Image provided by: Multnomah County Library; Portland, OR
About Gresham outlook. (Gresham, Multnomah County, Or.) 1911-1991 | View Entire Issue (July 17, 1914)
TTOMF AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION TH E FARM W A T E R SU P P L Y By T. D. Beckwith, Bacteriologist, Oregon A gricultural College. MONG th e facto rs which keep ns healthy, or which, if not carefully guarded, may cause sickness, n o th ing is of g re a te r im portance th an the fam ily w ater supply. This is especially tru e on farm s, for it is generally found th a t m unicipal w ater supplies are purer th a n individual wells, due to care in •o n stn irtio n and to w atchfulness in g n a 'd in g them. O ur bodies are over •n e-h alf r a t e r , and it is of the most v ita l im portance th a t th is w ater which m ust bo co n tin u ally replenished be pure. If, in th e course of events, it becomes contam inated w ith disease germ s, thon one who d rin k s such w ater ■ ay co n tract the disease caused by the p a rtic u la r kind of diseaso germ which is in the w ater. A I t should be understood th a t w ater is ■ever im puro insofar as bacterial or germ co n ten t is concerned, unless there is some source of contam ination to produco stc h results. Almost all d is eases are produced by certain kinds of germ s and these germ s never g enerate spontaneously. When w ater is im pure th erefo re it is an indication th a t there is some outside source from which the im p u rity is b eing derived. C lassification o f Wells. W ells may be divided into tw o classes, nam ely deep wells and shallow wells. This d ifferen ce does not depend so much •n the fa c t th a t the bore is of such fe p th from th e top to th e bottom , b u t ra th e r by “ deep w e ll” is m eant one which paasea through some im pervious stratu m or la y e r of soil or rock and tap s • su b terran ean w ater supply. Such w a t t ' has been bro u g h t for a considerable distance u n d er ground. Since such soil form ation does not allow d irect pereola tion from tho surface th e w ater which is obtain ed from such a well has slowly passed through th e soil fo r miles in m any instances. By “ shallow w e ll” is m eant one which is sunk merely a very little belo- tho level of surface w ater, know n more tcchinc.dly as the “ neater ta b le ,” and into th is bole so constructed w a te r from th e near vicin ity is allowed to seep. W ater found in sueh a well, th erefore, has come from the im m ediate neighborhood and alm ost alw ays from w ith in a radius merely o f a few feet. I t tlins follows th a t w ater which is found in deep wells will be quite thor oughly filtered from any b acterial con lam in atio n which may have been in it. W ater from snallow wells, since it has been filtered hrough com paratively a few feet ra th e r th an miles of soil, may be highly co n tam in at d. Because of th e fact th a t deep w.,11 w ater has per col a ted through much soil it will have had more o p p o rtu n ity to dissolve out eertain soluble m inerals, and, therefore, ia likely to oe h ard er th an w ater de n v e d from shallow wells. In consider •tio n of the above facts, i f a deep well bo properly cased so th a t seepage can not gain en tran ce through the sides by m eans of a leak y jo in t or a ru sty hole, w ater from such deep wells may be •x p eeted to be disease free. Dangerous Shallow Wells. Much d iffic u lty Is found w ith the so called shallow wells. These many ti n e s are merely holes dug in the ground in to which seepage of all kinds finds Its w ay f r m th e adji.cent soil. In a large [«erc'ntage o f cases no a ttem p t is m ade in construction to keep seepage w ater outside of the well eith er bv use • f an iron pipe, by concrete eonstruction •r brick wall set in m ortar. Many farm era believe th a t vhe only way they can • b ta in a s u f'ie ie n t w ater supply by •ain g th e shallow well is to allow w ater o p p o rtu n ity to en ter through the sides by seepage I t should be understood th a t w ater in T h e P r o g r e s s iv e B u s in e s s C o l l e g e Broadway Ruildinf, Portland, Oregon. r W U X C I KIDINQS. P r s s 'l KDIROH D ICTATING k'ACHINB. COLUM BIA D ICTArHOHK, shorthand , ROOK KKK PINO. TY PFW R IT IN O , OOMPTOORAPH, and «11 MODKRN B V S IN B S S C O UR8FS, Bate* »3 00 per Month to tk«M entering ■Wore September l , 1(1«. a shallow well will be pure only when it has been filte re d through considerable soil. C ontam ination generally fin d s its way into the w ater which is ju s t below th e surface of th e ground, and th e soil ixrlow th is level rem oves such contain ¡nation. I t follows th erefo re th a t the logical point o f en tran ce fo r w ater into the well ic a t he bottom and th a t in digging and co n stru ctin g such a well this point should be borne in mind. In order th a t the w ater shall not be roily as it comes into th o well a t tho bottom one should place a few inches of coarse sand or fine clean g rav el a t th e bottom of the hole. From th e above discussion it will also b e recognized th a t in order to keep out seepage from th e sides of the well the well m ust be thoroughly and tig h tly w alled up by some method. As one stan d s by the side o f an old well on a hot sum mer day and listens to the continual dripping of th e w ater as it trick les down th e sides of the well from th e surrounding soil it may rem ind one o f a clear and purlin g spring. B ut under no conditions should one allow th e poetry o f th e feeling to overcome him. I t is very lik ely th a t such trick lin g is produced b y th e w a te r seeping in from some near-by toilet, septic tan k or k itch en sink. Curbing Around Well. In order th a t in case of h eavy rains or possible flood the w ater may not flush over the sides o f th e well hole and wash down into th e bore it is also im p o rtan t th a t a cu rb in g w ith em b an k m en t be placed around to d iv ert such w ater and also to p rev en t th e d irect re tu rn o f w a te r pumped o u t from the well, and which in m any cases is allow ed to run o ff from th e p latfo rm into th e soil a few inches from th e well and which from thence seeps directly back into the well hole. The retu rn o f such w ater to t'.ie well is ju s t as dangerous as th e r e tu rn of any o th er su rface w a te r to en te r the well. I t is im p o rtan t also to rem em ber th a t a tig h t cover m ust be placed over the well. I t is b e tte r also if th is cover is made of tw o courses of boarding, one lay er placed a t angles w ith th e o th er in order th a n when w ear occurs and cracks form, th e holes, which will even tu ally be produced, m ay not allow solid m a tte r or o th er k in d s o f contam ination to fall d irectly thro u g h them in to th e w ater below. 8uch a cover also w ill keep frogs out and m any k inds of insect! which deposit th e ir eggs in th e w ater or on tho sides of th e well, and the larv ae of w hich pass through tho first stage o f th e ir life in w ater. I t is u n p leasan t to pum p up tadpoles, earth worms, and insect larv ae of various kinds in th e w ater. I t m ust be rem em bered, too, th a t where th e op o rtn n ity is given fo r such com paratively large a -im a ls to fin d th e ir w ay into th e w a te r it is a very simple m a tte r fo r plants as sm all as germ s to fin d th e ir way- al so. The w ater from th e well should be clear and no t too sparkling, and unless it is in a lo calitv w here su lfu r com pounds aro n a tu ra lly found in the soil, one ahonld alw avs view w ith suspicion th e so-called “ su lfu r w ater. I t is w orth re m e m b e r'ig th a t as organic m a t te r decomposes in m anv in stan ces it gives o ff th e sam e gas th a t is in d ic a t ive of ro tten eggs and th a t is th erefo re called “ ro tte n egg g a s .” S u lfu r in th is form is an indication of eentnm ina tion and v ery m anv »if one so called ‘ su lfu r w ater w ella” pools of filth as shown b y lab o rato ry exam ination. Also as organic m a tte r undergoes b a c terial decom position it gives o ff a gas called carbon dioxide. T his is the same gas th a t ia used nnder pressure to give th e spark le and fir.r. to soda w ater, and while a sm all am ount is norm ally pres en t in all w ater if th ere b e su fficien t to produce sparkling, then th ere is a p o ssib ility th a t the sparkle is caused b v ro ttin g organic m a tte r which in turn indicates contam inated w ater. A clear a te r is no t a pure w ater under ail conditions b y any means. C ontam inated W ater. As before sta te d w ater will not be contam inated w ith disease germ s unless there be disease germs in th e im m ediate viein itv , w hich in turn may eontam in a te such w ater. T herefore it n atu rally follows th a t net all w ater fonnd in bad lv eonstrneted wells is een tam in ated kwith disease germs. The danger, hew ever, in the use of such w ater, lies in th e fa c t th a t it is im possible fo r any hum an being to tell how soon contam in ation may find its w ay to th e near v icin ity of such wells, and in tu rn find it« w ay into the w ater. I t is only an o rd in ary m easure of safety, so to eon stru c t the well th a t tho chances of con tam in atio n may be as few as possible; then th e w ater will be k ept pure even though there be some cause for con tam ination not fa r away. Ou very many- farm s we find fever of various kinds appearing annually, and upon careful exam ination we find th a t it is produced by d rin k in g w ater. The germ s are tak en into the body and produce tho disease. The m aterials from th e body during such disease pass to the fam ily to ilet and from thence tho g en u s find th e ir w ay into the well. T his slow pass age of the b acte ria from the to ilet or septic ta n k to well m ay require some tim es as long as one year so th a t during th e nex t season the w ater being con tam in ated carries a recurrence of the disease. The most im portant American diseases which may be carried in w ater are typhoid, dysentery, diarrhoea and sum m er com plaint. I t is not intended th a t th e reader shall u n derstand tha* these diseases are carried by th e w ater alone, b u t the statem en t is made th a t ono of the most im portant agcecies b ringing about such dissem ination is the fam ily w ater supply. tha w ater supply in his p a rtic u la r weH is safe, he may readily have it c r a s h ined by using a clean bottle of ab o u t four ounces capacity and a eork, boil- ing them both carefully for te n or f if teen m inutes. W ater should be pum ped from the well until one is certain of not o b tain in g a sample w hich has been standing in the pipe. The spout o f the pump should be clean and the hands of the one ta k in g the sample should have been w ashed ju s t previously w ith stro n g soap suds and w ater. H andle th e b o t tle ju s t as little as possible before ta k ing the sample. The sample ta k e n a» outlined above may be sent to the S ta te B oard of H ealth a t P ortland, or to the B acteriology D epartm ent of th e A gri cu ltu ral College for exam ination. These te s ts are m ade free fo r citizens o f the S ta te of Oregon. TYPICAL A N D E R S O N BUNGALOW Are you com ing to P ortland! W hy not buy one of my Bungalow s n o w ! I w ill sell it to you on easy terms, and rent it for you for alm ost enough to m eet your paym ents until you are ready to occupy it. College Records. I have four Bungalow s that M UST be sold The records of the A gricultural Col lege show th a t the w ater of fu lly one- regardless of cost. My loss, your gain. W rite me for description and location . h a lf of the shallow wells in th e s ta te is contam inated w ith sewago germ s. There TONY O ANDERSON fore, it is r.nfit fo r human consum ption. 828 Chamber of Commerce B ldg. Portland, Oregon.____________ I f one is in doubt as to w hether or not $60.00 A WEEK AND EXPENSES YOU.: YES.YOU CAN GET IT T hat's the money you should get th is year. I mean it. I w ant County S ales Managers quiek, men or women who b elieve in the square deal, who w ill go into partnership w ith me. N o ex perience needed. My folding Bath Tub has taken the country by storm. Solves the bathing problem. No plum bing; no water w orks required. F u ll length bath in any room. F olds m .m i" h V n d V » an umbrella* I tell you « e a t (G R E A T . R iv a l. ¿100 bath room. Now li.t e u l I w ant 1O U to handle »our county I ’ll furnish dem onstrating tub on liberal plan. I m n ositive— absolutely certain— you can get bigger m oney in a w eek w ith me than you ever made tn a month before— I KNOW 1T1 TWO SA LES A D A Y — »300 A MONTH That*! w hat yon should get— every month Needed In every . . badtv wanted, eagerly bought. Modern bathing facili- B e? for a lf the people T ik e orders right and left Quick ■ales immense profits. Look at th ese n»«n- S m ith y Ohio, got ** ifc orders first w eek; M eyers, W ise.. $«.50 p rofit first m onth; .4cwton, California, $60 in three davs. You ahould do as well. 2 MALES A DAY MEANS $300 A MONTH. The work is very easy, nleasant, permanent, fascinating. It means a bu sin ess of your own. DEMON STR A TIN G TUB F U R N ISH E D . . » u - i a 913 F actories Bldg., Toledo, O A1O TV L ittle capital needed. I grant cre d it— Help you o u t-\- Back you up— D on’t doubt— D o n ’t hesitate— D on 't hold back— You cannot lose. My other men are building houaes, bank accounts, so can you. then quick, SE N D WO MONEV ju st name on penny post card for free tub offer. H ustle! B U SH & LA N E POLICY -FROM- FACTO RY TO HOME No one baa ever solved th e problem of g ettin g b e t ter values th a n you get here. Wo m ann faetn re onr own Pianos and sell them direct. T his saves you th e large d e a le r’s profit. A dealer m ust purchase from the m anufacturer, House of O riginality and then sell to you, th ereb y charging tw o p ro fits instead of one. Then, again, when purchasing from a dealer yon have no assurance th a t he will keep the agency of the P iano he sells you. He may change over night. As m anufacturers w ith a rep u tatio n to m ain tain and no one on whom to throw the blam e in case of d issatisfaction, you are assured of the best P iano values obtainable. I f you determ ine on a certain policy and have the a b ility to p u t i t in execution, and stick to it long enough, the public will place reliance in your w ork. Thus it is w ith th e Bush & Dane P iano Co. P roof of p iano making, skill and constant adherence to an artistic ideal, have given the public absolute confidence in the m akers of the Bush A Lane Pianos an d P layer Pianos. A fa ir value fo r your old Piano or O rgan in exchange. S atisfactio n or Money Refunded. Bush & Lane Piano 433 5 WASHINGTON STREET Portland, Oregon. mA.YUI A V A U niiûû MANUFACTURERS WHOLESALERS RETAILERS ' House of Originality J
