386 American Agriculturist, December 8, 1923 
The Paying Farm Must Be Healthful 
A Wednesday Evening Radio Talk Broadcast From WEAF 
T HE wise farmer gives considerable thought 
to certain aspects of health, but not to all; 
he realizes that if he is to reap a good 
harvest the seed he uses must be from well- 
selected and vigorous stock; that his soil if acid 
must be limed, and in any case kept well fed with 
fertilizer; that his stock must be chosen with 
care and kept in prime condition—if an animal 
falls sick, a veterinarian is usually called without 
delay, for a dead cow or horse cuts deeply into 
profits. However, farmers, like many other 
classes of people, - pay too little attention to the 
health of the best stock that any farm ever con¬ 
tains—themselves and their families. 
The farm, with its abundance of sunshine. 
fresh air and fresh foods, should be the healthiest 
place on which to live, but that this is not always 
so is shown by the records of sickness and deaths, 
the rural death-rate being higher thap that for the 
cities. In a great many cases this is due to neglect 
of those small details, correction of which is so 
easily put off until a more convenient time. If 
these matters have not already received.attention, 
now is the time to consider them, for after all, 
the greatest asset is health, .not only to the 
farmer but to everyone. 
Many people believe that because water is 
clear and sparkling it must be wholesome, but 
unfortunately this is not true; even the clearest 
and best-tasting well-water may cause disease if 
the well is improperly located and subject to 
pollution from the privy or barnyard. 
In choosing a location for a well, convenience 
should not be allowed to weigh against safety. 
If possible, the well should be located at a point 
higher than any sources of pollution, such as the 
privy, the manure-pile or the sink-drain. Gener¬ 
ally speaking the flow of underground water is 
indicated by the surface slope of the land, and the 
well should be so located that the line of flow will 
be toward and not away from these places. In 
any case, locate it at least 100 feet from all 
sources of contamination. Sometimes this dis¬ 
tance must be greater, depending upon the nature 
of the soil, and the number of people using the 
well and the privy. The soil filters out the im¬ 
purities, and sand of uniform texture affords the 
best purification; coarse gravel and seamy rock, 
the least. A laboratory analysis will tell you if 
the water you are now drinking is polluted. Just 
because you have used a well for years doesn’t 
necessarily mean that it is safe; you may have 
become accustomed to the water and thus be 
able to stand it, but that doesn’t mean it won’t 
make other people sick. On the other hand, some 
stranger may pollute the water and you and your 
family be made sick. 
The construction of a well is also a matter of 
importance. The walls of dug wells should be 
made water-tight to a depth of at least eight feet 
below the surface of the ground, in order to 
prevent contamination by surface water. For 
By Dr. MATTHIAS NICOLL, Jr. 
Commissioner, Department of Health 
State of New York 
the same reason they should also be carried at 
least a foot above the ground. Tight concrete 
platforms extending from four to eight feet on all 
sides are essential for dug wells, since dirt and 
filth are sure to find their way through wooden 
covers. Furthermore, the old-fashioned rope 
and bucket method of drawing water may be the 
means of infecting the water; iron pipe and a 
pump are cheaper than sickness. Driven or 
drilled wells should have tight casings and should 
also extend at least a foot above the ground. 
Troughs or 
drains should be 
provided to con¬ 
duct the waste 
water away from 
the well. 
Runnin g 
water in the farm 
home is not only 
a great conve¬ 
nience, but a 
saver of time 
and energy. 
Furthermore, it 
induces habits 
of cleanliness, 
which in the eyes 
of the sani¬ 
tarian is more 
important than 
godliness. It 
can be installed 
at small cost to 
anyone possessing a reasonable amount of mechani¬ 
cal ability. A moving-picture film showing how 
this can be done will be loaned by the State De¬ 
partment of Health to any grange or farm bureau 
in New York State possessing a moving-picture 
machine. 
A sanitary privy costs no more than an in¬ 
sanitary one, and it is a fairly easy matter to 
build one that can be kept clean and reasonably 
free from odor, and to locate it where it will not 
contaminate the well or be a source of infection. 
Further details can be obtained by writing to the 
United States Public Health Service at Wash¬ 
ington, I). C., and asking for Public Health 
Bulletin No. 37. 
The Good Book says 
that “no man liveth to 
himself alone,” and this is 
particularly true of the 
farmer, even if he does 
live a fairly isolated life. 
If infectious disease de¬ 
velops in the family or 
among the help on the 
farm, it is almost certain 
to find its way to others 
by means of foodstuffs. 
Especially is this true of 
milk, for it is the most 
difficult food to produce 
and distribute with safety 
to the consumer, because 
disease germs live and 
multiply rapidly in it. A 
few disease germs introduced into the milk at the 
farm may multiply to millions by the time it 
reaches the city, and thus cause everyone on the 
milk route to become infected. Farmers do not 
always realize so fully as medical men just how 
much damage unclean milk may do. 
Health authorities determine the cleanliness 
of milk by the number of bacteria or germs found- 
in a given amount. Bacteria have no business in 
milk, and when an excessive number is found 
it proves conclusively that there is something 
wrong in the method of milking, or in the subse¬ 
quent care of the milk. The problem, then, is to 
so safeguard the various steps in the production, 
transportation and distribution of milk that it will 
reach the consumer in a condition as nearly per¬ 
fect as possible. Every intelligent farmer nowa¬ 
days realizes that to do his share in supplying 
clean milk he must have healthy stock, clean 
barns, clean cows, clean utensils, and, of greatest 
importance, clean milkers with clean hands. 
Many farmers seem to believe that clean milk 
can be produced only in new barns, expensively 
equipped. This is far from being the fact. A 
new barn is certainly easier to keep immaculate, 
but an old barn may be fixed over at slight expense 
so,that it may be kept clean, but even if no 
changes are made, with proper care a high-grade 
milk can be produced in almost any barn. 
Proper care includes a good many details. The 
flanks and tail of the cow should be dampened 
before milking, and the udder should be washed 
clean and wiped dry with a clean, dry towel. 
The milker must be personally clean, and should 
wear clean jumper and overalls, his hands must be 
washed with soap and water and thoroughly 
dried with a clean towel before milking. The 
milk-pails must be of the small-topped variety, 
and must be thoroughly washed and scalded 
after use, and then kept inverted until time for 
the next milking. Finally, after the milk is 
collected it must be cooled immediately—prefer¬ 
ably to 45 degrees F.—and kept at that tempera¬ 
ture until delivered to the consumer. 
Any farmer can introduce clean methods and 
produce a good grade of milk with very little 
expense and without hardship. In fact, to-day 
many dairymen are demonstrating that it pays 
to do this, for most distributors and consumers 
are willing to give a higher price for a clean 
product. 
Not only should the farmer give attention to 
the sanitation of his home and its immediate sur¬ 
roundings, but he should give the same degree of 
thought to the healthfulness of the school at¬ 
tended by his children. The little red school- 
house is not always the most healthful environ¬ 
ment for the child, chiefly because what is every¬ 
body’s business is nobody’s business. Although 
the fact that the common drinking-cup is danger¬ 
ous has been established time after time, one still 
finds it in an occasional school. The same sanitary 
principles which rule the home should govern the 
conditions of the school. Look in once in a while 
and see what kind of surroundings your child 
lives in for more than half the day. Urge your 
neighbor to do likewise, and if conditions are not 
as they should be—-see that the school authorities 
remedy the defects. 
-- S 
The American Agriculturist, m cooperation 
with the New York State Department of Farms 
and Markets, broadcasts a radio market report 
from WEAF, every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thurs¬ 
day and Friday at 11.50 A. M. These reports cover 
prices and trends in the New York produce 
markets. “Tune in” and keep posted on the 
condition of the market. 
An ideal layout for farm buildings to protect th,e water supply. Note that the drainage from 
the barns and outbuildings is away from the house. 
A condition and practice that is a serious menace to the health of the farm family. 
