WATER FOR THE FARM

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22183, 9 August 1935, Page 18

WATER FOR THE FARM

GLEAN AND WHOLESOME IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK PURITY OF THE PRODUCTS A clean and wholesome water sup ply for human and animal consump tion is equally important to the towr dweller and farmer, according to f recent bulletin prepared by the Can terbury Agricultural College, Lincoln The former, it is pointed out, is sup plied with a sanitary and wholesoiw supply; the latter has to make suitable arrangements for himself. The source from which water is ob tained has a distinct bearing on it! purity, palatabijity, and its suitability for consumption for household and foi dairy purposes. For human and anima consumption the water should bo fre< from disease-producing bacteria aw organisms which may impair tin health, while for dairy purposes i should also be free from yeasts, fung and bacteria, which are responsible fo many of the common abnormal change in milk and dairy products. An impuri j water supply makes it difficult for i I dairy farmer to produce high qualit; i products. Different Sources i The characteristics of water from : particular source are influenced largel; by local conditions, but water fron ; similar sources has many characteris ; tics in common Stored rain water varies accordinj < to the purity of the atmosphere, th nature of the collecting surface, th frequency of rains, and the storagi ; system. Thus, roof water is common); polluted with bird droppings, leaves am : soot, while surface water from a natu ral or artificial catchment area i usually contaminated to a greater o less degree, depending upon the cleanli j ness of the surface. A device to dia i card the first water after rain can b i fitted to the down-pipe, j Shallow well water .is liable to seep age from th& surface through open porous sub-soils. Sewage, drainage fron farmyards, and other objectionable sur face water may pollute shallow well j unless they are away from the sourc of contamination and at a higher level The ground round the well should b built up to prevent the entrance of sui I face drainage into the well. This souro jof supply should be avoided wher , possible. . i Natural Filter Deep well water has to pass throug one or more strata of good filterin material and as a result the supply i fairly pure. It is important to kee surface water out of deep wells b i careful construction. Deep well wate ! frequently contains salts accumulate j in its passage through the soil, an j these may cause the water to b "hard." , . , Tor stock consumption race wate must always be considered as a possibl source of contamination for disease an worm parasites. For human consume tion it is essential that it be filtere owing to the risk of it corftainin disease bacteria and hydatid materia For dairy purposes it is very unsatii factory. In summer it is practical! useless for cooling purp>oses, and th many sources of contamination to whic it is exposed render it unsafe unles it is filtered or sterilised. The purity of stream and river watc depends upon the nature of the cour try through which it passes. In ur inhabited hill country it will be ptir< \ while in inhabited country it may b | oontamined -with the discharge* froi domestic and industrial sewage, dea animals, and dip discharge, and thi be highly dangerous. Although dilutio aind long exposure to the sun and ai are potent factors in purifying sue water, this should not be relied upor A case is known of a river being po luted 12 miles from the source of coi tamination. Dip discharge should drai into a rubble sump (36 cubic feet pt 100 gallons of dip), located some dii tance from the water supply. It unusual for arsenic to percolate moi than a few inches from the sump. Mi? ing with lime or ferrous sulphate rei ders arsenical dips inert. Appearance Hot a Guide It is impossible to form a reliab opinion as to the quality of the wat< from its appearance and taste. If an doubts exist th* health authority should be communicated with, wit regard to methods of sampling fc examination. The harmful effects of drinking in pure water are less common in an mals than in human beings. In animali the possibilities of spread of diseast such as contagious abortion of eatth Johne's disease, tuberculosis, strangk and influenza of horses must also I entertained. Another risk of infectio for both man and animals is eontamini tion with worm eggs or parasitic larvi forma. Hydatid disease, for example may be spread by the water supph Other diseases that may be spread c porper.viated by unsuitable waterin facilities for stock are stomach an lung worms of horses, cattle, shee] pigs or poultry. Moist or wet cond tions favour the longevity of the: parasites and favour the of' snails and slugs, which are intei mediate hosts for certain of them. Om breaks of "the little red worm" i young horses and round worm infest* tion of pigs, a common trouble in Ne Zealand, have been traced to the drinl ing of water from shallow ponds t other places which have been subjet to heavy pollution with infested anims manure. Benefits to be Gained Improved watering facilities then fore will do much to reduce the risl of spread of disease, in partie.ulai worm infestation. The need for keepin the water supply protected from doc is important for the control of hydatid! Where possible suitably-raised trough should be installed for all classes c stock and an efficient drainage syster adopted for the removal of surpln and waste water. Worm control in pip is a matter which is often neglectec The wallow water is often the onl source of supply for these animali Separate drinking buckets should b used for animals affected with infen tions diseases. The careful horsema sometimes uses > his own waterin bucket to avoid risk of infection fror public drinking troughs. For general farm purposes many po ! luted waters are probably harmless, bu it must be realised that some risk i always attached to the use of sue waters. For domestic and for dair purposes pure water is essential." I addition to the risk of introducing dif ease-producing bacteria in milk, po! luted wnter bas frequently been rf sponsible for abnormal changes i milk and cream. While pigmentatio of milk, slimy and ropy milk, fer mentation of cream, and the develor ment of hnd flavours may be the resul of various kinds of contamination, the havo periodically been traced to th presence of .yeasts, moulds, and bar teria in the water supply. The remed lies in efficient purification of th water supply and suitable protoctio after purification.