As soon as I had ascertained these particulars I communicated them to
Dr. Farr, who was much struck with the result, and at his suggestion the
Registrars of all the south districts of London were requested to make a
return of the water supply of the house in which the attack took place,
in all cases of death from cholera. This order was to take place after
the 26th August, and I resolved to carry my inquiry down to that date,
so that the facts might be ascertained for the whole course of the
epidemic. I pursued my inquiry over the various other sub-districts of
Lambeth, Southwark, and Newington, where the supply of the two Water
Companies is intermixed, with a result very similar to that already
given, as will be seen further on. In cases where persons had been
removed to a workhouse or any other place, after the attack of cholera
had commenced, I inquired the water supply of the house where the
individuals were living when the attack took place.
The inquiry was necessarily attended with a good deal of trouble. There
were very few instances in which I could at once get the information I
required. Even when the water-rates are paid by the residents, they can
seldom remember the name of the Water Company till they have looked for
the receipt. In the case of working people who pay weekly rents, the
rates are invariably paid by the landlord or his agent, who often lives
at a distance, and the residents know nothing about the matter. It
would, indeed, have been almost impossible for me to complete the
inquiry, if I had not found that I could distinguish the water of the
two companies with perfect certainty by a chemical test. The test I
employed was founded on the great difference in the quantity of chloride
of sodium contained in the two kinds of water, at the time I made the
inquiry. On adding solution of nitrate of silver to a gallon of the
water of the Lambeth Company, obtained at Thames Ditton, beyond the
reach of the sewage of London, only 2·28 grains of chloride of silver
were obtained, indicating the presence of ·95 grains of chloride of
sodium in the water. On treating the water of the Southwark and Vauxhall
Company in the same manner, 91 grains of chloride of silver were
obtained, showing the presence of 37·9 grains of common salt per gallon.
Indeed, the difference in appearance on adding nitrate of silver to the
two kinds of water was so great, that they could be at once
distinguished without any further trouble. Therefore when the resident
could not give clear and conclusive evidence about the Water Company, I
obtained some of the water in a small phial, and wrote the address on
the cover, when I could examine it after coming home. The mere
appearance of the water generally afforded a very good indication of its
source, especially if it was observed as it came in, before it had
entered the water-butt or cistern; and the time of its coming in also
afforded some evidence of the kind of water, after I had ascertained the
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