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40 Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health-869-70
medium, and there grow and flourish. Nay, they may find their way back again into river
water, and enter the stomachs of those consuming it. Hence Dr. Farr truly remarks, that
to take water from rivers which are liable to bo contaminated by sewage in any way, is the
"policy of despair." "Whether the water used bo hard or soft is a matter of considerable
importance in an economical view. Dr. Frankland states, 212 lbs. of good hard soap are
destroyed by 100,000lbs. of Thames water, in washing, before any useful detergent effect
is produced, whilst some water only destroys two pounds.
One hundred millions of gallons of water, it is said, are daily supplied to London; about
as much as is contained at low water between London and Blackfriars Bridges.