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SANITARY SCIENCE. 



inward current into houses through their con- 

 nections is small. Bat Mr. Lindsley, engineer 

 of the Frankfort sewers, says he found that 

 there was a strong outward current at the 

 upper ends of sewers. This is a further argu- 

 ment in favor of a trap to disconnect dwellings 

 from sewers. 



Several methods and devices have been pro- 

 posed to exclude sewer-gas, which, by persist- 

 ent advertising and the injudicious commen- 

 dation of physicians and others, have gained 

 popular acceptance. All arrangements that 

 depend upon ordinary fires, which are liable 

 to go out at times, or upon chimney-flues, as 

 a security against sewer-gas, are to be dis- 

 trusted. Again, all mechanical devices for 

 the same end, as a substitute for water-seal 

 traps, are objectionable. No valve can be de- 

 pended on to keep its seat so as to be gas- 

 tight, and such devices have universally failed 

 in practice. There are several forms of non- 

 siphoning traps, such as the Connolly, Bowers, 

 or Cuddell, which may be recommended, but 

 the water-seal trap, with suitable ventilation, 

 must still be held superior to all other devices. 



Utility of Traps. Wide-spread alarm and un- 

 certainty have been created in the popular 

 mind by the experiments of Dr. Andrew Fer- 

 gus, of Glasgow, showing the possibility of 

 absorption and transmission of gases through 

 a water-seal. Ammonia, when brought in 

 contact with an ordinary water -trap, pro- 

 duced an alkaline reaction at the opposite side 

 in fifteen minutes. Other gases were transmit- 

 ted in a like manner, and produced their chem- 

 ical effects in from one to four hours. These 

 experiments, however, were made in a labora- 

 tory with pure gases and unventilated traps. 

 Later tests by Dr. Carmichael, made with 

 sewer-gases obtained from ordinary soil-pipes 

 and drains, showed that the latter are of less 

 potency than the gases used by Dr. Fergus, 

 especially when diluted by ventilating the soil- 

 pipe through the roof, and that the amount of 

 gas passed through the water-seal is trifling 

 and probably harmless. Furthermore, the 

 germs of disease, which are most to be 

 dreaded, do not pass the barrier at all. The 

 fact that the water-seal is depended upon in 

 all chemical laboratories and gas - works to 

 prevent leakage, is a positive proof of its 

 trustworthiness, and for all practical purposes 

 an ordinary water-trap may be depended upon 

 as an absolute security against sewer-air. 



Flushing. It has been frequently suggested 

 that it would be advantageous to flush out 

 drains and traps by means of a flush-tank filled 

 with clean water, which would discharge at 

 regular intervals. Col. Waring has adopted 

 this plan at Memphis, where the sewers are 

 periodically scoured throughout their entire 

 length by the discharge of eighty Field flush- 

 tanks. Such an arrangement is not feasible in 

 dwellings, but the desired result may be ob- 

 tained by using the improved water-closets, 

 which discharge several gallons of water at 



each using, and by rain leaders. A copious 

 and constant water-supply for flushing sewers, 

 drains, and plumbing fixtures, is a prime essen- 

 tial to prevent the entrance of sewer-gas into 

 dwellings. Half the trouble in New York city 

 is the lack of pressure to raise water to the 

 upper floors of houses during a large part of 

 the day. This permits the fouling of pipes and 

 fixtures, and the accumulation of matter that 

 should be promptly carried off. An abundant 

 water-supply is, therefore, required in every 

 city, and in England it is essential by law that 

 no water-closet should be flushed direct from 

 the supply-pipes, but from a special cistern, to 

 avoid the chance of polluting the drinking- 

 supply in case of a defective valve, or when 

 the supply is intermittent. Where, as m New 

 York city, the water will not rise above the 

 second story during the day, one constantly 

 finds foul water-closets, without any means of 

 flushing, and with the. valves open, so that 

 poisonous gases are drawn into the supply- 

 pipes. More than one case of typhoid fever 

 has been traced to this source. 



Isolation. Too little thought is given to the 

 proper isolation of plumbing fixtures in dwell- 

 ings. It is common to find basins in sleeping- 

 rooms without traps, or connecting into the 

 trap of a foul water-closet, so that the vilest 

 stenches find free vent into these rooms. The 

 location of bath-rooms and water-closets has 

 much to do with preventing freezing of pipes 

 and annoying injuries from flooding due to 

 bursted pipes. In too many cases the least 

 convenient room is allotted for these sanitary 

 conveniences, because a more suitable room 

 can be put to a more useful purpose. All cen- 

 tral bath-rooms, dependent upon shafts for 

 light and air, are objectionable. Every such 

 room should open direct to the outer air. 



Another reason why sanitary appliances 

 should, as far as possible, be isolated from 

 living-rooms, is to insure privacy. One of the 

 strongest arguments in favor of modern plumb- 

 ing over the old-fashioned out-door inconven- 

 iences is the avoidance of publicity and expos- 

 ure to inclement weather, with the consequent 

 lessened temptation to neglect hygienic con- 

 siderations. An English architectural writer 

 remarks upon this point: u The double object 

 should be kept in view, of indicating where 

 the necessary apartment is to be looked for, 

 and at the same time planning it so that no 

 one going to or coming from it need be sup- 

 posed to be doing so." Care should be taken 

 not to locate plumbing fixtures in dark corners. 

 Sunshine invites attention to untidiness, and 

 is in itself the best of all disinfectants. In 

 the White model tenements in Brooklyn, and 

 in the Central Park apartment-houses, Dr. 

 Hamilton's plan of isolation is carried out. In 

 the Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital, in Park 

 Avenue, New York, the architect, Mr. C. C. 

 Haight, has isolated most of the plumbing 

 fixtures by placing them in a semi-octagonal 

 addition in the rear of the building, six stories 



