108 J. HOPKINSON — EELA.TITE ADVANTAGES 



the Hoyal Commission on the Water Supply of the Metropolis, said 

 that the hard-water towns showing a lower death-rate than that 

 of the soft- water towns " is very much in accordance with reason ; 

 because hard water contains a certain quantity of lime, and lime 

 is very beneficial to the human system, both as an ant-acid and 

 as forming the base of all our bones." (' Minutes of Evidence,' 

 p. 263.) 



We all know the value of bicarbonate of soda as an ant-acid, but 

 I think we should with as much reason put bicarbonate of lime 

 into our teapot to soften the water as we should take it medicinally 

 to correct acidity ; and it is well known that it is phosphate of 

 lime, and not carbonate or bicarbonate, that enters largely into the 

 composition of our bones. 



The fallacy of such reasoning as Mr. Hawksley's has been shown, 

 moreover, long ago. The Right Hon. Lyon Playfair (now Lord 

 Playfair), when giving evidence before the Duke of Richmond's 

 Commission, was asked: "Do nat some medical men consider 

 that the presence of carbonate of lime in drinking-water is rather 

 desirable than otherwise for health ?" And he replied : "I have 

 seen evidence given in cases of water-supply, not only that it was 

 desirable for health, but that it was absolutely necessary for the 

 formation of the bones. Eut that showed a lamentable want of 

 chemical knowledge, because the lime required in food does not 

 come from the water, but from the solid articles of food taken, and 

 I do not think that the lime taken in water has any influence on 

 the processes of bodily nutrition." This opinion he supported by 

 referring to the men of Westmoreland and Cumberland, and of the 

 Highlands of Scotland, who drink soft water from the hills. " Our 

 Highlanders," he said, "are not generally supposed to be deficient 

 in bone or muscle." Such a fact as this, M'hich is incontestable, 

 is worth much theory, even though it might be suggested that the 

 Highlanders sometimes pollute the pure water from their hills 

 with whisky ! 



Hard water has been credited with causing rheumatism, calculus, 

 and dyspepsia. Calculous complaints have certainly been traced 

 to its use, but it appears that it is water rendered hard by the 

 presence of sulphates of lime and magnesia, rather than carbonates, 

 which has been found to have caused such diseases. The Metro- 

 politan Sanitary Commission of 1850 investigated this question, and 

 came to the conclusion that although "stone" was more often 

 caused by errors in solid than in liquid diet, it was " undoubted 

 that the number of calculous complaints in the hospitals, as at 

 Paisley, has greatly diminished, and that in the same ratio as the 

 consumption of soft water has increased. At Bolton, also," the 

 Commissioners add, "the most experienced practitioners inde- 

 pendently attest the fact of the diminution of calculous complaints 

 since soft water was introduced." (' Report,' p. 57.) Evidence in 

 the same direction has been fui-nished by the introduction of a 

 soft-water supply to Glasgow, and the following important state- 

 ment as to the Gorbals soft water has been made by Dr. Leach, 



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