316 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



neighborhood of the house. Where it is impracticable to dispose 

 of the household sewage at a lower level than the water in the 

 well it is important to locate the places of sewage disposal as far 

 as practicable from the source of water supply. If the soil is 

 sand or gravel and fairly homogeneous a distance of 250 feet 

 will probably be adequate, provided, of course, that the sewage 

 disposal receptacles are not placed in a locality from which the 

 ground water drains most readily toward the well. 



It is usually not very difficult to determine the probable 

 trend of the ground water and to take advantage of it in locat- 

 ing the well in such a way that, under the conditions men- 

 tioned, drainage from the sewage disposal places is unlikely to 

 affect it. 



Where the buildings are located on sloping ground, draining 

 toward a stream or pond, and the well is on the upper side of 

 the buildings and the sewage receptacles on the lower side, the 

 latter may be located at a lesser distance from the well without 

 affecting the quality of the water than where the ground is 

 more nearly level; but it is not advisable, unless expert exami- 

 nation shall show otherwise, to locate a receptacle for sewage 

 nearer than 250 feet from a well unless, of course, the sewage is 

 discharged at a lower level than the water in the well. 



It sometimes happens that in order to dispose of the sewage 

 effectively and satisfactorily it is necessary to convey it in a 

 pipe for a considerable distance, and the pipe line may perhaps 

 have to pass near the well or through the soil draining toward 

 the well. In such cases it is always best to construct the pipe 

 of iron with tight lead joints throughout the section likely to be 

 affected by drawing water from the well. In order to make sure 

 that the pipe is tight it should be carefully laid, the joints made 

 tight and tested by filling the pipe with water under consider- 

 able pressure before the trench is filled in. 



Covering of a Well. 



While the most important requirement in maintaining a good 



well water supply on a farm is to so dispose of the sewage that 



it will not affect the water, it is also important that the well be 



carefully covered so as to pre\'ent the entrance of surface water 



