urges the town to proceed at once to remove all the lead pipe now in use in the town, whether as mains or service pipes.

MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL FOR THE FEEBLE-MINDED. The trustees of the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-minded applied to the Board, May 21, 1896, for its advice relative to the propriety of covering their water reservoir. The Board replied to this application as follows:

BOSTON, July 3, 1896.

The State Board of Health has considered your application for advice as to the necessity or advisability of covering the distributing reservoir of your water-supply system, in which you state that your supply is obtained by pumping from the works of the city of Waltham, and that the water is often offensive to sight and smell, but that it has not apparently been any better or worse for passing through your reservoir.

The water supply of the city of Waltham is taken from a covered filter basin and well near the Charles River, above the city, and the water at the source of supply is free from taste and odor and from vegetable organisms, and is a very satisfactory water for domestic use. The water is supplied to the city by pumping, and an open reservoir is used in connection with the distributing system. The exposure of the water to light in the reservoir is the cause of the presence in the water of large numbers of microscopical organisms at nearly all times, which impart to the water a disagreeable taste and odor.

The effect of exposing ground water to light in an open distributing reservoir upon the quality of the water is well known, and the use of the reservoir is avoided, so far as practicable, by pumping as nearly as possible at the same rate as the consumption. It is, therefore, probable that most of the supply that is pumped to your distributing reservoir, especially during the summer season, is water which comes from the well or filter basin, and has not passed through the city distributing reservoir. The storage of this water in a reservoir where it is exposed to light would be favorable to the growth of microscopical organisms, and the quality of the water would deteriorate in consequence.

In view of the circumstances, therefore, it is desirable that you cover your reservoir in such a manner as to keep the water wholly from exposure to the light. There will, of course, still be danger that a portion of the water pumped to your reservoir will come from the Waltham distributing reservoir, and possibly be affected by taste and odor; but if your reservoir is covered so as to exclude the light, the conditions will be unfavorable to a continuation of the development of microscopical organisms that may enter it.

MEDFIELD INSANE ASYLUM. The trustees of the Medfield Insane Asylum applied to the Board, July 1, 1896, for its advice relative to a proposed additional water supply for the asylum, to be taken either from driven wells near the present supply or from Farm Pond in Sherborn. The Board replied to this application as follows:

BOSTON, Oct. 1, 1896.

The Board has caused an examination of both of these sources to be made by one of its engineers, and has had samples of the water analyzed. It was originally proposed to draw the supply for this institution from the ground, on the right or easterly bank of the Charles River, near the line between Dover and Medfield, and twenty tubular wells were sunk in this locality. The quality of the water furnished by these wells is excellent, but the quantity has been found to be wholly inadequate for the needs of the asylum, and the supply for purposes other than drinking has been drawn from the Charles River. Judging from information furnished by your engineer as to the character of the material found beneath the surface in this vicinity, it appears that there are in places deposits of gravel from which ground water can be drawn freely, while in other places the material is so fine that it will yield but little water. The conditions, on the whole, are such that it is not probable that a sufficient quantity of water for the asylum could be obtained by driving additional wells in the vicinity of the present works.

Farm Pond is situated at such an elevation that its water can be drawn to your present pumping station by gravity. The water of Farm Pond has been examined several times during the past summer, by means of chemical and microscopical analyses, and has been found to be very soft, nearly colorless, and otherwise of excellent quality for a domestic water supply. The watershed is free from dwelling-houses, and the source is naturally an excellent one for water-supply purposes. On one side of the pond there is a grove used by picnic parties in summer, and care will be necessary to prevent danger of pollution of the water from this cause. The situation of the pond, not far from the village of Sherborn, is such that it may be found to be the most appropriate source of supply for this village in the future; but the yield of the pond will be sufficient both for the asylum and for the town of Sherborn, unless the population in either shall increase to a much greater extent than is to be expected at present.

The Board therefore concludes that Farm Pond is an appropriate source of additional water supply for the Medfield Insane Asylum.

MEDWAY. The water supply committee of Medway applied to the Board, May 23, 1896, for its advice relative to the introduction of a public water supply, certain alternative sources being specified in the application. The Board replied to this application as follows:

BOSTON, July 3, 1896.

The State Board of Health received from you, on May 25, an applicacation for advice with reference to a proposed water supply for the town, in which you mention three proposed sources of supply, two of which are in the valley of Chicken Brook and the third on the north side of Main Street, near Holliston Street.

The Board has caused an examination of the proposed sources to be made by one of its engineers, and samples of water from a spring and test well in the valley of Chicken Brook to be analyzed. The analyses show that the water is of suitable quality for domestic purposes, but it does not appear probable that a supply of ground water sufficient for the supply of the town of Medway can be obtained from the valley of this brook in the vicinity of either of the points indicated by you.

With reference to the third source, it is understood that your committee has already concluded that the probable quantity of water that could be obtained from it would be entirely inadequate for the supply of the town. The Board has already, on a previous occasion, considered the question of a water supply from these sources and from certain other sources in the town, in response to an application from H. V. Mitchell and others, who were about to form a water company; and a copy of the reply of the Board, which was dated March 1, 1892, is enclosed.

The Medway Water Company submitted an application to this Board, in July of last year, for advice with reference to a water supply to be taken from the ground in the easterly part of the town, and have continued their investigations during the earlier portion of the present year. In response to their application, the Board has recently advised the Medway Water Company with reference to their proposed water supply, and a copy of this communication is also enclosed.

MEDWAY. The Medway Water Company applied to the Board, July 19, 1895, for its advice relative to taking a public water supply from the ground on the left or northerly bank of the Charles River in the east part of the town. The Board replied to this application as follows:

BOSTON, July 3, 1896. The Board caused an examination of the proposed source of supply to be made, and samples of water from the test wells located in the vicinity of the corner of Walker and Village streets to be analyzed. The results of these analyses showed that the water had previously been polluted and subsequently purified to a large extent by its passage through the ground; but iron was present in such quantities in some of the samples as to indicate that the water would be affected by the presence of an excessive amount of this ingredient, should a large quantity of water, such as would be needed for the supply of the town of Medway, be drawn continuously from the ground in this vicinity.

In view of the unfavorable character of the water obtained from these test wells, you requested that the Board postpone the consideration of this matter until further investigations could be made; and in the spring of the present year a second group of test wells was put in by you in territory on the opposite side of the river, and about 500 feet farther down stream. These wells are three in number, and are situated about 60 feet from the river, where the latter makes a sharp bend known as the "ox-bow." The Board has caused an examination of this locality also to be made, and has found that the conditions, as regards the porosity of the soil, are favorable to obtaining water freely from wells here, and the territory on both sides of the river appears to be of a porous character, judging from surface indications; but with the information at present available it is not feasible to tell whether or not a sufficient supply of water for the town can be obtained from the ground in this vicinity.

Samples of water have been collected from each of the three test wells on two occasions, and the results show in general that the water has at some time been polluted but subsequently purified by its passage through the ground. The quantity of iron in all of the samples was so small as not to affect the quality of the water, but there was a marked increase in the quantity of iron found in the second set of samples, which were collected after pumping for about ten hours daily for several days with a hand pump. The quality of the water in other respects improved somewhat with pumping.

The changes that took place in the character of the water while pumping only a comparatively small amount from the wells make it impossible to predict what the probable character of the water would be, after pumping continuously for a long time a quantity such as would be needed for the supply of Medway. The location of the proposed wells, in the vicinity of Charles River, a stream which receives considerable sewage pollution from the factories and villages along its banks above this point, makes it essential that any water that may enter the wells from the

river shall be thoroughly purified by filtration for a long distance through the ground.

In view of all the circumstances, the Board does not advise the construction of works for taking a supply of water from the ground in the vicinity of the present test wells until you have made further tests by driving wells and pumping from them continuously, at as great a rate, at least, as would be necessary for the supply of a town like Medway, and for a sufficient time to determine whether this source can be depended upon to furnish water of satisfactory quality for drinking purposes, and in sufficient quantity for the supply of the town.

It is very desirable, in putting in additional wells, that they be placed at a much greater distance from the river than the present test wells. The Board will, upon application, give you further advice in this matter when you have the results of further investigations to present.

MERRIMAC. The water supply committee of Merrimac applied to the Board for its advice relative to a water supply for that town, suggesting certain sources for examination. The Board replied to this application as follows:

BOSTON, Dec. 3, 1896.

The State Board of Health has considered your application with reference to a proposed water supply for the town of Merrimac, and has caused an examination of the sources mentioned in your application to be made by its engineer, and samples of the waters to be analyzed.

The first source mentioned is Cobbler's Brook, which you propose to use either by taking water from the ground, about half a mile above the railroad station and near the old Tukesbury dam, or by taking water from a storage reservoir, to be formed by constructing a dam across the valley near the old Tukesbury dam, or by both methods.

In this locality you have made tests of the ground by means of tubular wells, a portion of the wells being located close to the old dam, and the others about 400 feet farther down the stream. The results of these examinations do not show the presence of porous material of sufficient depth and extent to furnish a reasonable expectation of obtaining any considerable quantity of water from the ground. An analysis of a sample of water collected by you from the test well from which water could be pumped with the most freedom, shows that it contains so large a quantity of iron that the water would be objectionable for many domestic purposes.

It is probable that, by constructing a storage reservoir of sufficient size at the place proposed, enough water could be obtained from the brook for the supply of the town; but the analyses of samples of water from the