alone, and the inhabitants were strictly watched to prevent their passing any sewage-matter into these drains. The introduction of the water-closet, however, gradually increased the water which overflowed from the old cesspools to such an extent that it was impossible to prevent overflows of this description, and systems of drainage were designed to carry off the whole, both sewage and rain-water. A very composite system of drainage then arose. Generally, the bed of some stream or natural rivulet passing through the town was covered over, and the whole filth passed into that along with the rainfall of the district. This soon was found unsatisfactory, because the flood-waters of the stream were not to be relied on to keep the channel clean, and so the filth remained festering underneath the ground, giving off deadly gases in the midst of the population. The next arrangement which succeeded to that system was to plan large drains for the rain and surface-water, and sewage, and still keeping the idea of the size of the bed of a natural stream before them, engineers thought it necessary to make all the main drains large enough for a man to pass through them, and keep them clean. Seeing the vast quantity of sand and grit that was occasionally washed off the streets, something might be said in defence of this system. Vast numbers of these great main sewers still exist. Into these sewers all the smaller house-drains were to enter, and the surface-water through streetgratings as well. The ordinary water used for domestic purposes, and the occasional rainfalls, were relied upon to flush those large main sewers; but their great size made this an exceedingly difficult and uncertain process, and they, in fact, became only cesspools elongated. In dry weather, the filth was retained in them to such an extent, that after heavy rains, chemical analysis shewed that the water which was discharged contained frequently twenty times the amount of human fæcal matter per gallon more than it did in dry weather. This state of matters, added to the fact that long-continued dry weather was always attended by an increase of deaths from typhus and other fevers, clearly shewed that something more must be done. A further step was then taken by sanitary engineers. The idea of men passing up the drains was set aside, and the smallest possible drains were constructed, until these have arrived at such dimensions as an 18 inch main drain for a town of 10,000 inhabitants. The rainfall was still to be relied on to a certain extent for flushing purposes, but a supplementary assistance was to be given at some points by flushing with water from the ordinary regular supply of the town. As these smaller drains were not sufficient to carry off all the surface and rain-water, as well as the sewage, overflow weirs have been provided at certain points, where the excess must go over, and pass away into some other channel. This is the system now most generally adopted, and is better than its predecessors; but we believe that it, in its turn, must give way to something better, and that before many years. The necessity of dealing with the sewage at the main outfall, and the utilisation of it for agricultural fertilisation, while, in nine cases out of ten, pumping must be employed to lift the sewage of a town at the discharging point for such a purpose, have gradually forced upon us the conviction that the sewage and household water must be kept quite distinct from the surface-water and rainfall.

The outfall of the sewage drain, and subsequent disposal of the filth, are in reality the first things to be considered. Hitherto, engineers in general have taken the nearest stream, and polluted it to

such an extent, that perpetual lawsuits, nuisances, and diseases have been the result. Fever of the worst class is certain to follow the drinking of water tainted in this manner, and there is scarcely a stream in the interior of the country which has not been injured more or less from this cause. Again, where the sewage has been emptied into the sea, tide-locked drains are objectionable, and the sewage, when mixed with salt water, generally gives off more stench than ever. We may briefly say that all attempts at deodorisation by chemical processes have hitherto failed, and as far as our present knowledge goes, are not to be relied upon. The utilisation of the sewage on the fields by irrigation is, therefore, the true solution of the problem, and we must arrive at the simplest, cheapest, most certain, and most perfect system of accomplishing this. When sewage and rainfall all go together in the same drains, as they do in all the older systems, all is uncertainty; while, were the two separated, rain and surface-water can be discharged at any point into the natural water-courses of the country, and a fixed quantity of sewage, with household and flushing water, would be passed to the main outlet, to be there dealt with. The opponents of this system say that it is too expensive and troublesome to plan; that it is unnecessary, as it is sufficient if engineers provide for the dry-weather flow of the sewage, and use that for irrigation; and that when the overflows come into action in floods, the whole is so much diluted, that no harm is done to any one. The advocates of this double system of drainage say that the total separation of the two is the most sanitary system, because the streetgratings and rain-water pipes, which at present let down the rain-water into the sewage-drains, act, in fact, as so many ventilating shafts, and discharge the stench in the midst of the inhabitants; while, under a separate system, the sewage-pipe would be entirely sealed up, and only ventilated at such places as could safely be done; that the rain-water as a flushing-power ought to be entirely discarded, as it fails in dry weather, just when it is most wanted; that in wet weather, and winter again, when the discharging of the sewage on to the surface of land is carried out, the great quantity of water sent down through the drains by the present system is agriculturally a serious injury; that when pumping has to be employed for lifting the liquid for irrigation, as it is in most cases, all is uncertainty, and that no machinery can be economical and efficient under such circumstances, and that the planning of the irrigation also becomes difficult to manage, and irregular. With regard to the expense, it is further maintained that, as the rain-water and surface-water can be discharged at the nearest point, all the drains may be much lessened in size; and further, that the flushingpower of the water in the sewage-drains will be much more efficient, while the corresponding lessening of the expense in carrying out the process of utilisation will completely compensate any additional outlet that may be incurred in laying the drains in towns. If we take the case, which is a common one, of a population of 10,000 people living upon a square mile, the first-mentioned system, where rain and sewage water go together, would require pumping-machinery, in dry weather, of, say, five horse-power, to lift the liquid; and it would further be necessary, for wet weather, to have in reserve a lifting-power of 150 horses; while, on the separate system, where the sewage alone would have to be dealt with, the five horse-power engine would be regularly and constantly employed, and its work would be almost entirely confined to the daytime, whereas the other must be ready at any time, and

pipes used for irrigation. This is necessary, also, because in its unfiltered state we cannot depend upon sewage going down and up again, and so passing over a valley, and the sphere of operations then becomes more limited.

Great part of the solid matter can also be removed by this process, and common house-ashes are the best mixing and deodorising material to facilitate the stuff being carried away.

4. The Utilisation of Sewage.-The whole of the sewage of a house or town having been conveyed away in the manner we have described, the next important step is to know what to do with it. Above all things, it is desirable to add to the productiveness of the soil, so as to compensate in some degree for the constant supply we are drawing from that source.

The liquid nature of sewage, adopting as we may the ordinary amount of dilution in dry weather at the rate of 25 gallons per head, has been a great obstacle in the way; while also the vast quantities of road-grit, and the great gluts of rain that come down along with the sewage when there is only one system of drains in a town, have upset all arrangements and calculations. Many attempts have been made, especially at Leicester, some years ago, to precipitate all the valuable qualities of the sewage by impregnating the whole with milk of lime; but the process was unremunerative to those who did it, as so much sand was precipitated at the same time, that the product obtained was almost worthless as a manure; while, as the greater part of the ammonia escaped in the water, the discharging of it into any stream was still, strictly speaking, quite illegal. As far as chemical knowledge can guide us, there seems at present to be no hope in this direction.

At Edinburgh, again, and at Croydon, the irrigation of land by gravitation has rendered the process a simple one, because the whole has been poured over the land with many excellent results. These, however, are clearly exceptional cases, and we must look to pumping as being necessary in by far the greater proportion of towns; while for the two places we have mentioned, the results would, in all probability, have been better still if the strength of the sewage had been more concentrated. Agriculturally speaking, any dilution above 25 gallons per head of the population is not desirable, but is injurious and expensive to distribute; while, again, human fæcal matter is too strong to be applied to land unless diluted in something like ten gallons of water. The Chinese teach us an important lesson in this respect. They place all the solid matter, when they remove it from the towns, in small wells in their fields, and then take a scoopful and mix it in about ten or twelve times its volume of water before they apply it to their crops. If any one attempts utilising sewage when mixed with rainwater, and has to pump the whole all the year through, he will find himself in endless difficulties.

Presuming, then, that we can arrive at a fixed quantity of 20 gallons per head of the population, or what may be taken as the dry-weather flow of the drainage from a town, the first step is to pass the whole through an upward filter, so that all materials may be intercepted which will be likely!

A piece of land should then be sought out, with a slope, if possible, of one foot in 30 at least, and the filtered liquid, which will be full of strength, conveyed either by pumping or gravitation to the highest point of that land. Iron pipes should not be used, if possible; but when the land to be irrigated is very flat, they must be. From the highest point of the land selected, the liquid must be conducted by open channels or through common drain-pipes laid on to the surface to all the different points where it is wished, and utilised for irrigation. The land adopted should be moderately porous, and then for every 100 people an acre may be allowed, but this varies much according to the nature of the soil. The land must be thoroughly drained and prepared. The best crops to be grown are Italian rye-grass, with alternately crops of vegetables, such as potatoes, cabbages, rhubarb, mangold. All these will luxuriate on the liquid, and we think we may safely say that the command of such liquid would be worth to any person from £5 to £10 an imperial acre, according to local circumstances.

Milch cows thrive remarkably well on this grass, and it has been proved by chemical analysis that the milk is of the best quality, while the vegetables are also peculiarly wholesome.

Could such a system be carried out in the neighbourhood of all our large towns, the results would be highly beneficial. The difficulties in the way, principally arising from ignorance on the subject, have been great; but to this system, or something like it, there can be no doubt, before many years, we must come, to prevent pollution of the rivers, and to make the most of the sources of fertility which are at our command, but which we are at present recklessly wasting. Many committees have been appointed by the House of Commons to inquire and take evidence on this subject. In 1857, a commission was issued by the crown to certain gentlemen, at the head of whom was Lord Essex, to inquire into the best mode of distributing the sewage of towns, and applying it to beneficial and profitable uses.' This commission went to work principally at Rugby, and have made a vast number of experiments, the general result of which may be stated to be, that ordinarily diluted sewage may be said to produce such increased crops as to warrant an agriculturist in giving one halfpenny a ton for it, a ton of water containing 224 gallons. The third Report was issued in April 1865, and the following recommendations are given as the results of their labour:

'1. The right way to dispose of town-sewage is to apply it continuously to land, and it is only by such application that the pollution of rivers can be avoided.

2. The financial results of a continuous application of sewage to land differ under different local circumstances; first, because in some places irrigation can be effected by gravity, while in other places more or less pumping must be employed; secondly, because heavy soils (which in given localities may alone be available for the purpose) are less fit than light soils for continuous irrigation by

sewage.

3. Where local circumstances are favourable, and

other inventors. The principal of these are as follows: 1. Machines which sew with one thread: of which one kind makes the through-and-through

who introduced it into England in 1844. 3. The chain or tambour stitch is also a single-thread stitch (fig. 3), the machine for which was invented by M. Thimmonier, a Frenchman, in 1848. In this, the thread is looped upon itself by means of a

Fig. 1.

or shoemaker's stitch (fig. 1), the thread being held and pushed through with pincers, one pair on each side of the material to be sewn. The needle, a, is pointed at each end, and being pushed through by the pincers on one side, is taken hold of by the corresponding pair on the other, and the thread is thus pulled through backwards and forwards. Only a small length of thread can be used by this machine, hence it is of but limited application. 2. Another single-thread machine makes the runningstitch (fig. 2). In this, the needle, a, is stationary,

b

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

curved shuttle after it has passed through the cloth This kind of stitch, though very useful for some kinds of work, is easily pulled out. 4. Fig. 4 repre

C

d

sents Wheeler and Wilson's

sewing machine, another American invention, which has acquired the greatest reputation in Great Britain. It is a double-thread machine, and besides the vertical eye-pointed needle, has a curved shuttle or hook (fig. 5, a) working below, with a revolving reel, b, inside its curve. The reel 'is of metal, each side being convex externally; and so adjusted on the axle, that the edges are so near together as to admit only one thickness of the thread to pass through (fig. 6). The side view of the whole arrangement is seen in fig. 7. It fits easily within the nearly circular hook, and gives off its thread as required. The thread passes partly round the outer edge of the hook upon a slightly-grooved bevel (a, fig. 7), which forms a loop, and passes it between the needle and the the loop is held in position as thread which it carries with it in descending; the needle ascends, and the cloth being moved on, the next descent of the needle takes it through the loop and receives another below it, which renders the first one tightly locked, as in fig. 8. For such work as male and female dressmaking generally, this kind of machine is at present unrivalled, both for the efficiency of its work, and also for the neatness and

Fig. 8.

The

finish of the machines made for private use. magnitude to which the manufacture of sewing-machines has attained in the United States will appear by the return of the manufacturers for the year 1870 to the owners of the leading patents on which they pay a royalty. The Singer Manufacturing Company, 127,833; Wheeler & Wilson, 83, 208; Howe, 75,156; Grover & Baker, 57,402; Weed, 35,002; Willcox & Gibbs, 28,890; American Button-hole, &c., 14,573; Florence, 17,660; and all others, 24,530; a grand total of 464,254 machines made in one year.