Principles of PlumMng 211 



put in ; therefore in planning the first floor, this 

 point should receive special consideration. 



Certain general principles apply to all plumb- 

 ing, and may serve to test the various kinds of 

 fixtures offered for sale. All foul and effete 

 matter should be immediately and completely 

 removed from the house ; any back current of 

 foul air into the house should be i3revented, and 

 any communication between the sewer or the 

 cesspool and the water supply should be made 

 impossible. Fixtures should be as simple in 

 construction as possible and easily accessible. 

 Pipes were formerly enclosed in the walls, but 

 in the finest new buildings in cities, are now 

 placed altogether in sight, and painted the color 

 of the walls, or of the woodwork. The sewer 

 pipe, on reaching the level of the ground, should 

 pass directly out of the house, and should never 

 l-)e carried along under the first floor of the 

 house. In the southern states and on the 

 Pacific coast, pipes may run on the outside of 

 the house, thus fulfilling ideally the principle 

 that waste matter should be removed from the 

 house as soon as possible. A few years ago 

 there was much controversy over the placing 

 of vent pipes in traps and in branches. Ger- 

 hard and the older sanitarians advise a com- 

 plicated and elaborate use of them, but Putnam 

 and the more recent authorities consider thor- 



