The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1869-03-16 00:00:00

SpitUltUrt.

THE DRY EARTH SYSTEM

Is The Lased of Manch 6, Professor RoHostas made
no lets& on the dry earth eyelets, and &deviated the
water method. Two extracts sill sufficiently indictee*
the &attire of he objections to the dry earth plan. The
doctor quotes Von Pettukoter's opinion as follows :
" If it is so it is now pretty generally believed to he,
actually the fact that the porosity of the soil and its
impregnation with excreta do. at all emote at teeth:aloe
mason., bring about a local disposition for cholera, lied
that the immunity from cholera, which a rocky soi t ,
enjoys, depends upon the circumstance that mush wed• I
*moot to so impregnated, I cannot see my way Mess*
recommending the disinfeestioe of privies site earth sad
pipet." This ie, I. fact, the teat of Dr. Rollessee's
argoment, and lie styli" it . line of reuoning. BUN
us it appears that Von Pettenkofer in his seternent el
the "pretty geueral belief," ea which his opinion meta,
bad omitted Me eseential festers of difference between
the teensy sell and the rocky soil, namely, pretence of
moisture In the one ease which is eureely Mond in the
other. Dr. Bollestein himself saes, " If I sot told that Ile
earth closet is inoffensive and that the privy is fetid, I
wirer that a rattlesnake is none the less dement's',
because its rattle is removed; end that, for anything
shown or kuown to the contrary, odour is to infective, '
deadorisation to dlinfution, whet the nice of the
serpent is to its bite." He adds the resets, of fire
seientiile experinienta, and, entieipating apparsatly the
embedment, which even profeeional readers would
draw from them, says "it will he salted, do not,
taus experimenta show that ashes and •srth 4,411.
each of them in their respective order, superior to
water for use In glower and goiro on to give 'wive
masons why he thinks othersise.
The following reply appears in The Lanett of last
Saturday, from the Rev. Henry !fouls, of Fortheeton
Vicarage :—With all respe t for so high an authority
11111 Dr: Ballot in, I beg permission to offer to noun
ruder' the following remarks on his article in this
week's Lancet, on the "Earth Clout System." That
letter, grounded on u inadequate uneeption of the
system, grievously misrepreeents it ; for it either
denies or ignores its merits, and an efficacy, which the
esparimus of 'teem! year. (nod that for some time past
extending into every variety of climate), proven it to
tomer. And it ascribes to it evils from which that
same uperienee renders It In the Itielteet degree probable
that it Is entirely free. The main evil of the privy
malt, of the ouspool, and of the common sewer, is
found in the seaumulatine of excrete; and thet under
eiroomstanees, which almo.t immediately end centime
°ugly necessitate fermentation and the g tien of
the most deleterious game. This con be dealt with
only is the mess; and nalvenal experience proves the
almost, if not entire, impossibility under oich circum-
stances of dealing with it effectually. Whereas in the
most direst coatradistination to this the dry earth
system deal, with excreta at once and is detail, sod
thus cuts off the evil at its source. Three halfmints of
dry earth, powdered or fitiolr sifted, thrown imme-
diately ea a single evacuation, will prevent the escape
into the room or sleet of all offensive smell or
deleeriona gm A. vapour or gee that the excrete
exhale, is taken into the earth covering it; and the
fiber the euth the more templets the interpenetration
of the two stibidanees. More than this, we by this
means prevent fermentation ; and with this is mi-
nuted any approach to emission of eulphorsked
hydrogen. And so oompiete In both owe is ti.is result,
that the deposit with repented additions may minsin in
the pail, or iron tank, or dry brick vault, into which it
1 Mlll, in the sante 'anoxia= state for weeks or months.
Or it may be immediately removed from the chamber
without effectiveness or injury, and deposited in a
shed for drying. And when sufficiently dry, it may in
that state be safely transported to eny distance, and
banded over to the gardener or farmer and that
either in the loemy valley or the rooky soil of the
mountain—as a minable manure. And after eountlses
experiments end cOmervations dueling ton park I feel
quite conlideet that throughcre the several stave of
this promise "the rattlesnake" will Mists no one.
For be has not only bet his " rattle" by do.
odorhiation ; Vat by absorption, by the satire
&bunco of fermentation, and by the most minute
mechanical and °heroical disintegration, he has either
bees strangled in his birth or torn etc ten thousand
atoms. Now what does Dr. Itolleeten in hi, letter est
against all thin! First he gives Von Pettenkofees
opinion, which, even if resting on a better foundation,
1., strange to say, quite irrelevant to the subject mead
which it is aided:el. Von Pettookofer mays--" 1 eau-
, Dot see my way towards recornmendisg the disinfeetion
lof privies with earth and pest." Bat to disinfest
privies and cesspools is no part of the dry earth system.
Its great object is not to disinfect but to supersede
those abominatioas and the equal abominatiou of the
sower. But if the opmion be thus irrelevant, so must be
th.t which Dr. Rolleoma grounds on it, respecting the
localisation and diffusion of typhoid fever. And
equally irrelevant are his remarks on the comparative
dangers of the contaminated well, and the bespattered
Privy. Now even if the question were doubtful.' to these
the preventine of the contamination of wells would be
• duirable objeot. And this the dry earth system
effete. At the Mlle time it obvete, the offen.ivness
of the .' bespattered prlview" I seareely need remark
on Baron Ledge's ociejestural system of the removal of
neap by walr es placed in competition with the
dry earth system now in so many hundred plus' !
somersfully er.tablished. And again.t Dr. Rolleston's '
five experiments in his laboratory several times
repeated, whatever may be their seientille value, I am
content to set the are years experience of the dry earth
system throughout the whole of British lode. Surely
if Dr. Rolluton's apprehensions be just, we ought ere
, thi, ,to have heard a outbreaks of cholera or
, fever in gaols with 700 and even 1500 inmstes
in which this system d wrote thou fire years
has been in full operation. I have hood of n me.
I cannot atk fie space to remark on the difficult es,
which Dr. Rellesters expresses on the working of a
groom, with which either in its fulness or it. details
he seems to be so imperfectly seqesinted. I would in
oonolusion express my eurprie thet the only extract
given from Dr. Boast's report on the gaols of the lower
provinces of In lin should be that, which is in futaceution
against &hasty deposition beneath Hissed°, the removed
egoist& and earth. And I would mg Dr. Solleston
end your readers to plus by the side of that extract
and of nil that he hes written the following passage
written by the same eminent °Meer in that very same
report. "It is imputible in my humble opinion to
over estimate the result of the Rev. 11r. Moule's Isbours
In this impotent branch of hygiene—the dry earth
system. It is without exception the treaties public
benefit conferred by • private individual in a matter
so emential to public hog*, that I am acquainted
with."

BIMDLIT ELIIMOII.- The election for the borough
of Dowdlay took plate ea Thuraday. At the close the
numbers were-Fir Mr. Canliffe (Conservative), 477;
for Major Anson (Liberal), 483.
ACCIDIMT 70 an M.P.-Mr. Richard Bright, M.P.
for Beat Somerset, has met with a severe accident.
His horse fell with hire dares/ • fast gallop, and rolled
over him; and, although it is hoped that he has sus-
tained no permanent injury, yet it mast be some time
before he can leave his bed.
Mini& HOSPIMaIeII mode of direst importation and
supply to the public through Agents of Ma free from
all artificial facing powder, is found very advantageous
to mummers, a uniform good sprain, and real cheap-
ness is thereby centred. Sold only in packets. For
list of the Agents in the loselity 11111111114111fillIOMOOL
ELICTIoIe PCIITIMI. -The trial of the
petition against the sitting members for Beverley was
concluded on Thursday. Mr. Bane Martin declared
dust the place bad been rise cam of corruption from
loaning to end, and it mead to him to be • town
whist is anfi, to pusses the privilep of sending a
member to Parliament. Sir Henry Edwards and Mr.
Bonnard were unseated, and madaaned to pay eosin,
and a special report I. to he made respecting the easel
to whisk corneae prevailed in the borough.
lsestserno Barnaistarr.-Place on Use upper Isar
of a grate, with the heeds projecting shout me nets
inwards, some sadism Lueders-in a few moments
they ignite. Then I. the some position place 6 few of
' the Patent Safety Matches of Bryant and May, Londe.
(wash Ignite only on the box), sad It will be found
that they may remain for hours - in fact, until the wood
Maass literally Marred- without taking Sr.. We
labia this se a singularly interesting confirmation of
the safety of the oew match. Care must he wee In
beth mess to geoid actual contact with dense.
Tin BIeMOIIIDMIT MUTILATION Cook
alias Sweeny. 44, the keeper of a coffeehouse, IS, Star'
corner. Bermondsey, was on lbw/day
on remand at Booth re ark poi imoourt, with
feloniously cutting and wounding James Cook, Iwo
husband, With &knife, and mutilating him in • frightful
manner, with Mast to murder blur. -Mr. Reushawas
soon as the prisoner was plaid in the doek,
whether any improvement had taken pleas le the
injured man.-Dr. Rade replied that he was sow
under the imitate** atiendsage of Mr. Hill, and he
believed goiag on favourably. The right eye wee ism-
timely gone, sad the aft eye so mach hint. d that be
maldleardly asthenia' soythleg. -Mr. Benham saga
if he was in any immediate dauseri-Dr. Rendle replied
in the negative. Fie, however, required great aetestice
and repose. -Mr. Bantam inquired whether he thought
It would inters bhn to take premier to the hospital and
ream his deposition that aftomoon la her prasses.-
lir. Sadie ooneldered that it scald be inconvenient
that day, is the Mier meta was kr that stat, that he
might not to be disturbed -Mr. Salaam said that
under those cireamstanees ha mast farther remand the
prisoner.-The primeitor he.. exclaimed that, elm bad
something to say on the water. A long seery had
gate forth to the public through the newspapers and she
Oard ilk. hers to ao feta aleo.-Mr. Bonham told
but that her roes wag net sompleted, therefore he could
mM hear her. -The prisoner wasted to know whether
bur husband maid get rid a hit houses. She bought
tibia before she married hits, in her maiden name, and
abs did not watt all bee peoperty go.-Mr. Bonbons
geld her he Goad give here. Adrice. As ma is her
bustard was *cabled he undergo an examination at the
bespital also wooki be Mika there, aid In his pressam
ale maid be ago be aek him any guesMons-la answer
*NW aleehleas, Mn Beadle inferred him that se
gime es **Wired mat wee able to undergo en eases-
badon be tread lama bins Under these *ease
elenees the primmer Ins farther remanded.,-Os the
Mowing
day thenes% deposition 1.611 taken, asel the
gassitioaed her husband, alleging that he out
himself I Praiser was again remanded.
Toe ALLUSIVE, Cotnurrioe is THII ADMIRAL/T.-
11r. J. T. Gambier, the Admiralty sleek, and Mr. W.
Rumble, the machinery inspector, who stood mounded
(the foram on bad) on the charge of orisvpiriog to
defraud, wine again plaid at the bar before Sir Thomas
Henry. for earner examination, on Tharsday.-Mr.
I Ilidamere, solicitor to the Board of Admiralty, ens
Aida the promeatica; Mr. Nesmith defended Ramble;
and Mr. Lewis appeared for Ganshier.-The Hon.
Robert Dumas, Storekeeper-Gana of the Navy;
Admiral lihr Robert ligearser Robinson, one of the Lords
()Dominicans of the Admiralty; and Mr. W. L
Beater, M.P., were called, and stated that they had
, given the contract for elm timber to Mr. Mazwell en
eonsideratieme entirely apart from any inflames which
the primacy supposed they bad: Mr. Maxwell's tease
was the lowest, and that sag the reason it wee given
to hint, Mr. Banter was reeellit, sad submitted to a
, long eroseeximinstion. A disomelea than ensued
between the legs/ representatives if the praiser' ad
Sir Thomas Heery ; add deafly the primmer, were soots
wined foe trial a the akergeeri esempiesey Ise attend,
of obsgefoii slooey by
_fame preeenses, and of allooptlos
to obtain way by false preestem