FOOD 123 



"Manchester Water (Woodland) 



Grains per gallon. 



Silica 0-30 



Carbonate of calcium ... ... ... ... .. l - 70 



Sulphate of magnesium ... ... ... ... ... T66 



Chloride of sodium ... ... ... ... ... 0'91 



Total 4^57 



Holmfirth Water 



Grains per gallon. 



Sulphate of calcium ... ... ... ... ... 08 



Sulphate of magnesium ... ... ... ... ... 0"6 



Chloride of sodium ... ... ... ... ... - 8 



Nitrate of sodium or potassium ... ... ... ... 0-2 



Total M" 



The above specimens of water are obviously extremely soft, and under 

 ordinary conditions of water -supply the fluid is divided into two kinds, 

 hard and soft water, the hardness being clue always to the lime salts — 

 chiefly carbonate of lime or chalk, with the addition of a small quantity 

 of the sulphate. Specimens of water containing large quantities of a 

 great variety of mineral matters are properly classed as medicinal waters, 

 which, however valuable in dealing with certain forms of disease, are 

 not fit for use for dietetic purposes. 



The question of the influence of hard water upon health has been 

 frequently debated, and various opinions have been given in reference 

 to it. There is no doubt that hard waters are constantly used for drink- 

 ing purposes without any harm being suffered by the persons who take 

 them, but it is asserted, by the author of the article from which we have 

 quoted, that horses drinking hard water suffer from derangement of the 

 organs of digestion, indicated by attacks of colic and other intestinal 

 disorders. The skin is also said to lose its polish and become dull and 

 scurfy, the coat stares, and a general state of unthriftiness is induced. 

 These results, however, suggest a very abnormal degree of hardness in 

 the water which produces them. They are certainly not observed among 

 horses which are living in chalk districts, where the use of hard water 

 for men and also for the lower animals can hardly be avoided. Gene- 

 rally where hard water is distributed by the water companies it under- 

 goes a preliminary process of softening by the addition of lime, which 

 converts the soluble bicarbonate of lime into the insoluble carbonate or 

 chalk, which is precipitated, and in this manner a considerable quantity 

 of the lime is got rid of. The process, however, cannot be adopted on 

 a small scale, where hard water is stored in tanks or ponds. 



Hard water has occasionally been referred to as a cause of diseases of 



