534 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Plan and tools.— The contractor shall furnish all tools which are necessary to be used 

 in digging the ditches, grading the bottom, and laying the tile. In case it is necessary to 

 use curbing for the ditches, or outside material for covering the tile where sand or slush 

 is encountered, the employer shall furnish the same upon the ground convenient for use. 



All plans and figures furnished by the engineer, together with the drawings and 

 explanations, shall be considered a part of these specifications. 



THE NEW DRAINAGE LAW. 



The last General Assembly of Iowa has passed a law whereby one or 

 more property owners may secure drainage with proper outlet, etc. The 

 order of procedure is: 



1. Make petition to the board of supervisors of your county, designat- 

 ing the general course of the desired drain, lands affected and benefits 

 proposed. 



2. The supervisors appoint a competent drainage engineer to make in- 

 vestigation and report. 



3. The supervisors consider the report, and if they authorize the con- 

 struction of the drain, they notify all owners of property affected, setting a 

 time for hearing claims. 



4. If all is satisfactory, a commission is appointed to assess the 

 property. 



5. The engineer carefully lays out the work and construction proceeds. 

 A similar procedure may be used for making alterations or improve- 

 ments. 



SEWAGE SYSTEM FOR THE FARM 



L. B. Kuhn, in Wallaces' Farmer. 



At many county homes where it is desired to introduce modern improve- 

 ments in the way of waterworks to supply bath room, closet, sink, and 

 laundry, the disposal of sewage is quite a serious problem. Fortunately it 

 is a problem quite easy of solution by the "Septic Tank" system, at once 

 scientific and simple, though but little known. The system can be easily 

 applied in any place where sufficient fall can be secured to carry away the 

 sewage. It is inexpensive, absolutely automatic, and thoroughly effective 

 and satisfactory. It can perhaps be best illustrated by describing a plant 

 now in operation at the Western Hospital for the insane atWatertown, 

 Illinois. 



The system is the result of an accidental discovery, and was first put in 

 successful practice by Dr. W. E. Taylor, superintendent of the above named 

 institution, though now being installed at other public institutions in Illinois 

 and attracting much attention elsewhere. That it is perfect in its action may 

 be gathered from the fact that it receives all the concentrated sewage from 

 an institution whose inmates and employes number nearly eight hundred 



