I10 Notices of Books. (January, 
Sanitary Engineering : a Guide to the Construction of Works of 
Sewerage and House Drainage; with Tables for Facilitating 
the Calculations of the Engineer. By BaLtpwin LaTHam, 
C.E., M. Inst. C.E. London: E. and F. N. Spon. 1873. 
Mr. BALDWIN LaTHAM is a well-known authority on all matters 
relating to Sanitary Engineering, and his experience in the con- 
struction of town sewers and the disposal of sewage has been 
such as to enable him to write from actual experience upon the 
subjects treated of in the volume now before us. Much of the 
information given in this book has appeared piecemeal elsewhere, 
having formed the subject of papers read before the Society of 
Engineers, and of pamphlets previously published by the author; 
but these are so scattered as not to be always available—or, 
indeed, convenient for reference—to anyone desirous of studying 
the important question of Town Sanitation. In ‘ Sanitary 
Engineering,” these previous writings by Mr. Latham have 
been collated and published, with the addition of a considerable 
amount of further information and experience, which together 
form one of the most valuable publications we have met with 
upon this important subject. In dwelling upon the importance 
and necessity of sanitary measures, the whole community is 
appealed to in a way easy to be understood by the non-scientific 
world, whilst in dealing with the manner in which such measures 
can best be carried out, Mr. Latham’s experience cannot fail to 
prove of considerable value to future labourers in the same field 
of engineering science. At various times and places, earth, air, 
fire, and water have respectively been advocated as the best 
means of disposing of fcoecal matter from towns, but, from 
a comparison of London with other great centres of population, 
where different methods have been applied, it is argued that 
water-carriage ‘‘is the best adapted to the varied requirements 
of a town population for effecting the speedy removal of the 
principal matter liable to decomposition.” 
In carrying into effect the works necessary for the sewerage of 
a town, three distinct operations have to be performed, viz. :— 
(1) The drainage of the surface; (2) The drainage of the 
subsoil; and (3) The removal of foecal and other liquid refuse. 
In these several operations, the mode of dealing with the rainfall 
of districts comes under the first heading, and this is compre- 
hensively dealt with, having due regard for varying situations, 
the geological character and the physical outline of different 
districts. On the subject of sewers—their form and relative 
capacity—the information afforded is most complete, accom- 
panied as it is by tables of discharge, &c. The course and 
sectional form of sewers is well explained; but, perhaps, the 
most valuable portion of the book for engineers is that which 
relates to their construction under varying circumstances and in 
passing through different geological formations, not the least 
important part of the subject being that which relates to 
