528 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



since they contain, in a soluble form, more or less of the elements of the soil, and are fre 

 quently largely charged with mineral and other substances. The character of all spring 

 water, therefore, depends upon the character of the soil through which it has passed before 

 it issues from the ground in the form of a spring, the impurities often not being perceptible, 

 either to sight, taste, or smell. It should, therefore, as a general rule, be filtered before using. 

 As ordinary wells are supplied partly by springs, and partly by surface drainage, it is highly 

 important that they be located where they will not be contaminated by cesspools, privy vaults, 

 barn-yards, kitchen refuse of any kind, or anything that shall have a tendency to render the 

 water foul In many instances of the most malignant types of diphtheria, fevers, and kin 

 dred diseases of blood poisoning, often resulting in death, the real cause of the disease has 

 been traceable to the contamination of water through some of the above-mentioned or simi 

 lar sources, from which the deadly poison has emanated. And yet the usual custom is to 

 ignore all such causes of the evil, and regard such afflictions in families as inscrutable dispen 

 sations of an All- Wise Providence, when, if a little more intelligent supervision of the sani 

 tary conditions of the premises had been exercised, the evil might have been avoided. We 

 believe there is more attributed to the Supreme Being, in the suffering and sorrow of this 

 world, than we have any right to suppose that source responsible for, and that if we traced 

 the responsibility of it more frequently to its proper source, we should find it in our own 

 ignorance and neglect. 



Doubtless the Supreme Being could avert the evil effects of all ill that we bring upon 

 ourselves, if He chose thus to do; but He does not generally do it; and if we take poison 

 into our stomachs, either through ignorance or design, nature is generally permitted to take 

 its course, and the natural results follow, as a consequence. It is often astonishing to see 

 how indifferent people are respecting such common sanitary conditions. We do not believe 

 there is more than one farmer in a hundred that regards water of a poor quality on his prem 

 ises, any thing more than an inconvenience, simply, the ninety-nine of the number consider 

 ing a sufficient supply of pure water a fortunate circumstance, but failing to realize the danger 

 involved in the use of that which is not pure. 



Prof. Chandler of New York says, that in many cases, from the proximity of cesspools 

 and privy vaults, the water becomes contaminated with filtered sewage matters which, 

 while they scarcely affect the taste or smell of the water, have, nevertheless, the power to 

 create the most deadly disturbances in the persons who use the water, and that in the neigh 

 borhood of grave-yards the water of wells is often found, on analysis, to be impregnated with 

 animal matters from the recently filled graves. Jules Lefort states, that as long ago as 1808, 

 it was decreed in France that no one should dig a well within one hundred metres of any 

 cemetery. In driven wells, the water is not exempt from contamination, the same as other 

 wells, except in cases where there is near the surface a bed of clay or &quot; hard pan &quot; impervious 

 to water; when such a stratum is penetrated by the tube, and the water is drawn from be 

 neath it, the well is somewhat protected from surface drainage. The water from small, stagnant 

 ponds is very impure, though that from large ponds or lakes is often purer .than the water 

 of some springs, as well as also being softer. When used in stationary or locomotive boilers, 

 impure water produces incrustations which often form a complete lining. In those sections of 

 the country where the water is quite hard, from the presence of lime salts, many housekeepers 

 have noticed the same effect upon the inside of the tea kettles, that are in constant use, and 

 are obliged occasionally to remove it in some way. It is stated by reliable authority that as 

 much as 1,300 pounds of such calcareous matter in the form of incrustations, have been taken 

 from the boiler of a single locomotive on the New York Central Rail Road. Boiler explo 

 sions are sometimes occasioned by such incrustations, on account of the metal becoming very 

 much overheated, causing the scale of the calcareous matter to crack, and permitting the 

 water to come in contact with the hot metal, which produces immediately such a surplus of 

 steam, that the boiler is burst. 



