A Civic Biology, Presented in ProblemsHunter, George W. (George William)
Science
A Civic Biology, Presented in Problems
Hunter, George W. (George William)
Biology; Sanitation
Care of Milk in the Home.--Finally, milk at home should receive the best of
care. It should be kept on ice and in covered bottles, because it readily
takes up the odors of other foods. If we are not certain of its purity or
keeping qualities, it should be pasteurized at home. Why?
[Illustration: New York City is spending $350,000,000 to have a pure and
abundant water supply. This is the tunnel which will bring the water from
the Catskill Mountains to New York City.]
Water Supplies.--One of the greatest assets to the health of a large city
is pure water. By pure water we mean water free from all _organic_
impurities, including germs. Water from springs and deep driven wells is
the safest water, that from large reservoirs next best, while water that
has drainage in it, river water for example, is very unsafe.
The waters from deep wells or springs if properly protected will contain no
bacteria. Water taken from protected streams into which no sewage flows
will have but few bacteria, and these will be destroyed if exposed to the
action of the sun and the constant aeration (mixing with oxygen) which the
surface water receives in a large lake or reservoir. But water taken from a
river into which the sewage of other towns and cities flows must be
filtered before it is fit for use.
[Illustration: The city of Lowell in 1891 took its water _without
filtering_, _i.e._ from the Merrimack River at the point shown on the map.
Typhoid fever broke out in North Chelmsford and about two weeks later cases
began to appear in Lowell until a great epidemic occurred. Explain this
outbreak. Each black dot is a case of typhoid.]
Typhoid fever germs live in the food tube, hence the excreta of a typhoid
patient will contain large numbers of germs. In a city with a system of
sewage such germs might eventually pass from the sewers into a river. Many
cities take their water supply directly from rivers, sometimes not far
below another large town. Such cities must take many germs into their water
supply. Many cities, as Cleveland and Buffalo, take their water from lakes
into which their sewage flows. Others, as Albany, Pittsburgh, and
Philadelphia, take their drinking water directly from rivers into which
sewage from cities above them on the river has flowed. Filtering such water
by means of passing the water through settling basins and sand filters
removes about 98 per cent of the germs. The result of drinking unfiltered
and filtered water in certain large cities is shown graphically at right.
In cities which drain their sewage into rivers and lakes, the question of
sewage disposal is a large one, and many cities now have means of disposing
of their sewage in some manner as to render it harmless to their neighbors.
[Illustration: Filter beds at Albany, N. Y.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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