ALUM FOR BAD WATER.

Hot Lakes Chronicle, Volume 2, Issue 132, 14 August 1895, Page 4

ALUM FOR BAD WATER.

Uio use of a'um to clear muddy water has long been known, but Professor Leeds, in the coarse of an in. vestigation on an outbreak of tvpo d fever at Mount Holly, discovered another value in the use of alum which, if hi 3 observation proves correct, may be very important. He found that the water which was sup* plied to the inhabitants of Mount Holly was swarming with bacteria, about 15 drops being capable of forming 8100 colonies of these microscopic vegetable germs, when spread upon a suitable surface. He tried the ex. perimentof aiding a minute amount or alum to this water in a proportion of only half a grain to a gallon and found not only was the dirt and coloring matter precipitated, but instead of the same quantity of water containing 8100 colonies of bacteria, it contained only 80, and these were ad of a large form. On filtering the water through two thickness of filtering paper, he found that the filtered water contained no bacteria, but was as sterile as if it had been subject to prolonged boiling." This amount of alum is too small to be evident to the taste, and is not harmful te health. It his observations shall remain unrefuted, they may form a valuable method of purifying polluted drinking water Of coarse it does not follow that, because bacteria are removed, therefore the obscure causes of disease j- removed . b "t bacteria and these diseases npnpar to be coincident even if not linked almost as cause and ettect, according to the modern theories, and it is n->t too much to hope tjat, if the bacteria are removed the virus of these diseases will be removed with them.