About Cisterns

Kot only cistern water, which of course eoutains the impurities of every kind gathered by the roof, but also the purest water streams, if allowed to stand tor a long time, will becomo exoeedingly offensive to the smell. Cisterna eonietimes become alive with animalculaee. This is another source of impurity. We infer that the water of your oistern is used for drinking and cooking. A quantity of charcoai placed iu the ciatern will absorb the noxious gases and deodorize the water, and if the bottom of the feed pip to your well could be encased in a box containing broken charcoai, ihrough which the water may be drawn, bo much the better. Two ounces of perrnanganate of potassa, thrown into an ordinary-sized cisteru of water, is said to render the foulest water sweet and pure ; or, to a hogshead of water, after being drawn, add a teaspoonful of the saturated solution of permanganate of potassa ; or, add earefully to any quantity needed sufficient togive the water operated on a slight pink tinge. Then, if a clean stick be placed in the water, or a little tea put iu, the color will disappear and the water will bo lit lor use. The pink tinge is given by the excesa of permanganate used, but the quantity of potassa remaining would be too insigniticant for danger, since it would not be more tlian 1-500 part of a grain to the gallon of water. A filter, however, would be tho proper thing, and no cistern, where the water is used for drink ing, should be without ono. The best plan is to build the cistern doublé, or, rather, two cisterns, the connecting pipe extending to the center of the filter at the the bottom. The filtering cistern, or that which receives the water from the roof, should be quite dishing at the bottom, and filled with not less thaa thirty inches of granulated charcoai, the pieces ranging from the size of a grain of wheat to that of corn. Over this place a layer of fine gravel, six inches thick, tho more porous tho better ; over this, a foot of coarser gravel, and over the latter a grating the size of the cistern, the undor side of which is covered with a cloth to catch the grosser particles. When foul, this may be removed and cleaned without removing tho water, thua keepiug the cistern free much longer than otherWÍ86. The water will always remain . at an equal height in both cisterns, ths pump pipe being placed in the cistern communicating with the filter. Another pian is to place a box or barrul filter in the bottom of the cistern ; but two serious objections to this plan are that but little water eau bo drawn at a time, and the filter will not work unless there is considerable water iu the cistern. - Western Rural. During a recent freshot in Conneeticut an editor telegraphed to another at tho scène of action : " Sond me full particulars of the flood." The anawer carne ; " You will find theni in Genesis."