New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-08-13
TIE POETRY OF TUE SEWERS.

We gave q BRET .ecDoot toe other dsy Of the
great Lsi0rsl Undertaking a; L0rd0n for the refor
u,'ioD u latter Tssmes, and bis cOn'er,i0n INTO
Ily,r.s0d q clean face ssd vhJss0me b.si..
And We there suggested tue ide. tbs, 8 better use
u! %, te made Of THIS Insn.e quantity Of ref1.e
natter than 70 hurry i, b. .ub,ersnean ways % he
dept. The Sea 1t ia par, of TIE kindly chemistry
O Nature hat the moe, unsavOrJ .ub,t.nce. are ca
p.be Of beng charged By Der magic processes in
10 the mos. oehcst, and The most delicious. They
COZ stiiuie 10 fact, nibe u wealth ms..ers which
mo, b. turned INTO Vertsbls gold. If the art Of the
slcten.i,. be nightly invoked. The Chne.e, II is
aid listen With eOnt-np, 10 the methods ~ which
W. re,ort 10 rd ourselves Of wbs, they regard as
po,ltse wealth and mat carefully collect and pre-
serye, instead Of dev.iDg ~sJ. and means Of pour
iOs il ILtO the ocean, 3. nurAoce uDf, 10 cunber
tie lsbe 1t ia oDe Of toe many particulars in
which ttey maintain that their civilization is not
only much older than ours, bu. Of higher quality.
Aud pertsp. 10 The psrnculsr Of extracting the
gre,test amount of food for man aud BEST o1s ofs
given quantity Of laDd-snd II i. surely most i'm
portsn, one-ther pretensions are BOT withou.
foundation.
II certainly doe. look somewhat odd that At
tine when the means Of restoring fertility to the
e1bs1,ted soil are sought in ali the Kingdom, OF
Nature and BY tie help Of all toe s,iences which
mni,itr 10 the wants Of man on earth, this pro
d. gOus mass Of waste animal and vegetable matter
should be removed and cast into the sea. One
would think fslto might pu. mountains such as
tbese 10 much more Si.e-like uses. "Desr Nature
"s the kipdest mother STILL and she has 10 other
object in view in all Der manifold operations thsn the
advantage Of her children Though she does some
times, chastise pretty severely, We may be sure,
as the schoomasters Of youth used 20 assure us
or IKE occasions, that IT is all for our good In
making certain forms Of her works at particular
stages Of their condition al oilen.e 10 our nOstrls
aid mischief to our liyes she only means to teach
u bow 10 AVOID them uutll We have learned how
to turn them toto blessings. Science is merely the
knowledge Of Nature, and the most reconcile dis
coyeries Of agricultural chemistry are as much
natural operations the sunshine, the rains and the
degs. Nature has given Us the capacity to learn
and to direct her operations for our own blessing
for the improvement Of our health and the pro-
lonpstion Of our lives Agricultural chemistry is
yet in its infancy 10 doubt but it yet destined "
apply its philosophy to this great subject of the e1-
cetions and examinations Of crowded cities with the
most blessed and astonishing results.
When ,hps are sent to most unsavory islands OF
tie sea 20 bring home the deposits Of myriais Of
generations of birds TO fertilze the fields Of En-
gland, it seems rather i'll economy to throw into
l.. 1 n ,f nh, fat
ofconcentrated material, -atleast wthouta careful
examination Of It's chemical properties, and its prac-
teal uses. And this examination we are glad u
find that the British Government intend making ina
thorough manner. We know that doubts have
been expressed as 10 the value Of sewage as man
ure; but there are experiments on record, and now
IN full operation, which seem to be conclusive on
that point. The Report of the English General
Board Of Health, made two or three years ago,
when the question began to demand public atten-
ton has many interesting facts, and useful sug-
ges'ions in this regard. The application Of the
sewage Of Edinburgh TO the fields in the neighbor
hood Of that city has been attended with amazing
results 1t is there applied BY means Of irrigation
and, though the sewage water is greatly diluted,
it, ferlilng effects are most extraordinary, and are
found to be great in proportion to its quantity
Though this experiment is not free from objection
90 the score Of nuisance to the neighborhood, the
Board are Of opinion that th, might be obSated by
forbddiDg the use Of open bitches for its dstribu
ton and it's exposure to the air, excepting at the
tune Of ia application 10 the soil, which mmedi.
stsly Ab,orbs and deodorizes il. The Commission
ers also recommended the separ ,tion Of the solid
and the liquid portions of tho sewage and the
admiiture Of the former with lime and the dust and
ashes II the town, by which means il will become
y compost not more off nsiye than common barn
yard manure Ia the DeghbOrhood Of Milan, also,
the same agricultural uses have been made for
long time II the sewage Of that city and with
results q. remarkable A. those near Edinburgh.
II seems then. to be a simple question OF how
tt. immense body Of rejected matter can be best
made useful ard spilled to the benefit OF mankind
instead Of being flung away. And when this ques-
top hiss been sn,wered, it will be consideration
v,o,,b thinking Of whether the ofscourng OF our
American cities may not be probably made TO
serve instead Of annoying mankind. Some Plous
person once expressed bis gratitude for the WIS
dom Of Providence, which had ordained that large
river. should always how BY great cities. The in
bsb,ant, Of this city, surely, and especially those
If Il, " bo are Kept in il during the Summer, may
fee doubly grateful for the special Providence