The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1900-07-20
Drinking Water In The Country.

Drinking Water In The Country.
PREVALENCE OF TYPHOID POISON
SOME PEOPLE ESCAPE DIsEAsE-PURE
WATER AND CONTAMINATED ICE.
The New York Evening Post publishes
from the pen of Mrs q. M. Plunkett of
Pitts Fl cid the following on 1.-THE conquest
OF typhoid" which refers Interestingly
to come experiments which have been
conducted In Maseac husetts.
1t has now become fact of common
knowledge that person is much more
likely to acquire typhoid while dwelling
in quiet, attractive, and otherwise sa-
lubrious country village than in the noisy,
dusty, and smoke-begrimed city. WHY
is this? Because the village has to de-
pend on wells for its drinking water, and
because these wells have become infected
with the bacillus typhosus; while the
city gets it's water from some pure lake
on some distant mountain top, brought
in iron pipes for miles, and thus has a
"protected" supply. 1t is true that city
jewellers are not utterly exempt, and
there Is crop of early autumn cases that
when traced to their sources, lead direct
~ to the sparkling waters Of some in
iected we'll, for 1t is q surprising fact that
a man who is scrupulously careful at
home will select place for his summer
outing that, although to all outward
appearance as ealubrious as Eden itself,
Is full of delusive danger and disease.
Gradually the diffusion of intelligence lie
leading to greater care and enlightened
self-interest is forcing the proprietors of
| summer resorts to make their condition 8
and surroundings as hygienic as possible.
Another piece Of unaccountable care
lessness is shown in the Indifference Of
buyers IS to the source of their ice supply.
As DR. Prudden well says SIT ia astonish-
ing that New York cheerfully spends
millions to secure pure water from dis
tant Croton lake, and then cools it with
Hudson river ice, without stepping to
inquire whether that ice is harvested near
the outlet Of some sewer or not, 1t has
been amply proved that the typhoid germ
will live in the middle of block Of ice,
and it was demonstrated that it did not
lose its vitality in 20 days when sur
rounded by ice In bottle of water in the
celebrated experiments Of Messrs Mills
and Hazen at Lawrence, Mass, under
the direction of the Massachusetts state
board Of health.
One of the venerable decisions of
ssnitarians was that running water puri-
fies itself by the oxidation OF organic
matter. It is now an axiom among all
sanitary authorities that "no stream lie
long enough to purify itself from the
typhoid germ" A short study of the
microbes with what the untutored rustic
contemporary calls ''them peeking
glasses is, q good, high power
microscope that can multiply surface
million timea-is Illuminating. The
bacterium or bacillus (both words have
the same meanine) Of typhoid fever is an
organism that, while it's measure is 50
small that 5000 Of them would only reach
across the head Of q common pin, they
have been carefully studied by hundreds
of scientific men, carefully described,
and, as result of thousands Of expert
ment made with billions of them, are as
well known to scientists as are wheat
grains to farmers. Experiments were
made at Lawrence, Mass, with grains of
sand OF different sizes, and it was proved
that only sands of the smallest sized
grains could catch and retain the bacillus
Of typhoid. 80 1t Is evident that the spaces
between the grains Of common earths con
stitute spacious galleries through which
the bacillus can easily make it's way In
platoons.
Few people realize that we live over.
water. That accomplished engineer,
John G. Hoadley, in an article on
Driven wells," says: tIn all places
fitted for human habltation water il to
be obtained at q greater or less depth b d
How the surface Of the ground. Where
ever found, It has fallen from the clouds, |
has sunk into the ground througe perme-
able soil, and having reached some i'm
permeable stratum, such ~ impenetrable
clay or hard, unbroken rock, il cree ping
with stealthy dow through the interetices
Of the soil to lower levels. on its way BY
so me path, more or less obstructed, to
the Sea-" OF course It il easily seen how
finely c0mminuted materials, thrown
upon the ground, will be carried down
by the rainfall, and II insoluble win be
easily borne on the subterranean rivers
10 wells, dug down. Of course, below
heir surfAces, and nobody ever pretended
hat the live bacillus typhosus was .
ucluble thing. Now, when It = remem-
bered that the body Of typhoid patiert
throws on millions Of thess oreanIsms III |.
! DAY being found n hi ap1tnm, y ven |
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