CAMPING. ITS PLEASURES AND ITS DANGERS 195 



pumps, since small stones and foreign particles which would 

 clog the valves of an ordinary pump are passed along with- 

 out difficulty by the rotating shafts. 



1 86. Camping. Its Pleasures and its Dangers. The 

 allurement of a vacation camp in the heart of the woods is so 



FIG. 138. Rice for its growth needs periodical flooding, and irrigation often supplies 

 the necessary water. 



great as to make many campers ignore the vital importance 

 of securing a safe water supply. A river bank may be 

 beautiful and teeming with diversions, but if the river is used 

 as a source of drinking water, the results will almost always 

 be fatal to some. The water can be boiled, it is true, but 'few 

 campers are willing to forage for the additional wood needed 

 for this apparently unnecessary requirement ; then, too, 

 boiled water does not cool readily in summer, and hence is 

 disagreeable for drinking purposes. 



The only safe course is to abandon the river as a source 

 of drinking water, and if a spring cannot be found, to drive 

 a well. In many regions, especially in the neighborhood of 



