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The CoiLutry Gentlemaiis Magazine 



weight of earth being probably less than that 

 of the sludge. In this state he expects that 

 farmers will fetch it away and pay for it, say 

 5s. a load. This would be a sufficient price 

 to cover all expense of manipulating the 

 solid part of the sewage. In the case of a 

 town ten times the size of Stortford, that is, 

 with 60,000 inhabitants, there would be, at 

 the above rate, 20 tons per week, or say 3 

 tons per day, of this waste mud to dispose 

 of, which certainly does not appear a very 

 formidable or costly business. 



And now for the utilization of the screened 

 and clear liquid which carries, in solution, 

 the really valuable constituents of the sewage- 

 The ground requires no levelling or casting 

 up into ridge and furrow, or shaping with 

 uninterrupted gradients, or any other prepa- 

 ration of the surface whatever. Mr Odams 

 takes the land in hills and hollows, just as he 

 finds it ; and without delay in contouring or 

 expensive formation of beds, he lays down in 

 parallel lines, ^t^ feet apart, lead piping of 

 i>^-inch bore. Tiny holes (two, three, or 

 four together) are pricked at every 2/^ feet 

 along the upper part of the pipe; and the 

 sewage, forced by the steam-pump, issues 

 from the holes like a sparge spirting up to a 

 height of ID feet or 15 feet, and then falling 

 upon the entire surface of the field in a finely 

 divided or drizzly shower. The arching jets 

 of spray spanning to 20 feet on each side of 

 the pipe, not only leave no spot unwetted, but 

 distribute the gentle streams equably over 

 every square yard ; the long rows of per- 

 manent fountains — playing continuously, in- 

 termittently, or as regulated by the turning 

 of a tap-valve — resembling the action of so 

 many enlarged and systematically arranged 

 gardeners' water cans, as made in the modern 

 style, with long, straight, perforated nozzles. 

 From the fineness of the wire-gauze strainer, 

 through which the liquid has been taken, there 

 is little possibility of the holes becoming 

 choked ; the pressure is sufficient for blowing 

 out anything which may accidentally enter a 

 hole from above, and in case of a hole 

 becoming permanently closed up from any 

 cause, it is the simplest thing in the world to 

 pierce another near the same place. By 



corks or stoppers at the ends of the several 

 lengths of pipe, provision is made for flushing 

 out any sediment which might gradually 

 collect inside. The pressure required is that 

 of a head of water of 25 feet. That is, what- 

 ever power is expended by the steam engine 

 in raising the sewage to the level of the field 

 must be increased sufficiently to lift the water 

 25 feet more, or, in other words, the motive 

 power in all cases is represented by a lift of 

 25 feet beyond that necessary for surface- 

 flooding. The lead pipe lying just below 

 the surface, with small iron shields protecting 

 it at intervals of 2^ feet where the holes are 

 exposed, scarcely any part of the ground 

 where old pasture land is under treat- 

 ment can be regarded as occupied to 

 the exclusion of herbage ; while, in case 

 of arable culture, tillage operations can 

 be conducted- close alongside the pipe; 

 so that a much less proportion of the 

 surface is abstracted from production than by 

 the system of open carriers and gutters. All 

 nuisance is avoided. With the absence of 

 channels or small ditches, there is of course 

 the absence of the foul mud which gathers 

 and creates a stench in them ; and, contrary 

 to what might be expected, there is no 

 offensive effluvium from the sewage spray, 

 the coarse filth having been removed by the 

 effective screening, while the fine division of 

 the liquid by the jets, bringing it into inti- 

 mate contact with the atmosphere, probably 

 secures an immediate oxidation of the finer 

 matter. The great advantage claimed for 

 the new system is that, by artificial showers, 

 it applies the fertilizing liquid with the utmost 

 economy, as well as in the manner most 

 natural and beneficial both to plants and to 

 the soil. Not a particle is wasted, unless it 

 be by evaporation, which is not considered 

 to be serious in amount. The crops of grass 

 cut upon the acre of old meadow land now 

 under experiment at Bishop's Stortford 

 certainly tell wonders in favour of this 

 good imitation of natural irrigation. We 

 understand that the entire outlay for the 

 lead piping amounts to somewhat less than 

 ^2,0 per acre. This, indeed, exceeds the 

 general cost of preparing land for ordinary 



