Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1885-10-28
Pure Water for Drinking.

Prof. Baird, secretary of the Smith
sonian Institute, strongly recon-
mends the practice of boiling all water
used for drinking purposes, unless it is
known to be pure. The only perfectly
safe way of ascertaining whether water
is pure or not is having it analysed by
a competent chemist. But that is an
expensive process, though there are
rogues who profess to do it for much
less than the operation would cost,
and the boiling for half an hour,
though somewhat troublesome, is a
good deal less costly, and would have
to be resorted to any way If the analy-
sis should show the water to be un-
safe.
A porous earthen vessel is a good
thing to put the water in to cool, and
if boiled in the evening and placed in
earthenware vessels in a cool place to
get cold, the water will be found cold
enough in the morning for many peo
pie to drink without ice. 1t is So SIM
pie preventive OF the cause of many
diseases, and the fact that impure
water by no means betrays itself, as
many people suppose, by an appear
ance OF impurity, but is perfectly clear
and limpid and agreeable to the taste,
adds to the danger of this cause. 1t
has been shown over and over again
that impure water is not at all con-
fined to cities, but is found even more
frequently in the wells which supply
our country residents. 1t used to be
held generally that even when
surface impurity existed within a ra-
dius of the we'll sufficiently limited to
drain into it, the percolati, on through
the soil would remove every particle of
impurity from the water ere it reached
the well; but scientists have shown us
that such is not the case. During the
very hot weather, when so much wa
ter is drank, it is well to be on the safe
side. A little cold coffee or a very lit
tie vinegar and little sugar poured
into the water, make very palatable
and refreshing drink in hot weather.
All very cold drinks should be imbibed
slowly. Suddenly flooding the stom-
ach with a large quantity of ice-cold
liquid is always attended with more
or less risk, according to the condition
Of the drinker at the time.
Defective Flues.
Many families are brought to the
door of poverty, and many insurance
companies are made to suffer, by de-
fectIve chimney fues. Nowis the time
to look to this matter. The fires have
been out on the hearth or in the stove
for six months. The thick coating of
SCOT in the chimney has undergone a
chemical change during the season of
rest. When fires are started in the
fall long enough to thoroughly dry out
this SCOT, it easily ignites. It burns
furiously, making the entire fue hot
fiery furnace. 1t heats the brick red
hot, and if there are any detective
places, or if wood of any kind-ioist,
studding, or boards come in contact
with the chimney, it will ignite. The
fire may shoulder there for hours or
days, and break out when all of the
family are in deep slumber, and pro-
gress so far before discovered that
nothing is saved. The statistics of in
surance companies show that three
fourths of all accidental fires are
caused by detective fues. This is not
only caused by criminal negligence,
but too often by niggardly economy.
After house is built it, is often there
is a quantity of refuse and broken
brick left over. They are saved to build
chimney 1ues, so frequently in de-
mand in the country. They are sold
cheap good enough for fues! And
any body can build a fue without
going to town to hire a bricklayer!
The fue is poorly built with poor
brick and worse mortar. The fue is
probably not plastered inside or out.
There may be places where there is no
mortar, and it is a perfect fire maya
zine. This property, in this condition,
may be sold, to an innocent man, and
thus his property and his family are1n
danger by this criminal carelessness.
Every chimney ought either be burned
out in the fall on some rainy day, or
be cleaned Of it's accumulated SCOT by
some other process. If burned out
the greatest precaution should be ex-
ercised to ascertain if there is not
smoldering fire by the outside of the
fue, in cupboard, garnet, or wherever
the wood comes against the chimney.
If all these things were attended to
carefully, half of the fires Of the coun-
try could be avoided.