, 1874-06-28

1a1e5 IL may pe uee1Re4 elluLaDlO l1At TIE CHI
zens should pay.
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THE CHICAGO AND OTHER sTINKIN0
RIVERS.
Chicago does not boast the only mal-odorous
river in the world Streams anything but sweet
smelling, it would seem, are the penalty. that
metropolitan towns usually have to pay for their
greatness. The Inhabitants OF London complain
OF the Thames those ct Berlin OF the Spree :;
and even the Seine ia not universally praised for
its purity. or less important streams, the repu-
tation Of the Vesle at Rheims, the MersoY At
Liverpool, the Irwell at Manchester, become at
times, like our own. public nuisances. Not
many years ago the Board Of Health OF the Town
Of Wakefield received from certain OF the in
habitants letter written with ink Of q rather
light color informing that body that, without its
formal authorization SO to do, they addressed
them q few lines written with the water Of the
Calder, taken from the quarter where the city
sewage had its outlet, and expressing their re-
grets that the odor in that quarter could not bo
made to accompany their communication in the
nature Of supplement. An official report says
Of the condition OF tbs hwen that. after it has
carried away the sewage OF 10000 manufac-
tories OF every description, as we'll as the
filth Of the cities aud villages which
it has passed through, It is as viru-
lent and black as the Sty1. England has
been forced to consider the question how to
remedy thess riyer-nuisances. Inquiries have
been ordered to ASCERTAIN the best methods OF
publication, and numerous estays have appeared
on the subject. France is endeavorine to profit
by the experience OF England; and in tho last
number Of the Rerue des deur Mo,.tles there are
~ many aa three works On subjects related to
this question reviewed by Mr. Il. Randau. Ac-
cording to the reviewer, all the efforts hitherto
made in England provo the near connection that
exists between the disnfection Of foul rivers and
the utilization for fertilizing purposes Of the
sewage now carried to the sea. These are, lz.
Randau thinks, two terms Of one and the same
problem. The utilization Of sewage for agri-
cultural purposes is the only natural, rational,
and practical method to protect rivers from the
consequences OF their proximity to large towns.
The Commissions appointed BY Parliament in
1865 aud in 1868. as veil as the British Associa-
tion for the Advancement OF Science are agreed
on this point. The Commission appointed In
1865 paid most attention to tho condition of the
Thames, the Ayr, and the Calder; that OF 1868
to the condition OF the Mersey and the Ribble.
poisons OF the worst kind were found in the
waters. especially arsenic used in the manufac-
ture Of sulphuric acid.
The methods hitherto proposed for the purif-
cation OF infected rivers may be divided into
three classes:
1. The dlte1ing or elutri4ton Of the rater.
p Purifying the dissolved matter by some
chemical process.
8. The irrigation ct poor soils by means Of the
water charged with the refuse of organic life.
No means OF filtration has yet been discovered
which, in i short time and At small expense, ia
capable Of purifying large body of water. The
process Of elutri4tion has not been any more
successful. Allowing impure wator to stand
does not by any means improve 1t. OF
methods to bring about the precipitation Of the
foul matters held By the water in suspension,
some SIXTY have been proposed since the last
century. Tho most TINT can be said Of even tho
best of these methods is that they do the work
very imperfectly and then only At grert expense.
The only method found at all practicable is to
spread the foul waters over tho fields. Tho |
sewage Of Edinburg has been used for over \ |
century to fertlize large sandy tracts. This plan
has bccn tried in several cities of England |
and Scotland in British India, in the plain
0f Gennevi]liers near Paris, at Dantzic |
and Berlin. It Was objected to this
method that lands irrigated in this
way gave rice to miasmss; but the English Com
niasoners say thst there is no danger Of this
provided the waters are not permitted to run in |
open canals. Tho land should not be saturated |
With an excess ct liquid, and care should be
h1r. Frankland, the well-knoun
chemist, and Mr.. Morton, Commissioners OF 1868,
are satisfied that the succesB Of this irrigation
process is due to the fact that the soil inmedi-
ately produces the filtration of the water, the |
direct consequence OF which is slow oxidation !
or combustion Of the organic substances, and
tho production Of carbonio acid, water, and
nitric acid
Where there is not land enough to absorb the
sewage. recourse is sometimes had to intermit-
tent filtration, which permits the sewage to flow
On piece Of ground, well drained and divided
into four parts, each part to receive the sewage
during Elk hours. This system Ia used at Mer-
:hyr-Tydvu and at Walton, and IL to b. en-
ployed at Birmingham.
As to the question what waters are healthy
md what are not, the recent researches OF II.
H. Gerardin, under instructions from the Him
s:er Of Public Instruction, show that the
criterion ia neither color, nor taste, nor
odor, nor chemical eompoaiton, but the
possibility Of vegetables and animals
iTtog in them. Where fsh cannot live,
he water il not purs. Organic matter
Il state Of decomposition deprives the water