The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-07-02
Sewage I'm England.

The Farmers Magazine and other rural
journals in Great Britain are actively dis
cussing the best way Of managing liquid
yetfaI. a commission has been created with
instructions to inquire into the causes and
the remedy of the pollution Of rivers. The
report is very full, and able chemists have
written long scientific papers. and the pro-
gressiYe farmers in the clubs have discussed
the subject and reached conclusions.
+ The New York. Tribune condenses several
voluminous papers for American readers. I
/. It takes the food grown on &c, 900 acres
to feed London one day.. In year the
growth Of : 300, 900 acres has entered Lon
don, and the ash of that product In one
form or another has, been thrown into the
cutters and swept into the Thames. Eng
land throws away daily the. .manllrial pro-
duct of &c, 600 acres and, rs MIR. Mechi says,
it Is sinful neglect, and as bad as throwing
gold into the Thames. 49,.
2. The valuation Of London sewage ia
S5,000,0 900 year, and it would raise corn
enough for two million people. ,..s.r.-.
3. Belgium wastes no manure !; the land
was naturally poor; there are five million
people on a narrow territory: yet the in
crease of the population actually contri-
butes to the increase Of lood.
4. Different towns in England have tried
various ways of cleansing their drain-pipe
filth before discharging 1t into rivers some
have used lime, others alum; some have
filtered through coke and treated it with
crude sulphate Of alumina. ttoIc Ct the
chemical arts have succeeded, for they leave
in the water those elements which, II eX-
tracted, would make the most potent ma
nure, and which render it poisonous. ,,,.
5. The use Of earth closets III great towns
and the collection of the garbage or cities
and it's application by hand to gardens is
not practicable, but the oiIal Of country
places can be perfectly managed in this way.
In cities the liquid filth will get in the drain
age no matter how carefully the solid mat
ers are composted. ~
6. Sewage, however foul. if leached
through two feet of common soil comes out
clear and sweet. 1t fertil;zes the carth to
high producing power, so that from thirty
to fifty tons of Italian rye grass may be cut
from an acre each season. ...f So.
I 7. London with her sewage, now mostly
wasted, could thoroughly fertilize $1,000
acres year, and New York, whose sewage,
is wholly thrown away, could fertihze 2,OVo
acres. - :. .tt4 .s
| 8. Mr.. Mechi says that an outlay Of $40
an acre in pipes will enable farmer to
scatter foul water on his surface. II he.
uses sewage constantly, his land will need
undertaking but this benefits all lands
that are fat and clayey.
8, The English experiments show that IL
the foul waters of New York were filtered
through the Hackensack Meadows the
LIQUID would be cleansed and the earth
made so productive as to supply the metro
polls WITH most Of the beets, onions, cab.
beges, celery, lettuce, sweet corn, and
green fodder. which our people and our
horses require. a..s
Pollution and disease have forced Eng
land to a thorough inyestigation,ot this
subject, and pollution and disease will pre-
sently force the great American cities to
adopt system by which due restofatson
to the soil must be made. ~ ii i.D@r Is.
LICE ON PIes.-H. Muir, Answer: We
would recommend as preventive Treatments
the pig-sty should be well cleaned oMt,
whitewashed, and supplied with fresh Mt
ter. The animals should be washed with
warm soapsuds and scrubbed with brush
or broom. 1t Is wen to give them sems
sulphur In their food. For external apph-
cations, use mercurfai ointment, turgentine,