HEALTH. fS 



here can not be excelled, and let us see that we keep it 

 sweet and pure." 



It is an easy matter to test the purity of water, no mat- 

 ter whence drawn, and here is the modus opermidi : Fill 

 a pint bottle three quarters full of the water ; dissolve in 

 it one half teaspoonful of the best white sugar ; set it away 

 in a warm place for forty-eight hours. If the water be- 

 comes cloudy it is unfit to drink ; if not, you are perfectly 

 safe in using it freely. 



There are also some safeguards that it is well to know. 



The use of lemon juice or citric acid, even in the pro- 

 portion of one two-thousandth part, will destroy any mi- 

 croscopic animalcules that may be in the water, and in 

 about three minutes from the time the citric acid is used 

 they Avill be found dead at the bottom of the vessel. 



But bear in mind the citric-acid solution must be freshly 

 made, or it will lose its power. 



This citric acid would be an excellent thing for tourists 

 or hunting parties, and still better is a filter that is within 

 the reach of every one, light and portable, and always 

 ready for use. 



For such a filter as this, which is also very cheap and 

 perfectly effective, we are indebted to the State Geologist 

 of New Jersey; here are the directions he gives: "It is 

 the bottle filter, and is made by tying a string wet with 

 turpentine around the bottom of a quart bottle and break- 

 ing out the bottom. This is done by lighting the string, 

 and, when the flame has encircled the bottle, dipping it in 

 cold water. Layers of fine cotton batting must then be 

 placed in the bottle until a wad is collected that rests on 

 the shoulders of the bottle and its neck. Now dissolve a 

 cup of alum in hot water and pour the solution into a cup 

 of cold water. This makes a filtering substance. I use 

 alum, because it is the only thing which will precipitate 



