In reference to the purity of water

In reference to the purity of water

In reference to the purity of water

In reference to the purity of water, Smith, in his "Veterinary Hygiene," classes spring water, deep-well water, and upland surface water as wholesome; stored rain water and surface water from cultivated land as suspicious; river water to which sewage gains access and shallow-well water as dangerous. The water that is used so largely for drinking purposes for stock throughout some States can not but be impure. I refer to those sections where there is an impervious clay subsoil. It is the custom to scoop, or hollow out, a large basin in the pastures. During rains these basins become filled with water. The clay subsoil, being almost impervious, acts as a jug, and there is no escape for the water except by evaporation. Such water is stagnant, but would be kept comparatively fresh by subsequent rains were it not for the fact that much organic matter is carried into it by surface drainage during each succeeding storm. This organic matter soon undergoes decomposition, and, as the result, we find diseases of different kinds much more prevalent where this water is drunk than where the water supply is wholesome. Again, it must not be lost sight of that stagnant surface water is much more certainly contaminated than is running water by one diseased animal of the herd, thus endangering the remainder.