WEST VIRGINIA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



31 



cold in Avinter. The rainfall is nearly the same. Irrigation has 

 there produced development which would be impossible without 

 it. 



''The artificial watering of land need not be looked for in 

 West Virginia until farmers and gardeners see that it will pay. 

 The state might, without much cost, investigate the matter by 

 conducting irrigation experiments. This might be done by the 

 Experiment Station, and no special legislation would be neces- 

 sary, further than to make an appropriation for the purpose. 

 The appropriation need not be large, but the experiments should 

 extend through a number of years to make sure of the value of 

 results. 



"Municipal Water Supply." 



"The health of the people is a most valuable asset. It should 

 be given high place in the list of resources on which a state's 

 prosperity depends. It may not be possible to measure it by 

 dollars, but it has a money value. It has been claimed that 

 every person that dies before his time means a loss of $10,000 

 to the commimity. The correctness of the estimate might be 

 questioned by some, but no one will deny that human life and 

 health, aside from all sentimental considerations, is worth look- 

 ing after. The individual may protect liimself the best he can, 

 but some things he cannot do, the state can. Few lives are ab- 

 solutely worthless, and sickness always lays a burden on some- 

 body or on the community. The health of the most obscure per- 

 son is a matter for public concern: and much more so is the 

 health of those who contribute to the country's welfare and 

 prosperity. The struggle for existence is hard enough and pro- 

 gress is slow enough when conditions are as favorable as they 

 can be made. 



'•'The difficulty of protecting the health of the people of 

 West Virginia increases from year to year. Effort seems to 

 slack as difficulty grows. The waters in the streams become more 

 impure, and the inquiries after remedies do not appear vigorous 

 or widespread. In some cases the West Virginian uses water 

 which a Chinaman would not touch without boiling it first. This 



