Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1880-07-01
AGRICUL YURAL.
The Poisoning Of Wells.

lEtO the System e1thoA 'ioA' "
Ach or the lungs. The blood Is man
uiactursd in the digestive organs from
the food, passes in great part through
the liver, and all Of it through the
lungs, in both Of which it is filtered
and purified, and in the latter 1t IS
brought directly into contact with the
air which is breathel by inspiration,
and is subjected to any deleter'ous
matter which may be contained m IT..
AS the food and drink ere the materl-
ais of which the blood is formed, any
unEealthful or poisonous influence at
this prime source, OF course, po'sons
the stream; and at the function OF the
lungs is to aerate and purify the blood
ANYTHING wrong in the purifying ma
tsrials Of which the blood is formed,
any unhealthful or poisonous lnIlu-
ence Mt this prime source, OF course,
poisou the stream and as the function
oftte lungs is to rrate and purity the
blood, anyth n wrong in purifying
materials intclfercs with this import
ant vital process.
But we propose here on'yto caII,at-
tention to what We believe to be the
most prolific source Of rural diseases
material, functional and organic IN
their character. This is the water
supply. A. cess pool eight feet deeI
receives the excreta Of family, the
wash from bathroom, water,cIose'
and sink included. Thirty or lourty
gallons a day, equal to nearly l3,ool
gallons year, or 1000 cubic feet PEI
yea, oftho most poisonous kind of filth
are poured into this pool only eight
feet deep, and, Of course, soaked INTO
the soil and saturate it. Twenty
feet only from This deadly sink Is the
we'll, which is probably several Toe
tls.per than the cess-pool. Ih'
drainage from the cess pool Will the'
flow in every direction in a circle 0
of twenty feet radius only before !
oours into the well. For each foot Il
lerth Of this area thore are about J.
oO0feet. In year the 1000 cubI'
feel Of waste will completely fill TIN
SPACE Of twenty feet around The We
10 a depth Of more than loot an'
half and in two years to a depth o
three and half feet. But two thing
cannot occupy the same space, on'
this filth will then be distributed
over a much larger quantity 0
ground in proportion to the ratio o
solid soil to the small interstjccs o
spaces among the gravel, in the mess
Taking this ratio as only ten to one
eco cubic feet Of waste viii satu
rae 10000 cubic feet Of earth IN on
year.
=. II is true that the soil near the cess
pool will retain the largest portion O
.oild matter, and the first waite
which reaches the well will be filtered
to some extent. But it is only Qnss
ton of time-the elapse Of which viii
depend upon the nature OF the sub
soil.-how long or how short tim
will elapse before the poison ponrs un
Iilrted into the well, and from it int
the stomachs Of the unfortunate anl
unsuspecting victims. If a bed Of ella.
lies close to the bottom Of the cess poe
there will be no escape downward an
the period required to reach the We
will be probably six months. If tn
soil is gravelly and the waste sink
downward, there is the absolute Gel
tainty that a stream Of water whlc
flows into the we'll will be reache
sooner or later.
A similar frightful certainty, slow
BY but SURELY approaching in thou
sands of cas- s, threatens in time t
stay the Life Of unsuspectlng people
who will by and by exhibit ever
symptom Of insiduous but fatal disol
der. The hectic cheek sw ollen glanc
dry hot skin, disordered digestion, bi
ous arrangements, headaches, tren
ons, diarrhoea, dysentery, cultaneos
eruptions, coated tongue tumors, fo'
breath, and all the varied symptom
BY which blood poisoning first becom
apparent. and the Gaal deadly !ypho
and malignant fever are predictt
alarm the consciousness, while tt
source Of the very poison itself ls hou
ly ussd to allay the fever and thlE
seeasioned by it.
W. Az noL dee;ra 10 l., copao rom