The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-03-07
BENEFlCENT MICROBES.
Tiny Atoms That Nave Been Put 10 Work In
England as Purifiers Of CITY Sewage.

In pleasant riverside meadow on
the outskirts OF Exeter Is a small rail.
ed-off aSea, within which has been pu
10 practical test an invention OF tbs
City Surveyor for dealing with the
sewerage OF the borough says the Lon
don Mall. All that the visitor sees are
a mound covered with grass and a
shallow concrete lake. neither being
larger than the dining or drawing room
in an ordinary house.
Yet for two years the sewerage OF a
district containing a population of
2000 or 5000 people has, after passing
through the works, flowed into the
river colorless and absolutely innocu-
Gus, and that without having received
any mechanical or chemical treatment
whatever.
The whole OF the work Is done by the
merry microbe. The grass-covered
mound referred to Is the roof OF an
air-tlght and light-tlght tank, into
which the crude sewage flows. There
ii remains number of hours.
Conditions are highly favorable for
the multiplication OF the bacteria
which fatten on corruption, and SO rap
idly do they increase and so voracious
do they become that in a comparative
ly short time all the solid organic mat
ter in the sewage is dissolved into liq-
uid. A valve automatically opens and
allows the contents Of the tank TO es-
cape into a little channel which con-
veys Ii 10 the concrete lake. the bed or
which is covered with small coke. or
breeze"
The channel and the lake arc the mi
crobes' Nemesis. for light and air are
fatal TO them and consequently by the
time the stream from the tank has ILL
tered through the coke dust IL mas be-
come clear and inoffensive. AS a mat
ter OF fact. IL Is purer than the river
into which IL merges. and fish may oc-
casionally be seen swimming in IL right
up 20 the edge of the filter.
AS further evidence OF the efficacy OF
the system II may be mentioned that
the efiluent has on more that one occa-
sion been drank by human beings with
out any disagreeable results.
The whole of the process is carried
on without any attention whatsoever
The tank is divided into two parts, fill
ing alternately. The filter lake is also
divided, SO that each section may in
turn have a period in which to recov-
er itself. The alterations, however,
are entirely automatic. being controlled
by an ingenious piece OF mechanism
actuated by the flow of the sewage it.
self
The whole scheme is SO simple that
the inventor has had some difficulty In
persuadinE some scientific men OF its
merits. The Local Government Board
has. however. after an exhaustive in
auiry. sanctioned "A loan for the treat
inent OF the whole OF the Guys sewage
on the new principle so that the off,
cial mind may be said TO have been
convinced.
Deputatons from all parts Of the
kingdom as we'll as from abroad. have
visited the works. with a view TO the
adoption OF the system in their towns;
indeed, so numerous has this class OF
visitor been that the path leading To
the meadow in which the works stua-
ted has been christened "Deputation
Walk E"
Having been in constant and success
full operation for over two years. the
system Is 20 be regarded as having
passed the experimental stage. and as
being a serious factor in the adminis-
trative economy OF communities, large
or small.
OF course. the method has been pa
tented but au horlties are likely 10
look upon the payment OF royalty as
a highly satisfactory method OF getting
rid Of the nightmare OF sewage treat
ment