THE STORY OF THE BACTERIA. 1 27 



but even these obstacles in the way of com- 

 fortable existence have been and may again be 

 set aside. 



Those who dwell in the country, and those 

 who repair thither in the summer, should be 

 very watchful of the water which comes from 

 the ordinary wells. It is quite true that the 

 water which soaks into the majority of wells 

 in the country and in villages has been filtered, 

 and more or less purified, as it passed through 

 the soil and earth about the well. But in a 

 great many cases the surface water runs direct- 

 ly into the well at the top. Washing is not 

 infrequently done in the immediate vicinity of 

 the well, and the waste and dirty water runs 

 directly, or with but little filtration, back into 

 the common receptacle. The vaults of out- 

 houses, barn-yards, and pigstyes are often in 

 close proximity to the well, on establishments 

 which in circulars and newspapers figure as 

 country health resorts. And this is by no means 

 true alone of those which are inexpensive and 

 primitive, but almost equally so of many of 

 the more fashionable and popular resorts. 



Every person who goes or sends his family 



