New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-02-03
they have been put in sanitary condition, tells its own

ruin. Some must supplement the work the builder
consistent work besidc correcting sanitary details
HOW TO EXAMINE A HOUSE.
The first point is how to examine a house. Every
part OF the plumbing must be exposed to view or
tested and things usually found different from what
they have been represented The peppermint test ia one
OF the first An Of oil Of peppermint in pail oil
water poured into the openings of the plumbing fix
at the upper part OF the house If the smell Of pep
pemnt escapes by a leak this shows that sewer gas
wonld also escape A second point is the quality OF
the details Of the plumbing work. single portion
OF the work. one Joint Of n pine. VIII tell q
practised plumber the "apacity OF the workman. II
generally bad direct leak from ripe will he shown
by holding candle it, The practsed nose can tel
from roof pipe II can he learned whether there Is trap
in the pipe to the sewer The sanitary engineer goes
first TO the cellar and looks at the sources OF damp
These manifold both in the city and
country; rain and snow blow in; , there e
the refrigerator waste. visited house in Boston
where all the rain water and refrigerator waste we're
low underground on the Back Bay. Isaw here mover
phenomenon; the ground damp thai the whole of
this dampness IL hard 10 convince the occupant
because there had been sickness in the house. and the
Another of danger Is from BROKEN or leaky un-
deTgrOund drains. Most houses have underground
drains which are made tiles laid by ignorant WorKmen
in n defective condition. Even in Memphis the new
pitch in some cases. and of brraks Then the sU be-
comes saturated with the kind OF sewerage. In
proper pitch flush. Some pitched to-
ward the houses instead of the sewers;
connections at all. The plumber sometimes ran me
drain rock, mp aud down. ended 1t on one side
inch pipe by a fuur-inch pipe. break or soppage
means such deadly deposit Of sewerage as accumulated
months nearly ii iii Sick, The gentleman
his bedroom he almost choked by peculiar ammo
niaca smell He obtained certificate rom Dr.. Loonis
Health Of the bad sanitary condition II the house. -
well one from myself found onr drain for two
furnace. that all the air in the house
was poisoned with gas. and in
addition TIE refrgeratora communicated win
the legal question arose when the gentleman
refused to live longer in the house under any circlm
stances. The agent claimed $1,000 Guma,cs hut the
matter finally compromised and tho occupant paii
- 900. This introduces important question as to
lately decided tnat If landlord is cognznt OF sani
tary defects he is liable for resulting Injuries Nothing
carried along Tie cellars In sshi, VI III trenches easily
accessible should, bc used.
quantity Of made Land, especially near Cen
tiHl Park Here the lecturer re.cTed to Gen.
this is filled with broacn rocks. winch give an
area for foul air, leakage and soaHase. There
digging few inches. The Board OF Health states that
ten years are necessary to thoroughly purify made
Fulton MaThct. are cfccird laifiy IN the wafer Old
plumbers used TO say that the cellars made ike the
bottoms Of ships and the houses might b" said 10 hVlt
DEVELOPMENT or PLUMBING.
It ia constantly asked, Why it tnat have only
lately heard OF the seiouH consequences OF bad plumbing
and why is 1t that gas little known in the
past To answer this iii necessary to sketch briefly
the historical development Of plumbing One hundred
years ago there little, If any. plumbing IN ordinary
American dwellings,. The usual sanitary Arrangement
consisted Of well, cesspoo and cisen for holding
rain WATER Later on kitchen sinks and old-fashioned
boilers were introduced and finally baths ana water
into vogue. IL wae not until the lnlr"duc-
ton OF CrOiJn water NcwNork IN 1S42 that even this
state OF development reached. Inor TO that date
plumbing was confined mainly 10 ships. II was often
elaborate, the plumbing h'li Tor the Inflated steamer
simple in houses as in ships, and traps 'cni pipes,
espionage AID sewer gas we're unknown
and dwellings thickcned the effect of mass
Ing people in close quarters made itself felt. The
latlun replaced 10y smaller receptacles which IN
time tightly sealed up, with the ostrchlike idea
do harm. IL also foGd less convenient to empty
and clean these receptaccs, aad 50 they were frequently
Public sewers were slowly introduced. In $40 there
were only seyeutytwe uiieS laid IN New-l"rk against
81 miles now Many OF the first aowers were only sewers
in name, having been laid tn carry off Kitchen waste
alone. They were merely rough stone drains NICE
they rapidly polluted tIe soil and became simple store.
houses sewerage. Down To very late date many OF
the sewers Of NewYork constructed ot inferior
material and hnpcriecily laid Hady burned bricks,
bogus cement and sand mat was half loan were u'ed IN
making them while, specially U3cT Ring RUE, the con-
tractors who laid them executed their work in the cheap
and most culpahle manner Fc" oi The best sewers
at every JOINT, and thus the whole sya-
TEN is an enormous source OF soil pollution From the
lack ~ a comprehensive plan in the beginning and oil
CS CO c,i' 90 49, l ar nj rrorch er@Ir and ara
not easily flushed. Hence they become, especially when
crratHg eyi Their lack OF ventilation leaves mall
glta
si,s mo- 1rrier ,.,I. cir free diffusioI Throughout
living and sleeping roOms. And here 1t should he re-
lane but rycrv inch Of waste pina IN hon,, even
though used TO convey nothing soayy water tue
waste of melted ice from rg-rItOr can and com
monty does produce foul gases The wors doors are fran
Ist such sources, AID they certainly unWhocsome.
There many broken EasInans The SOL can hardly
be dug mp without eHcounierng the smell of gas. TIE
gas companies are aware loss and make il up IN
their bills Professor Chandler says that ninety Per
cent OF thc cellars in AewI0Ik bad, and shOnld
say yGyc per cent are either originally dangerous
made SO by neglect The relations OF son moisture
to disease have been shown by DE-. Grscom ia the
statistics of sickness among the coOrtd population
living IL cellars IN the lime Of cholOia.
SOURCES OF FOUL AIR.
There are several Of foul ar in houses. The
air supplied to the furnace is often taken from the cellar
or the cold arbOxes made OF unseasonei wood. and
in them rats, Gals and chickens seek shelter In one
house two chickens aud a found roasted in the
brick work the furnace aud in another the cold air
box had settled 10 adia tile air near tho servants
closets foul rerigerators ana receptacle for soap
fat TIE refrigerator should have connection with
the drains az they built in most houses should
the refrigerator waste into the soil Carriage and
dust from and coal cellars cause foul air. which is
drawn up into living by the suction Of hot air
il not through the dumb waers. II is desirable to
have the kitchens and laundry separate from the house.
as was with The cottage a E5er0n occupied by
President Garfield The gas lights should be ventilated.
and the servants accommodate carefully looked 10
Tor ifthcy have poor rooms and no bathing accOmmOda
toUS they naturally careless in their household
duties IL wOld be desirable TO have all boxing around
kitchen plumbing, sinks, etc, removed. Servants
should not sleep tie crOuLd floor, especially nsar
closets Hard nooTs Improvement, but there is
much upholstery houses and there should be fewer
curtains which retain the dust. The plumbing ought to
be isolated possible, and the Board OF Health
recommends o shaft Tor the purpose running through
the house is bad 10 have inside bath opening
into sleeping ROOMS There must be ample wafer
suppy and am glad that Erics-Dn5 calGrc engine -