Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1852-07-15
WATER

NEW subjects deserve more attention than the
i necessity OF Obtaining copious supply OF wa
ter, but in looking TO quantity of supply, quality
has been thought Of less importance; there could
not be more gross error or one more fatal 10 do
nestle comfort and economy. We propose to ex-
plain some Of the serious Inconvenience which re-
suit from an nludcious selection Of hard water for
dpmestic purposes. The water found in springs,
&c, has its primary origin in rain, which falling
on the soil percolate; through il, and the porous
beds beneath and gushes out in the form of springs
whenever it meets an imperyious bed which refuses
ii passage; pits sunk down to the latter detect it
there, and form wells. In its passage through the
peryous rocks, il takes up soluble impurities vary
ing in their amount and character with the geolcg
zeal formations these impurities being principally
mineral ingredients, may be lime. chalk, gypsum,
salt and different other compounds, which impress
speculiarsqualities the water The salts OF lime
and magnesia communicate to water qualify
termed E1rdness property dificutio describe, but
which all understand; the most common giver of
hardness is carbonite Of lime. Any earthly salt de-
eomposes soap and prevents its action cleanser.
Soap consists of an oily acid combined generally,
with soda; when added to water containing lime,
that earth untes with the oily aeid forming an in
soluble soap of no use as detergent; this insou-
bic lime soap is the curd which appears in hard wa
ter during washing with soap. Hard water is of
moved by uniting with the oily acid Of soap. Ev-
cry 100 gallons OF water Of this Kind usually de-
stroys 30 ounces Of soap-ihis is an enormous
waste, Ifpersons observe their habits in washing
they will perceive that the principal quantity of the
wateris used bylhem not as cleanser but merely
Tor the purpose Of Tinsing off the very sparing a.
mount employed for detergent purposes. We do
not wash ourselves In bot out of the basin-the pro-
cess of washing with soft water is quite different,
the whole quantity being then applied cleanser,
the value OF soft water for washing will by expert
ment be at once recognized. Now although the
soap may be economised In personal abluton by
the uncomfortable method described is impossible
a1lt1 -. ~. - AZ - -
&C., Thu labor required TO wash in hard water is
yery mach greater than when il is SOFT and the adj
dilional tear and wear is very important conside-
ration. We now draw attention TO the inconveni-
enee Of hard water in cooking it is we'll known
that greenspeas, beans and other green vegetables
loose much Of their delicate color, become yellow
and assume shriyelled and disagreeable appear
ance losing much of their delicacy to the taste by
being boiled in hard water. For making Coffee
and Tea the evil is still more obvious it is extreme
ly difficult to obtain good infusion of either with
hard water however much may be wasted in the
attempt The effect of hard water on the health of
tbe lower animals is very obvious; horses cattle
&C., refuse it whenever they can obtain supply Of
soft wafer, they preferthe muddies pool of the lat
ter to the most brilliant andsparLing spring the
former. In all of them il produces eholic, and some
times more serious diseases the coats Of horses
drinking hard water become rough, stare, and they
soon fall out of condition 1t is not known that IL
exerts similar influences upon man, although anal
ogy would lead us toexpect thata beverage unsuited
tothe lower animals cannot be favorable TO the hu-
man constitution. Persons with tender skins can
not wash in hard water because the insolubie salts
left BY evaporation, cause an intolerable irritation
Having now explained briefly some of the inconve-
nienccs Of hard water we propose the remedy
Employ Hobart to build pair of ATENTHY-
DRAULIC CONCRETE FILTERING CTS
TERMS, which are made ofimpershable materi-
al and warranted not 10 leak. With these, good
supply Of pare sof water. is hand and may if de-
sirable, be introduced into any room in the house
for bathing purposes, &c. PLAIN CISTERNS,
suitable for washing purposes, or stables; also
built in the most permanent manner Having SUI
perior fixtures for the purpose orders meet prompt
attention, and are respectfully solicited For ref
erence TO persons who have had above cisterns in
use for years, or further information, address
BILLINGS HOBART.
Charlestown March ID l452-fm