Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1910-11-05

voir, river or lake from which the wa
ter Is obtained. proper filtration
plant Is also advisable. and here expert
advice and engineering skill will prove
cheap in the long run.
On farms and places disconnected
from a general water supply the mat
ter is under the Immediate control Of
The householder.
If one cannot afford an arteSian well.
at least a deep we'll should he sunk
and rigid precaution taken against con,
tamination from household sewage
The most horrible and unciviliZcd con
dition that can possibly exist is n shall
low surface we'll or spring adjacent to
a shallow surface sewage vault.
No community should permit such a
combination to exist. and the individ
ual who exposes his family to such
risks assumes a terrible responsibility.
The distance which a sewage vault
may be located from we'll without
risk is theoretically sixty feet. Az
matter of fact, the combination Is al
ways dangerous. no matter what the
water may carry the bacteria Of dis
ease to a considerable distance. The
best plan is to have deep well thor
oughly protected within a radius Of
several feet by cement platform. so
that surface water from the dooryard
cannot pollute It, The earth closet
should be used instead Of the pestif.
erous sewage vault. or If the latter
evil is permitted 1t should be as dis
tant from the well as possible on a
lower level and drain away from II.
The liberal use Of dry earth and chic
ride of lime may prevent sickness and
suffering. not to speak Of heavy finan-
cia loss.
The Ideal System.
A far better plan is to install a sur
face irrigation" system. These sys,
TENS devised by the late Colonel War.
ing of New York provide for a dis
posal of the house waste and sewage
through a house drain to a tank or
reservoir, which automatically empties
its accumulated contents by espionage
into a series Of pipes. which distribute
the material directly on the surface
Of the soil in some field sloping away
from the house. An area Of one-tenth
of an acre will receive and care for the
waste Of household Of twelve per
sons. This waste when delivered to
the field Is an inoffensive milky mix
ture. which the bacterial and chemical
agencies in the surface soil soon dis
pose Of If a proper interval Is allowed.
The cesspool. like all devices that
accumulate sewage and allow 1t to
decompose. may be a focus of disease
distribution. 1t Is far inferior to the
above described system.
All wells should be screened. pre-.
venting contamination by flies. mos
quitoes. etc.
If good we'll water cannot be OBJ
tanned the rainwater may be filtered
and collected in cistern. Cistern
water Is not very palatable. but 1t can
be kept pure and tends to purify itself
on standing.
Rainwater is soft and. like all soft
waters, readily dissolves lead 1t
should not be stored In metal re-
ceptacles. therefore, or run through
leaden pipes.
What to Do With Pure Water.
Pure water having been obtained. the
question arises. How shall we use it?
Inasmuch as about 70 per cent Of the
body weight is made up of water. no
argument is necessary to show that
certain daily supply is necessary If
the body weight Is to be maintained.
About one half of the solid food we
eat is composed of water, but 1t Is
estimated that, in addition, the average
man requires about two and one half
pints, or three tumblerfuls. daily.
great deal of nonsense is written
regarding the amount of water that
should be taken daily, the amount
suggested running up into the gallons
No doubt some people do not drink
enough water. especially between
meals. but the taking of vast quanti-
ties of water may work serious injury
by overtax king the heart and circula-
tion and causing an overaction of the
kidneys. Dlation Of the stomach may
also result from overdistention with
fluid 1t is believed that some of the