 
persons affected, having apprehended trouble from the use 
of the water, had carefully limited themselves since their 
arrival to other beverages, but, as afterwards transpired, 
had not hesitated to use ice, either melted or otherwise. 
With respect to the drainage of the house, it appeared 
that during the previous winter the services of competent 
engineers from Boston had been secured, under whose super- 
vision an elaborate and complete system of sewerage had 
been recently constructed, by means of which all the dis- 
charge from the various sinks and water-closets was con- 
veyed directly into the ocean. The point of discharge of 
this sewer was at a safe distance from the house, while the 
sewer itself was securely trapped and ventilated in such a 23 
manner as to preclude the idea of the escape of any foul 
gas within the house. 
Attention was next directed toward the cooking utensils, 
but all the articles pertaining to the kitchen were found to 
be scrupulously clean, nor did it appear that any agent or 
utensil was employed in the preparation of the food which 
would in any way tend to produce the symptoms com- 
plained of. Furthermore, the milk-supply was investigated, 
and found to be of unquestionable purity. 
The process of elimination was in this manner continued, 
until at length suspicion became directed to the supply of 
ice furnished to the house. It may be mentioned at this 
point, that a large portion of the ice consumed in this town 
is gathered from shallow ponds, formed during the winter 
by the flooding of meadows, and, therefore, contains as a 
rule, more or less grass and other vegetable matter, and is 
consequently far less transparent than the article commonly 
supplied in our large cities. I was not particularly sur- 
prised, then, to find that the ice in this case was rather 
impure and opaque, and that it contained numerous foreign 
substances varying in size, and apparently of vegetable 
origin. 
The theory that the outbreak, now increasing in extent 
and severity, was dependent upon the ice supply, was sud- 
denly strengthened by some pretty direct evidence, of which 
the following examples may be given : 
1. A resident of the place, upon being questioned upon the 
subject, volunteered the testimony that during the previous 
winter he had taken home some ice from the same pond 
where the ice supply of the hotel was obtained, and having 
consumed a portion with the view of testing it, had experi- 
enced nausea and distress for the remainder of the day, 
which led him to decide that it was unfit for use. 
2. Several persons affirmed that they detected a decidedly 
disagreeable odor emanating from the ice as it melted. 
3. Two gentlemen having taken a quantity of ice with 
them upon an excursion, and drunk the water formed from 
it, were made violently ill. 24 
4. The atmosphere of the house in which the suspected 
ice was stored was found to be decidedly offensive. 
5. When some of the melted ice water was poured into a 
glass, and held in front of a dark-colored object, a strong 
light striking the glass from one side, it was found to be de- 
cidedly discolored, and charged with suspended matter. 
A visit was now made to the pond, and the condition of 
things here found removed all doubt as to the exceptional 
foulness of the water from which the ice was frozen. 
This pond is a flooded marsh, of irregular outlines, about 
two-thirds of a mile in length, and varying in width from 
200 to 300 feet, with a uniform depth of about two feet. 
The source of the water supply was a small brook entering 
the lower end of the pond (bringing down all the sawdust 
from two neighboring saw-mills), and several springs said 
to be situated at the upper end. There had formerly existed 
an artificial channel, by means of which was maintained a 
direct communication between the pond and the ocean ; but 
for the past two years this channel had been filled up with 
sand and stones thrown up during heavy storms by the ac- 
tion of the sea, which drives in here with extreme violence, 
Of late, therefore, the water of the pond has become prac- 
tically stagnant, although a small quantity constantly per- 
colates a bank of gravel separating the pond from the ocean. 
A glance at the lower end of the pond was sufficient to 
demonstrate the source of the foulness of the water, for at 
this point, a space of about 500 feet long and 150 feet wide, 
directly in front of the mouth of the brook, was occupied by 
a homogeneous mass of putrescent matter, composed of 
marsh mud and decomposing sawdust. The water in the 
vicinity of this bank was discolored black, and when stirred 
up emitted an intolerably offensive odor. Several large 
houses are situated at no great distance from this end of 
the pond, the occupants of which, upon being questioned, 
asserted that when the water was stirred up by the rowing 
of boats, or ruffled by a wind blowing in the direction of the 
houses, the air was not unfrequently polluted to such an ex- 
tent as to render it necessary to dose the windows. Of 
course there could be no question but that this foul matter 25 
held in suspension in the water was conveyed by currents 
and winds to every part of the pond, and in sufficient quan- 
tity to render the water in every part absolutely unfit for 
drinking purposes. 
In order to obtain further evidence as to the admixture of 
this foul matter with the ice, a quantity of the ice having 
been cleansed from all surface impurities was placed in a 
tub to melt, and the water thus obtained was poured into a 
fresh demijohn, sealed and forwarded for analysis to Prof. 
W. R. Nichols, who reported as follows : 
' ' The water contains in suspension a considerable quan- 
tity of vegetable matter more or less decayed, and possesses 
a slightly disagreeable odor, which becomes more evident if 
the water is warmed. 
"Of the organic matter which is suspended in the water, 
and which may be removed by filtration, a portion, consist- 
ing of the larger and heavier particles, settles somewhat 
readily. Another portion, being more finely divided, re- 
mains for an indefinite time diffused through the water, 
and would be drunk by any one using the ice in the ordin- 
ary way. 
"I do not think it unreasonable to suppose that the pres- 
ence of this decaying organic matter may have been instru- 
mental in bringing about the unpleasant results you have 
observed." 
A sample of water was likewise taken for examination 
from the pond in question. This sample wa£ obtained from 
the central portion of the pond, in the early morning, when 
no air was stirring, and the water being quite calm and un- 
disturbed by undercurrents, the greater portion of any mat- 
ter held in suspension would at that time be precipitated to 
the bottom of the pond. Consequently, the sample taken 
would represent the purest water obtainable from the pond 
under any circumstances. 
The numerical results of these analyses are herewith ap- 
pended. For the purpose of affording a means of compari- 
son, there are also presented the results of analyses of a 
sample of ice supplied by the Boston Ice Company, and of 
the Cochituate water. 26 
The subjoined sketch of the pond (drawn by Edward K. 
Clark, C. E.,) will serve to convey an idea of the general 
outline and character of the pond, the location and relative 
extent of the bank of sawdust and marsh mud by which 
the water was fouled, and the portion of the pond from 
which the ice was taken. 
The proprietors of the hotel, impelled by a proper sense 
of the responsibility resting upon them, rendered willing 
assistance in ferreting out the source of the trouble, and as 
soon as suspicion was directed towards the ice, its further 
use was promptly prohibited. Coincident with this disuse 
of the ice, there was observed an abrupt amelioration in the 
systems of nearly all who had hitherto been ill, while dur- 
ing the remainder of the season, no fresh cases of this char- 
acter are known to have occurred. 
The evidence thus collected seems to render it almost cer- 
tain, that the illness in question was induced by the con- 
sumption of ice contaminated by decomposed organic mat- 
ter. 
As to the actual or relative number of those made ill in 
this manner, no exact estimate can be made, for the symp- 
toms were, as a rule, not sufficiently severe to necessitate 
the aid of a physician. 
As an approximate estimate of the extent of the mischief 
produced, it may be said in round numbers, that the ice 
was consumed in variable quantities during a period of six 
weeks by five hundred individuals. Of these, twenty-six 
adults were known to manifest grave, continued, and char- 
acteristic symptoms. A large number, probably the ma- 
jority, of the guests drank the contaminated water with 
apparent impunity. In some, although decided illness was 
induced during the first two or three days after their arrival, 
an habituation to the water seemed to be afterwards 
acquired, and they enjoyed a subsequent immunity from 
all trouble. In the case of several, on the other hand, the 
stomach seemed to resent with ever-increasing emphasis 
the presence of the foul water, nor was relief obtained 
until after the patients had quit the place. Thus many who 
had come from a long distance with the hope of strengthen- 27 
ing and improving their physical condition, returned home 
depressed, and without even having preserved the health 
they previously had. 
It is worthy of remark, that no person under the age of 
ten was known to be affected by the impure ice. 
Great responsibility devolves upon those wdio undertake 
to provide food and drink for large numbers of individuals, 
and to such the above experience inculcates the importance 
of giving especial attention to the purity of the drinking- 
water, and guarding against every possible source of con- 
tamination. 
The notion that ice purifies itself by the process of freez- 
ing, is not based upon trustworthy scientific observation. 
On the contrary, it is utterly wrong in principle to take ice 
for consumption from any pond the water of which is so 
fouled as to be unfit for drinking purposes. 
Numerical Results of Analyses. 
COMPONENT PARTS. 
Ice taken from Contaminat- 
ed Pond at Rye Beach.* 
Ice Supplied by Boston 
Ice Company, f 
Results 
Expressed in 
Parts, per 
100,000. 
Results 
Expressed in 
Grains, to 
U. S. Gallon. 
Results 
Expressed 
in Parts, per 
100,000. 
Results 
Expressed 
in Grains, to 
U. S. Gallon. 
Unfil- 
tered. 
Fil- 
tered. 
Unfil- 
tered. 
Fil- 
tered. 
Unfiltered. 
Filtered. 
Ammonia 
0.0208 
0.0213 
0.0121 
0.0124 
0.0045 
0.0026 
Albuminoid ammonia 
0 0704 
0 0165 
0.0410 
0.0096 
Inorganic matter 
7.80 
6.88 
4.55 
4.01 
0.45 
0.26 
Organic and volatile matter. 
5.72 
2.84 
3.33 
1.66 
0.31 
0.18 
Total solid residue, at 212 
deg. Fahrenheit 
13.52 
9.72 
7.88 
5.67 
0.76 
0.44 
Chlorine 
3.23 
1.88 
Trace, leas than 
0.02 
Less than 
0.012 
Oxygen required to oxidize 
organic 
0.334 
0.495 
0.033 
0.019 
* Small amount of nitrates. 
j- Trifling amount of suspended matter. 
J Determined by permanganate of potash. 28 
Numerical Results of Analyses-Continued. 
COMPONENT PARTS. 
Wateb taken from a Pond 
at Eye Beach.* 
Cochituate 
Water. 
Mean of a 
Number of De- 
terminations. 
Results 
Expressed in 
Grains, to 
U. S. Gallon. 
Results 
Expressed in 
Parts, per 
100,000. 
Results 
Expressed in 
Grains, to 
U. S. Gallon. 
Ammonia 
0.0197 
0.0115 
0.0020 
Albuminoid ammonia 
0.0597 
0.0348 
0.0068 
Inorganic matter 
64.96 
37.88 
1.61 
Organic and volatile matter 
8.00 
4.66 
1.22 
Total solid residue, at 212 deg. Fah- 
renheit 
72.96 
42.54 
2.83 
Chlorine 
34.00 
19.83 
0.18 
Evilalent to chloride of sodium 
56.03 
32.68 
Oxygen required to -.oxidize organic 
matter 
1.28 
0.75 
* Residue blackens strongly when heated. Evidently a large amount of organic 
matter. 
(Extract from Seventh Annual Report of the State Board of Health of Mas- 
sachusetts, January, 1876. From page 467 to 474, inclusive.) 
APPENDIX "B." 
Sickness From Impure Ice. 
The following data, are very kindly furnished by Dr. 
Orlando Brown, of Washington, Litchfield Co., under whose 
care the greater number of these cases were. The subject 
is a very important one, and all clear instances should be 
recorded, to prevent similar occurrences. 
The town of Washington possesses the usual topographi- 
cal features peculiar to Litchfield County, with perhaps less 
swamp land and stagnant water than the towns in the 
immediate vicinity. Thus far it has enjoyed complete im- 29 
munity from malarial diseases, which is indeed the case 
with all but one or two towns in the county. There has 
been no epidemic form of disease of any kind for several 
years past. 
The local conditions of the case are as follows : 
The house is situated in a little valley among the highest 
hills of the region. The occupants were farming people of 
intelligence, the head of the family quite prominent in the 
public affairs of the town. 
The family consisted of the man and his wife, aged 
respectively 51 and 46, the wife's mother, aged 69, two 
children-a boy of 12 and a girl of 14 years-a laborer 
employed on the farm, and a woman employed to do gen- 
eral housework. There had been no sickness in the family 
previous to August 6, 1879. The boy was then attacked 
apparently with a mild form of dysentery. There had been 
during the summer in different parts of the town here and 
there a few cases of dysentery, otherwise no unusual prev- 
alence of intestinal diseases. The dejections were fre- 
quent of bloody mucous, without faecal matter, tenesmus 
was marked, temperature never rose above 100, pulse about 
104. August 7th, the father became similarly affected, the 
dejections presenting the general appearance of beef brine. 
August 12th, the daughter was attacked, being seized with 
a chill followed by a temperature of 105°, pulse 130-140, 
nausea and vomiting. August 12th, the grandmother was 
also affected, the onset similar to that of the girl. 
Collapse came on as suddenly and as markedly as in 
Asiatic cholera. The girl died on the fifth day after seizure, 
the grandmother on the seventh, the boy on the ninth. 
The father, after a slow and tedious convalescence, recov- 
ered. 
The mother and house servant had persistent diarrhoea, 
controlled with difficulty, but no dysentery. The farm 
laborer was early frightened, and left the town. No report 
of his illness was ever received. 
The man that took his place went home at the end of a 
week, sick with dysentery, but recovered in about ten days. 
No cases occurred in his family or neighbors. 30 
A sister of the wife that came to assist in the care of the 
sick was seized with dysentery, but recovered after six 
weeks' severe illness. Her children were ordered removed, 
but the two youngest, that were constantly with their 
mother during the day before removal, were attacked on 
the same day with a mild form of dysentery. 
The cause was evidently local, the type of the disease 
once established mildly contagious. 
The following facts as to the cause are obtained from the 
report of Dr. Raymond, of Brooklyn, N. Y.: 
Examination of the spring used to obtain drinking water 
excluded that as a possible source of the disease. The sur- 
roundings of the spring were unquestionably good, and 
analysis of the water as received in the house showed it to 
be of exceptional purity. The window curtain was exam- 
ined for arsenic, but no trace of mineral coloring matter 
found. 
The cellar was very damp, and the soil beneath and 
immediately adjoining the house damp from the free water 
supply brought into the house from the spring-five pints 
per minute. In case of heavy rains, water runs into the 
cellar through the wall. How much this water is contami- 
nated from the privy vault is not easily estimated. The 
vault had not been emptied for twelve years, and was far 
from being full, hence there must have been considerable 
soil saturation, as the privy was constantly used. 
The stream, from which the ice suspected was gathered, 
runs through a field along side the road. This field has for 
fifteen years been used as a running place for pigs, and 
swine were wallowing in the stream at the time it was 
examined. 
The ice water on analysis showed : 
Free ammonia, parts per million 08 
Albuminoid ammonia, parts per million 09 
The water was of a greenish color, with light colored 
organic particles in suspension. The stream also apparently 
receives drainage from house waste, and possibly sewage 
from the privy-vault before mentioned. The analysis and 31 
general character of the ice water show sufficient cause for 
the production of the symptoms described. The ice water 
at Rye Beach contained considerable less ammonia. 
Albuminoid ammonia is a reliable indication of contami- 
nation when excessive. When accompanied with but little 
free ammonia, and no evidence of chlorine, its presence 
indicate vegetable decay, the products of which contaminate 
the water. When the albuminoid ammonia amounts to 
.05 parts per million, the quantity of free ammonia that 
accompanies it must be considered in estimating the amount 
of contamination.* A large percentage of albuminoid 
ammonia may exist, .10 per million even, if there be no 
free ammonia present. The presence of the chlorides indi- 
cates contamination from animal decay, when present with 
the forms of ammonia. Taken together, the large percent- 
age of both free and albuminoid ammonia in the ice water 
proves the excessive contamination of the water from which 
the ice was collected. 
(Taken from the Second Annual Report of the State Board of Health of the 
State of Connecticut, for the fiscal year ending November 31, 1879. Pages 90 
to 92 inclusive.) 
APPENDIX "C." 
* * * * Freezing is a form of crystalization, and 
the general rules apply so far as inorganic pollution is in 
question. Ice frozen from water holding in solution min- 
eral salts, will contain less of these than the water from 
which it was frozen, and by repeatedly dissolving in dis- 
tilled water and refreezing, nearly all inorganic impurities 
can in time be removed from the ice. But in case of organic 
pollution, the reverse is true. Often the process of freezing 
may, and does, concentrate such impurities so that the ice 
*Wanklyn water analysis. 32 
contains more in a given weight than the water from which 
it was frozen. This was shown by the experiments of the 
Committee of the National Board of Health. * * * * 
The difference in specific gravity of ice and water prob- 
ably is one reason for the excess of pollution in the ice. 
Such portions of the sewage as were lighter than the heav- 
ier water below the film of forming ice would naturally 
float to the surface and become entangled in the ice. From 
the results of some incomplete experiments of my own in 
this direction, it appears that the amount of dilution of the 
sewage, and the distance from the point of entrance, per- 
haps also the oxidation or partial destruction of the por- 
tions readily decomposed, are important factors in determ- 
ining the relative amounts of pollution in ice and water. 
In specimens taken from a badly polluted stream near the 
outlet of a large trunk sewer, there were several grains 
more (IF) of organic residue from the ice than from the 
water of the river, while half a mile below the ice con- 
tained almost exactly the same amount of organic residue 
as the water. Similar results were obtained from ice cut 
from a pond four miles below the city, which sewers into 
the river of which the pond is a part. The pond results 
from a dam across the river. 
The following experiment shows that the germs of bac- 
teria are not destroyed by freezing or boiling or both. After 
the sewage-polluted ice was melted, while evaporating to 
secure the solid residue, a condenser was attached and the 
water received in a Florence flask which had been care- 
fully washed in boiling water. The space between the tube 
of the condenser and the neck of the flask were filled with 
cotton wool to exclude the germs of the air as far as pos- 
sible. When the flask was half full it was placed over a 
lamp and the water boiled, the neck sealed with cotton 
wool until the water boiled freely. The flask, after the 
water had been thoroughly boiled, was sealed and placed in 
a warm room. In two weeks bright spots appeared, and 
soon the whole became turbid. Microscopic examination 
then showed the presence of bacteria and bacillus rods. Ice 
cut from the centre of a block which was cut from a sewage 33 
polluted pond was placed in sterilized infusions by Prof. 
Pumpelly, and the flasks sealed. The development of bac- 
teria showed that the vitality of their germs had not been 
destroyed by freezing. 
There is another point to be considered in relation to the 
amount of contamination in ice from water polluted by 
sewage. As all chemical changes are less in winter under 
the influence of cold, the water from which the ice is formed 
would contain more sewage-pollution in a given bulk than 
in summer, because less would be removed by oxidation 
and still less by vegetation ; so that the ice would probably 
contain a greater percentage of sewage-pollution than the 
water in summer. The microscopic life is also very con- 
siderably lessened in winter, so that source of purification 
of the water would be removed. The cold would also have 
a tendency to prevent rapid changes in the sewage itself, so 
these products would accumulate. Thus it is readily seen 
that if such water is unfit to be used as a source of drinking- 
water in summer, it is unfit for a source of ice supply in 
winter. * * * * 
The effect of freezing upon the infective power of germs 
has not been fully determined, although their vitality 
remains. But even if infectious diseases cannot be con- 
veyed by impure ice the diarrheal diseases induced are suffi- 
cient to exclude the use of ice from such sources. 
The following case has been analyzed very closely, and 
the connection is apparently clear : There occurred a fatal 
case of typhoid fever in a gentleman who for some months 
had been living alone, his family being absent during the 
summer and early autumn. As the sanitary arrangements 
were as perfect as wealth and intelligence could make them, 
the cause of this isolated case was for a long time a mystery. 
The fact that he was inordinately fond of ice-water led to 
suspicion that might be the cause, and an investigation fol- 
lowed. The ice used was cut from a pond near the houses 
of laborers on his farm, and, unknown to him, the drains 
from these houses had been connected with this pond. 
During the summer there had been in these houses three 
cases of typhoid fever, one fatal, and the dejections had 34 
been thrown into the water-closets without any disinfection. 
The common practice of the neighborhood was for the 
house-drains to empty upon the open ground whenever a 
lower level could be reached, or else in some convenient 
ditch, but as this pond was quite near the houses, the 
drains were led into it. As the pond had been used for fill- 
ing the ice-house for years, there was no suspicion of any 
contamination .until after the mischief had been caused- 
The connection seems clear. There is no doubt concerning 
the pollution of the water by the dejections from typhoid 
fever patients as reported, nor the other facts as stated. 
Had the ice been used by others to any extent, the proof 
would have been clearer. 
During the summer I examined thirty specimens of ice- 
water from ice as supplied to customers from the carts in 
five different cities. In none of those was there any evi- 
dence of sewage contamination, although one was suspici- 
ous, as the organic matters were largely in excess in com- 
parison with the others. The refusal of several companies 
to sell to the person that was sending specimens, after they 
had learned by chance the purpose for which it was wanted, 
led me to suspect that the source of supply was not above 
suspicion. 
The plan adopted was to have from twenty-five to fifty 
pounds of the ice melted and the sediment with about a 
quart of water sent. To secure uniformity, when the larger 
quantity had been melted, half the quantity sent was used. 
In twelve of the specimens there was no sediment deposited. 
In six there was not enough to cover the bottom of a quart 
bottle, and in the remaining twelve the deposit varied from 
an eighth to nearly half an inch. None developed offensive 
odors except in two instances, though the bottles were kept 
corked in a warm room four months, some of them. The 
bulk of the deposits was formed evidently of substances 
held in suspension in the water. The field and water 
grasses broken in small fragments were most frequently 
encountered. Next to these an amorphous floculent deposit 
or partly decayed vegetable matter that had been held in 
suspension in the water. The microscope revealed some 35 
diatoms and fragments of microscopic plants and animals, 
such as are most common in fresh water, and some few 
specimens nearly complete. In one there were fragments 
of woody tissue, and several twigs and bits of bark; sand 
and dirt were not uncommon. In one there was an unusual 
quantity of specimens of various forms of microscopic 
plant and animal life, in connection with fragments of 
water, weeds, and grasses. There were but a few that 
developed any large amount of microscopic plant and ani- 
mal life; in fact, but two. In these there were extensive 
colonies of filamentous Algce developed. In but six was 
there any unusual amount of organic residue upon evapora- 
tion and incineration, and that apparently was of vegetable 
origin entirely. 
(Taken from the Fifth Annual Report of the Connecticut State Board of 
Health, for the fiscal year ending November 30, 1882. Pages 298, 299, first 
paragraph on page 300, page 301 and half of 302.) 
APPENDIX "D." 
Sickness From Impure Ice. 
In several instances the attention of the Board has been 
drawn to sewage-contaminated ponds with ice-houses on 
their borders, and strange to say, although the evidence of 
disease thus caused is so conclusive, many still adhere to the 
idea that water purifies itself in freezing. Even the process 
of melting the ice and demonstrating the presence of organic 
pollution by the microscope, will not always convince 
against the force of the pocket argument. Several isolated 
cases of enteric trouble, and one death from the free use of 
ice polluted by sewage, have been reported during the year. 
Fortunately an enlightened public sentiment is compelling 36 
the abandonment of such sources of supply, customers 
insisting on knowing where the ice they buy is cut. 
(Taken from the Third Annual Report of the State Board of Health of the 
State of Connecticut, for the fiscal year ending November 30, 1880. Page 17.) 
APPENDIX "E." 
Impure Ice. 
Through the kindness of Dr. Orlando Brown, of Wash- 
ington, Litchfield county, under whose care many of the 
cases were, I am enabled to place on record the history of 
cases of disease resulting from impure ice. Through the 
agency of this Board, in several instances where large sup- 
plies of ice were cut from sewage-contaminated ponds or 
streams-indeed, so near to sources of contamination that 
it would seem no outside interference would be required- 
these sources have been abandoned, and purer supplies 
sought. No cases of disease were traced to the ice in the 
instances named, as the supply was so general throughout 
cities, but doubtless such cases did occur, and some of the 
apparently strange cases have been thus caused. However 
that may be, it is undesirable to use impure ice, and we are 
using all means to illustrate and enforce the fact that water 
is not purified by freezing when it contains any considerable 
amount of impurities. These cases are similar to the results 
published by Professors Wood and Sharpies, in the Massa- 
chusetts reports, and of Dr. A. H. Nichols, in regard to the 
impure ice at Rye Beach and the epidemic that followed its 
use, published in the seventh report of the Massachusetts 
Board of Health. 
(Taken from the Second Annual Report of the State Board of Health of the 
State of Connecticut, for the fiscal year ending November 31, 1879. Page 16.) 37 
* * * Right here, and at the expense of some irreve- 
lance and of repetition, for the subject is of importance 
enough to bear repetition, it may be stated that freezing 
does not free water from organic impurities. The ice prob- 
ably contains less than the water, proportionately, but 
enough remains to produce disease and death oftentimes, 
where ice has been collected from sewage-polluted ponds. 
As we have repeatedly come in contact, in different parts 
of the State, with ice-houses along the banks of polluted 
ponds, sometimes where the water was exceedingly vile, 
recognizable by its odor easily in the summer months, and, 
as a corollary, occasionally sickness and death directly 
traceable to such ice, the fact is noted in this connection 
while considering dissolved impurities. * * * * 
(Taken from the Third Annual Report of the State Board of Health of the 
State of Connecticut, for the fiscal year ending November 30, 1880, third para- 
graph on page 12.) 
Ice and Snow Water 
In freezing, water becomes purer, losing a large portion 
of its saline contents. Even calcium carbonate and sulph- 
ate are partially got rid of. The air is at the same time 
expelled. Ice-water may thus be tolerably pure, but heavy 
and non-aerated. Snow-water contains the salts of rain- 
water with the exception of rather less ammonia. The 
amounts of carbonic acid and air are very small. 
There has long been an opinion that snow-water is 
unwholesome, but this, if it be true, is probably due to im- 
purities. Ice and snow often contain a good deal of sus- 
pended organic matter. Dr. Baker Edwards, of Montreal, 
found two grains per gallon in the shore ice and one grain 
per gallon in the river ice.* In Northern Europe, the poor 
classes have the habit of taking the snow lying about their 
dwellings, and as this is often highly impure with substan- 
ces thrown out from the house, this water may be unwhole- 
* Further evidence of the impurity to be sometimes met with in ice will be 
found in the Reports of the State Board of Health of Massachusetts, vols. vii 
and x. 38 
some. It has been conjectured that the spread of the 
cholera in the Russian winter in 1832 was owing to the use 
of such snow-water contaminated by excretions. Ice and 
snow may also be the means of conveying malarious poison 
to places at a distance.* 
The Pittsfield Ice Supply. 
Nearly all the ice used here is cut on "Silver Lake," 
which is about twenty acres in extent, and situated to 
the eastward of the more thickly-settled portion of the 
town. Its outlet into the Housatonic River ordinarily dis- 
charges but little water, and the flow is sometimes even 
toward the lake, which is fed by springs and a small brook, 
which takes its rise in Frog Pond, about half a mile to the 
north. The sources of pollution on the brook are several 
dwellings and two factories, the one discharging a small 
amount of refuse dyestuff from silk-works, the other 
emptying the overflow of a cesspool for water-closets, used 
by one hundred and fifty employes. According to Dr. 
Adams, health officer of Pittsfield, the water is sometimes 
quite foul in appearance, but oftener comparatively clear. 
Looking upon this source of pollution with some suspicion, 
he sent. specimens of water for analysis. Prof. Nichols 
afterwards visited the locality, at the request of the Secre- 
tary of the Board, and obtained several more. From the 
results of analysis, it will be seen that the ice is consider- 
ably purer than the water of the pond, thereby showing 
that the process of freezing does tend, to a considerable 
degree, to purification. Chemical examination alone does 
not indicate that the ice is unfit for domestic use, nor does 
it ordinarily detect a very slight degree of pollution, which 
may be offensive to our sense, from the fact that we previ- 
ously knew of its presence. 
* See paper by C. Smart, M. B., C. M., Captain and Assistant Surgeon, 
United States Army, " On Mountain Fever and Malarious Water," American 
Journal of the Medical Sciences, January, 1878. See also Report on Hygiene, 
A. M. D. Reports, vol. xix. 
(Parke's Hygiene, page 21.) 39 
Considering the great dilution of filth which may often 
take place without securing immunity from disease conse- 
quent upon taking such filth into the system, there can be 
no question as to the propriety of putting a stop to this con- 
tamination at once, especially in view of the fact that it is 
likely to increase rather than diminish. 
The large amount of inorganic matter is thought, by 
Prof. Nichols, to be due to mineral salts dissolved in the 
waters of the springs, which indeed have been found hard 
and unfit for use in boilers. 
There are a few dwellings, and a shoe-factory, on the 
borders of the lake itself. 
Examination of Water from Pittsfield, Mass. 
(Results Expressed in Parts per 100,000.) 
Number. 
Date. 
Locality. 
Ammonia. 
"Albuminoid Am- 
monia." 
Solid Residue. 
Chlorine. 
Inorganic. 
Organic and 
Volatile. 
Total at 212 
degs. Fah- 
renheit. 
74 
Feb. 21, 1876 
Frog Pond 1 
0.0072 
0.0212 
2.64 
2.44 
5.08 
0.04 
75 
Feb. 21,1876 
Brook 2 
0.0180 
0.0120 
18.08 
2.28 
20.36 
0.36 
67 
Feb. 16,1876 
Brook 3 
0.0140 
0.0180 
9.58 
2.78 
12.36 
0.21 
58 
Nov. 21,1875 
Brook i 
0.1400* 
0.0348 
16.64 
4.64 
21.28 
0.67 
68 
Feb. 16, 1876 
Brook 4 
0.0060 
0.0156 
9.06 
2.84 
11.90 
0.18 
59 
Nov. 21,1875 
Lake 5 . 
0.0210 
0.0200 
10.28 
2.60 
12.88 
0.26 
69 
Feb. 16' 1876 
Lake 5 
0.0180 
0.0152 
10.32 
2.72 
13.04 
0.30 
70 
Feb. 16,1876 
Lake 6 
0.0220 
0.0140 
11.92 
2.60 
14.52 
0.35 
71 
Feb. 16,1876 
Lake ? 
0.0200 
0.0136 
11.60 
2.68 
14.28 
0.38 
Ice from f Unfiltered. 
0.0072 
0.0061 
0.93 
0.58 
1.51 
Lake, / Filtered.. . 
0.0(177 
0.0013 
0.30 
0.14 
0.44 
0.02 
72 
Feb. 16,1876 
Housatonic River. ... 
0.0042 
0.0089 
4.84 
2.64 
7.48 
0.11 
* Unfiltered gave ammonia, 0.1400 ; *• albuminoid ammonia." 0.0520. 
1 Taken near the middle of the pond. 
2 Taken at Lincoln street bridge, some distance above silk factory. 
3 Taken just above drain from silk factory. 
4 Taken between silk factory and lake. 
5 Taken at eastern end of pond, midway between north and south shores,[at surface. 
6 Taken at same point, near bottom, fifteen feet from surface. 
1 Taken from bottom of pond at west end, thirteen feet from surface. 
(Taken from the Seventh Annual Report of the State Board of 
Massachusetts, January, 1876. Pages 274 and 275.) 40 
APPENDIX "F." 
The Purification of Water by Freezing. 
By C. P. Pengra, M. D., of Ovid, Michigan. 
* * * * n0 one win contend that all ice is equally 
no more than that it is-absolutely pure, but will in all proba- 
bility admit that our aim should be to appropriate that the 
most pure and wholesome. With this end in view, at the 
instigation of Dr. Vaughan, we have been induced to make 
a series of experiments, by no means at an end, but the 
results of which to date have been as follows : 
Our first experiments were with crystalloids, and first 
of these with urea dissolved in distilled water and after- 
wards estimated by Leibig's method. 
100 c. c.* of which before freezing contained .83 
grams, f 
100 c. c. of which from ice contained .50 grams. 
100 c. c. of which not frozen, contained 1.3 grams. 
In other words a "casting out of .33 grams, or 40 
per cent, by freezing.'' 
The second experiment with urea as found in normal 
urine, and estimated by nitrogen : 
7300 c. c. before freezing = .91 of 1 per cent. 
165 c. c. from ice = .42 of 1 per cent. 
Showing a purification of 53 per cent, by freezing. 
A third experiment with grape sugar in which 
100 c. c. of ice contained 1.5 grams. 
100 c. c. of ice contained .96 grams. 
A purification of 55 per cent, by freezing. 
In the fourth experiment arsenic (As 203) was dissolved 
in ammonia (NH 4 OH) and diluted to 1000 cubic centimet- 
* One c. c. = one cubic centimeter = .27 fluid drachm. 
I One gram 15.434 grains. 41 
ers with distilled water, as analyzed by Mr. T. H. Hubbard, 
of the Pharmacy department. 
1000 c. c. of original solution contained 1.78 grams 
arsenic (As208). 
500 c. c. of ice solution contained .48 grams arsenic 
(As 203). 
500 c. c. not frozen solution contained 1.3 grams 
arsenic (As203). 
A 40 per cent, purification by freezing. 
I may also add just here the one experiment by Hassall, 
in which a part of the water was frozen artificially. 
In the 
Original Solution. 
In the 
Ice. 
In the Water 
left. 
Total solids.... 
27.0 
3.0 
14.2 
Chlorine 
1.94 
0.9 
- 
Lime 
10.53 
trace 
14.11 
The deduction from which would tend to prove more 
purification than in the former cases. 
Our next observation were of colloids, and we regret that 
they have been confined to albumens, but since they are 
quite constant as to results, the three will be better proof of 
the one fact. 
In the first, about 1,000 c. c. of a solution of egg albumen 
were frozen solid. 
50 c. c. of the upper third contained 3.015 grams. 
50 c. c. of the middle third contained 4.19 grams. 
While 50 c. c. of the lower third contained 6.87 grams. 
Showing a gradual but slight purification from above 
downwards. 
In the second experiment with albumen as found in 
albuminuria: 
50 c. c. from ice contained .5 grams. 
50 c. c. from unfrozen contained . 8 grams. 
Or a purification of about 20 per cent. 
In the third experiment with egg albumen: 
50 c. c. of original solution contained .25 grams. 
50 c. c. of ice solution contained .21 grams. 
50 c. c. of solution left contained . 35 grams. 
A purification again of about 20 per cent. 
As will be noticed, the purification of crystalloids is at 
least 30 per cent, greater than that of colloids. 42 
It is obvious that these results must vary with the rapidity 
of freezing ; but as these specimens were frozen naturally 
and under the varying temperatures to which common ice 
is subjected, they may be regarded as even more applicable 
to the general purposes of sanitary work. 
The conclusions drawn from the foregoing were quite 
beyond our expectations, not supposing that there would be 
so great purification as has been evident. But while this 
information has been somewhat of a surprise, it is also 
sufficient proof that we cannot, as sanitarians, admit the 
indiscriminate collection of ice, as is too often practiced, 
but should lead us to earnestly endeavor to persuade the 
public that pure ice can only come from pure water. 
That ice from water of cesspools or water receiving foul 
drainage, as from sewers, barns, privies, cemeteries, cellars, 
or containing any dead and decaying animal or vegetable 
matter, or from muddy streams or shallow and stagnant 
pools, cannot be pure, and the practice of gathering and 
using such is absolutely injurious to health, even if used for 
no other purpose than that so common of packing poultry 
or any fresh meats. 
In other experiments, which we hope to complete in the 
near future, we shall attempt to estimate the purification if 
any as affecting the numerous organisms so common in 
water. . * * * * . C. P. PENGRA. 
(Taken from the Tenth Annual Report of the Secretary of the State Board of 
Health of the State of Michigan, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1882. 
Pages 49 to 50 inclusive.) 
APPENDIX "F" 2. 
* * * With reference to objections of companies 
taking ice from Fresh Pond, and to the extent to which any 
impurity in water is removed during the process of freezing,* 
* See also an article by Dr. A. H. Nichols, p. 455 of the Seventh Report of 
the Board, in which severe intestinal disorder was shown to have been caused 
by the use of impure ice. 43 
Professor Sharpies made some experiments, the results of 
which may be found in the following table and remarks : 
Analysis of Samples of Water and Ice, by S. P. 
Sharples. 
(Results Given in Parts, per 100,000.) 
January 11, 1878. 
Ammonia. 
Solid Residue. 
Free. 
Alb. 
Total. 
Vola- 
tile. 
Fixed. 
Total. 
Fresh Pond water 
.0128 
.0192 
.0320 
3.00 
9.00 
12.00 
Fresh Pond ice 
.0060 
.0075 
.0130 
1.50 
3.50 
5.00 
Spy Pond water 
.0640 
.0128 
.0768 
4.00 
13.00 
17.00 
Spy Pond ice 
. 0064 
.0064 
.0128 
1.50 
3.50 
5.00 
Little Spy Pond water 
.0160 
.0226 
.0386 
4.00 
7.00 
11.00 
Little Spy Pond ice 
.0050 
.0060 
.0110 
1.00 
1.50 
2.50 
Pond-hole at slaughter house, near 
Fresh Pond, water 
0.352 
.1472 
.1824 
10.00 
7.00 
17.00 
Pond-hole at slaughter house, near 
Fresh Pond, ice 
.0060 
.0090 
.0150 
1.50 
1.00 
2.50 
'' The depth of the water at the various places is about as 
follows : Fresh Pond 30 feet, Spy Pond 15 feet, Little Pond 
20 feet, pond-hole 8 feet. The pond-hole w'as made by dig- 
ging out the muck in the swamp back of Niles Brothers' 
pig-house. 
' ' The water from the melted ice was in all cases perfectly 
clear. The w'ater from the pond-hole, under the ice, was of 
a shiny wine-color. 
"The ice was broken into small pieces, and placed in a 
wide-mouthed bottle, which was tightly corked, and kept 
corked until the ice had melted. The water in each case 
was taken from the same spot as the ice. The ice was 
taken by clearing the surface, then chopping out a sufficient 
quantity with an axe, and afterwards breaking a hole 
through the ice, when the water was dipped out, and placed 
in a demijohn." 
These results of Professor Sharpies have been subse- 
quently confirmed by Professor E. S. Wood, who has also 
kindly given the following statement of impurities in ice 
examined by him for Dr. Amory, of Brookline. In the 
first case, the excessive amount of impurity may have been 
due to some local source upon the ice. A certain amount 44 
of sickness was thought to have been traceable to it. Nos. 
3 and 4 were directly from the pond : Nos. 1 and 2 were 
delivered to houses. 
Analysis of Samples of Impure Ice, by Prof. E. S. 
Wood. 
(Results Given in Parts, per 100,000.) 
Date. 
Locality. 
K) 
M 
K) 
td 
£ 
Clear. 
Inorganic 
Res. 
Organic and 
Volatile. 
Total Res. 
Remarks. 
Dec. 3, 1876 
Horn Pond 
0.0026 
0.044 
0.4 
6 
7.6 
9.2 
Very turbid. 
Jan. 23, 1877 
Hammond's Pond 
0.0066 
0.019 
1.0 
1.4 
2.4 
Much clearer 
Feb. 12, 1877 
Jamaica Pond Ice 
Company 
0.018 
0.016 
0.3 
0.4 
0.4 
0.8 
than above. 
Quite clear. 
Feb. 12, 1877 
Jamaica Pond Ice 
Company 
0.026 
0.016 
0.3 
0.4 
0.8 
1.2 
Quite clear. 
(Taken from the Tenth Annual Report of the State Board of Health of Mas- 
sachusetts, January, 1879. Page 119 and half of 120.) 
APPENDIX "G." 
River Pollution. 
Early in February last the attention of the Board was 
called to the Pollution of the Ammonoosuc River, as fol- 
lows : 
Lisbon, N. H., February 2, 1882. 
Dr. I. E. Watson, Secretary State Board of Health, 
Concord, N. H.: 
Dear Sir-As Chairman of the Board of Health of this 
town, I desire to call the attention of the State Board of 45 
Health to what I have regarded for quite a long time a 
public nuisance in this section. I refer to the filthy con- 
dition of the Amonoosuc River in consequence of filth and 
debris of all kinds being thrown into the river in towns 
north of us, but more particularly in the town of Littleton, 
where there is a large amount of glove-making done, and 
the hides are tanned there for that purpose. For a time, I 
was told it was their custom to cart this waste material 
away to the compost heap; but for several years, as I am 
informed, they have practiced throwing it all in the river ; 
and the amount of it is very large in the aggregate. I took 
the trouble several times during last summer to examine 
the water in the river, and found an abundance of hair n 
it every time. In the various processes of tanning with 
the chemicals used, you can hardly estimate the amount 
of filth which comes down the river. Manufacturers com- 
plain of its sticking to the racks of their flumes and ob- 
structing the flow of water, but I have never examined 
them myself. Some of our citizens are packing ice from 
the river in which hair is plainly seen frozen into it. Such 
ice, I think, is entirely unfit for use. 
Another source of pollution is in summer, when the water 
is usually low. The town or village of Bethlehem, and 
many of the large mountain houses, run their sewerage into 
the river, at least I am told such is the case. This, of course, 
would be a sensitive question for the Board of Health to 
approach, but I think it is one worthy of consideration, at 
least; for I think the time will come when those living near 
the river will demand that something shall be done. 
I make these suggestions for your consideration, and I 
feel that some action should at once be taken in regard to 
Littleton tanneries ; at least I hope you will take the trouble 
to investigate the subject, and satisfy yourselves. 
Respectfully yours, 
0. H. BOYNTON. 
In my reply to the above, request was made that a sample 
of the contaminated ice be sent to the office of the Board 
for examination. Prompt compliance of the request fol- 
lowed. A box containing probably fifteen or twenty pounds 
of ice was received, and with it a letter, to wit: 
Dr. I. A. Watson: 
Dear Sir-Yours of the 28th came to hand last night. 
The samples of ice I sent you came from the canal near the 
mills, a few rods below the dam, while the ice for storage is 
cut in the mill-pond above the dam, some of it very near 46 
the dam. I should have got it from there, but they had 
ceased cutting some time ago, and it was frozen over, and 
quite a depth of snow on it, and it would have been quite a 
job to get it. The people of Bath, who have formerly got 
ice from the river, found it so bad that many of them got 
their ice from Mink Pond, some three miles from here, 
making some eight or nine miles distance to draw it, as 
they are obliged to come through Lisbon to get to the pond. 
I should prefer that you come here and investigate for your- 
self, and you can easily get all the proof and affidavits or 
depositions you wish, and, I think, get a better idea than I 
can give you. 
* * * * Should you conclude to come, I will render 
you any assistance I am able to. 
Respectfully yours, 
O. H. BOYNTON. 
The sample of ice received, it will be seen, was taken 
from the river ten miles below the tanneries complained of, 
and Bath, to which reference is made, is fifteen miles below 
Littleton. The ice was sent Saturday afternoon, and by an 
oversight remained at the railroad station over Sunday. 
The warmth of the baggage-room, in which it was left, 
developed from the box such an intolerable stench that it 
was ordered to be placed outside of the building. The con- 
tents being unknown to the station men, it was a source of 
considerable apprehension and some alarm, as well it might 
be. 
The fact is important.only as an illustration that the ice 
must have been badly contaminated with putrefactive ani- 
mal matter to have yielded such disgusting evidence to the 
sense of smell. When delivered at this office, the odor was 
so offensive that the sample was placed in the yard outside 
of the building. A visual examination revealed large 
quantities of hair, small pieces of animal tissue, sawdust 
in a partially decomposed state, and fresh wood shavings, 
the latter of which was undoubtedly a product of the mills 
at the dam, below which the ice was taken. About two 
pounds of this ice was slowly melted in a warm room in a 
clean basin, and then put into a large bottle and thoroughly 
sealed. In a few days some small yellow-colored oil glob- 
ules appeared upon the surface of the water, which in the 47 
course of a month entirely disappeared, leaving the water 
slightly tinged with yellow, in which condition it seems to 
remain without further change. 
The Tanneries. 
The glove business at Littleton is a comparatively new 
industry for that town, the business having developed in a 
very few years to gigantic proportions. The two large 
companies, the Saranac and Eureka, have each a tannery, 
aside from their large manufacturing establishments. Some 
idea of the magnitude of these industries may be gathered 
from the fact that the sales for the last year amounted to 
over $500,000 ; about 225,000 skins were used, weighing in 
the aggregate 700,000 pounds before being tanned. About 
three hundred men, women and children are employed at 
the tanneries and shops, and two or three thousand women, 
engaged a part of the time, in making gloves outside of the 
shop. The amount of waste estimated from the process of 
tanning, etc., is over two hundred tons, a greater portion 
of which has been allowed to go into the Ammonoosuc 
River. No direct complaint has been made to the proprie- 
tors of these tanneries, excepting from mill-owners below, 
and that on account of the obstruction caused by the hair 
which was carried down the river. Land-owners along the 
river were pleased with the result of the occasional overflow 
of the river, which carried valuable fertilizing material 
upon the soil, and resulted in large crops, and a more 
abundant hay crop, in some instances doubling the amount. 
A Visit to Libson and Littleton. 
April 6, the Secretary visited Lisbon for two objects : to 
examine into the cause of sudden fatality in a herd of cat- 
tle, elsewhere mentioned, and the contamination of the 
river. 
A few weeks prior to this time the ice had been broken 
up in the river by a sudden thaw and rise in the water, and 
immense masses had been piled up promiscuously in many 48 
places between the two towns. Acres were covered in this 
way, and, riding along the railroad even, the ice presented 
a dirty and filthy appearance. Just above the village of 
Lisbon, and in view of the same, was a large field of ice, 
embracing an area of over fifty acres, compactly driven 
together, and in some places piled piece upon piece. Upon 
this the sun had shone three weeks or more, and, of course, 
it has been steadily melting a great part of the time, as the 
warm spring days approached. The ice of this great field 
contained, like the sample sent the Board in the winter, a 
large amount of hair, considerable animal matter, like 
fleshings, and sawdust in all stages of decomposition. The 
melting process had gone on so slowly that it did not wash 
this foreign matter off from the ice to the ground, but 
simply left it lying upon the surface of the ice. The whole 
surface of this field of ice was so discolored in this way as 
to present the extremely dirty condition which I had already 
described, while riding on the railroad, in the fields that 
were nearer the passing train. I had expected to find con- 
siderable pollution of this stream, but my mind had not 
been prepared to witness such wholesale contamination as 
was before me. An examination of the meadows on the 
opposite side of the river, where there was no ice, revealed 
the same condition that will exist when the vast quantities 
of ice mentioned are melted, to wit, an almost incompre- 
hensible amount of debris scattered over the 'entire surface. 
In some places this refuse material was evenly spread over 
the ground to the depth of an inch ; in other places it had 
seemed to drift, and was found to be in patches a few feet 
wide and several rods long, to the depth of from four to 
twelve inches ; in some other localities it had only discolored 
the surface without leaving it in any considerable quanti- 
ties, though everywhere could be found this particular 
waste, hair and fleshings from the tanneries. The immense 
amount of sawdust was another notable condition, and one 
which, though not so offensive in its character as the pro- 
duct of the tanneries, is by no means to be ignored. The 
bushes and shrubs which grew along the banks of the river 
were completely fringed with hair as far up as high-water 49 
mark ; indeed, they furnished an excellent and accurate 
register of the height to which the water had reached. It 
was also stated that a turbine water-wheel at Lisbon, had 
become completely filled and packed with the hair, so that 
it was stopped in consequence of the same ; that the flume 
racks became filled by slow accumulation, and necessitated 
the removal of the same ; also that the paper-pulp mill at 
that place had to strain all of the water used in their vari- 
ous processes, and, in so doing, the pipes and strainers 
would become filled with hair, and oblige them to suspend 
work till the same was removed. These facts are men- 
tioned to give a faint idea of the extent of this particular 
trouble. 
The pollution of this stream is without a parallel in the 
State, owing to the character and extent of the contamina- 
tion. Information received at Littleton concerning the pro- 
cess of tanning, and the various chemicals used, leads to 
the conclusion that no substances were used in the various 
manipulations and methods employed in preparing the 
leather, which would at all injure the character of the 
river ; dilution and chemical changes through oxidation 
would be so rapidly that probable no trace of the substances 
used could be found even a few rods below their entrance 
into the river. The only contamination, then, coming from 
the tanneries mentioned, is of an animal character, to wit, 
hair and fleshings. From the nature of these substances, 
rapid decomposition and oxidation is impossible, conse- 
quently the pollution of the stream would be even greater 
at a given distance from the point of entrance into the 
river. How far these substances may be traced, below the 
Ammonoosuc, in the Connecticut River has not been ascer- 
tained, but undoubtedly to quite a distance. Ice taken 
from the Connecticut River, near the mouth of the Am- 
monoosuc, contained hair from these tanneries. 
Abatement of the Nuisance. 
After an examination of the condition of the river, and 
the immediate effects of such pollution, a visit was made to 50 
the glove companies at Littleton for the purpose of settling, 
in some way, this difficult question. It was apparent that 
such a state of affairs could not be allowed to exist, as the 
result would be dangerous to the health of the people, 
detrimental to manufacturing interests, and in many other 
ways intolerable. Parties suffering from the results of 
such wholesale river contamination were upon the verge of 
commencing suits, not only for an abatement of the nuis- 
ance, but for special damages. This intention seemed in no 
way to be a malicious one, as it was stated, evidently upon 
good authority, that if the tanneries would cease at once 
putting their waste into the river, no suits would be entered 
Upon visiting Littleton, and interviewing the companies 
mentioned, they asserted that no complaint had been made 
directly to them, with a single exception, from any source, 
and, with a candor and promptness which are rarely exhibi- 
ted by prosperous corporations, especially in a matter which 
would result in cost and inconvenience, they expressed a 
willingness to immediately put in execution the recommen- 
dation of the Board, to wit, to allow no more waste from 
their factor les and tanneries to enter the river. This deter- 
mination, though resulting in considerable immediate 
expense, has been faithfully carried out, as a subsequent 
visit and examination have shown : so that this extensive 
source of pollution has been effectually removed. Too 
much credit cannot be given the Saranac Glove Company 
and the Eureka Glove Company (owners of all the tanner- 
ies) for the willingness and promptness which they exhibited 
in bringing the case to an early and satisfactory termina- 
tion, and that, too, in a generous and public-spirited man- 
ner. Without a question as to the legal view of the case, 
or a suggestion that they were within the reach of any of 
the various processes of the law, they responded simply 
upon being asked ; and the people who have been incon- 
venienced by the former pollution of this river should 
credit these companies with a spirit of fairness and consid- 
eration, which is indeed merited. It is to be hoped that all 
thoughts of suits in the case will, if they have not already, 
be abandoned. 51 
It is to be expected that some of the results of this exten- 
sive pollution will be evident in some localities along the 
river during the present season. The debris which the early 
freshets in the spring carried upon the banks and meadows 
will of course remain, and, it is possible, may be a source 
of annoyance at some points, even at the present time ; 
however, the process of oxidation will very soon destroy all 
that may not be objectionable, and the original purity of 
the water and cleanliness of the banksand overflowed lands 
will, so far as the tanneries are concerned, be restored. 
The Contaminated Ice. 
That last winter's product of ice from this river between 
Littleton and the Connecticut River (twenty miles) is wholly 
unfit for use, does not admit of a doubt. Even ice taken 
by parties at Woodsville from the Connecticut River, near 
the mouth of the Ammonoosuc, contained hair in quite 
visible quantities. Under no circumstances should the ice 
mentioned be used for drinking purposes, even though to 
the eye it presents the appearance of absolute purity. It is 
a popular fallacy that ice purifies itself ; that water in freez- 
ing eliminates all organic impurities ; such is not true; 
w'ater that is contaminated produces ice of the same char- 
acter. There are many instances on record in which impure 
ice has produced serious and alarming sickness. It is not 
necessary that such ice should be contaminated to that 
extent that it may be seen with the naked eye, to render 
it unfit for use. Water may be badly polluted by foreign 
matters in solution, and the ice produced therefrom be 
equally dangerous to health. So, then, the present stock 
of ice from this river should be regarded with great sus- 
picion, however fine its appearance. 
(Taken from the First Annual Report of the State Board of Health of the 
State of New Hampshire, for the fiscal year ending April 30, 1882. Pages 53 
to middle of 59.) 52 
APPENDIX "H." 
Purification of Water by Freezing. 
By C. P. Pengra, M. D., Assistant in the Chemical Laboratory, 
University of Michigan. 
As a supplement to former experiments upon this subject 
(see pages 48-50 of the Report of Michigan State Board of 
Health, 1882,) I have made recent observations, which con- 
firm the conclusions then drawn, that freezing does not 
purify water to the extent generally supposed. I then 
found that the purification by freezing was about fifty per 
cent, for crystalloids, and only about twenty per cent, for 
colloids. 
As the results presented in my former paper were not 
concerned with the living organisms so frequent in polluted 
water, the following experiments were deemed necessary. 
The micro-organisms used were such as may be obtained 
from decomposing meat juices, infusion of hay, and stag- 
nant pools. Each specimen of the fluid was divided into 
two equal portions, one to be frozen, and the other to be 
reserved for comparison. The freezing was effected by 
exposing the fluid to the winter's cold. In each experiment 
ten drops of each portion were examined and the averages 
taken. 
The first experiment was with bacteria. The average 
number per drop found in each portion was : 
In the melted ice of the upper half of the exposed 
Fluid, 16. 
In the lower half, partially frozen, 250. 
In the upper half of the unfrozen portions, 160. 
In the lower half of same, 170. 
In all cases the number of organisms in each of ten drops 
was counted and an average taken. This experiment shows 53 
a purification of about 90 per cent. The averages in differ- 
ent portions of the unfrozen fluid show that the organisms 
were quite evenly distributed therein, which was also true 
of the following. 
The second experiment was with the coleps hirtus of 
stagnant pools. The averages being taken as before, the 
following results were obtained : 
Upper third of ice contained 25 per drop of water. 
Middle third contained 190 per drop. 
Lower third contained 500 per drop. 
In the unfrozen fluid the average of fifteen drops 
was 300. 
This shows a purification of 91.6 per cent, in the upper 
third of the ice, with a gradual decrease downward. In 
this case the fluid was frozen through and through solid. 
In a third test with paramoecium aurelia from a muddy 
pool the following results were secured : 
The water from the ice contained 30 per drop. 
The water under the ice contained 590 per drop. 
The unfrozen fluid reserved averaged 450 per drop. 
This showed a casting out of 93.3 per cent. 
The fourth test was with glaucoma scintillans from 
infusion of hay ; the following figures were obtained : 
Water from upper half of ice contained 10 per drop. 
Water from lower half of ice contained 120 per drop. 
Unfrozen liquid averaged 91 per drop. 
A purification of 89 per cent, is secured in this case. 
These figures seem, at first, quite encouraging, especially 
when compared with the results given in my former paper 
with chemical impurities. However, when we remember 
that freezing does not kill these organisms, and that they 
multiply rapidly, there is not so much consolation, as such 
ice may prove a fertile source of infection. The entire 
series of experiments shows that pure ice can come only 
from pure water, and that great care should be exercised in 
gathering this useful commodity. 
Admitting the above, the question as to the best time of 
gathering ice arises. In answering this, the following 54 
analyses may be of value, not only as showing how impure 
ice may become ; but the circumstances attending its for- 
mation, together with its natural surroundings, have a 
direct bearing on hygiene. The ice, which was about 18 
inches thick, was cut and examined in such a way that we 
may speak of its upper and lower halves. One liter of 
water from the upper half gave the following results : 
Total solids, 0.5 grams. 
Free ammonia, 1,333 milligrams. 
Albuminoid ammonia, 0.8 milligrams. 
Nitrates, abundant. 
Analysis of one liter of water from the latter half showed 
the following: 
Total solids, 0.1 grams. 
Free ammonia, 0.12 milligrams. 
Albuminoid ammonia, 0.16 milligrams. 
Nitrates, test. 
Taken alone this analysis seems to disprove the fact that 
there is a gradual purification in freezing, downward ; but 
a brief consideration of the circumstances will solve the 
mystery. The stagnant pool (for such it was from which 
this ice was taken) is surrounded by steep hills, which begin 
at the very water's edge. At the summit of the hill on one 
side, stand four houses, each with barn and privy. On the 
opposite side of the pond the hill-side is covered by an old 
cemetery and has a considerable growth of trees. The 
lower half of the ice was frozen early in the winter, and 
the water frozen at that time underwent the partial purifi- 
cation shown to take place in our experiments. Subse- 
quently there was a fall of snow, followed by a thaw and 
rain. The decomposing matter from the hill-sides was 
washed down upon the first layer of ice, and, it becoming 
colder again, there froze, a distinct color in the ice marking 
the depth of this increase. Whatever purification might 
have taken place was limited by the surface of the lower 
half of the ice, as a result of which we have no purifica- 
tion in the upper half. We can easily see that in this way 
many additional layers of impure ice may be added. 55 
From the foregoing we must conclude that the pollution 
of ice often accompanying partial thaws and subsequent 
freezings should be considered in harvesting, and that the 
first ice of winter is the purest. It is needless to suggest 
that skaters carry large amounts of impurities on the ice, 
.and that fields selected for harvest should be protected from 
them. Even a heavy fall of snow upon ice may contami- 
nate it to a considerable extent. An analysis of snow fall- 
ing upon a pond near the laboratory, collected during the 
storm, showed the following : 
Total solids per litre of water from the snow, 0.12 
grams. 
Free ammonia per litre of water from the snow, 0.4 
milligrams. 
Albuminoid ammonia per litre of water from the 
snow, 0.21 milligrams. 
The excess of free and combined ammonia may be in a 
measure accounted for by the nearness to the chemical 
laboratory of the University of Michigan. 
The purest snow, gathered away from cities, contains on 
ah average; 
Free ammonia, 0.3 milligrams per litre. 
Albuminoid ammonia, 0.08 milligrams per litre. 
Since writing the above I have been favored with an 
opportunity of testing still further the validity of the 
ground taken. A specimen of ice, which has been garnered 
before any rain or thaw has come upon it, showed on 
analysis the following results, per litre : 
Total solids, 0.08 grams. 
Free ammonia, 0.19 milligrams. 
Albuminoid ammonia, 0.09 milligrams. 
Nitrates, none. 
I afterwards gathered some ice from the same source, but 
there had been some rain, snow, and drainage from thaw- 56 
ing upon it. Skaters also had been upon the ice. Analysis 
showed the following results, per litre : 
Total solids, 0.6 grams. 
Free ammonia, 0.28 milligrams. 
Albuminoid ammonia, 0.6 milligrams. 
Nitrates, very abundant. 
The deductions from these analysis serve to confirm my 
former convictions, and sustain the conclusions already 
given. 
C. P. PENGRA. 
(Taken from the Twelfth Annual Report of the Secretary of the State Board 
of Health of the State of Michigan, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
1884. Pages 79 to middle of 81.) 
APPENDIX "H," 2. 
Proceedings of Academy of Natural Sciences, 
Philadelphia, Oct. 28, 1884. 
Organisms in Ice-Prof. Leidy stated that a member had 
placed in his hands, for examination, a vial of water 
obtained from melting ice which is used for cooling drink- 
ing-water. From time to time, among some sediment 
taken from a water-cooler, the gentleman had observed 
what he supposed to be living worms, which he suspected 
were introduced with the water into the cooler, and not 
with the ice. Upon melting some of the ice alone, the 
worms were still observed, and the water submitted for 
examination was some that was thus obtained. Prof. 
Leidy was surprised to find a number of worms among 
some floculent sediment, mainly consisting of vegetal hairs 57 
and other debris. Beside the worms, there were also imma- 
ture Anguillulas, and a number of Rotifer vulgaris, all 
living. It would appear that these animals had all been 
contained in the ice, and had been liberated on melting. It 
was an unexpected source of contamination of our drink- 
ing-water, that Prof. Leidy had previously supposed to be 
very improbable. The little worms he was not familiar 
with. 
(Academy of Natural Sciences-Proceedings, 1884. Page 260.) 
APPENDIX "H," 3. 
The Action of Cold on Microphytes.* 
Professor McKendrick, of Glasgow, gave at the recent 
meeting of the British association an interesting account of 
the methods of trying to destroy small organisms like 
bacteria, not as is commonly done by heat, but by cold. It 
is known that by means of Coleman's cooling machine meat 
may be kept from putrefying for a considerable time, but 
in attempting to sterilize a putrescible solution by means of 
cold, it was found that, though in some cases putrescence 
was delayed, in no case were the organisms completely 
destroyed. Organic fluids were exposed to temperatures 
more than 120 deg. below 0 deg. F., but on thawing they 
were found to contain living organisms still. * * * 
It is well known that frogs have been found in blocks of 
ice and been revived. Frogs have been frozen at 20 deg. F. 
in about half an hour. On thawing slowly, the animal, in 
I 
*From Nature. 58 
two instances, completely recovered. When it was frozen 
for longer than half an hour it did not recover ; but, 
though reflex action was gone, there remained some irrita- 
bility both in nerves and muscles. It was found also that 
certain vital functions may be arrested by cold, and thus 
conceivably higher organisms may be kept vitally inert for 
an indefinite time. Experiments were also tried on warm- 
blooded animals. A rabbit subjected to a temperature 100 
deg. below 0 deg. F. recovered. No temperature lower than 
73 deg. below 0 deg. F. has been obtained in free atmosphere. 
(Science, October 30, 1885. Page 393,) 
APPENDIX "I." 
Syracuse, April 3d, 1886. 
To James T. Gardiner, Esq., State Board of Health : 
I, Wm. H. Pollman, Health Inspector to the Board of 
Health of the City of Syracuse, do hereby testify that the 
facts given below are as near correct as it can be given. 
By a resolution passed by the Board of Health, February 
10th, 1886, the Health Inspector was instructed to get ice 
and water from the following places, Onondaga, Cazenovia 
Lakes and Wide Waters. The ice and water were taken 
from lakes and wide waters on March 3d, and sent to 
Albany the same day. 
Mr. Sawmiller's ice and water were taken from Onondaga 
Lake 3,000 feet from the mouth of Onondaga Creek, and 
1,200 feet from the shore and from mouth of Bear Trap 
Creek. 
Gee Bros', ice and water were taken from Onondaga Lake 
1,500 feet from the mouth of Onondaga Creek, 1,200 feet 
from east shore of lake. 59 
Listman's, now Warner's, ice and water, marked No. 2, 
were taken from Onondaga Lake two miles from the mouth 
of Onondaga Creek and 600 feet from east shore of lake. 
Knapp's ice and water were taken from the Wide Waters 
at the foot of Cherry street, about 100 feet from south 
dock, near or south side of the channel. 
Listman's ice and water marked 5, were taken from 
Cazenovia Lake in center and 300 feet from east shore in 
thirty feet of water. 
Respectfully, 
WM. H. POLLMAN, 
Health Inspector, Syracuse, N. Y. 
Sworn to before me this, the fifth day of April, 1886. 
P. D. COONEY, 
Commissioner of Deeds, Syracuse, N. Y. 
APPENDIX "J." 
Laboratory of the Albany Medical College, ) 
Albany, March 20th, 1886. \ 
Dr. F. C. Curtis, Acting Secretary, State Board of Health, 
Albany: 
Dear Sir-I transmit herewith a tabulated report of the 
analysis of five samples of water and five of ice, which 
samples were sent to the State Board of Health, by Wm. 
H. Pollman, Health Officer, of Syracuse, N. Y., and 
delivered to me on March 4th, with the exception of sample 
of water No. 5, which was received March 9th. The water 
was contained in large glass bottles and the ice consisted of 
large cakes, with labels securely attached, packed in saw- 
dust. The ice was unpacked as soon as received, and each 
cake separately cleansed, broken in pieces, the pieces rinsed 60 
in distilled water and placed in large glass jars closed air 
tight and allowed to melt. The "color and appearance" 
and " odor" as stated in the table of results of course refer 
to the water from the ice and not to the ice itself. By 
request of Mr. Carman, samples of each of the waters and 
ice were sent to Dr Wm. Hailes, for biological examina- 
tion. 
It will be observed that the three samples of water from 
Onondaga Lake and the single sample from Wide Waters, 
Erie Canal, are rated as "bad" while that from Cazenovia 
Lake is classed as "doubtful." The chlorine in the Onon- 
daga Lake waters is exceedingly high, but this may be 
partly or chiefly owing to the geological strata in the 
vicinity. The samples of ice with the exception of No. 2 
from Onondaga Lake are rated as ''good." In No. 2 the 
albuminoid ammonia is low but the free ammonia rather 
high, and it is classed as "not completely satisfactory." It 
will be observed that freezing has almost entirely removed 
the dissolved solids which the waters contained, including 
the chlorides, and has reduced the amounts of free and 
albuminoid ammonia very greatly, and largely diminished 
the amounts of oxygen absorbed. From a chemical stand- 
point the ice is vastly purer than the waters, but this does 
not necessarily prove that micro-organisms or specific germs 
if present have been destroyed or removed in a similar ratio. 
Yours respectfully, 
WILLIS G. TUCKER, 
Analyst.