Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1879-02-25

into a river or other flowing stream it soon
by natural processes, loses its deleterioui
character and becomes perfectly harmless
Mr.. Judson, however, shows, by the testi
mony Of men whose knowledge of the sub.
Jet cannot be questioned that the state
ment is false, not only IN theory, but also IL
fact. The idea Is based, we believe, upon
the theory that il sewage be mixed
with twenty times its vol
ume Of river water, the or
ganic matter which it contains will be oxi-
died and completely disappear while the
river Is flowing distance of a dozen miles or
| so. Some years ago this matter was made
the subject of rigid test, and not only was
| the theory dispIoyad, but it was also shown
| that it Is highly dangerous to health to drink
water thus polluted, even after it has been
| thoroughly and repeatedly filtered. The test
demonstrated that so far from sewage mixed
with twenty times its volume of water being
oxidized during flow Of ten or twelve miles,
scarcely two-thirds Of it would be so DESTROYED
in a flow Of one hundred and sirty- eight
miles. And this brings us to another inter
esting point in connection with this
matter, and Of which the paper before
US treats-namely, the publication Of
water that has once been polluted.
When, as is too frequently the case, it
Is impossible to get pure water, then the
question of removing the impurities from
that we have becomes an i'm Dortant one As
the result of numerous experiments upon
Tlr
English physician, states that it is impossible
to remove sewage-contamination from water
by any known process, natural or artificial,
so as to render it harmless, except by b5inng
for long time, or by distilation, and, as
these two processes are impracticable on a
large scale, he thinks that water that has
once been contaminated by sewage ought not
to be used, if possible to avoid it, for domes-
tic purposes; and he adds that as the noxious
matter of sewage generally exists there
in the form of minute germs, which are
probably smaller than blood globules, no
system of filtration can be relied on to
free water of such germs, even though it |
should be through a stratum of chalk Con- |
corning the question of detecting impurities |
the fact that water which may by all known |
tests appear pure is not necessarily so. Gross
pollution is sensible to the sight, the taste /
and the smell, and creates an instructive re-
volt; lesser pollution, though perhaps not
apparent to any of the senses, yields its secret
10 the chemists skill; while infnitesimal pol
luton, though it may exist to dangerous
nd oil Aloo ,oc al
stry, and reveals its presence only in its fatal
effects upon those who drink the water in
which the poison is held in solution. This
should be remembered, because generally
when water is suspected the uppermost
thought Is to have it analysed, whereas
t is positively stated that analysis fire.
luently fails to detect poison where it
s known to exist. An eminent English au-
hority, speaking on the same subject, says
here is much better chance of getting at
nfnitesImal pollution through accurate med
cal statistics, properly applied, than through |
hemical analysis, because chemical analy-
is is one of the poorest things possible to
each those delicate quantities. In fact, he |
links it impossible to get at those small
uantities at all, because the accuracy of
hemical analysis must depend upon our
overs of weighing and measuring, and we
annot In these processes go beyond certain
INIT. From these premises Mr. Judson ar
ives at the conclusion that the only safe
curse to pursue in regard to selecting water
'r domestic purposes is to first be sure of its
PURGE, and then see that it is not contain
rated in passing thence to the point at
Inch it is taken for use. Having once
etermined in what pollution consists, then
condemned, as grounds fer distrusts In
etermining the purity of water are grounds
r It's rejection, especially when brought in
with water from a source of I'M
7ubted purity. Potable waters given in the
der of their wholesomeness are classified by
e English water commissioners as follows:
'hoesome-1, spring water; 2, deep well
alter; 3, upland surface. Suspicious Cvery
'latabe)-4, stored rain water; 5, surface
alter from cultivated lands. Dangerous
Moderately palatableJ-6, river water to
llch sewage get access; 7, shallow well
tier.