The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1920-02-14
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for having drunk its disease-laden output In
vestigations made by the United States depart
ment of agriculture indicate that only small
minority Of farm-water supplies can be classed
rs unqualihedly safe and desirable. On the aver
age three out of four farm wells are located with
In IS 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, fortified fields, sink drains, priv
les, cesspoos, and areas rendered insanitary by
chickens, Stops, and other filth. Too frequently
The seepage from these and other sources, after
Joining the ground water, moves to wells and
springs, impairng the water supply by impurity
and may be grossly poisonous.
Sewage Disposal.
Popular Indifference to the effective disposal
e sewage has existed so long and so universally
that only within comparatively recent years has
It 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. tuberculo-
sis hookworm disease, cholera, dysentery, diar-
rhea, or other ailments and 1t Is not improbable
that certain obscure maladies may be traced event
ually to the poisonous effects Of drainage from hu-
man waste. The poison is invisible to the naked
eye and it may be carried by many agencies, by
devious routes, and be unsuspectingly received
into the human body. Typhoid fever is peculiarly
q rural disease, and many instances clearly indi-
cate serious neglect Of responsibility with regard
10 sanitation by people who live in the country.
Not to dispose Of sewage promptly invites null
sance, but not to dispose Of sewage Clearly and
completely invites disease. It is not enough that
human filth Is taken 30, 75 100. or $50 feet
away from a well or spring, or that 1t Is
taken merely to lower ground. Given loose or
open subsoil, seamy LEDGE or longcontinued pollu-
tion Of one plat Of ground the zone Of contamina-
ton il 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 leaky privy,
vault or cesspool should be lower than the low
est water in any nearby we'll The United
States department Of agriculture has prepared
bulletin No. 712, from its 1916 Yearbook, enti-
tied Sewage Disposal on the Farm" which gives
details regarding various types Of Outhouses sug-
gestions regarding plumbing cesspools. 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 Ameri-
can farms is pure water supply. From the
standpoint of the housewife, second only In i'm
portance to purity, is the installation of water
system in the farm house that will save labor.
Continued pumping will not improve water In.
d well If the sources which feed It are permanent
" at 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 % de-
xrees These characteristics however. are never
proof Of purity, for glass OF water may pos
sess them all and yet contain millions OF disease
producing germs
Ground water II the ideal supply for the
Farm. Any farmer who IL about to have deep
weIl. and who h uncertain OF the depth and guam
tity ar quality Of the water likely 70 be encoun-
tarea should describe fully the location and con-
ALTON of his project to national or state geology.
- authorities ara ask for advice. The use 9.
q - willow. hass1 o. peach sick for locating un-