246 MICROBES, FERMENTS, AND MOULDS. 



cannot exist without moisture, and they find in such 

 water the organic matter which nourishes them. The 

 rivers receive them by the sewers which discharge into 

 them, the wells by infiltration of the soil, and thus 

 in times of epidemic, the microbes of typhoid fever 

 and of cholera are always to be found in running or 

 stagnant waters, which therefore become the vehicle 

 of infectious diseases. 



Well-water, owing to its stagnant nature, and to 

 the infiltration to which it is liable from cesspools 

 which are often leaky, is more dangerous than 

 running water. About two years ago, an epidemic 

 of typhoid fever, which occurred in one quarter of 

 Angers, was stopped by introducing a supply of water 

 from the Loire ; up to that time well-water had been 

 exclusively in use. 



Well-water in Bread- making. In many places 

 well-water is still too often used for making bread 

 instead of running water. There are probably many 

 reasons for this preference. Bakers, without assigning 

 any reason for the fact, assert that well-water causes 

 the bread to rise better ; and moreover, in towns, such 

 as Angers, where there is a water company, river- 

 water costs money, while well-water may be had for 

 nothing. About 50 per cent, of water is used in 

 making bread, which explains the preference shown 

 by bakers for well-water, and also the importance 

 ascribed by hygienists to the purity of the water 

 used in bread-making. 



