STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 
287 
See that the drainage is absolutely perfect, “ else manifold evils 
may fall upon the loved ones.” 
Country homes should be supplied with every facility for the 
discharge of all the waste water and elfete matters of the house¬ 
hold, as these should be carried beyond the reach of harm to oth¬ 
ers, and at the same time so far removed from the well and cisterns 
that it will be impossible, by any percolation through the soil, that 
these should be combined. A sure way of avoiding any such 
contingency would be to have closely cemented tile drains, care¬ 
fully glazed on the inner surface, for the conveyance of all refuse 
matter, to a distance of not less than five rods from the house, 
where it may be deposited in any open trench, with grape vines 
surrounding it. 
The location of the barns, stables, piggeries, privies, etc., should 
have regard to the water supply for drinking and culinary purposes, 
as well as to the house itself, else disastrous consequences may result. 
“ It has been truly said that no man is so poor that he need have 
his pig trough at the front door, and if we cannot, single handed, 
drain a town, we can, at least, keep decent our homesteads.” 
“We see that the well are made sick, and the sick are made 
worse, for the want of the two elements which a good God has given 
us absolutely without measure — pure air and pure water. From 
tooth-aches to typhoids, from the neuralgias and rheumatisms that 
keep us in torment and will not even let us escape by death, to the 
fevers and cholera, which strike us down almost without warning, 
and even from consupiption, slow but sure, we suffer in great meas¬ 
ure because we breathe bad air and drink bad water. We see too, 
that often, if not usually, the air is poisoned by emanations from 
stagnant water, either that which is naturally in the soil or in pools 
and holes about us, or that which we have rendered corrupt by the 
ordinary and careless arrangement of buildings for our families and 
our domestic animals. 
“ The water of our springs and wells is corrupted by drainage 
from cess pools and sinks, so that we ourselves systematically poison 
both the air we breathe and the water we drink.” Fourth Annual 
Report of the Massachusetts State Board of Health. 
It is a common practice, in the country, to have the well, for 
watering cattle, in the barn yard. This is a very pernicious prac¬ 
tice, since the water — being necessarily impregnated with the 
