466 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



quite straight may be sufficient. All the pipes should be 

 solidly bedded, and a small trench made under each socket to 

 give free access for filling the lower side of the joint. The 

 second point is the proper filling, without leaving any of the 

 material to project inside the pipe to form an obstruction. To 

 prevent this, a small gaskin of hemp, dipped in liquid cement, 

 should be fastened round the pipe, and pushed home to the 

 bottom of the socket. When this is done the socket should 

 be well filled all round with Portland cement, nicely finished 

 off, taking as much care with the under part as w T ith the 

 upper. It is further desirable to insert a well-padded and 

 close-fitting plug, called a mouse, into the first pipe, and, by 

 means of a strong cord, to draw it forward past each joint 

 after it is made. This will wipe off any cement which may 

 have oozed past the gaskin. Clay is often used for filling, but 

 there are several peculiarities which render it unfit for a joint- 

 ing material. First, it shrinks in drying ; second, if it is 

 not very hard the weight of the pipes may cause them to com- 

 press it on the under side, and thus form a vent on the upper ; 

 third, both these defects, by enabling the water to com- 

 mence a run, lead to the clay-filling being constantly reduced, 

 with the frequent result of undermining other parts which 

 were perfect, and ultimately causing the collapse and stop- 

 page of the drain ; fourth, and worst of all, it is possible for 

 fibrous roots to find their w T ay through the clay and choke the 

 drain. 



There are several reasons which make it desirable that 

 drains should be tight: (1.) They are often under a house, 

 and always come close to its walls. (2.) If they leak the 

 liquid will impregnate the ground and cause an unhealthy 

 condition. (3.) It may contaminate the water of a well, and 

 produce typhoid fever. (4.) Foul gas may arise and be at- 

 tracted into the house by the warmer air. (5.) The escape of 

 the liquid reduces its flushing-power, and therefore increases 

 the deposition of sediment, so that the risk of the drain be- 

 coming stopped and the certainty of its becoming fouler than 

 otherwise are rendered greater. In cases where it is necessary 

 to lay a drain under a house it should be entirely bedded in 

 and covered by cement concrete so as more effectually to 

 guard against leakage or the cracking of a pipe as the result of 

 settlement of the ground or foundations. 



Wherever a branch has to be connected to a drain it 

 should be done through a socketed junction-pipe, set at the 

 proper angle, and entering in the direction of the fall of the 

 drain. The insertion of a branch into a hole chipped out of the 

 drain should never be tolerated. It is difficult to make tight ; 

 the broken chips enter the drain, and the end of the branch is 

 very likely to form a permanent obstruction. A proper junc- 



