The Baltimore County union., 1883-11-24

cNfa u attucaliAh. without iutuer ctn eDsatit.
SEc ., That all necessafy expense. incurred ~
said ofEeers. under the direction Of the County
Commissioner. shalt be paid n extra.
Law may prove detective Ia two uays: First.
because is scope and power arc limited. and. &c.
ondly, becauFe the subject matter which Il tries iD
correct l. beyond and outside Of its provisions.
will take two subjects-CuT water closets and our
wells. IL Is out of the question 10 have pure air
ani pure water under the present system uf eon.
structing sinks and making wells. AZ to con.
siruction, the sink should be igid iR es@safsd
.'nur or brick, aud high enough and deep enough
10 prevent inflow and overflow. II u no TO
talk about boxc.. they are not water tight Or of
covering the contents from time 90 time with dirt.
II won't be done 4 sink feet by 3! and feet
deep will cost Sl2. FROM this price az 20 $50.
The one at the Episcopal rectory cost si2. and IL
by g aud feet deep. a large sink IL the
cheapest in the end IL will not require frequent
cleaning. by ventilation in the house above by
a chimney or air chamber and by dsinfccting the
contents occasionally with quick lime. chloride
uf lime, or by sulphatc of iron, generally known
rupPefas or green vitrol. you have au arrange
men; that you have perfect control uf. Capperas
costs one cent per pound BY the barrel. and ten
pounds TO a bucketful Of water IL sufficient Chlo
ride of lime costs cents per pound per barrel.
and n shovcliul dissolved in two buckets of water
will do. These can be used whenever the odOr l.
marked. The coil in this town allows of ready
draining. It's subatrata, six 90 ten feet bcOw the
surface, consists Of sand. Below this soft rock.
mixed with clay, cxists II would be better " u
tough clay and rock formed the subs,rata for this
water not only moves but l. held, similar To q
piece 0f sponge.
our wells are more frequently ~ feet deep than
20, but rarely over the latter figure. The result
l. that impurities must enter the wells. not only
from the privies, but from stables anl kitchen
waste. bad occasion 20 construct u vault, SKI.
and feet deep, 20 place a gas tank therein. II
was bricked up and on tho lower half of my lot
a..
often and so much that after repeated bailing out
! had 10 tFeach Il with tiles. I have repeatedly
seen the sinks In this town full Of water and the
cellars also. One house have had reported To me
has its sink and stables so badly arranged tina, n
shsWer af rain has been hno~a wash their con
tents into one Of rear streets, toisrably we'll
built up with dwelling houses. The porous con
diiion of the sol and the proximity ui the vel
t. the 'ink Ni'l sugsc't the possibility "i IN"
water being contaminated In many insiance'.
OAa from the Kitchen anl drainings from the pig
pens and stables will add their quota to ,h. result.
Thirty fee, should be the least distance allowed
between u clusri and well In still clay soil. and
90 feet In lighter or sandy soils. II there !, u
Slope the sink might be made below the
house. Regard should be had, too, for the dis
tanecs and direction Of our neighbour drainage.
This town rests on strata Of sand consequently
u large area of land l. drained. Col. WarinR gives
10 feet the least distance within which two
lines should bc laid, in order 60 drain thoroughly
a heavy clay soil the tiles being laid At the depth
of four feet below the surface of the ground.
Taking thc,c figures n "a basis OF calculation, IL
will be seen ha, each foo, in depth of ordinary
well will draia a circular area Of n heavy clay soil
having n radius Of > feet, and larger in
lighter soils Estimating the drainage area Of a
we'll 90 fec, deep at a radius of ; feet which the
good authority quoted above justife. u in IoiBg.
even In heavy clay soils, which ours u not. Ne
have n circle Of 200 fee; in diameter, with con.
,ribuiing area "f 3l,iiG square feet, "r no, far
from hrs' qHdEi.rs of 1R acre. Let any dweller
IN this town draw plan of say four or five
houses, standing at n distance Of ! u feet from
each other locating the stables, privics and other
out houses: lc, him construct diagram Showing 2
the depths Of sinks ccsspOols &C., and also Of the
wells in respect to their drainage qualities using
the figures given above as a basis Of calculation.
let him take into confederation the charae'er oi
our soils. and he will almost certainly rise from
the consideration of the subject with more vivid
ideas regarding the danger of contamination Of
the water Of our wells than any words of ours eau
convey.
Now for iac practical application Of the abo, e
facts. First, 90 lay In brick or stone. senea'sd
throughout. your sink. You perfectly certain
then that you hold its contents secure. And sec
ondly. TO dig your wells deeper, so as to strike
through surface drainage, quick sand soft rock.
and below the hard rock into pure water. But
/ the walls Of these deep wells will allow impur-
ties to penetrate their sides and the difficulty still
remains. The only true method is 10 use bored
or driven wells. Ny attention, through friend.
has been called 20 the Maryland Tube and Arte-
sian Well Company of Baltimore. II claims to
sink these wells AT cost less than dHg reiis, and
/ that they are not liable 10 get out OF order II
these bored wells reach asutcient depth, and IL .
proper iubc Is made through the whole depth Of
the bore, perfectly pure water 10 certain Nirthcd
J tubing. with properly ccmen,cd joints. seems u
proper material for such usc. There Il n com.
pany in Philadelphia, and there are many in the
West. so that earnestly call the attention nf the
citizens TO the same.
Last summer I had occasion 10 send patient
20 the sea shore. She preferred Cape May. 10
which ohec,sd owing 10 the yearly p5rs alenes
of typhoid fever at the Stockton House, and. iUr
ought know. ut other hoiels and the distressing <
mortality therefrom. She insisted, and ! then
recommended the New Columbia. just because II
was nsr. | was very much gratihcd aficrward.
90 learn from Mr.. WIN. Gilmor that he was shown.
BY the proprietor. in the cellar Of the hotel. oue
of these bored wells, from which flowed pure.
wholesome water in abundance. To such feel
an interest on this subject land who does not p
will conclude this lengthy report by appending u
few directions by which any one OF ordinary intel
li-cnce can obtain n sufficiently accurate idea
Of the character Of a given sample ot water with
u moderate expenditure Of time and trouble
Obtain bottle or flask Of clear, white gla... Of
about quart measure, and as thin as possible in
the sides. Fill il with the water aud hold IL In
lront of any dark coiorcd black surface, that
n strong light shall fall upon II from above aud
on one side Any small PARTICLES of suspended
matter will then be readily seen. Care. however.
must be taken not to mistake minute air bubbles
for suspended particles Of matter. Note next the
color of the water by placing the flask bottle In
front Of \ white wall or sheet Of fine drawing
paper. and compare IL. if practicable. with bot
tic similar in ,iEc and shape. containing distilled
water Rain water, if caught aftcT rain has been
falling for several hours, in clean vessel at some
distance from any building. answers equally well
for this comparison. Very slight differences IN
color can thus be noted. The two hasks should
stand side by side in good daused light; light
reflected from a white wall screen IL well
adapted 10 this observation. II the water should
be found TO contain any large quantity Of sus.
pended matter, or to exhibit any decided tint or
color, Il Is safe 20 reject IL for drinking purposes.
II may be made suitable by alteration and other
means for use. Observe next the odor. " any. To
do this with advantage il perfectly clean. wide
ncckcd bottle. of a pint or half pint capacity,
about third full. shake it up well and inhale
the air above il. Should any disagrecable smell
he noticed the water Is probably unfit TO drink.
Warm che water in the same bottle slightly and
smell IL again. Heat in n moderate degree will
often render an odor perccp,ble when none can
be observed " the water be cold. Place next
about pint Of the water in n clear glass bottle.
add from half 10 y tcaspoonfui of pure white
sugar. cork Il up tightly, shake well until all the
sugar Il dissolved and stand the bottle for twenty
four hours In a warm place. II. at the end of
that time any turbidity. milky appearance, any
disturbance of the transparency OF tho water. anv
appearance Of fermentation or any disagreeable
odor IL noticed the water should be rejected With
out hesitation. Water sufficiently pure for drink.
ing ought, under the above named test. TO show
no perceptiblc change ut the end of forty EIGHT
hours at least. Further tests should, however. be
made before q sample Of water l. pronounced in
all respects Gt for use In its natural condition. A
few grains eash of caustie potash. iodde Of potas
stun. nitrate Of silver and few drops of sui.
phuric acid obtained from the druggistl. and .