CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS. 61 
fifteen per cent. or more, at the same time presenting a very rough surface to the 
flow of water. This animal, belonging to the family of the Polyzoa, forms for itself 
a tough, gelatinous sheath or case, containing its vital parts and having its mouth 
at the free end, surrounded by a fringe of tentacles, by means of which it draws 
in its food from the water. The other end of this case is fastened to that of some 
other individual from which the first had been born through a process of bud- 
ding; so that a mass of these taken together much resemble moss, so much 
so that water-works men have given the name of ‘‘ pipe moss”’ to these growths. 
The distribution system may be thus affected throughout its entire length; 
the smaller mains and the service pipes may be almost clogged; when de- 
prived of sufficient food, the animals will die, their bodies will decompose, and 
the water drawn from the taps may be discolored and offensive. The pipe sys- 
tem at Lawrence gives some trouble in this way, and the evil is only kept in 
check by vigorous flushing of the mains during the summer season, causing a 
waste of water that is a serious tax upon the pumps. 
So far as is known, neither of these organisms spoken of above is detrimental 
to health, though they cause annoyance to both the water-works men and the 
consumers. It is probably true that a reasonable amount of them, together with 
other similar organisms, is a benefit to the water of the mains, through maintain- 
ing a balance of life. Troubles seem to arise only when the conditions are such 
that some one form develops to an excessive degree. There are no known reme- 
dies which act asa specifics, and much more detailed knowledge of the life habits 
of the entire class of micro-organisms must be obtained before we can know how 
to deal with these problems in a satisfactory manner. 
Of the last class of waters, those derived from deep wells, there is little to be 
said in this connection. Generally they are quite free from organic matter, 
which has all been changed and filtered out by the slow passage through the soil. 
Because of the solvent action of the water and the gases and acids which it car- 
ries, this class is more or less impregnated with mineral salts, sometimes to such 
an extent as to prohibit use in public supplies. In any case, it is the province of 
the physician to say whether the waters are fit for use. When designed for use 
in the arts or in manufacturing, these mineral constituents become of great im- 
portance, and the judgment of the chemist will alone control. The chief ingre- 
dient present in Kansas waters of this class seems to be salt, and this is 
encountered over a large part of the state at comparatively small depths below 
the sheet-water. In the southeast, on the flanks of the Ozark uplift, is found a 
very good water that serves as a source of public supply. But, as one goes 
westward from this range of mountains, the artesian water seems to have in- 
creasing amounts of mineral matter, though it is probably ample in quantity. 
In all that has been said above, it has been assumed that the nitrogen, repre- 
senting the organic matter, is the polluting material. But, in reality, this is not 
so. The true cause of most of the trouble to the human system that arises from 
a water-supply, lies in the admixture with it of something from the waste of 
human life itself. In all life it seems to be a general principle that each indi- 
vidual cannot exist in surroundings which are filled with the cast-off products of 
its own life activities. So the germs of water-borne diseases find their way into 
the water from some individual that is sick with one of them. The dejecta of a 
typhoid patient, thrown out without proper disinfection, may be washed into a 
clear, sparkling brook and carried by it to an impounding reservoir, and thence 
into a town supply, with the result that there is an outbreak of the disease. It 
does not follow that every one who drinks of the water must become sick, for 
this depends to some extent on the resistant power of the individual. But it is 
