The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-10-01
THE SEWERAGE OF CITIES.
How London Gets Kid Of ues-s--- Millions
AMepl INTO The Na.sa.

|
swept into the Sen
| Nearly twenty years agoitwas resolved
| to provide for the metropolis of London
system of drainage that should he eff
| ficient in itself and that should nj the
same time leave the waters of the
| Thames pure and uncontaminated
| During seventeen years, and at a cost of
more than twenty-five million dollars.
the works have been in progress, and il
| is only about two weeks ago or there
| abouts that their ultimate completion
was announced. The sewerage of one
large section of London, covering an
area of nearly one hundred and twenty
! square miles, is now carried away i'm the
most perfect manner, and provision is
made by which, for a long time To come,
and making all allowance for the contin-
uous growth of the city, the drainage
will remain complete
The great value Of sewerage Of large
city is fully acknowledged. That of
London, with its dense population of
four millions, represents a vast annual
amount of money. Yet it isnot utilized
in any degree. BY the great system of
sewers now completed it is carried under
ground to the mouth of the Thames, and
there made to flow into the German
ocean. Everybody admits that there is
a great loss resulting from such an ar
rangement; everybody is ready To tell of
the national gain that would result if
that sewerage were utilized upon the land;
but nobody has yet been able to devise
means by which in practice it can be
done.
A few years ago company was formed
in London for utilizingi this way the
sewerage north of the Thames, but the
idea was then a novel one; at any rate
the public had not been educated up to
an appreciation of its value, and il fell
through for the want Of capital. In one
of the midland counties of England, one
of the local boards of health in 1870,
took on lease for seventeen years plot
of twentv-eight acres of land, with the
intention of utilizing the sewerage from
their own district, which contains pop
ulation of about five thousand. The
farm was a clay soil, badly cultivated,
and inefficiently drained The expenses
have been heavy, but still the profits Of
the experiment are more than cucOuTg-
ing. At first the receipts fell far short of
the expenditure. In 1870 the income
was only 81 OBS. barely enough To cover
rent But every year has shown a
marked improvement, and when the aC-
counts were made out for the twelve
months ending March. 1873, the receipts
were found to he $1,000, against 1895
expended. Such a return on farm of
less than thirty acres is conclusive proof
that there must be some virtue in this
method of culture.
Near bennington, Warwickshire, n
similar experiment has been tried, but
there, the farm being in private owner
ship, it is not easy to arrive at the re-
suits. Ii is acknowledged, however, by
the Earl of Warwick to whom the
place belongs, that the profits are very
large. The Earl pays To the town Coun-
ell of bennington, 3, $50 year for the
town sewerage, and he has perfected ar
for receiving and distribu-
ting it over the farm, which is 400 acres
i'm extent. as occasion may require. II
is applied to almost every description OF
crops. from cereals and roots, tO beans
and peas, cabbage, celery, rhubarb, and
even Strawberries, and with uniformly
favorable results Rye grass irrigated
with sewerage has been already cut
five times. and it is expected that at
least two additional crops will bc secured.
enormous; tunips are obtained in per
lection throughout the season, and man
colds have produced a. much ~ - tons
per acre. II is also worthy of note that
the water which flows of this farm is
bright and sparkling, absolutely free
from all fungoid growths, and quite fit to
drink. The farm, the soil of which Is
a rich loan with a gravel subsoil, has
been under experiment four years.
Is it too much to say that the sewerage
which is every year allowed 10 flow into
the rivers from this city would suffice 10
make all the land in the ncighborhood
for miles around, including the now bar
rem flats of New jersey highly produc-
tive. If means were taken 10 utilize 10,
the city would find a new source Of rev
enue, and the provisions Of many kinds
would be cheaper.-Neto York 7UHcs.