The Scranton tribune. (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, November 09, 1899, Morning, Page 3, Image 3

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TIIE SCRANTON TRIBUNE-THURSDAY, !NT0VEM3EIl 0, 1899.
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You Can't Make Omelettes Without Breaking the Eggs.
No more can you make a genuine bargain in anything without breaking somebody's price and profit. This time it's OUR price and profit on
Pianos and organs that gets smashed. Oftener it's the manufacturer. Therefore Pianos and organs at half. November is a Piano month. We have
just finished our inventory and we find an accumulation of some stock, SO OUT THEY GO. Some at one-third off, some at half price, some at
less than half. We have to offer some good makes Second-hand Pianos, Uprights and Squares, as good as new, for little money.
Piano Bargains
OneSteinway,One Haines Bros., One Steck,
One Mathushek, One Kohler, One Tryon &
Co., One Pease, One Willard & Co., One
Geildemeester & Kreger, One Booth Bros.
aninii" in
We Can Save You Money. These Prices for One Week Only,
Price
from
H T
Or
One Dyer &
New Ens
York Two
Mason &
H
gran Bargains
ughes, One Worcester, Three
, One Burdette, One New
Alleg-er, One Sterling. Also
in, Waterloo & Estey.
Tl
Price
from
(Up
These Prices for One Week Only.
We have over 100 Pianos and Organs to select from, including some of the very best makes, such as Mason & Hamlin, Hard man,
McPhail, James & Halmstrom, Fischer, Malcolm Love, Pease, Smith & Barnes. Get our prices before you buy.
Watch Our Window Bargains during this sale. See the prices at which we are offering on the different makes of Pianos.
Wanted TodayBuyers for all these bargains. Do not wait, be the first. Wanted at once, ten more Square Pianos.
Our latest publication just out "True Love Would Have Saved Her," by Alfred Wooler. First edition almost gone.
FINE TUNING A SPECIALTY.
PliOS MOVED WITH CARE
gjl$rjM
?p2$ fcpSSEg
ABLE PAPER BY
DR. MARTHA EVERITT
WAS READ A.T A MEETING OF
THE WOMEN'S CLJB.
She Discussed the Question of Water
Supply in a Very Thorough Man
ner and Pointed Out the Dancers
That Arise from a Contaminated
Supply of Water for Domestic Uses.
She Repeated the Old Recommenda
tion That Water Should Be Boiled
and Filtered.
Helow is given in full the imp'-'' on
'Water Supply." read y Or. Martha
Kvcrltt at Monday's meeting or th"
"Woman's Club at tireen nidge:
As regarding their uses for household
find town supplies, all untural waters
are divided Into four classes. Hnlu
watei, surface water. Including!
streams and lakes, ground water, in- i
eluding shallow wells, iep seated
w-itcr. which Includes deep wells, arte- '
Flan wells and springs. Kaih elass Is.
to be studied ns to advantages and dls- i
advantages, llabilltits of pollution, etc. '
From an aesthetic standpoint vv- re- '
fuse watei which Is so polluted as to
be objectionable to sight, taste, or sense
of smell, and our tlrst thought In every
instance Is the relation between such ii
water and disease.
Perhaps more than any other danger
we fear to encount m by means o lint- i
pure water, our enemy, typhoid fever,
though we all know that other forma
of intestinal Infection may be due to !
polluted drinking water Th- re Is un- I
disputed and overwhelming evidence
that typhoid excreta may be greatly
diluted and be filtered through a great 1
thickness of soil without losing their I
disease producing properties. j
Since the character of a water supply ',
depends mainly on the character of the I
nil, through or over which It pissM, I
and moreover since we must regard the ,
loll as the habitat of disease-producing i
germs, no consnieratlon of water sup
ply can be complete without n consid
eration of the soli through which
water percolates and upon which water
drains to meet river, or lake, or streams
feeding reservoirs.
MOISTUIIH OF BOIL.
If soil be permeable moisture Is
transmitted, and thus contributes to
the supply of ground watei ; soil with
high power of absorption retains mois
ture The permeability of the soil reg
ulates the amount of surface water
which shall percolate through the soil.
"The moisture of the soil depends upon
the pow'er of imbibition, which varies
with coarseness, or fineness of the
rock, and Is greater for rocks which
rbnslst of line particles." Haln water
In Its passage through the soil and
underlying rockH abstracts, by chemi
cal and mechanical means, many of
their ingredients and becomes charged
with a great variety of mineral matter.
Impurities which are held in suspen
sion which are easily removed by fl.
trati'on do not ndd an element of dan
ger to the supply. Impurities which
exist In solution nnd are due to the
solvent power of the water Itself nro
elements of danger. All rain water
rontnlns a certain amount of CO'.'.
Most silicates nro decomposed by the
nctlon of C.OZ and the metallic tie
ments, alkaline metals ("a, Mg, Fe.
pass Into solution In the form of solu
ble carbonates of those metals,
Wter charged with COZ le capable
of acting directly upon limestone and
dolomite, and reducing them to solublo
bicarbonate of Ca, Mg, which pass
Into solution. The other chief mlnf-ral
impurities found in rain water are
silica sulfates, (hlorlds of Ca, Mg, K,
Na. We know from the Tact that
spring water Issues at a natural open
ing that It has been eonsnnt move
ment and has not .itaciMted In under
ground reservulis. Little lit known as
to the depth to w libit underground
water percolates and .is to the causes
which check Its downward course, hut
It Is Invariably found that belov a cer
ium depth rocks are completely per
meated by water, (iround water, a
continuous sheet of water, from which
air Is excluded, is found below the
i oeks.
MAINTAINS ITS LKVKI..
This water maintains Its level Justj
as docs sea or lake. Ground water is
In constant movement towards the sea.
or nearest water course, moves in .l
lateral direction, rises and falls. The i
amount of water which Ik held by the
subsoil as ground water depends upon
the saturation of the subsoil. The
value of a rock, as a water bearing
stratum depends upon Its capacity of
saturation. The most pumenble soils
having least storege capacity. "All
collections of water In free, contact
with the atmosphere, aie collections or
surface water, lie the mllectl'on a pool
or the ocean Itself. This water may
move In rivers or creeks.
The water from urteslan wells com
from considerable depth nnd Is pie
vented from contact with water of the
subsoil by Impervious strata, Artesian
wells are by nntur.il chrrrrJiels or are
made by drilling to points below layers
of rocks, which cut off the ground
water. Writer supplies of villages,
small towns l usually obtained from
wells driven or dug, or fiom collections
of rain water stored In cisterns, or
natural springs, nnd Is delivered by
means of many devices varying from
the bucket to the most modern pump.
The water supply of large towns and
cities Is In most Instances collected into
Impounded reservoirs from which It Is
carried by Iron mains Into the locality
to be supplied and theme Into smaller
leaden pipes to places of )nivery.
The Ideally pure water would bo ob
talned from a source undoubtedly be
yond contamination, and In its con
veyance to point of delivery should
maintain Its purity. If the mountain
spring with sources undoubtedly be
yond danger of pollution Is not to be
obtained, the next best would be n
water properly purllled by slow sand
filtration or pure ground water supply,
or surface water supply with large and
Impounded reservoir, protected against
pollution by properly enforced laws.
Or the supply may be taken from large
normal rivers, or rivers In which pol
lution may be considered to have great
ly vanished through ngency of sedi
mentation, dilution, or other musei.
Ono of the sources above named should
be chosen, but unfortunately the best
furnished In many eaten Is found to be
water from large Inland lakes more or
less subject to pollution, or is taken
from upland streams, or small lakes,
with limited water sheds, which nre
more or less Inhabited, or front livers,
or public or prlvato wells, which ara
known to be polluted with sewage or
other Infectious matter In varying de
grees. CLASSIC!) A3 NORMAL.
"For a water to be classed as nor
mal It is necessary that Intake of water
I works should bo so located, as to be
aoove inu inuuenco or tno uisenargo
of either sewage or surface drainage
from urban or suburban districts. There
should be no city up stream
discharging crude pewnge Into river
within such distance that sewagre
would not be thoroughly and complete
ly disbursed at the cross section df
river before roachlm? tlio water works
intake."
"So many complex phenomena are
met with In cases of liver pollution
that probably no definite standard can
ho adopted excepting to coimldrr all
natural waters a polluted to greater
or less degrees. Mouutnlu spring waters
and properly filtered water being leist
so." The Important practical (piestlonn
to be eonsldeied In the study of water
are: What are the sutotuncFs which
defile the water supply? Jlow 111.1
these substances be detected, and what
is their significance? Mow shall Im
pure water be rcndctci, lit for us ?
Substances contaminating a water
supply may be organic, of animal or
vegetable oilpln, or Inorgai.ic sub
stances dissolved fiom soil and rocks
by the solvent a-tlon of water.
"The grciter amount or CO- In water,
the greater Its solvent power, .tnd the
wider the range of soluble substances.
Salts due to the action of fields derive
from decomposition of oiganlc matter
on the bases In the nick." Organic
substances of animal and vegetahlu
'origin find their way into water supply
by washings brought down trum wnte"
sheds by rain fall, by Introduction of
sewage into water supply, either by di
rect opening of sewers into streams,
or by wilful pollution of springs, or by
leakage of pipes, or walls of cess pools.
Again, leaves, sawdust, vigelable mat
ter, vegetable refuse of various kinds
may enter the supply.
"Organic matter of aulnlal origin is
not of Itself more tlangeious to health
than Is organic matter of vegetable
origin, but it poss?sse'j great power
for evil." Organic matter quickly un
dergoes decomposition and oxidation.
The C of organic matter combines with
O of.H20.to lorm COS. while, the N
of organic matter Is l-ft to combine
with II of H-O to form NlU
ACID IS FOHM13D.
Nitrous add Is next formed which
combines with those bases for which it
has atllnlty, and nitrites are formed.
These are unstuble bodies which are
converted by the addition of oxygen
into nitrates, and represent the last
stage of oxidation of organic matter.
It Is of greatest importance to llnd out
whether the organic matter present Is
of animal or vegetable origin. The
aiiimnl organic matter Indicates that
the way Is nen for the access of spec
ific poisons as typhoid fexer, dysentery
and cholera. All waters, however
pure, contain a small amount of free
ammonia. Haln takes up ammonia
which Is present In the atmosphere as
a result of the combustion of fuel nnd
uuimal exhalations. Sewage contain
ing urine always becomes ammonlacal.
Water containing urine yields a large
amount of free ummonla. 0.03-O.OS
parts per million Is suspiciously high.
The work of detection of Injurious sub
stances In wnter belongs to the prov
ince of the analytical chemist nnd to
the bacteriologist. The processes of
obtaining such Information being dif
ficult and tedious and requiring special
laboratory facilities and special training.
We must bear In mind that an analy
sis of water is In no sense parallel with
the analysis of metals, but Is "a series
of experiments undertaken with a view
to assist the Judgment In lletermlnjng
the suitability of wnter for drinking
purposes." There exists differences In
the formation of the soil In different
localities. This one thing makes very
often a radical difference -In the llnal
detutmlnatlun as to the character of
the water. As for example, "If com
mon salt be found In a slinllow well In
a Hudson Hlver valley, It Is dlfllcult to
explain Its presence except upon sup
position of contamination by sewage,
whereas if the same amount of salt be
found In a deep well water at Syracuse,
New York, It would be accounted un
objectionable." HISTORY IS NECIJSSARY.
Tho chemist must have knowledge
of the history of tho water. Nichols
says It Is a great mistake to suppose
that the proper way to consult a chem
ist is to send a samplo of wuter in u
sealed vessel with no hint ns to Its
source. What Is called a golden rule
among chemists, and Is Insisted upon,
runs thus: "Never pass Judgment upon
a water the history of which is not
thoroughly known." The water having
been propel ly col lei ted from either
source of supply, or from place of de
livery in clean glass-stoppered bottles,
whli h have never been used before, the
bullies hnvllig been rinsed and filled to
oveillowlng to displace the air, then
having been complete'" emptied and
tilled again, a piece of cloth should be
fastened ilrnily nbout the neck of the
I utile nnd the ends of string which
keep it In plnce may be fastened by
staling.
The least carelessness In collecting
the water will render the report woith
less. (live the date of taking of sam
ple since water even thus protected
soon changes. Send also a description
of tho soil with which the water comes
In contact In nny way together with
Immediate or remote sources of possi
ble comtamlnatlon. The chemist con
siders appearance of watei, odor and
taste, temperature, reaction, color, to
tnl solids as to source, hardness of
water. permanent or temporary,
amount of chlorine present, nitrogen as
nitrites, nitrogen as nitrates, as free
ammonia, ns albuminoid ammonia,
lead copper, Iron, zinc, alum, phos
phates, dissolved gases. .Many sub
stances render the water turbid, as
death of algae and separation of their
Siowth.
Dead leaves, woshlngs from tanner
ies, dye works, etc. Any quickly sub
siding material Is to be reckoned sedi
ment nnd not turbidity. Odor and taste
which are such important Items of In
terest to us are not so considered from
the chemist's standpoint, since It has
been found by analylsts that a good
water may possess a marshy odor.
While a dangerous water may be taste
less and odorless. In the report of the
Massachusetts Hoard of Health, 1ST!),
may be found this: "The lower forms of
animal and vegetable life giving by
their death odors described us musty,
fishy, horse-pond and the like, however
objectionable from nn aesthetic stand
point, are not productive of disease.
When the small plants themselves are
swallowed they art chiefly In a me
chanical way, like unripe fruit In cnus
Ing diarrhoea. The filtered water Is
harmless."
AHOl'T Fit Hi: ACIDS.
I'nless water contains free add
usually sulfuric, and this occurs in
innnufucturlng centers and In coal re
gions, and Is washed down by the rains,
the leactlon of the water is alkaline.
Water of all dogices of hardness and
varletv of color and turbidity are due
to material dissolved or suspended In
the water derived from the strata
through which It has passed. Perman
ent hardness of water Is due to sul
fates of calcium and magnesium, and
does not disappear upon boiling. Tem
porary hardness of water is due to
Carbonates of Ca and Mg held In solu
tion by C02 present in the water. Hull
ing expells COl and the salt3 separate
fiom the water and the hardness dis
appears. Chlorln in water Is Indica
tion of contamination by sewage un
less Its presence can be explained as
having been wnshed from air or soil.
Mallet says: "I am Inclined to attach
special and very great importance to
the careful determination of nitrites
and nitrates in water to be used for
drinking purposes, and this because
th ir presence Is always an Indication
of contamination." Nitrites nre al
ways suspicious If found In ground or
surface water. However, the absence
ol nitrites proves nothing. Mason dte3
a case In which a most foul cis
tern water showed Upon annly.sls but a
trace of nitrites and nitrates, and yet
the water was contaminated, with en
tire house drainage, and nroduced most
serious Illness. This case shows plain
ly the necesslt" for the chemist to use
his judgment, to know the history of
the water and to make actual Inspec
tion of premises In order that a correct
ludgmcnt may be arrived at.
"Nitrates Indicate putiefnctlon of
animal rather than of vegetables tissue
on account of a greater amount of oxy
gen In animal tissue and because of Its
more ready 'decomposition. Surface and
ground wnter of good qualltv are low
in nitrates, for the reason that such
material Is quickly absorbed by grow
ing vegetation." So-called albuminoid
ummonla does not exist ready formed
111 water, but Is a product of the de
composition of organic nitrogenous
substances by alkaline permanganate.
(The term Is derived from the fact that
ablumln gives off ammonia In like
manner when similarly treated. Dr.
Smart believes that a water which in
the third or fourth measure of dlstl
lation gives n persistent evolution of
free ammonia which is followed In the
progress of the experiment by a per
sistence of twice that quantity of nl
bumlnold nmmonla probabl- contains
uren which Is the chief solid constitu
ent of urine, and the pilncipal nitro
genous end-product of tissue change.
NITRITES FORMED.
"Nitrites are formed at the expense
of ammonia and they In their turn are
converted Into nitrates by further oxi
dation." Lead and popper and zinc be
cause of their distinctly poisonous pro
perties arc most objectionable constit
uents of the water supply. Iron, If In
considerable quantity. Is also objection
able. Phosphates are never present in
more than minute traces In water fit
for domestic use, but are always; pres
ent In contaminated watei'.
Hacterla under very advorse condi
tions may be transported by flbwing
water to very "rent distances without
losing their vitality, and thus It be
comes necessary in a complete analysis
of water to make bacteriological exam
ination of wuter for the discovery of
possible germ contamination. Nichols
says "In the matter of determining tho
suitability of a stream for city supply
the service of the bacteriologist should
be unquestionably secured." Dr. Du
Pro has painted out that chemistry an
ticipates what may happen in the fu
ture, und by timely advice may pre
vent an outbreak of disease, while on
the other hand the discovery of disease
germs in a water Is only possible after
the watei' is infected.
Hacterlology Is of special value and
greatly superior to chemistry for the
testing of filters and watching the var
iatlon in their efficiency. Numerous
bacteria In wnter Indicate that there Is
food for their substenonce since they
cannot live without nourishment, and
this food Is usually supplied bv sewage.
Ordinary boiling for a half hour will
destroy 99 per cent, of all bacterial life,
and that which remains Is harmless.
Since Ice entels so largely Into the
drinking water in general usage, and
because It is popularly supposed that
freezing destroys germs,' nnd because
this has been proven absolutely Incor
rect, it seems wise In this connection
to speak of lee. and to point outfits
danger.
Ice, If cut from a stream whose Mow
ing water Is suitable for drinking pur
poses, may with safety lie used In cool
ing wnter. Artl'Mal Ire made fro i
distilled water contnlns no element of
danftei. Unfortunately In many In
stances Ice is cut from any place where
It Is found of sulllcient thickness to
make It seem worth while t take it.
notwithstanding the wnter of sueii
place Is so Impuie that the most ignor
ant would not drink of It.
In conclusion 1 cannot give more
timely nor more Useful advice than to
reneat to vim the words o' that most
accomplished physician Hippocrates,
which are repeated In these dnys so of
ten without referehce til their distin
guished author, and which consti'uto
our bulwork of defense In all times fit
danger 'rum poisons of typhoid ft er
and cholera, and with which you are
ad m lomlllar. repeating them when
ever you iiv, "Water should be boiled
and filter. 'd"
Mr. Reuben Haines offered the fnl
Inwlnrt figures representing the aver
ages of III different determinations of
uncontnmlnated waters anil recom
mended them ns standards for puro
waters In the neighborhood of Philadel
phia. Parts per million:
Free ainonla o.O.ll
Albuminoid nmonla P. int.
Chlorln 11.!',
Nitrogen as nitrates .".a".",
Total Solids, l2r,,T
- ii d i l i i d di d $ i d d di d d i Sl di l d d i t d d i f ii i J J--
OF
ja.
Sir:
w
A family of five, living on the outskirts of the city will pay annually net less than ft-
Wilms FOR CAR FARE ?SSi hoS? t,le Rent f6rl
Ten years' saving of this expense vill pay for a home oh the f.
1 DIAMOND PLOT, in the heart of the city, and within a few minutes' walk of j
H the Court House and Lackawanna Avenue. - '
Buy now, while you can get in on the ground floor
"ST.
s
5S"
THE BSMID Lift
AiO IMPROVEMENT GOMPASYl
ALEX. T. CONNELL, General Land Agent
mym
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