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Impurities in Well-Water

The water of a well may be bright, sparkling and most pleasant to the taste, and yet contain the deadly typhus and noxious germs, bringing diphtheria, meningitis, and other diseases that so mysteriously appear in neighborhoods apparently good in sanitary surroundings. How, then, do these germs reach a well, sunk in strong clay to a living stream of water, deep in gravel below? They come in by the surface water. The roots of the willows and most other trees go to water if they can. Every insect burrowing in the soil must have water, and they invariably burrow there, especially in great droughts, and seek the water of the well. Their burrows convey water from cesspools, housedrains, barn-yards, etc., for considerable distances, through the otherwise impervious clay. In digging or boring a well, the section down to, and partly into, the impervious clay should be larger than the rest, and strongly cemented with the best water lime at the back, and the stone or brick laid with the same material. But, after all, the only safe way to escape impurities is to boil all the water that is used for drinking. If the water is muddy, or has other mechanical impurities, it may be improved by filtering. But water is not, never has been, and never will be, the exclusive beverage [47] of civilized man.

It is not so of even the most savage nations. Let us, therefore, Chinese Plant Assam Hybred