228 ILLINOIS STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



THE WELL-WATER OF GALESBURG. 

 REPORT TO THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY BY DR. KEMP. 



Our wells are, for the most part, comparatively shallow, and range 

 from fifteen to forty feet in depth. They are all, so far as I know, 

 sunk in the clay beds that overlie the carboniferous limestone that so 

 extensively predominates in the geological features of the State of Illinois. 

 The water contained in these wells must be considerably affected by the 

 surface drainage, as in many of them it rises and falls in accordance with 

 the amount of rain-fall. The depth to which a well is dug may affect the 

 quantity of water which it yields, but does not appear to have much 

 influence on its quality. One might suppose that, the clay bed from 

 which the water is obtained being apparently the same everywhere, there 

 would be no difference in the character of the water contained in the 

 wells. This is, however, not the case. There are differences in the water 

 of different wells, that can only be accounted for by differences in the bed 

 through which the water passes. These differences are not, however, very 

 material. In some cases they are only of quantity, but in others they are 

 of quality as well. 



Nothing can be more important to a community than the purity 

 of the water it uses for ordinary purposes. It is so necessary an article of 

 diet, and is so largely used by every one, either directly or indirectly, 

 that if it is impure it can not fail to be more or less prejudicial to health. 

 The question may be asked, What is pure water? The answer may be 

 given that it is water free from any foreign elements of any kind. Its 

 own composition is well known to chemistry, in which it bears the name 

 of hydrogen oxide, and is represented by the symbols H2O. Any thing 

 else than the water itself, either in chemical or mechanical solution, is an 

 impurity, and it may be a detriment. Any such solution in water more 

 or less interferes with its appropriate use as an article of diet, as it con- 

 stitutes so large a part as seven-eighths of the entire human body. This 

 is apparent when we consider that water is not decomposed and digested 

 as other parts of our food are. It remains unaffected by all the processes 

 through which it accompanies our food. Wherever, therefore, it goes in 

 its wonderful wanderings, it will carry with it what it holds in solution, 

 and, it may be. by the presence of unknown re-agents, deposit its foreign 

 elements in some of our organs or tissues, where they are neither needed 

 nor desired. This fact is well known to physicians. Multitudes of 

 diseases are due to impure water. It is often the cause of disastrous 

 epidemics. All the more advanced communities of the world are there- 

 fore very solicitous about the purity of their water supply. 



My attention has been directed to this subject as a matter of simple 

 curiosity. I wanted to know what I was drinking ; and seeing that wine 

 and beer and cider, and such like pernicious drinks, had to be abandoned 

 to the use of the wicked, it was only natural that I should be anxious to 

 know that the water I used was pure. As drawn from the well, it seemed 

 very clear, cold, and- even sparkling; and, for the most part, it was 



