CONSIDERED, Shanghai lao two sources of potable water supply which are unlimited, and two limited sources of supply of that material, Let us first consider the most Dountiful—viz., the waters that drain a portion of the plain of Kiangeu, and those that roll up at every tide from the river Yangtsze. The questions now before us as community are—which of these shall be selected and which point shall be selected for the in-take?
Apart from the engineering and financial considerations that are involved, and apart from the inferences which chemical hygienic in before coming to a decision on a general way, it may b the Kiangeu waters are charged with organic matter—animal and vegetable; while the waters of the Grent River hold suspended large amount of mineral matter.
This rich alluvial plain is permeated by anet-work of navigable water-courses, some of which are so sluggish as to be almost stagnant, The soil is noted for its fertility, according to the Pun-tsou, teems witl ove allotherrogions. Prot detected, in an analy: nce above Shan cating previous contact with putrescent organic matter, probably of animal origin but failed to detect any in the waters of the adjacent inosculating creek. It would require, however, a largo amount of negative testimony like this to ye that the Soochow Crook was lo vor which the sewerage of the Sottlement is scattered, which area is almost wholly above the city. How anay be, organic matter generally abounds in the' waters of the central and lower portion of the plain, A striking evi Of the prevalence of impurities waters is afforded by boilers of the harbor tug-boats, What is called " priming" or "foaming" is due, when these are not faulty, to impurities' in the water water that has been condensed from steam, for example, never exhibits the phenomcuon of priming. Now, it is a fact that this priming is most observable when the water of our harbor is clearest, and when the waters of the Yangtsze in our harbor are at the minimum; or in other words—paradoxical as it may seem—the Water is purest when most muddy, decrensing in purity as it increases in limpidity, the mineral matter being visible,—the organic matter being to a great extent indi Besides the organic matter that brought down from that catchment area, or watershed, which is drained by the whangpoo and its affluents, the rich soil affords another source of impurity, which although almost infinitesimal in amount, merits consideration. Spectroscopic analysis would undoubtedly disclose traces of arsenic in those waters.
The Ta Tsing Lih Li—Penal Code, in referring to an arsenic poisoning case, states incidentally that the arsenic employed was on hand for manure, and in the port catalogues of the Chinese Customs collection at the Vienna Exhibition, it is stated by the Commissioners of Customs of Shanghai, Canton and Hankow, that arsenic is employed for manuring purposes. Tam loath to impugn the accuracy of an Imperial jurist, whose statements are sustained by ripe sinologues, but in view of experiments that have' been made, demonstrating the virulence of arsenic as 8 poison to plants, I cannot believe in it as a fertilizer of soil. The fact that, when it is employed by agriculturists, it is mixed with ashes, may have caused the compost to be styled manure. However that may be, it is certain that the red sulphate of arsenic is extensively employed to destroy the insects that frequently menace the crops. Experience has taught the farmer to graduate the dose, so that, while it acts as an insecticide, it shall not injure the plants, Roughly estimated, it would appear that about a ton of the crude mineral in powder is scattered over an area of three square treenio obtains when water is less pure miles, It so happens that this use of
than usual; that is in routh. Ordinarily, frogs are sufficiently numerous to check exclusive increase of animal life, but the balance becomes disturbed when those amphibians are reduced in numbers, as in drouths; hence it is that magistrates so often issue proclamations interdicting their uso as food.
The Chinese, up-country, whose waters colored by mud, use alum for precipitation, as is done at i, and besides that, they place bits of Iakawood (Lanarius major, which sink to the bottom)
an antidote against the supposed noxious properties which they attribute to their water, One more fact remains to be considered before we dismiss this up-country water. Ibis this: that, while the atmosphere convey from place to place the germinal matter of zymotic and choleraic disease, water which is charged with organic matter, like that under consideration, receives ai this germinal matter, whi free of organic matter like of the Yangteze, affords no nidus for sources of typhoid and cholera, A word of explanation may not be out of place respecting the protista which Professor Frankland found in our upcountry water. The bacteria and vibrios are regarded by many as the cause of endemic and specific contagious disease: on the other hand, however, the fact that active putrefaction may. take place in absence of bacteria, and that bacteria may be present in abundance without giving rise to putrefaction, shows that undue importance has probably been attached to these lowest forms of organism as sources of disease.
Ido not wish to be understood as representing the waters of the plain which find their way to this Settlement as unwholesome. The experience of countless generations of inhabitants is conclusive on this point. Iamawarethatthemountainstreams which first reach the plain are remarkably pure and delicious. Opium shop signs often announce water from these sources is employed in preparing the drug. My intention is merely to express a preference for the Yangtsze water, and the grounds for that preference. The almost total absence of animal and vegetable substances in the water of that river affords ¢ prion evidence of its superiority over the waters of the plain,* and thi An analysis made in London for Messrs Evans & Ca, of water taken off Pootung Point at half food, was found to abound in animaleale, which either bad up country origin or coutaised germs wich were Sbrelopet tinder the new conditions to which it was subjected, evidence is confirmed by empirical testi-many. A native philosopher once made numerous experiments on the relative value of certain waters for infusing tea, He found Yangtsze water to be superior to all others for making the national beverage, A thousand years later, we find an Englishman at Hongkew praises the use of the same water for making his national beverage, and beer drinkers from every land endorse the brewer's opinion, If might record my private opinion here, I should say that brewing is a subtle method of adulteration of the fittest beverage for gods and men.
What I have said respecting the supply of potable water from the Yangtsze as united, requires modification: there are times when the supply is scant, During strong winds from south-west, particularly at neaptides, the stream from up-country flows so rapidly as to neutralise the tides—0 much s0, that vessels do not swing fur days together. Before the era of towboats, vessels, at such periods, were unable to ascend the river; a brig that once accomplished that feat in eighteen days did as much as could be expected of any vessel under like circumstances. The same cause kept back the waters of the Great River, and the result was clean water, but brackish, and brackishness means diarrhoea to those unaccustomed to its use, Besides, that brackishness extends higher up the country than any of the places that are proposed for intake, Nor is the failure of Yangtsze water. (more marked of course when that river is low) the only cause of occasional salinity of the Whampoa; an overflow of sea water at Hangchow Bay, from defective dyl affects all the intermediate region, least of all, however, Soochow Creek. With the point for intake, the ite below Hongkew seems to the next is the present location of the Pootung Works,—Lungwha being the least desirable, In any case the infiltration should be that which is known as the magnolia carbide, Tt would seem, then, that those sources of water supply which are unlimited as rogards quantity, though well adapted to the wants of the Fire Departme flushing drains, sprinkling streets and the like, do not exactly meet potable requirements. This leads me to the consideration of those sources of supply which, though limited in amount, are. tmexcop: tionable for drinking purposes. There exe extensive regions on the coast where the inhabitants depend wholly on rain-water for drinking, as at Ningpo und the adjacent country, where it is collected and preserved in capacious jars for that purpose. Fo potable purposes, the rain-fall at Shan sample. This heaven-distilled beverage is unquestionably the best of all drinks, There are residents here of a lifetime, who have drank no other. Generally there is sufficient space about each house for storing the fall, It requires only to be covered to preserve its purity. Properly constructed cisterns are a desideratum; there should be two on each lot, to allow time for wration, Another source of supply is well-water, It is only necessary to dig 20 feet or less to procure, in nine cases out of ten, excel lent water, superior, the natives say, to that of the Whangpoo. From some peen-liar property which it possesses, silversmiths employ it to the exclusion of all other for silver washing, To render this rapid survey of our water supply more comprehensive, a word should be added on Artesian wells. A former resident of Shanghai, well known for his public spirit, attempted the experiment of boring for water—an enterprise, however, which he was compelled to abandon before two hundred feet had been attained, owing to the want of akuled labour, I should commend to our Municipality a renewal of the experiment, but for the fact that the Arsenal authorities
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.