IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR TREATING SEWAGE AND FOR IRRIGATING LAND WITH SEWAGE AND OTHER WATERS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Josiah George Jennings, of Palace Wharf,
Lambeth, in the County of Surrey, Sanitary Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR TREATING SEWAGE AND
FOR IRRIGATING LAND WITH SEWAGE AND OTHER WATERS"
Sealed the 18th June 1869, and dated the 22nd December 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Josiah George Jennings
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 22nd December 1868.
I, JOSIAH GEORGE JENNINGS, of Palace Wharf, Lambeth, in the
County of Surrey, Sanitary Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR TREATING SEWAGE
AND FOR IRRIGATING LAND WITH SEWAGE AND OTHER WATERS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for treating
sewage and for irrigating land with sewage and other waters.
In order to separate from sewage stones and other masses of solid
matter which it brings down with it I employ a hollow rotating screen
of conical or other form, into the interior of which the sewage is directed.
[Price 8d.]

page_text: The sewage in entering the screen is made to act on a water wheel or
on float boards or similar instruments on its axis, and so the screen is
rotated. The sewage runs through the sides of the screen and is received
into a trough below, whilst the stones and solid matters are discharged at
the end of the screen into a cart or other receptacle. A shaking motion is
given to the screen as it revolves to shake out any solid matters which may
stick in the straining surface; for this purpose cams are fixed on the axis,
which as the axis revolves alternately lift it and allow it to drop. In place
of driving the screen, as above described, it may be driven by other power.
In some cases I employ a screen formed by jointing together a number of
bars so as to form an endless straining surface. This endless surface is
passed around rollers and held distended between them. The sewage is
let on to the surface as it slowly travels around the rollers, the liquid flows
through and is received into a trough on the other side, whilst the solid
matters are carried along and discharged over the rollers as the bars pass
around it. The passage over the rollers tends to free the straining surface
from obstructions.
In order to irrigate land with sewage or other water earthenware troughs
or gutters are now sometimes used, they are laid in the land with the lips
or edges of the troughs or gutters about level with the surface in order
that the sewage may flow over the sides of the trough equally on both
sides. In practice such gutters or troughs cannot be laid sufficiently true
to ensure an overflow on both sides simultaneously, because the overflow
lips being at the full width of the trough, the one from the other, any
inaccuracy in laying seriously affects the relative levels of the overflow
lips.
According to my Invention I make the sides of the trough or gutter
approach each other until the opening at the top between the lips is very
narrow, say, about half an inch wide, whilst below the trough is several
inches wide. With troughs or gutters thus constructed a slight in-
accuracy in the laying will have an inappreciable effect on the direction
in which the stream escapes from the lips. In order to strengthen the
lips I thicken them and form them hollow, and I use these hollow lips
to receive dowels to connect the troughs or gutters the one to the other.
I make the bottoms of the troughs or gutters flat, that they may stand
the more truly on the bottom of the shallow trench which is cut to
receive them. In order to stop the flow through the troughs or gutters
so as to make the sewage escape at any desired point I employ a wooden

page_text: disc with a handle to it; it is inserted between the lips, and has a stud or
slight projection at the bottom. Recesses are formed in the bottoms of
the troughs or gutters at intervals, and the stud or projection on the disc
is dropped into one of them, the disc is then turned round so as to stop
the channel, and its handle enters notches cut out for it in the lips on
either side, so the disc becomes securely held in its place. In place of
making the gutters or troughs in the manner above described they may,
but less advantageously, be plain tubes with a narrow slit or slits along
the top. The gutters or troughs may also be made in wood. Where a
stop valve is required to direct the flow into one or other of several
gutters or troughs I employ a cylinder of earthenware set upright in the
ground, and the several gutters or troughs enter around it. Into the
cylinder a wooden slide descends; it is of a width equal to the diameter
of the cylinder, and when it is inserted it divides one-half of it with the
gutters or troughs in connection therewith from the other half with its
gutters or troughs. There are guides for the slide within the cylinder,
and they are so arranged that the slide can be inserted in two or more
different positions. The same guides also serve to receive other slides, by
means of which any one of the several gutters or troughs opening into the
cylinder may be closed. The cylinder is made by pressing clay through
a suitable die, then cutting it off in lengths, and adapting the junctions
and bottom. At the entrance to each gutter or trough or system of
gutters or troughs I employ a sluice valve consisting of an earthenware
pipe with a chamber open at the top formed in it. To shut off the flow
a Hat board is inserted into this chamber so as to act as a valve, and it
is held up to its face by a turnbutton or by wedges behind it. The flow
can be regulated, as may be required by raising the board valve more or
less, and locking it in the required position by the turnbutton or wedges.
Where fences are required I make the top rail of the fence a metal, pipe
of wrought or cast iron connected up with water-tight joints, and I
screw or otherwise fix the pipes into sockets on the posts, where I
provide suitable draw-off valves. I also adapt the posts to receive and
strain wire to complete the fence; or in place of drawing off the water
or other liquid at the posts T. pieces may be inserted in the pipe at
intervals; they receive caps or are otherwise closed when it is not
required to draw off through them.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Josiah George Jennings in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 22nd June 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSIAḤ
GEORGE JENNINGS, of Palace Wharf, Lambeth, in the County of Surrey,
Sanitary Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in
the thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Josiah George Jennings,
Her special licence, that I, the said Josiah George Jennings, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Josiah George Jennings, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR TREATING SEWAGE AND FOR
IRRIGATING LAND WITH SEWAGE AND OTHER WATERS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Josiah George Jennings, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Josiah George Jennings, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus
treating sewage and for irrigating land with sewage and other waters.
for
In order to separate from sewage stones and other masses of solid
matter which it brings down with it I employ a hollow rotating screen
of conical or other form, into the interior of which the sewage is directed.
The sewage in entering the screen is made to act on a water wheel or on

page_text: float boards or similar instruments on its axis, and so the screen is
rotated. The sewage enters the screen at one of its ends and runs
through its sides, and is received into a trough below, whilst the stones
and solid matters are discharged at the opposite end of the screen into
a cart or other receptacle. In place of driving the screen as above
described by a water wheel acted upon by the sewage before it enters
the screen the power for driving the screen might be obtained by causing
the sewage as it flows away after passing through the screen to drive a
water wheel, or the screen may be driven by other power. In some cases
I employ a screen formed by jointing together a number of bars so as to
form an endless straining surface. This endless surface is passed around
rollers and held distended between them. The sewage is let on to the
surface as it slowly travels around the rollers, the liquid flows through
and is received into a trough on the other side, whilst the solid matters
are carried along and discharged over the roller as the bars pass around
it. The passage over the rollers tends to free the straining surface from
obstructions.
In Figure 1 of the Drawings hereunto annexed I have shown an
arrangement such as is above described.
a, a, is the endless straining surface composed of iron bars jointed
together to form a chain in a similar manner to that employed for
forming the endless chain of furnace bars for what is known as a Juckes'
furnace. The sewage passes on to these bars from the outlet of the sewer b,
the liquid portion of the sewage falls down between the bars of the chain a,
and in flowing away it drives a water wheel c, from which a slow revolving
motion may be given to one of the rollers upon which the chain a is sup-
ported. If more water is coming down through the screen than can pass
away below the wheel the excess can flow off over the guard plate c'
with which the wheel c is covered over. The solid matters which are
arrested by the travelling screening surface a are discharged from it on to
the shoot d.
I would remark that I do not confine myself to the exact arrangements
shown by the Drawings as other arrangements may be adopted for screening
sewage by passing it on to a travelling screening surface.
In order to irrigate land with sewage or other water earthenware
troughs or gutters are now sometimes used; they are laid in the land with
the lips or edges of the troughs or gutters about level with the surface in
order that the sewage may flow over the sides of the trough equally on both

page_text: sides. In practice such gutters or troughs cannot be laid sufficiently true
to ensure an overflow on both sides simultaneously, because the overflow
lips being at the full width of the trough the one from the other, so that any
inaccuracy in the laying seriously affects the relative levels of the overflow
lips.
According to my Invention I make the sides of the trough or gutter
approach each other until the opening at the top between the lips is
very narrow, say, about half an inch wide, whilst below the trough is
several inches wide. With troughs or gutters thus constructed a slight
inaccuracy in the laying will have an inappreciable effect on the direction
in which the steam escapes from the lips. In order to strengthen the lips
I thicken them and form them hollow, and I use these hollow lips to receive
dowels to connect the troughs or gutters the one to the other. I make
the bottoms of the troughs or gutters flat that they may stand the more
truly on the bottom of the shallow trench which is cut to receive
them.
Figures and 3 show respectively a side view and end view of a
distributing trough or gutter such as is above described. Such troughs
or gutters may be made to any desired size, either for conveying a large
or small quantity of sewage. The hollow thickened lips. for receiving
dowels are clearly shown by the Drawings. In order to prevent earthen-
ware troughs, such as shown by the Drawings, fron warping when being
burnt I prefer to mould them with a thin web connecting together. their
two lips, as shown by the Drawings in red lines; this web can readily
be broken away after the troughs have been baked. In place of making
the gutters or troughs in the mauner above described they may, but less
advantageously, be plain tubes with a narrow slit or slits along the top.
The gutters or troughs may also be made in wood; in this case I form
the gutters or troughs somewhat of a triangular form, as shown at
Figure 4, the two sides of the trough being inclined towards one another
until they nearly meet, only sufficient opening being left between them
to allow the required quantity of sewage to flow away between them;
these inclined sides may be connected. to one another at intervals by ties
so as to give strength. When a stop valve is required to direct the flow
into one or other of several gutters or troughs I employ a cylinder or
chamber of earthenware set upright in the ground, and the several gutters
or troughs enter around it. Into the cylinder or chamber a wooden
slide descends, it is of a width equal to the diameter of the cylinder

page_text: or chamber, and when it is inserted it divides the inlet gutter or trough
from the outlet gutters or troughs in connection therewith; other similar
wooden slides are employed to govern the outflow through the outlet gutters
or troughs; guides are provided for the sliders within the cylinder or
chamber, The cylinder or chamber is made by pressing clay through a
suitable die, then cutting it off in lengths and adapting to them the junctions
and bottom.
Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8 show various views of a stop valve, such as is
above described, formed to receive one inlet gutter or trough and one out-
let gutter or trough.
a is the chamber or case into and from which the distributing gutters
or troughs lead, sockets being formed for the ends of the gutters or
troughs to rest in, as shewn; b is the trough through which sewage is
led into the chamber a; and c is the outlet gutter or trough which passes
from the chamber a at a lower level than the level at which the trough b
enters; d is a wooden slide which may be used either for closing the end
of the inlet or the outlet trough. It the passing away of sewage from
the inlet pipe b through the outlet pipe c is arrested by the wooden
slide d the sewage will escape through the open top of the inlet pipe b
and will irrigate the land through which it is led, but if the slide d be
raised the sewage in place of being thus forced to escape from the open
top of the pipe 6 can pass freely from the inlet pipe to the outlet
pipe c. In place of the stop valve being formed with one outlet trough
only, as shown by the above Figures, it may be formed with a greater
number of outlet troughs, as shown in plan view at Figure 9. In this
case each of the outlet troughs should pass from the chamber a at a
lower level than that at which the inlet trough enters the chamber. It
is not necessary that all the outlet passages should be at the same level,
as they might be led at different levels from the chamber a to suit the
formation of the land to be irrigated. The entrance of sewage into the
case a, and the passing away of sewage through each of the outlet
passages can be governed by wooden slides, which can be dropped down
between the diagonal guides e so as to come in front of the inlet and
outlet passages. At the entrance to each gutter or trough, or system of
gutters or troughs, as it branches out from a main channel or sewer
through which the sewage is led I employ a sluice valve consisting of an
earthenware pipe with a chamber open at the top formed in it. To shut
off the flow a flat board is inserted into this chamber so as to act as a

page_text: valve, and it is held up to its face by a turnbutton or by wedges behind it.
The flow can be regulated as may be required by raising the board valve
more or less and locking it in the required position by the turnbutton or
wedges.
Figures 10, 11, 12, and 13 show various views of an earthenware sluice
valve constructed as above described.
a is the valve chamber, open at the top to allow of the wooden slide b
being dropped down into it; c, c, are the wedges for retaining the board
at any desired height, so as either entirely to close the passage through
the pipe or to allow any desired quantity of sewage to flow through it.
Where fences are required I make the top rail of the fence a metal pipe
of wrought or cast iron connected up with water-tight joints, and I screw
or otherwise fix the pipes into sockets on the posts, where I provide
suitable draw-off valves; I also adapt the posts to receive and strain.
wire to complete the fence; or in place of drawing off the water or
other liquid at the posts T pieces may be inserted in the pipe at
intervals; they receive caps or are otherwise closed when it is not
required to draw off through them. In this latter case the pipes instead
of screwing into sockets on the posts may simply be passed through
holes formed through the posts, shown at Figure 14 of the Drawings,
and be connected up to one another by screw joints into one continuous
rail.
In witness whereof, I, the said Josiah George Jennings, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of June,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
nine.