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Show Typhoid Fever and the Farm Well ' Helpful Suggestions On How This and Kindred Diseases May Be Decreased Typhoid fever, infant mortality, gas-tro gas-tro intestinal disturbances and many other Intestinal diseases that uro prevalent prev-alent in tho fall, especially In rural communities, can he greatly reduced In number and severity of casus If proper precaution Is taken with trie nater supply, according to Dr. J. E. Greaves, bacteriologist of tho Utah Agricultural College. Dr. Groavea offers tho following very Interesting Information coupled with many practical prac-tical suggestions: Wo aro rapidly noarlng tho season of tho year when many of tho Inhabitants Inhab-itants of rural districts wlllbo"-suf-fcrlng from various Intostlnal -disturbances and it becomes very pertinent to Inquire: Why It Id that In many rural districts various Intestinal diseases dis-eases are moro prevalent than thoy are In largo citicH, when tho rovoro should be true? Wo find at leart a partial answer to this question In thu difference In water supplies of tho two districts. In tho cities the wiilor supplies aro usually carefully guarded guard-ed against contamination, while In tho country districts tho supply of wator Is usually obtained from wells nnd theso In many places aro shallow nnd whnt Is worse than that, not protected protect-ed from tho fllth which may ho rar-rled rar-rled In from the top. Eminent authorities on this subject havo found that whero ono death (nm typhoid could bo prevented by Improving Improv-ing tho wator supply, two or three deaths from other cnuscs could he prevented by tho improvement. An improved wator supply not- only Tro-, Tro-, duces tho number of deaths from typhoid ty-phoid fever, but decreases infant mow tallty and tho death rate from gastro Intestinal disturbances. This Is due not only to tho removal of dlscaso producing pro-ducing organisms frcm the wutcr but thoro nro many othor substances and organisms In Impure wntcr which greatly rcduco tho bodily vigor of tho individual using It. And anything or condition which In any way reduces reduc-es tho bodily vitality makes tho lndl-ildunl lndl-ildunl an easy mails for disease. .Many wells are only loosely covered cover-ed with planks between which grasshoppers, grass-hoppers, toads or leaves make thoir woy. It Is easy to seo how tho filth from the boots of working men, or from children playing on tho planks or from poultry walking about anil carrying Infection on their feot may get into tho wnter and pollution muy easily tako place. Ono need not go far into thU country to find places vhero tho outhouses nro freely open at the back, so that fowls can wa'.k under nnd from there onto the planks covering tho well. All tho filth left by them on tho cover tho well Is la-tor la-tor whshed Into tho well. This could do little harm If tho dlscaso germs wero not present. But ono never knows when they may "So present, pres-ent, it Is not enough to know that no enso of typhoid has been upon tho premises, for it Is often tho caso that apparently healthy Individuals aro carrying within or excreting from their bodies tho disease germs. For these reasons tho old planko which covor so many wells should ho replaced by n tight fitting cement platform, covering not only tho sur-foco sur-foco of, but Bovernl feet surrounding tho weU and passing into the ground three or four feet so that nil tho water wa-ter which finds its way Into tho well must pass through several feet of firm soil. Under theso conditions tho well It fairly deep can bo deponded upon for water. Whero water is known to be, or strongly suspected of bolng contaminated, tho only remedy rem-edy lu to boll tho water before uso. Tho many filters which nro being offered to tho public cannot bo depended de-pended upon unless thoy nro so constructed con-structed that thoy can ho taken apart every duy nnd thoroughly cleanod by heating to u red heat. |