ee 
BURTON WATERS—DRINKING AND BREWING. 29 
and yielding an enormous quantity of chloride of sodium to 
the valley waters, we are justified in considering that the 
presence of this salt in our Burton waters is not usually 
due to sewage, although a small quantity of it may be, and 
in bad cases of faulty drains, &c., even a large amount. 
The greatest amount of chlorides that I have found in 
these Branstone waters was equal to 940 parts per 100,000 
of chlorine or 1,085 grains of common salt per gallon of 
water. 
5th. I must also refer to the source of one or two other 
substances not unfrequently met with in our waters; 
carbonates of iron and manganese, both of which seem to 
be derived from deposits in the gravel beds and more 
especially in the old peat beds before referred to. That 
objectionally smelling gas sulphuretted hydrogen so well 
known in the Harrogate water, occurs in small quantities 
in some of the deeper waters when they are first pumped 
up, but the gas is rapidly given off and the iron which is 
usually present in these waters is precipitated, the water 
becoming turbid. The gas and iron would therefore appear 
to be due to the partial decomposition of iron pyrites in 
the sandstones. 
3. POSSIBLE SOURCE OF TOWN SUPPLY. 
There is one other branch of this subject which is of great 
interest, I mean the possible sources of a drinking supply of 
our own. 
Supposing the Town decided to purchase the South 
Staffordshire Water Works rights, and that Company had 
a sufficient demand elsewhere to make it undesirable to 
continue pumping water to our Burton reservoir from 
Fradley, what are the possible sources from which the 
Town could obtain a supply? 
There are two sources immediately available. 
1st. The river water, which must be looked upon as 
the most natural source, although on account of the 
