The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1901-05-10
Tn. Water supply.


even horses will frequently leave pure
drinking water to imbibe the tea"
that seeps away from manure piles one
should not argue from this that such
drinking water is harmless or bene-
fetal. The fact of the matter is that
animals may apparently suffer no III
effects for months from drinking con-
taminated water but there invariably
comes a time when the i'll effects be-
come only too apparent to the owner.
The time alluded to is when some dis
ease attacks tho animals. On one farm
the disease will run a benign course
with few victims, but on another farm
in the district the same trouble Will
take on a virulent type and sweep the
animals away in a wholesale manner.
The cause of the latter virulence Is
very commonly the long continued use
of contaminated water. It's prolonged
use vitiates the system of the animal,
renders the blood impure and so rem
ders the victim prey to the disease.
Every seed does best in favorable soil
and so the germs of disease proliferate
most successfully in the seed bed fur
nished by sluggish, impure blood. 1t
is often for the reason just assigned
that colt distemper (strangles) on one
farm takes a mild form and on an
other kills all the colts it attacks; and
where the latter is the case medicines
rarely do much good as it Is too late
to mend matters. Where animals are
allowed to drink impure water we gen.
orally note characteristic appearances
which tell the story to the trained eye.
Horses are troubled with stocked legs,
kidney troubles, Indigestion and
diarrhoea. The result of Lnese things
is seen in a staring coat OF hair, lack
of appetite, dullness and lack of vim
and vigor and above all perhaps, pro-
fuse sweating WHOM at work and in
ability to withstand the hot rays or
the sun in summer. Pregnant animals
are liable to abort when made to
drink contaminated water and their
offspring when born alive arc usually
puny, sickly, living abortions.' we
might mention many other evil effects
of impure drinking water but enough
has been said it remains to point out
some common impurities. or these
the most common is sewage and it's
presence is always dangerous. AS sew
age is of organic nature it may be
detected in drinking water by taking
sample of water in a clear glass bot
tie. corking it and setting in the sun.
After a time the cork being removed
a smell is noticed and water so con-
taminated has a brownish or reddish
color. Pure water should have prac-
tically no color but il any a blush
cast. 1t should have no smell and no
taste the only thing that can be tasted
in the water in such small quantities
that it is innocuous is iron. A more
delicate test for organic matters is
to color water family with perman-
ganate of potash and then heat It, If
organic matters are present the color
will vanish. Where contamination by
leechings of the manure pile or out
house is suspected the matter may be
settled by pouring kerosene upon the
pile on into the other receptacle from
which it will find its way into the we'll
water and be easily tasted Water is
often rendered so hard by the pres
ence of lime as to be injurious to
stock, causing stone or gravel in the
bladder of horses and particularly OF
sheep, with other troubles such as in
digestion, goitre, and deposits of bony
substance at the joints, such as spawn.
Water is frequently contaminated by
the large focks Of pigeons whose drop
pings get into cave troughs and so into
cisterns, etc. Water is common
source of the many parasites infesting
the intestinal tract and stomachs OF
animals so that drinking places used
by adult animals should not be used
for young animals that are more like
ly to be seriously affected by worms
which do not so seriously affect fully
matured animals. In short ii is OF
the greatest Importance to provide the
purest of drinking water not only fol
man but for animals in order to main
tain health and to enable them tc
throw of olsease when it does happier
to attack them.