The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1860-08-11
From the Prairie Farmer.
CISTERN WATER.
By MRS. =. D. GAGE.

"Only think what terrible water the. peo-
| pie have to drink-just out of ponds and
mud holes and dirty streams: or else put
up with rain water. Oh, ] wouldn's go
there to live for all the world, J" some would
say whose friend had written home of the
difficulty of procuring water.
Now, plenty of good. fresh. gushing
water is a glorious privilege; but. generally
speaking, those that have that luxury must
have hills, and rocks, and mountain sides
with it. and often sterile soil that requires
the hardest toll,
ssFrom November till October"
to bring out of it living.
No good water was the cry when We
talked of coming to Southern Illinois
..'nothing but cisterns to drink from
Now we have at our door cistern TWEEN
| ty-two feet deep and seven or eight feet
broad at the base, built up with brick and
cement, somewhat in the form of Jug, the
small part at the top, and capable of hold
ing all the water family Of six or seven
could use in six months. We find it very
cool, clear and delicious-by little care a
roof may be always cleaned before letting
in the water-and ordinary rains should not
be saved at all. Fill the cistern or cisterns
in the spring, and they will last till autumn.
There might be one or two to every house,
without any more expense than is required
to build one deep well, and wells in many
States furnish only rhinestone" water,
which carries with it multitude of dis
eases.
We prefer our cool. clear cistern water to
anything we could find short of the gush-
ing mountain stream from the granite rocks,
and if there were ten limestone wells at
hand should never touch one of them while
the cistern water lasted believe the els
tern water far more conducive to health,
more ambitious, anti-dyspeptic, and anti
rheumatic than water impregnated with
lime. Cutaneous diseases prevail more in
limestone regions, where all the drinking
water shares its properties. Even horses, it
is said, grow rough. and the hair will not
be glossy, that drink lime water, and cannot
so easily be kept in prime order as upon soft
water.
In the West Indies they are often visited
by long drouths, and have trouble in getting
pure, soft water for running their steam
engines, and making their sugar In order
to avoid all danger. they build large cisterns
that will hold thousands of barrels, and fill
them in the rainy season by means of flat
forms built of brick and stone, some three
feet from the ground, the tops fat and
slightly inclined, and plastered with cement
: Before long rain, these flat forms are
cleared of all dust or dirt then the first
days rain is suffered to go to waste the
cistern is then filed and sealed up from all
insects or vermin, and the water raised
; whenever desired through all the year by
windmills. 1t is frequently thrown up into
: houses or mills, and the supply is thus made
IN; 7 lax hot xr;t 9
trif1ing expense to farmers, some such els
terms might be put in operation, and the
prairie farms kept well supplied with good
: fresh water for stock, and the prairie winds
made servants to do the bidding of mel
here as well as there.
Now, word to house-keepers. Sof
water is better for all kinds of cooking
Makes better tea, will boil meat and vegeta-
bles nicer, make better bread, and especially
| better brine for meat, colors better, washe:
better, cleans house better-in fine, l be
9 lieve it better than hard water for every,
: thing, where water is to be used, than thu
hard water usually found in the West. Lee
us all have good cisterns close to our doors
o "even if CALIKER is the only thing worn
for the next three yeas. Then il we woul,
: have the highest of Injuries, build our owl
ice houses, and our own filters, which every
family may do, and my word for it, whel
!. once done, it will never be neglected after
ward
CARBoNDALE, Illinois.
n CISTERNS AND FILTERS VS.. WELLS.
:, Last week we published article on cisterl
e water, by Mrs. T. D. Gage, to which w
i call attention. There is scarcely famil,
u but does or ought to have good cistern
: Economically considered it is the best wa,
: to get water for drinking or other purposes
:. Few are satisfied, however, with cistern
e 1t is not the first thing made after the hous
e is built, or rather it is rarely built when tn
! house is. But aceH is dug. The well i
) frequently far from the house, or at an in
! convenient distance. 1t costs as much o
d more than good, large eistern would, an,
If by no means renders a cistern unnecessary
e 1t does not always furnish good water or a
W abundance of it.
Now we have word of advice to give {
those building houses on the prairies. w
J. endorse all that is said of the healthfulnes
/, of cisteTn water, as compared with prairi
ot we'll water. We would build cisterns-th
D. needs of the household demand it every
E where-build them so that the water froI
a it may be obtained without going out of tn
IL kltc0en. we ROuIu DuliQ IL before ana IL
IF stead of q well /; and then we would expen
the money usually expended in 'fndin
g water by digging or boring for it, in th
5, purchase of a filter. Kedzie's filters hay
E. been advertised in the paper. and we hay
IS used them and know them to be good /; henC
re we name them. There are doubtless 9th,
a. good kinds-or one may be made by sue
It. as have charcoal, sand and other essentia
convenient. But one of Kedzie's win co
er far less than well, and viii insure par
y, soft water from the cistern.
e. If well is built in addition TO cister
Te pump or other drawing apparatus is neet
to ed in addition to that used in cisterp. Fl
less money than it would be necessary
use in furnishing a well. would furnish
n. large filter, worth more in sanitary poi
s. of view to the family than the services of
a, physician.
CisEsrns are hardly appreciated as th,
should be. as sources of water for stock
winter. Especially on the prairies, wbe
large barns are needed and built. and wat
IT. is scarce. and frequently long dislan
from the stable, should their value be bett
understood, and their cost compared vi