After twenty or thirty minutes (the hotter the water, the quicker the precipitation) the precipitate has settled in large flocks at the bottom, and the clear water is drawn off into the pure water reservoir. The precipitating and settling of the impurities can also take place in cold water; it will require, however, a pretty long time. In order to avoid the weighing and slaking of the lime, which is necessary for each precipitation, we use an open barrel, in which a known quantity of slaked lime is mixed with three and a half or four times its weight of water, and then diluted to a thin paste, so that one kilogramme slaked lime is diluted to twenty-five liters milk of lime. Example.--If we use for ten cubic meters water, one kilogramme lime, or in one day (in twenty-four hours), 240 cubic meters 24 kg. lime, a vessel four or five feet high and about 700 liters capacity, in which daily 24 kg. lime with about 100 liters water are slaked and then diluted to the mark 600, constantly stirring, 25 liters of this mixture contain exactly 1 kg. slaked lime. Before using, this milk of lime has to be stirred up and allowed to settle for a few seconds; and then we draw off the required quantity of milk of lime (in our case 25 liters) through a faucet about 8 inches above the bottom, or we can dip it off with a pail. For the first precipitate we always need the exact amount of milk of lime, which we have figured out, or rather some more, but for the next precipitates we do not want the whole quantity, but always less, as that part of the lime, which does not settle with the precipitate, will be good for use in further precipitations. It is therefore important to control the addition of milk of lime by the use of litmus paper. If we do not add enough lime, it prevents the formation of the flocky precipitate, and, besides, more carbonate of soda is used. By adding too much lime, we also use more carbonate of soda in order to precipitate the excess of lime. We can therefore add so much lime, that there is only a very small excess of hydrous lime in the water, and that after well stirring, a red litmus paper being placed in the water for twenty seconds, appears only slightly blue. After a short time of practice, an attentive person can always get the exact amount of lime which ought to be added. On adding the milk of lime, we have to dissolve the required amount of pure carbonate of soda in an iron kettle, in about six or eight parts hot water with the assistance of steam; add this to the other liquid in the precipitating reservoirs and stir up well. The water will get clear after twenty-five or thirty minutes, and is then drawn off into the pure water reservoir. EXAMINATION OF WATER WHICH HAS BEEN PURIFIED BY MEANS OF MILK OF LIME AND CARBONATE OF SODA.