WAYS TO USE WASTE WATER. 41 



described as taking place in the line of porous tiles described above. 

 In this way one can distribute the water over wider spaces, get wider 

 irrigation use of it and guard against undesirable saturation of the 

 soil in a restricted area. 



Direct Use of House Water. Where one has entrance to a regular 

 city or suburban sewage system and thus avoids the expense of a 

 septic system of his own it is still desirable to use the greater part 

 of the house water in the garden, if the owner's time is worth less than 

 the water and he will give the distribution of it the necessary atten- 

 tion. The writer usually has more time than money and he has 

 demonstrated the feasibility of what is here commended. In planning 

 the plumbing of his house, two outlets were arranged near together 

 with a connecting pipe and valve. The upper outlet which was about 

 two feet above the ground gave outflow water from washstands, 

 bath tubs and laundry tubs; the lower outlet below ground received 

 the flow in the pipes from kitchen sink and water closets and con- 

 nected directly with the terra cotta pipe to the street sewer. By 

 this arrangement the cleaner water could be drawn out by itself 

 into a large hose for garden distribution and the water from other 

 places, containing grease, etc., was immediately discharged into the 

 sewer. By opening the valve in the pipe connecting the two outlets, 

 all the flow from the house could be released to the street sewer, in 

 the winter, when the garden was running by rainfall, or whenever 

 not convenient to use the water for irrigation. In this way perhaps 

 three-fourths of the waste water from the house can be turned into 

 flowers, if one will observe the rule of short runs of water in a 

 place and good hoeing as soon as the ground is ready for it. 



SURFACE OR SUB-IRRIGATION. 



A system of sub-surface irrigation by tiles is suggested in the fore- 

 going discussion of the septic tank. Plans for distribution of water 

 underground by perforated or porous carriers have been indulged in 

 by Californians for half a century, but have never been installed by 

 many people and have never been long in operation by the few who 

 most enthusiastically advocated them. There is reason to believe, 

 however, that on certain soils, distribution through simple lines of 

 tile laid near the surface may be more satisfactory than running 

 water in furrows. This will be for shallow-rooting plants not ex- 

 pected to stay long in place and where the pipes are to be thrown 

 out and relaid at short intervals of time. The entrance of roots in 

 such cases is not a ruling factor. The distribution by connecting these 

 lines of tile with the water supply is easily effected, and shallow 

 cultivation need not be interfered with. But even in such case the 

 cost of tile enough to cover any considerable area soon reaches high 

 figures, and the labor of laying and relaying it is also expensive. It 



