Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1879-06-22
THE BOGGS FILTER.
A Boon for which All Glasses of Mem
phians Should be Thankful and
Grateful-EfectiVe and Cheap
The Poorest People in the
City can Buy Them.
Cisterns and Wells can Now be Closed
Up, and the Water from Wolf River
Come into General Use as the
Purest and Best to be Had.

EDITORS APPEAI-Seme weeks ago my at
tention was directed to the matter of filter
ing hydrant water. Many intelligent observ-
ers and eminent physicians give it as their
opinion that no one cause of disease is so
active among us as the use of contaminated
cistern water. Experienced cistern- builders
give it as their observation that probably not
one cistern In twenty is free from sipe-water.
Aud it Is impossible for many families to give
that oversight to the catching of rain water
which will exclude the organic substances,
hurtful to health and loathsome to thought,
which are carried to house-tops by winds and
in other ways. For these reasons resolved
to work out carefully the problem of filter
that should be adapted on the one hand to
Wolf river water and on the other be within
the reach of all the people. After spending
all the leisure of a month | am able to re-
port perfect success, and now send you
specimen of 'The Sanitary Filter" You will
recognize it as a modification of the Got
tage Filter" described n the encyclopedias.
1t is not, therefore, a novelty, but tried SER
want which has been in use for ages. The
only merit which | can claim is that of minor
details which adapt it to our hydrant water,
while keeping 1t SO cheap that our people
can all make it or buy it. Our hydrant wa
ter has In it two extremes of sedlment-the
abundant supplies of coarse mud brought
down by heavy rains, and the exceedingly
fine sediment (aso mud) which remains
cessful filter must be able to remove both and
to continue the process without interruption.
It is here that such fine filters as the triple
stone fail US with Wolf river water. When
the freshets come and the water is thickened
with mud, a deposit is so quickly spread over
the surface of the stone as that the water
ceases to flow and the process of filtering
stops. To meet the demands of the case,
the sanitary filter uses first a good piece of
sponge compressed In cup. The more
tightly the sponge is pressed into this per-
forated cup, the more completely it strains
out and retains this coarser mud. And if
this sponge be carefully rinsed every day, ut
least one-half of the sediment will thus be
strained out before the water enters the cask.
On entering the filter proper, the water
passes first through a layer OF coarse sand
and rs thus relieved of more of its mud. 1t
then enters a layer of the finest white sand,
| whence it energies clear and hmpid. A bed
| of broken charcoal, tightly packed in by a
pestle, is added for its excellent deodorizing
properties. There Is no peculiarly
| In sand which makes it alone
fit for this purpose. Any
lnsoiuble substance will do as well, If divided
timely. But sand is the cheapest OF all, the
work of pulverizing having been done for US
by natural process. Another point: Muddy
water cannot be rushed through filter, if
you would have it well purified. The immu-
table law of nature is that the carrying
pOIcer Of tcGteF increases 10Th the UetOcity OF
its motion Let the process be slow, and
keep the filter at work day and night. For
this reason we use bucket with small
spigot inserted. Let the spigot drip slowly
over the sponge-cup, graduating the stream
to the necessities of the family for cooking
and drinking. All the mud that goes into
the filter must, of course, be kept there.
And 50 the less the water filtered the longer
the filter will last without being recon-
structed. With the cask used In this case so
regulated as to yield, say, ten gallons daily,
| suppose one might expect two years of IN
interrupted use. And then it can be taken
to pieces, washed, and the same material
restored. 1t might be I etter to use fresh
charcoal, perhaps. l send to-day a speci-
! may be adopted and pushed forward by the
association as a part of their work. 1T will
bear scrutiny. The material is the very best
and the work honest. The casks are of best
whiteoak, made expressly to order, in
the factory, on Main street. Through
the public spirit and courtesy of General Col
! ton Greene, they are furnished at wholesale
rates, or below it, to approved parties. The
| lumber for partitions is of the best seasoned
| oak. Plates Of galvanized IRON are used for
| giving egress to the water. In all these
matters approved parties can purchase ma
| terials from hardware and lUmbermen at cost
| of production, If merchants are only sure that
the people get the benefit Of low prices. Two
| excellent men-cne of them a cooper by
| trade-have thoroughly learned all | know
| about packing these filters. They have their
| shop for the present at No. ASS Main street.
| where specimens can be seen. Tney propose,
| if allowed, to work under the auspices of the
| sanitary association, and at rates which will
| barely cover cost of material and shop-rent,
giving them reasonable wages. In making
| up filters In lots of one hundred at time, a
| saving of twenty per cent. can be made. In
such lots they can, | think, afford to sell a
complete sanitary filter for four dollars.
| Otherwise they must charge five dollars, in
order to live and pay expenses. In this way
excellence Of workmanship, purity of mate
rial and low cost might be combined with
rapid sales; and thus the people will be pre-
| pared to close up every siping cisterd in
| Memphis. One word more. A moment S
| thought will convince any one that filters can
do no good to sipe- water taken from cisterns.
| The unhealthful matter in sipe-w water Is held
in solution. it can therefore only be removed
by chemical reactions or by dishllation,
whereas sediment in rivers is only held in
suspension, and so may be readily separated
by mechanical means. Yours truly,
| JUNE 20, 1879 VIM. Z. BOGG5.
PSI shall report progr ess on a hydrant
filter before long. Such filter cannot be
| used on water at high pressure unless the
process be very costly. For when water
passes out at high pressure it must carry the
| soft mud with it. But large filters can be
supplied by hydrant-pipe from beneath, if
the water passes out slowly and quietly.
Such have been used in Memphis. as l learn.
| But the structure of such a filter and the
cost of plumbing will raise the price to at
least ten dollars. And the drip-6lter is
manifestly the one for the people. In what
is written it is assumed that Wolf river wafer
is more healthful than the average cistern
water of Memphis. l believe this to be true,
| and Uould use II unGltered in preference to
doubtful cisterns. But 1t must be confessed
that our people know too little of the facts.
1t would, in my judgment, richly repay the
water company to have an analysis made
just now by some well-known chemist,
selected by the citizens or by the sanitary as
ISOLATION. Such man as Prof Caldwell, of
GAINESVILLE, or Colonel Raines, Of Augusta,
Georgia, would command full confidence.
And doubt once being removed, the way
! ,unnld he nr,enei to q far aztanaad msa