Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1892-06-08


Extract from . Lecture by DR.. j. III. Ksas
loKg, OF the Battle Cresk Sanitarium.
Dug wells are likely to contain q w
rtety Of germs unless their location In
exceptionally good and they are well
taken care Of The bottom of the well
should always reach bedrock, but 10
does not in every case. We are all
familiar with the fact that the soil
which overlies bedrock always con-
tains water, and that this water will
fill the well up to the level of tho
ground water Now suppose that at
any distance from the well which is not
SO great as to be out Of the sphere OF
possible contamination of the well, are
located vault a cess-pool, heap Of de-
composing rubbish, pig-stye or barn
yard-then the rain in filtering through
these filthy substances will carry par
ticles from them below the surface of
she earth, and after awhile they will
reach and contaminate the ground
water, thus, of course, affecting the
purity of the we'll. Matters may go ON
about as usual for months, or even
years, and the persons who drink from
the well suffer no apparent harm, al
though they are swallowing a mass Of
germs all the while. The reason is that
by peculiarly beneficent arrangement
the body is able to protect itself against
these intruders. The gastric juice is q
great germicide, and makes way with
most of them, especially becoming 40
customed to those habitually received.
But suppose some new germ like that
of typhoid fever finds lodgment in
some Of these reservoirs of filth; they
propagate rapidly, and finally are car.
ried to the ground-water and so to the
well. Then there will likely be an out
break of typhoid fever in the family,
unless all the water is boiled before
using.
We look with contempt upon the
practices of the Hindoos, who battle
their bodies and wash their clothes in
the tanks which contain their drinking
water; but we really do worse things,
because our wells are often so located
that they receive the extract of the
cess-pool and the barnyard, to
say nothing of the Stops from
the house. Some semi-civilized and
savage people have learned the wis
dom of boiling the water which they
use for household purposes, and SO sell
dom suffer from epidemics, although
they live in the midst Of the most unhy-
gienic surroundings. For instance, tho
Chinese, who live in large numbers in
boats upon sluggish streams into which
they deposit their flth, and from which
they take the water they use. There
are alse certain savage tribes in Africa
who no more think of taking their
rinking water uncooked than they do
their yams-
We are utterly thoughtless about
what takes place underground and out
OF our sight, and in this respect are as
stupid AS the ostrich which, by hiding
It's head so that it can not see its enc
mics, imagines that none are about! If
we can contrive to put our filth out Of
sight, we feel perfectly safe about It
though it is really more dangerous
when hidden than when exposed on
the surface of the ground. II
would be more offensive to the
senses of sight and smell if unburied,
but not nearly so dangerous to life
Why? Because natural means would
be brought to reduce it to a harmless
condition as rapidly as possible. The
ozone in the air, the sunshine and the
germs would do their part, and the
wind blowing over it would scatter and
dilute the filth, which, being no longer
concentrated, would soon be harmless.
Keep then the drainage area of you,
well free from all possible contaminat'
| ing influences, and whenever you have
any doubts about the purity of you,
water supply, boil every drop you use
Reported by Helen L. Manning.