688 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15 



or at the rate of 12 barrels a day. I first 

 drank the water boiled. Of course, it was all 

 right then. Then I commenced drinking it 

 just as it runs out of the sandy ground, and I 

 had one of my pleasant surprises. That cold 

 spring water did not interfere with my diges- 

 tion a particle — at least not while I was at 

 work on the ranch. 



Now, when I describe to you with great 

 minuteness the way in which Mr. Burdo fixed 

 my spring, I hope it may be helpful to thou- 

 sands of others who have like springs or like 

 springy places. He got some pieces of 4x4 

 hemlock, long enough to reach about two feet 

 above the level of the ground, and down to 

 the bottom of the spring. Then he made a 

 square crib or curb by nailing on hemlock 

 boards 3 feet long. He said hemlock would 

 not give the water a taste, and that it is the 

 only kind of wood in that region that can be 

 safely used for curbing a spring. Of course, 

 a stoneware sewer-pipe two feet or more in 

 diameter would be better ; but I did not choose 

 to go to that expense then and there. The 

 hemlock boards, you see, let water through 

 all along the sides — that is, if they are nailed 

 on a little piece apart where they come under 

 water. After the curb was in place we filled 

 all around it with cobblestones up to within, 

 say, 18 inches of the surface of the ground, 

 putting large stones in the bottom, and small- 

 er ones gradually on the surface. Then on 

 top of this surface of small stones or gravel 

 he put the impervious clay that he dug out 

 of the bottom of the spring. This was stamp- 

 ed down hard, and made to slope in every di- 

 rection away from the well. Then a ditch 

 was run around the spring on all sides, with 

 an outlet at the lowest point. This was so 

 that all rain water would run away from the 

 spring and down around it instead of running 

 into it. We did not want any sort of seepage 

 from the rotten logs and dead leaves above 

 the spring in the woods. Then the clay was 

 covered with sods of a heavy turf of June 

 grass cut from a cleared place some little dis- 

 tance away. 



" Now," said Mr. B., " whoever comes here 

 for a drink of water should dip out a good lot 

 and give this turf a good wetting. After it 

 once gets started and rooted into this clay it 

 will keep green and clean.'''' So Mrs. Root 

 will have some green grass around the spring, 

 any way. 



During the week or more that I remained 

 at the ranch this grass took wn a lively green, 

 and I really enjoyed myself in lying down on 

 that green turf and looking into ";«jv spring" 

 while I lay in the shade of the trees that over- 

 shadow it, and looked down into its crystal 

 depths. By the way, there is a dense growth 

 of basswoods all around that spring. The 

 roots, no doubt, go down into the damp sand 

 and gravel that overlie the hard clay. And, 

 by the way, will not such a location be tiptop 

 for many kinds of fruit ? I have before spok- 

 en of the Downing everbearing mulberry 

 grown under such circumstances. Well, the 

 trees and every thing else grow with wonder- 

 ful luxuriance all around this spring. During 

 my visit at all other times of the year a little 



stream has been running away from the spring. 

 This time, owing to the severe drouth, no wa- 

 ter ran away while I remained there. No 

 doubt the vigorous basswood and otker trees 

 all around the spring took up a large quantity 

 of this water during the height of their grow- 

 ing season. After their leaves drop, and the 

 trees take on their rest, I shall expect to see 

 the stream of water running away from the 

 spring again as it was last fall. 



Now, I made some (at least to me) very in- 

 teresting and valuable discoveries in studying 

 that spring and playing with it. When I be- 

 came very warm and tired in working at my 

 lawn around the house, for instance (oh, yes ! 

 we are going to have a lawn — I will tell you 

 more about it further on), I used to go down 

 there and not only get a cool drink but wash 

 my face and hands and arms in the cooling 

 fluid. For ten cents I bought a very pretty 

 little wash-basin. By the way, is it not a won- 

 der that we at the present day have so many 

 luxuries in the way of neat and pretty uten- 

 sils for such a small amount of money ? This 

 enameled iron wash-basin has such a smooth 

 and glossy surface you can keep it clean 

 enough to eat or drink out of, almost without 

 any trouble at all. That basin seemed to be a 

 special accompaniment to my spring. I used 

 to keep it hanging on the limb of a basswood- 

 tree. A tin cup and a tin pail are likewise 

 hanging near by. 



Oh ! I forgot to say that Mr. Burdo made a 

 board cover over the spring. This is to keep 

 out leaves and dirt when the wind blows hard, 

 and to keep out the sun. He says the sun 

 should never shine on the surface of the water 

 of any spring or wherever drinking water is 

 kept. The sunlight induces the development 

 of a plant-like substance called algae, com- 

 monly known as green scum, which is seen 

 on soft-water ponds and brooks. He said, 

 however, that, even though the sun, leaves, 

 and dirt, are kept out, the spring must have a 

 certain amount of ventilation, so the board 

 on the front side was made about six inches 

 lower than the other boards. This made it a 

 little easier to kneel down in the grass, to 

 reach down and dip up a pail of water. 



Now for my discovery. Whenever I got 

 hot and thirsty at work in the garden during 

 those very warm days in July (yes, it was very 

 warm up along Traverse Bay as well as other 

 places) I used to go down to the spring, take 

 a big drink, and wash my hands and face in 

 the cool soft water. For years I have not 

 been in the habit of drinking cold water, as I 

 have told you ; but I found I could drink that 

 water just as it came from the spring all right, 

 providing I drank it slowly ; but as the temp- 

 tation was quite strong to drink a great deal 

 in order to get cooled off quicker, I began 

 pouring it on my hands and arms, the arms 

 being pretty well bared up to the elbow. Mr. 

 Burdo said, you know, that I must pour some 

 water on the grass around the spring every 

 day ; so I took my enameled wash-basin and 

 poured water on my hands and arms before it 

 ran off on the grass ; and my discovery was 

 that, by pouring it on my wrists, and cooling 

 them, the cooled-off blood would very soon 



