common family well, except two; and these last had drank but very
little. On cleaning the well, the same species of reptiles which I have
already mentioned, were found in it, in a state of decomposition, and
highly offensive. No eruptive complaints of the same general kind
prevailed at the time in the neighborhood, and those which I have
mentioned disappeared soon after resuming the use of pure water.

Another instance occurred in this same region, a few years afterward. In
the latter case, however, the putrid animals were rats and mice, and the
eruption, instead of having a diffused or miliary appearance, partook
largely of the character of the common boil.

Forty years ago a sickness broke out in Litchfield county in
Connecticut, in a neighborhood where the wells were all very low; and
the water which remained being in a cavity of rock, and continuing
unchanged or nearly so, had at length become putrid. It was late in the
autumn when the disease broke out, and it disappeared as soon as the
wells were duly filled for the winter. It is true, I never heard in the
latter case, any thing about putrid animals, but their existence and
presence under such circumstances, would be natural enough.

It has, I know, been sometimes said that putrid animal substances,
however unpleasant their odor might be, were not poisonous. But this
opinion is doubtless unfounded; and, for myself, I find it difficult to
resist the belief that in all the foregoing cases, except the last, and
very possibly in that too, animal putridity had influence.

The practical lessons to be derived from the developments of the
foregoing chapter are exceedingly numerous. I shall direct your
attention for a few moments, to some of the more important.

First, we learn the necessity of keeping our wells in a proper
condition. Could it be even proved that dead reptiles never produce
disease, it is at least highly desirable to avoid them. No reasonable
person would be willing to drink water highly impregnated with their
odor, even if it did not reach his own seat of sensation.

Secondly, we should avoid the use of stagnant water, even though it
should be free from animal impurities. Especially should we be cautious
where there is a liability, or even a possibility, to impurity and
stagnation both. Either of these causes may, as it is most fully
believed, produce disease; but if so, what is not to be expected from a
combination of the two?

Our wells should be