CHAPTER XXIV. 

 WATER SUPPLY AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL. 



An abundant supply of pure and healthful water is one 

 of the necessities of modern life, whether in the city or on 

 the farm. In the city, the home is provided with this ne- 

 cessity through the action of the municipality ; the indi- 

 vidual citizen does not have to concern himself with the 

 question as to the source and quality of the water sup- 

 plied, while on the farm the problem of obtaining a plen- 

 tiful supply of water fitted for household purposes is an 

 individual one, and one that is frequently neglected, al- 

 though it means so much to the comfort and health of 

 the farm home. 



Modern cities are spending immense sums of money in 

 securing safe and adequate water supplies and in pro^ 

 tecting them from pollution. The farmer should use the 

 same foresight and the cost for supplying the farm home 

 with good water will be no greater than must be paid by 

 the home in the city. 



Relation of water to disease. A number of transmis- 

 sible diseases may be carried from one person to another 

 through the medium of the drinking water. The most 

 important of these are typhoid fever and cholera. The 

 former, a world-wide disease, the latter one that is not 

 found at present in America and Western Europe. The 

 reason these diseases are often spread by means of water 

 is to be found in the fact that the bacteria are given off 

 from the body in the urine and feces and as great care- 



