176 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



except those that entailed great expense and work and care that 

 were prohibitive. At last, however, a theory has been worked out, 

 so that it has become a practical possibility and today it is as pos- 

 sible for every home to have a sanitary drainage or sewage system 

 as it is to have a water supply. Any man who is determined to have 

 healthful surroundings about his home may do so. What is known 

 as "the septic tank" has solved this problem. 



I want to give you an idea of its workings and the simplicity of 

 its construction. It is an easy matter for any intelligent man to 

 build and construct himself such a sewage plant for his home at a 

 minimum cost, a system that can grow with his household needs 

 and that will very nearly take care of itself. The theory is so sim- 

 ple that it seems too good to be true and incredible that we have 

 done without it all these years when we needed it so badly. How- 

 ever, the septic tank is not a new thing. Various forms of it have 

 been experimented with for years with more or less success and at 

 least we have one that has been tested and found successful after 

 several years of use. I know of several in New York state and one 

 especially that has been installed for over a year, taking care of the 

 entire waste from two families, two bathrooms, three water closets 

 and three sinks, and has been entirely satisfactory. It was built 

 by a young farmer with the aid of two farm hands along with his 

 own work. There has been no odor from it and no surface discharge. 

 It cost, exclusive of labor, about |50. 



I think the most satisfactory way to explain this system is to 

 show you some illustrations and explain its construction as T do so. I 

 will be glad to answer any questions and explain anything con- 

 nected with the illustrations that I can. 



I am glad to tell you that this Department has reproduced a bul- 

 letin by Professor H. W. Riley, of Cornell University, at Ithaca, 

 N, Y., on the subject of drainage for Rural Homes, which explains 

 in detail the theory and workings of the septic tank system of drain- 

 age, giving working draw^ings so simple and plain that anyone can 

 follow them, plans for the sanitary drainage systems for the small 

 home, with only a kitchen sink and kitchen waste to care for, up to 

 a complete sewage system for a large establishment with modem 

 plumbing of every kind. This bulletin is the first of a series we 

 hope to publish that will be helpful to the rural homes and people 

 of the State. 



Science has taught us that there are some bacterias that are 

 friendly to mankind and it is on the habits and peculiarities of two 

 of these tliat we must depend to make our septic tank sewage sys- 

 tems sanitary and successful. We must construct our tank so that 

 the anaerobia bacteria may live quietly in the dark, undisturbed by 

 any sudden jars or stirring or even by a swiftly moving current. To 

 prevent this, we must have the tank built underground and with baf- 

 fle boards which I will show you in the pictures. In such surround- 

 ings they at once begin their work of destruction and disintegration 

 of all tiie solids that go into the tank which process is generally 

 called "rotting," — absolutely destroying them by forming them into 

 gases or liquid form so that when the gradual filling of the tank 

 ceases an overflow from the outlet, the effluent or overflow is ready 

 for the aerobic bacteria to continue their work of purification. The 

 aerobes do not destroy humus and this will settle in the bottom of 



