DRAINAGE AND WATER SUPPLY 



225 



adopted for this purpose, some of which are founded upon true principles of 

 economy, while others are wasteful in the extreme. In towns and cities 

 provided with sewers and water pipes, .liquid manure is seldom worth the 

 cost of removing it, and hence in them there is no choice and the whole of 

 the liquids flowing through the drains must pass off into the common sewers. 

 Even here, however, a catch-pit should be provided somewhere outside the 

 stable, without which the traps will either become clogged if made gas-tight, 

 or they will admit the foul emanations from the common sewer if they are 

 so arranged as to allow of the free flow of drainage from the stable into 

 them. Such a pit as that represented below will serve all the purposes 

 required, and if it is regularly cleaned out once a week by the groom there 

 will never be an overflow, while in no case can any gas pass through it from 

 the sewers. It is merely a square pit lined with brick or stone and 

 cemented. The size must depend on the number of horses, but if made on 

 the calculation of one cubical foot per horse up to four horses, and half an 

 additional foot for each horse beyond this number, it will fulfil all the 



OF CATCH-PIT. 



conditions required. The manner in which it acts is as follows : The 

 liquid drainage enters from the stable at a, and falls into the inner half of 

 the pit, marked b, which is separated from the other half by an iron 

 partition (c). This is fixed above in a stone or iron lid (d\ which, being 

 fitted in a frame at the top of the pit, effectually closes it except when taken 

 up by the groom for the purpose of removing the solid contents at b. The 

 sides of the iron partition (c) should run in grooves cut in the cement lining 

 the pit, which it should pretty accurately fit, but only so as to keep all solid 

 matter from passing through. A space of from 2 to 4 in. according to 

 the size of the pit is left beneath the iron partition and the bottom or 

 floor, and through this the liquid passes, filling the outer half (e) and over- 

 flowing through the pipe (/) as fast as it has run in at a, the same 

 level being always maintained in the two halves of the pit. With this 

 simple apparatus properly constructed all internal stench-traps may be done 

 away with, and the iron surface-drains which I shall presently describe 

 alone introduced. An examination of the engraving of an ordinary stench- 

 trap which I here append will show how easily they are choked and how 

 badly they fulfil their office. 



Q 



