OCR Text |
Show Hnw About Your Drinking Water? Ono of tho things most necessary to tho health of tho farmer's fami'y Is good dr'nklng wnter. Yet bad drinking water Is so common on our farms that It Is accepted ns a matter mat-ter of course. This Is probably one reason why typhoid fever and other woterborn diseases are so common In tho country. Many Investigations have been ear-tied ear-tied on to determ'no tho exact status stat-us of tlio farm well, and all of these invcstlgat'ons havo resulted In showing show-ing that tho contamination of such, wells is generally unnecessary. Ono of tho most common reasons for bad water Is tho conditions existing nt tho top of tho well, nllowlng all manner man-ner of filth to got Into tho water from tho top. Pooplo with their feet bring germ laden dirt to tho platform nt tho top of tho well and thero It 's dropped, to bo later washed Into tlio wator below by tho split wnter or by tho rains, acting through tho cracks of boards or around tho edge of tho woodwork. If a woll wns properly constructed tho walls would havo been laid in somo cement llko material that would havo prevented water coming In except ex-cept nt tho bottom. It wns, however, built In tho days beforo cement wns In common use, nnd llmo would havo been tho only material nvall-ablo. nvall-ablo. It doubtless represents 'tho cond Hon of many of tho wells built long ago, beforo tho uso of cement in casing wells had como Into use. Now wo nro InoxcuBab'o If wo nllow thnt kind of a well to bo constructed. construct-ed. Thoso that still exist should havo their casings pulled out nml reset In cement. Not only do tlio worms and bugs got Into such wells, but rats, mice, frogs! toads, lizards and Biiakcs, If tho top Is left unprotected.. unpro-tected.. Around tho top of every woll should bo laid a platform of cement reinforced with Iron barB. A manhole man-hole should bo left so that tlio well can bo entered but this should havo n cover with no holes In It. Tho platform should extend so far In ov-ory ov-ory direction that no Biirfaco wator and no spilled water can got Into tho well. |