1872.] Engineering. 107 
broad, whilst the distance between it and the suspension ring was 6 ft. 7 in. 
The total height of each balloon was 68 ft., and its weight 913 Ibs. 
Sewage Works.—On the 23rd of October last the sewage irrigation works at 
Leamington, which have been constructed at a cost of £16,000, were formally 
opened. The sewage has all been taken by the Earl of Warwick, who has 
undertaken to dispose of it for a term of thirty years, for which purpose he 
has laid out a farm of rooo acres on his estate. The population of the 
distri@t, according to the last census, was 23,429. In order to raise the sewage, 
two condensing beam engines have been erected at the pumping station, either 
of which will pump 1,500,000 gallons in twelve hours; but in ordinary weather 
it is expected that one pair of pumps will be sufficient. At the preliminary 
trial, one engine pumped 20,000 gallons of sewage in an hour and a-half. 
The Sewage Inquiry Commission appointed to inquire into the question of 
the best means of disposing of the sewage of Birmingham has recently issued 
its report. The town of Birmingham stands almost on a ridge of high land, 
and is remote from any large river. Hitherto almost all its sewage has been 
drained into the small river Tame, polluting its waters to such an extent, that 
the Right Honourable Sir C. B. Adderley, through whose estate the contami- 
nated waters run, has obtained an injunction from the court of Chancery to 
restrain the Corporation from continuing to poison this river, and hence the 
appointment of the Commission. The population of Birmingham is 345,000, 
and the number of houses in the borough is 73,200, having an average of 59 
persons to an acre on the area built upon. The average dry weather flow is 
17,000,000 gallons per day, notwithstanding that not more than 20,000 persons 
are accommodated with water-closets, leaving 325,000 dependent on the open 
middens with which the town abounds, and which together cover an area of 
no less than 13} acres. Analysis of the water in the wells, from which not 
less than 105,000 of the population are entirely dependent, shows that it con- 
sists in reality of filtered sewage. Thus the Birmingham Town Council have 
to deal with their sewage in such a way, not only to meet the requirements of 
the court of Chancery, but also to improve the sanitary condition of the town 
itself, whilst, as there exist no means of disposing of the sewage in an unpu- 
rified state, some mode of purification becomes a necessity. From the 
inquiries made by the Commission from other towns they report as follows :— 
1. That the land improves greatly under irrigation. 2. That as a rule, 
no complaints are made of nuisance arising therefrom. In the few instances 
in which nuisance has arisen, it has been the result of carelessness in con- 
ducting the irrigation. 3. The health of the distri@ where irrigation is carried 
on is not injuriously affeted. 4. Cattle thrive on the irrigated land, and no 
case of their being affected with entozoa has ever been heard of. 5. No other 
manure has been found necessary for the crops, and the produce, both 
in quality and quantity, is very satisfactory. 6. The water, after passing 
through the land, is purified in a satisfactory manner, and in one case cattle 
drink the effluent water. As at least 10,000 acres would be required to deal 
with the sewage by irrigation—an extent of land which could not be procured 
for that purpose—the Commission recommend that 800 acres of land should 
be purchased, and the purification of the sewage be accomplished by a simple 
system of downward filtration. The outlay required for this purpose is esti- 
mated at £14,160, and the returns at £9,200, thus leaving an annual deficit of 
£4900, which would have to be made up by local taxation. 
Extensive works are now being constructed by the Native Guano Company 
at Crossness, with a view to utilise a portion of the sewage of the Metropolis 
by means of the ABC process. The daily outfall of sewage at Crossness is 
about 50,000,000 gallons, or more than 223,000 tons; at first, however, the 
Native Guano Company propose to deal with only about 500,000 gallons in 
the twenty-four hours, which will be drawn from the culvert through which 
the sewage flows into the great reservoir; and from this point the sewage 
will flow through a large pipe into the sump of the engine on the Company’s 
works. From this the sewage will be pumped into the mixing room, where 
there is a cylinder and four A B C mixing pits, all fitted with mechanical 
Stirrers. The cylinder contains one minute’s supply of the sewage, which 
a 
