HO USE-DRAIN A GE. 321 



ranged. There are many other details which the inspector will 

 examine ; but it is not the object of this paper to describe his 

 work. To determine the j)oints above mentioned the inspector 

 will wish, first, to plug the soil-pipe between the house and the 

 sewer, so that he can fill with water that part of the pipe beneath 

 the cellar-floor, and thus determine whether there are leakage and 

 probable soil pollution, which will necessitate the opening of the 

 floor to find the leak. Next, he will wish to test the vertical part 

 of the soil-pipe, connecting-pipes, and fixtures for gas leakage, by 

 blowing into the pipe from below either smoke or sulphurous-acid 

 gas, or by pouring in oil of peppermint from above. Often leaky 

 joints, damaged fixtures, etc., can be found by mere inspection ; 

 but often, also, some such special tests as those indicated above 

 are desirable. The inspector will also wish to know precisely 

 where all the pipes and traps of the house-drainage are, how they 

 are connected, and what are their sizes. If the householder can 

 show him a plan giving this information, it is well ; but if not, he 

 may have to prepare one for himself, and for this purpose to take 

 up floors, cut into the walls, etc. 



Every house-owner should have such a plan, just as he should 

 have a record of title ; and every one who hires a house will act 

 wisely in examining such a plan before signing his lease. The 

 proper time for obtaining this plan is when the drainage system 

 is put in the house. This brings us to a brief consideration of a 

 fourth point of view of house-drainage, viz., that of the sanitary 

 authorities, or ofiicials charged with the duty of seeing that indi- 

 vidual premises do not become nuisances or injurious to the pub- 

 lic health. Most of our large cities now have regulations with 

 regard to house-drainage and sewer connection, based upon the 

 following principles, viz. : 1. That a man must so use his prop- 

 erty that it shall not be a source of offense or injury to others. 

 2. That the condition of sewers depends, to a considerable extent, 

 on the character and condition of the sewage discharged into 

 them, and that the municipality which is charged with the con- 

 struction and maintenance of a common system of sewers has the 

 right to regulate, within certain limits, what shall be turned into 

 them. If cess-pool overflows, and sewage from long horizontal 

 reaches of pipe, are turned into the sewer, it must contain putrid 

 sewage ; and it will be correspondingly difiicult to ventilate it and 

 keep it in proper condition. 3. That the arrangements for house- 

 drainage are intimately connected with those of house water-sup- 

 ply ; and that where the municipality furnishes a general water- 

 supply, it has the right to make regulations and inspections to 

 prevent waste and to see that it is properly used. 



Municipal regulations for house-drainage vary somewhat in 

 different cities; but in general they provide that, for all new 



TOL. XXXIT.— 21 



