The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1870-04-12 00:00:00

To Ole Editor of the Bath Ckr,,sscie.

Sfit,—ln your account of the Commissioners' meet-
ing on the subject of of sewage, I regret to find that
while Sir W. Denison has not a word to say against a
system of "dry earth ooniscrvancry" for "hospitals,
barracks, workhouses, and gaols," he does not go further
and give the weight of Government recommendation to
this plan, as instantly applicable not only to every
detached or semi-detached dwelling, bet to all houses
in suburban tbstricta. The argument of its promoters
has always been that if suitable for coy oondensed
population of 500 or 800 souls, ills a fortiori, feasible
in all houses of convenient access, with their live or
eight or more inhabitants. I look upon Sir W. Nelson
as implying that these large establishments are the only
places in which it is worth while, in our country, to
try a system forlwhioli the Government of India hes
rewarded its philanthropic promoter with £6OO. lam
presumptuous enough to affirm that he would unwisely
limit to our soldiers, to the sick, to paupers, and
criminals, the o3ly perfect remedy for sewage evils at
present known. It lion &octant of this very "perfection"
in the remedy, that I venture to address you. Ido not
for • moment ignore the difficulty of dealing with the
subject in close towns, hut I do say this, that if the
water closet system, involving as it does a frightful
waste of good water, so contaminates our rivers that
the sewers must be discharged elsewhere (sp,illog the
good grimes if turned on pasture, and injuring for a
time the air around any land upon the surface of
which it is poured), it behoves those in authority
rather ti " try" how a system promising absolute
purity of treatment, and on enormous saving, can be
carried into effect, than to give it the *old shoulder.
Mr. Chaffin is really right in implying that (in spite of
"difficulties") every house in the city could, if it were
made oompulsory by the legislature, adopt the earth sys-
tem. It has been said, by way of silencing its advocates,
that it would require the denudation of, I forget how many
sores annually, a yard deep, to supply London alone.
Let me give you a simple fact. I txtpplied dry earth to
the village school; the teacher's family is seven souls,
with the children attending five days in the week, say
50; et the end of a veer and a quarter the contents of
the pit were temovesi, in the day time, and formed two
moderate cart loads. Test by this the wants of an
or dinary household, and surely all fear of unmanageable
bulk vanishes. Again, let us admit that the supply of
evm two cart loads of earth is somewhat troublesome,
yet In the saute 15 months we supplied perhaps eight
tons of coals, • material not taken off the surface of
the land, a d anywhere, but found in specie/ localities
and drawn up with immenee labour from the bowels of
the ground ; eight expensive tons as • matter of (MUSA
for warmth and cooking; two cheap tons as an effort,
although for intercepting the seeds of human destruc-
tion, and although becoming, when carted away, more
valuable than the same weight of coals ! I should state
that house slops are necessary excluded from the vault.
To this Sir W. Denison alludes; they are to run under
tlie soil in the garden, and Mr. Mottle especially recorm
mends such subitrigation. I may, however, observe
that Dr. Hawkesley "has proved by experiment, that
dry earth is competent to absorb and economize all ihe
antes& r meta of • dwelling." I have italiciaed the
few words bearing upon my argument, and will only add
that if Dr. H. can do this in an aristocratic but crowded
part of London, I may assume it to be possible any nod
everywhere. I subjoin the doctor's published letter if
you have space for it as conducive to the investigation of
this deeply important subject.—l beg to remain, air,
yours very faithfully,
ireshford, March 21, ISM • W. GEE.