Farms and Villages. ^ 
67 
solved by the water without the users of the well suspecting 
what they are drinking. Again, cesspools are very commonly 
sunk in close proximity to wells, their linings are by no means 
water-tight, in fact they are purposely made permeable in order 
that the liquid-matter may soak away, which it usually does as 
intended, and thus finds its way into the adjacent wells. I know 
instances where the water in wells and cesspools rises and falls 
with the tide of the adjacent river or sea, showing that there is 
complete communication, and yet the well-water continues to 
be used until the outbreak of an epidemic calls forcible attention 
to the matter. 
Wells, however, are often the only means, except the rain, 
by which a water-supply can be obtained, and in such cases 
precautions should be taken to prevent contamination. If the 
upper strata through which the well is sunk be porous, the 
lining should be of iron, or of substantial brickwork laid in 
cement, and continued down well into an impervious stratum. 
The bucket and windlass, which implies an open top, should be 
abandoned for a pump, placed in any convenient situation, 
which can be done when the water is not more than 24 feet 
below the surface, and the top of the well should be domed 
over, or securely covered in. When the water is at a greater 
depth below the surface, the pump must be placed down the 
well, which should be securely covered, and the ground round 
it should be raised so as to give a good fall away in every 
direction, and the area immediately about the well should be 
paved or cemented. If the pump deliver at the well, a water- 
tight drain should be laid to carry the slops away, and especial 
care should be taken to place all drains and cesspools as far 
away as possible. 
The water in most wells varies a good deal in level according 
to the season of the year, and as this variation frequently 
exceeds 22 feet, it becomes necessary to place the pumps at so 
great a depth, that when the water is high they are com- 
pletely submerged. In such cases special precautions must be 
taken to render the pump-barrels and foot-valves accessible. 
The working-barrels should be prolonged upwards above the 
highest water-level by means of " stand-pipes," slightly larger 
than the barrels in diameter, so that the buckets and foot-valves 
could be easily drawn up through them, and the barrel-covers 
and glands should be placed on the tops of the stand-pipes so as 
to be accessible at all times. The pumps and their stand-pipes 
should be suspended from girders placed above the water level, 
so that, even in the case of a total break-down, they can be 
released and drawn out without the aid of a diver, or the 
necessity of pumping out the well. For the most part, however, 
F 2 
