eagerly purchased by all officers and by most of the men who returned to the capital from duty in the field. The tropical heat made them drink freely of this very pure water. Any one who used the water persistently for a few days found the troubles of his intestinal system mitigated. As the author was president of an army mess for some time he is able to testify that the Japanese water, for its effect, was preferred to any European or American mineral water that was obtainable in Manila.
Yet the Japanese of to-day believe that it is not necessary for a suitable medicinal drinking water to contain marked mineral properties. It is needful only that the water be pure; and any spring water, from its long upward filtration through clean sand is likely to answer all requirements—that is, unless there are contaminating surface influences. Mineral waters are expensive in this country. Distilled water is much cheaper, and is the purest that is known either to Nature or to chemists. This water should be reasonably cooled. If it is found that distilled water is too flat in taste, there are many manufacturers who use distilled
