ON PUEE WATEE. 
667 
by passing it tbrough a gazogene)^ but it is better to drink 
the most insipid of water^ than run tbe hazard of drinking 
water charged with organic impurities. 
When water is otherwise good it may be rendered impure 
by the carelessness and indolence of those who use it. Thus 
a water^ which drunk when first drawn from the cistern, pipe, 
or well in which it stands is perfectly harmless, may become 
injurious by standing for days in the same vessel. It fre- 
quently happens that water-bottles, pitchers, and mugs, in 
which water is habitually kept, are never cleansed, and the 
daily deposit of organic matter at the bottom will at last 
become so great as to render the water putrid. It is in 
this way, by the negligence of servants and others, that 
waters otherwise free from objection are found to become 
tainted, and I have known attempts made to cast doubt on 
the quality of the whole supply of a town from individual 
cases of neglect and ignorance. 
In these remarks on the purification of water, I have more 
particularly directed attention to the removal of organic im- 
purities, as those which are most injurious to health. I would, 
however, refer to the fact that, when waters contain a large 
quantity of carbonate of lime, which is always held in solu- 
tion in carbonic acid, this salt of lime may be got rid of 
by neutralizing the carbonic acid with pure lime. This pro- 
cess, originally suggested by Dr. Clark, of Aberdeen, has been 
successfully employed to soften hard water, and may be 
advantageously employed, both for removing the organic 
impurities as well as the carbonate of lime. 
It should also be remembered that storing water in leaden 
cisterns, and conveying it through leaden pipes, may lead to 
a dangerous contamination with lead. 
The interest of the public in pure water is not alone confined 
to its use as an article of diet. For cooking, washing, bathing, 
and manufacturing purposes the purest water is the best. Each 
one of these subjects might be made the topic of practical 
suggestions, but as my limits will not allow me to add more 
on the subject of pure water, I would say, in conclusion, that 
for all purposes for which water is employed by man, the purer 
it is the better it is adapted for his use. 
