90 IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



complete it had a specific gravity of .8131. The specific 

 gravity of the anhydrous alcohol* is given as .8148. 



From the results given above it v^ill readily be seen that 

 calcium carbide affords a good test for water in alcohols, 

 since it acts upon aqueous alcohol as long as any water 

 remains in it with the evolution of acetylene, especially 

 when slightly warmed. One would also be warranted in 

 concluding that calcium carbide deserves to be ranked 

 with calcium oxide as a dehydrating agent for alcohols. 



THE SIOUX CITY WATER SUPPLY. 



BY ALFRED N. COOK AND C. F. EBERLY. 



A good water supply is one of the greatest boons man 

 can possess. Notwithstanding this fact, it is the one thing 

 above all others, almost, which is likely to receive the least 

 attention. It is well known to those who have given the 

 subject some study that the taste is no criterion by wdiich 

 to judge a water. So often have we known men to declare 

 that a certain water was good because of its excellent 

 taste, often due to chlorides, nitrates, etc., derived from 

 sewage, or outhouses not far distant. So often men will 

 provide their families with every comfort that modern 

 applied science has made possible and yet unknowingly be 

 using a contaminated water supply. This was recently 

 well illustrated by a prosperous professional man of Sioux 

 City who not long since built a new home in Morningside 

 and furnished it with every modern convenience at a cost 

 of several thousands of dollars. Instead of tapping the 

 city water supply which was not far distant, he dug a well 

 and within two or three rods of the well sank a large cess- 

 pool which receives the drain from the kitchen and water 

 closet. 



♦Allen's Com. Org. Anal. , Vol. I, page 105. 



