The Concordia sentinel. (Vidalia, Concordia Parish, La.) 1882-current, 1920-01-10


dregs of sorrow and suffering
Ssr having drunk it's disease-laden output In
veStignfions made by the United States depart
xnent OF agriculture indicate that only a small
minority Of farm-water supplies .can be classed
nnqualihedly safe and desirable. On the
age three out of four farm wells are located with
in 20 feet of back door of the house and in
the direction of she barnyard
That convenience and first cost, not safety
ARave been the deciding factors in such cases is
made evident by the nearness of barnyards, pig
pens pastures fertilized fields, sink drains priv
Ees, cesspools, and areas rendered insanitary by
chickens slops, and other filth. Too frequently
the seepage from these and other sources, after
Joining the ground water, moves to wells and
springs, imparing the water supply by impurity
and may be grossly poisonous.
Sewage Disposal.
POrular Indifference to the effective disposal
81 sewage has existed so long and so universally
EDat Oniy within comparatively recent years has
IA been realized that this waste product of hui
,Eulan life is poisonous and must be kept from the
Eaod and drink of man. From the specific germs
or poisOn that may be carried in sewage at any
tine there may result typhoid fever, tuberculO-
sis bOplzworm disease. cholera dysentery, dar
Hhen or other ailments and it is not improbable
that cerfain obscure malades may be traced event
uaIly to the poisonous effects Of drainage from hui
man wilste. The poison is invisible to the naked
devious routes and be unsuspectingly received
hzErs The human body. Typhoid fever is peculiarly
n rural disease. and many instances clearly indi
ezfe serious neglect of responsibility with regard
"a saniiHfi0n by people who live In the country
Not to dispose of sewage promptly invites nu
NzEnce. but not to dispose of sewage eleanly and
completely invites disease 1t Is not enough that
hnnHin filth is taken so, 70 100 or $50 feet
away from well or spring, that it is
taken merely to lower ground. Given loose or
sepen subsoil seamy ledge, or long-continued polu
h0D VI one plat of ground the zone of contamina-
fion is likely TO extend and readily may reach
quite distant wells, especially at such times -
wen waters lowered by drought or heavy
1esR1ping. Whatever the system of sewage dis
p8szil. it SHOULD be entirely and widely sepa-
rated from the water supply. and if possible,
the surface Of the sewage in any leaky privy.
sVaITt or ceSspOol should be lower than the low
esf wafer in any nearby well. The United
states department of agriculture has prepared
Bulletin No. 10. from it's 1916 Yearbook, enti-
lied Sewage Disposal on the Farm" which gives
details regarding various types of outhouses sug-
spesfions regarding plumbing. cesspools septic
Tanks. and related subjects. This pamphlet will
xae mailed free on request.
x,s pure Water the Need.
One or the first and obvious needs of Ameri-
can farms is pure water supply. From the
standpoint of the housewife second only in i'm
WDFfance 10 purify Is tile lnslaildllOn OF
syxste1n in the farm house that win save labor.
Continued pumping win not improve water in
\ ven II the sources which feed 1t are permanent
Il NJ fault Wells cannot be located In all cases
=, he wholly free from pollution. but the great
81 safeguards are clean ground, and as wide sen
arations as possible from the probable channels
s,f impure drainage.
Water for domestic should be clean, lus-
Grams oeeriess colorless. wholesome, soft neither
.tronsly acid nor alkaline. and its temperature
.eox general farm purposes should be about so de-
.trnes These characteristics. however, are never
proof OF purity. for a glass of water may pos
sess Them all and yet contain millions q disease
producing germs.
Ground water Is the ideal supply Tor the
fzxm. Any farmer who is about to have deep
swell and who is uncertain of the depth and guam
sfltr ar quality OF the water likely to be encoun-
re,s .:,aonld describe fully the location and con-
saion OF his project to national or state geo'og'-
mi aufhDriiies and ask for advice. The use o
me willow. hazel or peach stick for Locating I'M