158 DR. R. ANGUS SMITH ON 



spoken of is so great in the aristocratic quarters of London 

 that it is not probable that any alteration will be made on the 

 system for a long* time. 



The other method of having closed receptacles for the soil 

 in the house or even out of the house is also in use, but in 

 practice both the methods have an uncomfortable and dangerous 

 result from the want of water and the impossibility of obtaining 

 any cleanliness without it. As far as the principle is con- 

 cerned, the continental method, in all its modifications, is 

 merely the ordinary outdoor convenience, so common with 

 us, conveyed into the interior of the house ; a place where 

 idleness alone could place it, unless it were connected with 

 abundant means of purification. 



The other modification of what may be called the over- 

 land means of conveyance is that adopted in this city and 

 neighbourhood, where the material lies open in countless, 

 or I should rather say in 60,000 places, diff*using itself 

 over the whole town, and evaporating as rapidly as the 

 various states of weather allow it, uncurbed in its move- 

 ments, except by a wall at the side, which is quite unable 

 to confine this result of decay. In one respect we have 

 the advantage that this matter is not inside the house, 

 that the system of building gives room enough behind every 

 house for a yard, and we are not crowded one over the other, 

 or unwholesomely confined on narrow shelves. At the same 

 time we have this disadvantage, that the rivers are not kept 

 pure as at Paris and elsewhere, whilst the land also is rendered 

 impure, and the constant cleanings infest the air. Having a 

 mixture of all systems we have the advantages of none and 

 some of the evils of all. 



The advantages of the overland system include the sale of 

 the material, which in Paris is something of consequence, 

 when stated in a certain form ; the poudrette which is manufac- 

 tured is sold at about twenty shillings a ton, but it is not bought 

 eagerly, and in fact is not of very great value. The amount 



