Danger in Farmhouses from Polluted Water.  -- Of course, the same conclusion holds good for country farmhouses or dwellings when, from motives of convenience, although there is space enough and to spare, but a short distance is interposed between the sides of the hole which is called the well, and which furnishes the drinking water, and the other hole nearby which is called the cesspit, and used as a receptacle for filthy, often poisonous, excrement.  Moreover, there are no doubt many instances where, owing to the inclination of beds of sand or gravel, strata of rock and so forth, impurities of these and other dangerous varieties may be carried, by underground currents, much further than the distances which have been mentioned as measured upon the surface of the earth area in other words, a cesspool on a hillside, 500 feet or more away from a well, may infect the water of the latter, if underground currents favor such contamination.

We have previously talked about the potential for typhoid and other contagions that can be carried by livestock and transmitted to humans.  Shielding the water supply both of people from animals and animals from people was known 100 years ago, but not always well documented unlike the dangers of mesothelioma or many other deadly situations that people could create themselves.

Additional Articles from the Book of Medicine:

• Lead Diseases
  
  

  Lead Diseases. — the injurious effects of lead upon the human system are displayed first, in the production of dyspepsia; later, obstinate constipation and a peculiar kind of colic, so common among painters from the influence of lead that it has received the name of “painter’s colic;” and finally, disturbance of the nervous system, especially that peculiar form of lead palsy called wrist drop, in which the power to lift up the hand is more or less completely lost.

  If that seems a little scary consider that this book was written right around the same time that life insurance became popular.  Now back then, life expectancy was much lower than it is today. Its increased by about 25 years give or take.  Today life insurance quotes might also be a lot more reliable due to the higher competition amongst many high quality insurance agencies that no longer sell insurance door to door like they did 100 years ago.  Regardless, I think most of us would just rather avoid lead diseases all together.

• The Eye and Its Wonders
  
  

  Beautiful Plate of the Eye.–The beautiful flesh-colored engraving at the right-hand top corner of this exquisite anatomical plate gives a strikingly natural, life-size representation of the human eye, together with its external appendages, the eyebrows, the eyelids, and the lachrymal or tear glands.

  As I write this I have not published pictures of Chart 3, but will have it provided and uploaded shortly.  Let me just say that this engraving or plate is  well, a little under whelming.  Could I call it a beauty?

  No.  Is it life sized?  Oddly, not really.  You’ll see for yourself soon, that this medical book doesn’t do this particular diagram justice.

• The Pelvis
  
  

  The Pelvis.  — The pelvis is an irregular-shaped basin, formed by the hip bones and the pubic bones in front.  In the upper and back part is the foot of the spinal column, consisting of a wedge-shaped bone called the sacrum.  It is observed firmly planted between the wide spreading hip bones of the pelvis, like the keystone of an arch, and gives a strong support to the burden above.

  Like the section referring to the composition of the chest this section has very little to remark upon other the fact that it has very little to remark upon and so I’ll leave it at that.  To certain extent I feel like I’m speeding through the sections is there just basically describing an image.  In the first chart this was a little bit more entertaining, however I know from looking for in the book that there’s much more entertainment to be had in future pages.

  The section does refer to ‘hip bones’ as opposed to the modern compound word spelling of hipbones.