The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-11-01
Sources of Water Contam- ination-Safest Kinds of Water-Artificial Purifi- cation of Public Drinking Supply

1 Water, another of the elements which
 have great bearing upon the life, health.
 wealth and prosperity of man. is treated l In Health Bulletin No. 2S, issued yester-
 day by Dr. R. NJ. Cunningham, city health 1 officer It Is probably the most interest ing of his bulletins and Is as follows; 1 Bulletin No. g, Water-The elementary 1 constitution of water by weight is hydro gen 1, oxygen B. by volume hydrogen ?, oxygen l. It's chemical formula is ex- pi essed thus: H2O. It covers about three- fourths of the earth's surface, and is
 found in the air, soil streams, seas, etc.
 It may have three forms-solid, liquid
 and vapor. It has no permanent abiding place It's greatest volume Is found In
 the seas. It is always the go, and moves in a circle. From the surface of
 the seas and other collections of water and from the lands, there is a constant evaporation. It rises In the air as a vapor; having reached sufficient alti- tude it forms little globules of water. which may freeze into ice or snow and fall to the earth to the water or land from whence it came. The water which | IallS upon ltiHu TiIlS4 Oil ltt SuIldcc u the streams or soalss through the soil Into
 the upper and lower strata, forming the
 superficial and deep soil water then through the soil or subterreanean streams to the outer streams, thus draining the soil and then on to the seas, which com pletes the circle. The movement of water
 has four stages, a rising or vapor stage, q
 falling stage in which it is liquid. sleet or snow, q land or soil stage, and a flowing or stream stage
 The chief factors In these stages are for evaporation. temperature and mois- ture of the air; for the formation of globules. ice or snow a small particle Of matter or electrical particles in the air, which act as a nucleus for the for ma ton of globules which may then freeze into ice or snow; for the earth stage, the topography of the land. porosity of the soil and gravity. The vapor cannot be seen; when condensed in the air 1t Is seen as clouds; when it falls to the earth 1t is seen as rain, sleet or snow; on the earth 1t is seen as ice, snow, streams, ponds, lakes and seas.
 The molecules of water are so small and move over one another with so little friction as to enable 1t to penetrate the smallest pores of solid matter. much of which 1t is capable of dissolving. It is natures universal solvent, and because of this property it performs a conspicuous part in the physics. chemistry and bi- ology of living matter. It Is present in all living things and in all foods. No animal or vegetable cell can live and per form its function without it. It forms about 70 per cent of the weight of the human body. It Is found in all the tis- sues, bones. muscles. glands, etc., and is the chief compound in the blood, lymph, serum, mucous. saliva and all liquid dis charges. 1t holds in suspension the in- soluble substances and in solution the solvent. In this way 1t carries all food to the tissue cells, and carries away the used material, which are the products of cell waste. Therefore, all living cells feed themselves multiply their kind and perform their functions in the midst of or surrounded by water. To certain extent water is split up into it's ele- pients oxygen and hydrogen, which may unite with other elements forming other compounds. but without causing heat or creating or liberating energy. Therefore, water is not food. It is essential how ever, to ingestion, digestion, absorption
 metabalism. elimination, etc., and no function can be performed without Its pf esence.
 Entrance and Elimination
 Water enters the body in drink and food. the former chiefly slightly by ab- sorption, through the skin and lungs. It Is eliminated through the skin. lungs and kidneys and to slight extent in other secretion and excretions. The average amo,int of water taken by a healthy man in 24 hours as drink Is from three and a half to four pints. and little ofsr 2 pint in food. These