Roanoke Rapids herald. [volume] (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1914-192?, 1920-01-09

- HERE Is Scrptural authority
i for the statement that bitter
waters and sweet do not flow
from the same fountain. The
- same truth applies to wells on
the farm. The family that
uN7NNTNnEWu uses well or spring subjecI
uWIeXxNMU to contamination Is almost
surely destined to taste the
dregs of sorrow and suffering
for having drunk its dsease-laden output. In
vestigations made by the United States depart.
ment Of agriculture indicate that only a small!
minority Of farm.water supplies can be classed
as unqualifedly safe and desirable On the aver
age three out of four farm wells are located with
In 70 feet Of a back door of the house and In
the direction of the barnyard.
That convenience and first cost not safety
have been the deciding factors In such cases Is
made evident by the nearness Of barnyards, pig
pens pastures, fertilized fields, sink drains priv
les, cesspoOls, and areas rendered fnsantary bv
chickens, Stops, and other filth Too frequently
the seepage from these and other sources, after
joining the ground water. moves to wells and
springs, impairlng the water supply by impurty,
and may be grossly poisonous.
Sewage Disposal.
Popular Indifference to the effective disposal
Of sewage has existed so long and so universally
that only within comparatively recent years has
1t been realized that this waste product Of hui
man life Is poisonous and must be kept from the
food and drink of man. From the specific germs
or poison that may be carried In sewage at any
time there may result typhoid fever. tubercuo-
SIS hookworm disease, cholera, dysentery, dlar-
rhea, or other ailments and II is not improbable
that certain obscure maladies may be traced event
ually to the poisonous effects of drainage from hui
yacfo Tha 10 m fha had
eye, and 1t may be carried by many agencies. by
devious routes, and be unsuspectingly received
into the human body. Typhoid fever Is peculiarly
a rural disease, and many instances clearly indl-
cate serious neglect Of responsibility with regard
to sanitation by people who live In the country.
Not to dispose Of sewage promptly invites null
sance, but not to dispose Of sewage cleanly and
completely invites disease. II Is not enough tina;
human filth Is taken So rs 100, or 100 feet
away from a well or spring. or that 1t IL.
taken merely to lower ground. Given loose or
open subsoil, seamy ledge, or longcontlnued pollu
ton Of one plat Of ground, the zone Of contamina-
ton is likely to extend and readily may reach
quite distant wells. especially at such times rs
well waters are lowered by drought or heavy
pumping. Whatever the system of sewage dis
posal, it should be entirely and widely sepa-
rated from the water supply and. If possible,
the surface of the sewage in any ltaky privy,
vault or cesspoo should be lower than the low
est water In any nearby well. The United
States department Of agriculture has prepared
bulletin No. 712. from its 1916 Yearbook, ent-
tied Sewage Disposal on the Farm" which gives
details regarding various types of outhouses, sug-
gestlons regarding plumbing cesspoos, septic
tanks, and related subjects This pamphlet will
be mailed free on request.
Pure Water the Need.
One Of the first and obvious needs of Amerl-
can farms Is pure water supply. From the
standpoint of the housewife, second only in I'm
portance to purity, is the installation of a water
system In the farm house that will save labor.
Continued pumping will not improve water In
a well If the sources which feed II are permanent
" Mt fault. Wells cannot be located In all cases
to be wholly free from pollution. but the great
est safeguards are clean ground, and as wide sep
arations as possible from the probable channels
of impure drainage.
Water for domestic use should be clean. lus.
trous ocorless colorless, wholesome, soft neither
strongly acid nor alkaline and Its temperature
for general farm purposes should be about 90 de-
erees These characteristics, however, are never
proof Of purity for a glass of water may pos
sess them all and yet contain millions of disease
producing germs.
Ground water is the ideal supply for the
farm. Any farmer who Is about to have deep
we'll and who is uncertain Of the depth and guam
titv or quality of the water likely to be encoun-
tered should describe fully the location and cob
d,,,on If his project to national or state geOog-
cal authorities and ask for advice. The use 0.
the willow hazel. or peach STICK LOT iocatlns uh-