The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1876-11-02
The Dangers v ilich Menace Those who I'm.
1htSt- Ga} bike Adams Ale.

aA Atathe recent meeting of the British
Association the anatomical and physi.
illogical section was occupied with a
most Interesting discussion upon what
we ought to drink and what to eat
Professor Wanklyn,l the well-known
analytical chemist, opened the contro.
yersy by reading paper on the effects
Of the mineral substances in drinking
water on the health of the community.
He commenced with some statistics
which ought to strike horror into the
heart even of Good Templar. The
professor tells US that an. adult male
daily imbibes from half gallon to q
gallon OF auid in some shape or other,
and, however small may be the per-
centage of salts contained even in the
purest well water, it yet stands to rea-
SON that six gallons of well water con :
tain an appreciable amount of said
lnatter. Professor, Wanklyn, indeed,
shows that there is even more mineral
matter in ordinary drinking water
than in household bread. Ii, in other
words, q loaf of bread is burned 10
ashes. . very small residue OF mineral
matter is left, while if, on the, other
hand, . gallon of drinking water, is
evaporated, its, mineral contents will
be found much larger than might have
been supposed. There are, we learn,
two kindsof drinking water-the hard
and the sOft--and a man who is ac-
custOmed to the one can not without
risk suddenly adapt himself to the
other. Nor is this all for even those
who object to water for drinking pur-
poses can not help taking it in various
shapes. Beer. for instance, il made
with water. and SO is tea, aud water is
daily consumed by many people in
combination with alcoholic liquors.
There is an old story of an Irish squire
who said that upon principle he never
touched a drop of water, but he liked
his cup of tea in the morning aud his
tumbler OF grog at nighl.. Now, ac-
cording sorWamklyn,it it makes
all the difference in the world to a man
what are the precise mineral constitu-
ents that enter into the water with
which his tea is made aud his grog is
mixed. Lime, for instance, is an es-
sential element of the human body. 1t
enters into the bones and into the
enamel of the teeth, and, without
steady supply Of it in some shape or
another, and in districts where only
soft water can be eiprocured, the chill
dren are apt to suffer from what is
commonly called ricketts, painful
and distressing malady, believed by
medical men 10 be due to deficiency
OF lime in the organism. Upon the
diseases which are the result of drink
ing impure water we need hardly
dwell. II is now generally recognized
that typhoid fever and cholera are al
most entirely due to Contaminated wa
ter supply. The result has been that
of late years cautious people have ta-
ken to boiling their water, in the hope
of thereby destroying all organic mat
it, and afterward filtering through
a charcoal filter. Such a process, OF
oourse, thoroughly eliminates every
possible source of contagioD. On the
other hand, the water thus treated be-
comes soft. and is altogether deficient
In lime aud those mineral salts,a GER
tain supply of which is absolutely nec-
essary for health. Courier.