cessary to bring the
water to the house and because of the plumbing fixtures required in the
house. Again, a water-supply in the house involves a well-heated house,
since pipes not kept warm will, in the winter, inevitably freeze,
ruining the pipe line and perhaps the ceilings and walls of the house
itself. But if the owner of a house has any money to expend in
improvements, surely no better way of adding to the comfort and health
of his family can be found. An abundant supply of water increases the
self-respect of the whole family and has been known even to change the
temper of an entire household. For another reason, also, it is a good
investment, inasmuch as the quality of the water supplied from a spring
on a hillside is, generally speaking, better than that of a well
surrounded by barnyards and privies.

It has been said that the civilization of a community is measured by
the amount of soap that it consumes, and it is almost the same thing to
say that the refinement of a household is measured by the amount of
water it uses. The poorer a family, the greater struggle it is to keep
up the appearance of cleanliness, and no surer sign of rapid progress on
a downhill road can be found than neglect of those practices which tend
toward personal neatness. As the life of the farmer, then, becomes
easier, as his condition becomes more prosperous, and as his family make
more requirements, so, inevitably, is there in the farmhouse a greater
demand for water in the kitchen, in the laundry, and in the bath-room.

_Quantity of water needed per person._

Just how much water is needed in any house is not easy to predict,
unless, at the same time, it is known, not merely the present habits of
the family, but also their capacity to respond to the refining influence
of unlimited water.

It has been shown by measuring the amount of water used in families of
different social standing in cities of New England that the amount of
water varies directly with the habits and social usages of the family.
For example, in Newton, Massachusetts, where there are a large number of
small houses with the water-supply limited to a single faucet, it was
found that the water used amounted to seven gallons per day for each
person in the house, while in houses supplied with all modern
conveniences, the consumption of water was at the rate of twenty-seven
gallons per day for each person. In Fall River, the conditions were much
the same except that the po