BY THE HON. W. F. TAYLOR, M.D., ETC. 51 



present residence, had a corrugated iron roof from which the- 

 water was collected in a large galvanised iron tank. The water 

 in this tank was always quite clear and free from any but a 

 slight metallic taste, which was perceptible only when the tank 

 was about half full. I contented myself with filtering this water 

 through a Cheavin's filter, the filtering medium behig granular 

 charcoal. The water was always bright, sparkling, free from 

 unpleasant taste or smell and palatable, and the filter was easily 

 kept clear of all visible impurities. No member of my family 

 ever suffered in any way from drinking this water, and I 

 regarded it as a great boon, more especially when compared to 

 the quality of the water obtained from the tap. The tap water 

 was only used for the bath, and was frequently so offensive by 

 reason of its odour, colour and consistency, as to be unfit to 

 bathe in. On one occasion it was so bad that I tied a piece of 

 flannel over the tap, and after allowing the water to run through, 

 it for a few minutes found it coated with a thick deposit, prin- 

 cipally composed of vegetable matter. It was such a curiosity 

 that I took it down to a meeting of the Central Board of Health in 

 the afternoon, and showed it to the members. On removing into 

 my present residence, over three years ago, I found that owing 

 to the roof of the house being covered with ironbark shingles, 

 which were spongy from age and ingrained with dust, the water 

 collected in the tank was not usable, consequently I was forced 

 to use tap water only. My old filters soon became clogged and 

 foul, so I bought a new one which did service for a time, but 

 soon gave out. I tried drying and heating the charcoal, but the 

 water which passed through it afterwards was so offensive that it 

 could not be used — the heating having set up decomposition in the 

 .organic matter adhering to the granules of charcoal. I obtained 

 another change, or rather used one which had been lying by for 

 some time, for I could not obtain any charcoal or charges at the 

 various shops here, and proceeded to boil and dry it so that I 

 might have it as pure as possible before using. The water 

 passed through it was so disagreeable that I boiled it again. 

 However, repeated boilings had the effect of making it worse, 

 and the reason became plain at last : the charcoal was boiled in 

 tap water and became contaminated with the impurities con- 

 tained in it. In despair I have had to give up the use of filters. 



