STUDIES IN NATURE 



where sunshine and air have been able to purify 

 it, or where in passing through soil, gravel, and 

 rock, it has left behind it whatever is not whole- 

 some. Now the ground about cottages and 

 farms is often not very clean, and if we take 

 the water that is standing near them in ponds 

 we shall find it far from nice. The rain also 

 which sinks into the ground around them will 

 have to travel a great way into the earth before 

 it has left behind it all the impurities that 

 collected in it as it sank through the soiled 

 layer at the top. If we get our water from a 

 well near houses, we must be quite sure that 

 the well is deep, and that the surface-water 

 cannot get into it, or else we must boil our 

 water before we drink it, and so destroy some 

 of the most unwholesome things that may have 

 got in. A spring out of the hill-side, if we have 

 the good fortune to be near one, is perhaps the 

 best way of obtaining water in the country, and 

 even then we must be careful not to let cattle 

 and other animals mess the ground through 

 which it runs. A deep well may be also very 

 good; and a clear river, which has not been 

 spoilt by thoughtless and selfish people who 

 live above us, is a valuable possession. 



We sometimes come across wells where the 

 water has a peculiar taste or colour, and are told 

 that certain diseases are cured by drinking or 

 bathing in these places. These wells or springs 

 do indeed give us a natural medicine, and if 



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