Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1885-08-28

freBhened with White-whsh, and never paper
ed Kitchen slops and garbage should be
promptly removed, and, so far "a may be,
utilized.
You must have some outbuildings, one OF
which may have no name but still Il IL in
dispensably necessary. Probably, there
should be two Of them-at some distance
apart-not conspicuous, easy Of ACCESS and
sorupulously clean. II IL better 10 have no
pits, but reoeptaoles (as Of galvanized from
which could be moved with no great trouble
and their contents covered with ashes earth
or lime taken of at short intervals, 10 be dis
posed Of at q proper distance from the house,
for the purpose Of making manure. Duly
covered and removed before decomposition,
the material would give no offence, whilst,
on the contrary, II would give back elements
TO the earth OF great economic value.
You want kitchen garden, and for the la
dies flower garden. Your vegetables, taken
fresh from mother earth, are generally more
palatable and safer for health than those we
buy in the city markets.
Your wash and bath houses must be adapt
cd 10 your water convenience According
10 the Talmud, Cleanliness Is next TO godli-
ness"
DRINKING WATER.
The farmers house needs pure water but
little less than pure air. But neither pure
air nor pure water is 10 be understood In
rigidly chemical sense. By pure water we
mean wholesome water. II the farmer has
beautiful spring convenient 10 his house,
supplying an abundance OF the refreshing
crystal element, so much the better Tor him
and his family. He must take care that no
deleterious impurities find Acoess 10 IT, And
so II he digs 3 we'll, say not less than twenty
or thirty feet below the surface, he must also
r,rotaot that frnnn all aauroaa ~
ton. Suppose for instance, bis spring OF
well be near barn yard, pig-pens, or, yet
worse, privy pits, the water, no matter If it
be bright and sparkling may convey 10 his
household not health but disease, or, az has
often happened, death itself
Dangerous impurities from such sources
are everywhere recognized. Foul water, oon-
tanning various disease germs, find their way
into your saltwater, the ground-wster, thence
into your drinking-water, and thus your fam
lily may be insidiously poisoned. l have seen
no instances reported but II seems to me
that such an agent as Paris green, lavishly
used near drinking water, may prove more
dangerous than salts OF lead copper, or tin,
whose injurious effects are often noticed. But
here only propose to speak Of organic par.
ticles, which may be derived from animal or
vegetable sources.
Your water supply should be quite remote
from sources Of pollution. At our first state
sanitary meeting the question was asked Of
DR.. A. N. Bell, Of the Sdnitd1idn, at what
distance from q well would II be safe 10 place
privy vault or oess-pool2 The answer was
THE greater the better, but ordinary soils
have lateral drainage area equal TO Ave feet
for every one foot Of depth-that Is to say,
well twenty feet deep Ia ordinarily the re-
oeptacle Of any soluble matter in the soi.wA-
ter for distance Of 100 feet In all directions
Under some circumstances, such as sub soil
currents In certain directions, the danger dis
lance is much greater"
Now the Soluble matter" spoken OF may
and often does contain the germs OF typhoid
or other dangerous fevers.
Herein you have a suggestion which need
not be elaborated.
ICE IAiPURITms-ICE AND WATER ANALYSIS.
We may nov consider Zoe as a necessity,
not as an article Of luxury. 1 look upon it
as in many cases a most valuable remedy in
many forms Of disease so much 80, that |
could scarcely practise medicine without it's
aid nevertheless, Il may be used TO abuse
when pure, besides which It is very liable to
contamination with impurities. few years
ago many visitors at Rye Beach we're taken
with an obscure form Of entsric fever, and
investigation failed to find the cause until
the ice was examined. II was then found
that it was brought from q neighboring
pond in which there was great mass Of de,
oayed organic matter. With q change Of Zoe
the spread OF the disease vasAt once arrested
The notion" says DIR. Nichols, the attend.
ing physician, that Toe purifes itself by the
process of freezing is not based upon trust
worthy scientific observation. On the contra.
ry, 1t is entirely wrong in principle to take Toe
for consumption from any pond, the water of
which Is no fOuled az to be unfit for drinking
purposes.
Your ice then, IS your drinking water,
should not only be pure, but above suspicion.
A. TO the water, the same may be said in
regard to that used by cattle You will find
in whites Compendium OF Cattle Medicine"
that great stress is laid ON "the propriety of
supplying the cattle with pure water, not
only for the health of the animals, but so far
Is the COWS are concerned for the qualitg of
Tie milk, butter and cheese" Mr.. White
gives examples OF the improvement of cattle
by means of a good water supply.
How are you going to know whether your
water is pure or not 2 Taste and smell give
some indications, but these are not sufficient
neither is the appearance of the water TO the
sight. In the first place you draw your sup
ply from place which you believe to be re-
mote from any source Of contamination.
Then there are come simple tesla as to
color, odor and taste, readily made at home.
Thus for color: Fill bottle made of color
less glass with the water look through the
water at some black object the water should
appear perfectly oolorless and free from sus.
pended matter. A muddy or turbid appear
ance indicates the presence of soluble organic
matter, or of insoluble matter in suspension
II should be clear as crystal
IfIOr -Emniv nul aOn,a ~ tha ,,,s.-
leaving the bottle half full cork up the
bottle and leave II for few hours in warm
place; shake up the water, remove the cork
and critically smell the air contained in the
bottle. II it has any SMELL and especially If
the odor is in the least repulsive, the water
should be rejected for domestic use. BY heat
ing the water TO boiling, an odor is evolved
sometimes that otherwise does not appear
Taste. Water fresh from the we'll IL
usually tasteless, even though It contain a
large amount OF putrescible matter. Water
for domestic use should be perfectly tasteloss,
and remain 30 even after it has been warmed,
since warming often develops q taste in wat
ter which is tasteleSs when cold II the
water at any time has repulsive or even
disagreeable taste, it should be rejected
HeiSch's test for sewage contamination,
which ia highly recommended, Is as follows
Fiji clean pint bottle three fourths full of
the water TO be tested and dissolve in the
water teaspoonful OF the purest sugar
loaf or graduated sugar will Answer-oork the
bottle and place 1t in q warm place for two
days. II in twenty-four TO forty eight hours
the water becomes cloudy or muddy 1t is un-
ht for domestic use. II il remains perfectly
clear, it is probably safe to use
So much for home analysis but beyond
this, If the water be questionable, il should
be submitted TO scientific experts, who some
times with great difficulty detect the danger
GUS element and direct the proper correo-
tons.
The Terrible Drain
Which scrofula makes upon the system must be ar