The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-12-19 00:00:00

MERSTON has given them the attention the

require.

WE hare before us a bottle of the Rivington
Pike water, with a label which contains this
matter-of-fact intelligence :—" This sample of

" water was taken from the Corporation Goit

" opposite the Witbnall Factory, on Monday
"morning, 15th December, 1856, by JAMES

" FORSHAW, Chorley." To attempt to describe

;his concentrated esenc3 of the surface filth of a

manufacturing district would be quite impossible.
It appears to the sight and smell to be a mixture

of guano, blue billy, coal•tar, and ammonia.
The first of these ingredients seems to give the
sample a consistency similar to that of our town-

made cream ; the second a most abominable

perfume, which is sufficiently strong to proclaim
the presence of a deadly poison ; the third sup-

plies a parafinaceous or fatty matter which floats

with stern composure on the surface of the flask

while'the fourth asserts its claim to attention in
a subdued and rather an agreeable way. Taken
as a chemical combination, it will be seen that

the liquid in question is not as highly offensive
as some persons may think. As a base for porter,
we honestly believe that it would be found a

,housand times better than the noted water of

hat valuable tributary to the Thames—the Flee'

Ditch. Whatever it failed to extract from ma]

and hops would be supplied from the admirable
composition of the water itself.
Of the dark colouring matter so much prized
in prime double stout, there may be a slight
superabundance in the Corporation's wells,
streams, and fountains. But porter brewers
know how to overcome this objection. Not so

the lover of that limpid beverage which flows
from the hope-inspiring spout of grandmamma's
teapot. Those who like to see the natural oil of
the coffee berry floating on their cups may find
the Pike water a delicious adjunct to their dish of

Mocha. But think of our housewives who have
declared war against " them blacks " for genera.

tions, when they find that their old foes are
amphibious, and infest their water butts as well as
profane the sacredness of the " hairy " and the
cleanliness of the best parlour ! Are the Pikeists
prepared for the consequences ? Can they not
see the social revolution which is impending ?
It is all nonsense to talk of filtering such filth. If
the Pike water is seventy-five percent clearer
and purer in every respect than the sample we
have in our possession, it will impregnate and
render their filtering beds useless. Tar floats,
blue billy is not to be evaporated, and ammoniacal
salts cannot be precipitated in running water on
a large scale. Hence we have great chemical

difficulties, as well as engineering absurdities, to

overcome. We shall require a consultation of
chemists before the Corporation can undertake
to declare that the Pike water is fit for general
household use.
We do not hesitate to say that, if the water is
only one-fourth as bad as that we have seen,
before it goes into the filtering beds, it will never
be safe to supply it to the town. The refuse
water flowing from dye-houses and gas-works is
deadly poison ; and the experiments made by the
Commissioners of Sewers, with sewer water as
manure, show very distinctly the very small pro-
portion of the refuse sewering of populous dis-
tricts which will destroy all traces of vegetation.
Three to one, and in some cases five
to one, were the proportions required
in diluting sewer water for manure.
There are cases recorded, in which two parts pure
water, and one from a sewer, was found to de-
stroy grass. What, then, are we to think of
this concentration of sewer and surface filth which
has found its way into the Pike works ? That
which would destroy vegetable life cannot be fit
for the human stomach. Every one acquainted
with the manufacture of gas, is well aware that
the ammoniacal liquor produced in the smallest
works would be enough to destroy all the lives
in Liverpool. Rats cannot stand the smell of it
and if only one :drop gets on their bodies, it
takes the skin off and eventually kills them.
Fortunately, there is no chance of the Pike water
taking us by surprise. It is not likely to be here
for a considerable time to come ; and unless it
improves in quality very much indeed, the public
should insist on its being carefully analysed by
competent chemists, before it is suffered to enter
the Borough.