p. 628 | Sowing for Physical and Spiritual Health

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Michigan · Oct 2, 1900

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 77, No. 40.

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Sowing for Physical and Spiritual Health

By David Paulson; W. S. Sadler

David Paulson & W. S. Sadler

USE AND ABUSE OF WATER.

(Concluded.)

FAMILIAR FORMS OF WATER CONTAMINATION.

The fact that water has the ability to absorb and carry away so many impurities from within the body is what renders it such a susceptible agent for infection when exposed to contamination outside the body. Frequently, instead of being a river of life to us, it actually becomes the river of death.

1. Contamination at the Source.—The two general sources of contamination of water are from the organic and the inorganic world. One of the most frequent organic substances found in water is lime; others less frequent are sulphur, magnesia, and various other alkalies, as well as common salt, particularly when wells are dug in close proximity to salt districts; while the most common sources of organic contamination are the barnyard, the cesspool, vault, germs, decaying animals, and animal products.

(a) In the Well.—In the country the average well is frequently dug, as a matter of convenience, near the barnyard; and too often the filth from that source is continually percolating through the soil into the well. The idea that filtering through such a short distance of soil will purify water infected from these various sources is a delusion and a snare, which has no doubt been responsible for thousands of deaths.

An illustration of this may be mentioned: Two children had died of typhoid fever, and the physician suggested to the mother the possibility that the well-water was contaminated from the cesspool. She could not be made to accept this version of the case, and so he suggested that, as an experiment, he would pour two gallons of kerosene oil into the kitchen sink, and see if the water would not soon have the flavor of the oil. He promised to pay for the kerosene if he was wrong. The experiment was tried, and the next day the water tasted so strongly of the oil that it was impossible to drink it. The woman became so enraged because her well had been spoiled that she refused to pay the doctor's bill. The fact that this experiment demonstrated that the water was responsible for the death of her two children did not make any special impression upon her mind.

There is precisely the same danger of water becoming contaminated in cisterns that have become leaky, as well as by the filth washed in from the roofs and eaves. After a dry season, there is generally sufficient sediment on the bottom of the cistern to raise a fair crop of onions or any other similar vegetable.

(b) City Water Supply.—We shudder at the thought of large numbers of natives in India bathing themselves in the sacred river Ganges, and at the same time drinking the water; but altogether too many of our American cities have no better arrangements, the only difference being that their neighbors are contaminating it with sewage and other foul substances while they are drinking it. It is not infrequent that the water-main or pumping-station which supplies the water for thousands of persons is situated only a short distance from the main sewer, which pours back practically the same amount of fluid that is being forced into the city by the pump.

2. Contamination in the Kitchen.—Sometimes the contamination that the water receives in the kitchen is of a more serious nature than that received in the well. The adding of tea and coffee to water is simply adding poison to it. The same may be said of beef tea, only in stronger terms, as it is nothing but concentrated animal waste, dissolved in water.

3. Contamination in the Drug Store.—The man or woman who contaminates the water supply of the community is a traitor to the welfare of his fellow men. Taking this view of the matter, how shall we classify the patent-medicine man, and him who puts up soda water, adding flavoring extracts with fascinating names, such as orange, lemon, etc., which have never had even an introduction to the fruit whose names they bear. Governmental investigation on this point recently revealed the fact that the soda-water-flavoring extracts, and other flavoring extracts, for that matter, were largely chemical preparations with coloring matter added to them. Ginger-ale, root-beer, and cherry-phosphates are all various forms of water contamination. Water is valuable just to the extent that it contains water, and harmful just to the extent that it contains substances that are not foods.

4. Contamination at the Brewery.—One of the most disastrous and far-reaching methods of water contamination is that of the brewer and manufacturer of alcoholic liquors. Only the day of God can fully reveal the truth that this form of contamination has been more far-reaching in its results for evil than that of all germs, cesspools, and barnyards, put together.

PURIFICATION OF WATER.

As it is now difficult to secure absolutely pure water from natural sources, it is important that everyone should understand what a simple and easy matter it is to render it safe to be taken into the human system.

1. Boiling.—Boiling is one of the best and most practical ways of purifying water. It is not necessary to boil it a great length of time, as the most dangerous germs are either paralyzed or killed when it is merely brought to the boiling point.

2. Filtration.—Various methods of filtering have been long in use; but the average family filter is in danger of becoming a hothouse for germs, in fact, a veritable cesspool. It is ordinarily not cleaned frequently enough; and so reasonably pure water, in percolating through it, actually becomes many times more contaminated than before. The only filter that can be unqualifiedly recommended is the Chamberlain-Pasteur Filter, the essential feature of which is that the water is forced through unglazed earthen cylinders; this accomplishes what no other filter does,—it actually strains out the germs. It is, however, necessary that

these cylinders should be taken out at least once a week, thoroughly cleansed, and baked in an oven, so as to destroy any germs that adhere to them. They have the disadvantage of being quite expensive, and ordinarily require city-water pressure to operate them.

3. City Filters.—City filters are built on practically the same principles as are the small family filters, only on a much larger scale. Imagine a large basin that would hold from ten to fifty million gallons of water. In the bottom of this basin is placed a layer of crushed rock; on top of this, a layer of coarse gravel; on top of this, pounded charcoal; and then, uppermost of all, a layer of beautiful white sand. Over this the water is allowed to stand. Having percolated through these various layers, it is drawn off the bottom comparatively pure. In fact, it has been found that by this means ninety-five per cent. of the germs and other impurities have been removed. Like the family filters, these immense concerns must be cleaned every week or two. In order to provide for this, it is necessary for the city to construct two basins, thus allowing one to become empty, for the purpose of cleansing, while the other is being filled. The process of cleaning is generally this: When the water has all passed through, men go into this basin with their wheelbarrows, and shovel off a thin layer of sand, with the green slime that has accumulated on the top, and then replace with fresh sand what has been removed. Once a year the entire basin is cleansed. When properly cared for, such filters are very commendable, and have certainly been the means of a great saving to the public health.

4. Distillation.—By the process of transforming water into steam and then condensing it, the germs are, of course, killed, and the solid substances remain behind. Family stills may be secured, which will readily furnish several gallons of water a day. Distilled water is certainly the best of all forms of purified water. Boiled water is the most practical and best adapted to all circumstances. A family filter is the most dangerous form of purification. One objection that has been urged against distilled water is that it has a flat taste. This is because, in the process of distillation, most of the oxygen gas has been driven off. This can readily be remedied by vigorously stirring it, or having it pass through a layer of charcoal.