FARM SANITATION 



209 



even though the person discharging the sewage may own the land through 

 which the stream flows. Such a law should not require legal machinery 

 for its enforcement, but should appeal to the sense of justice and intelli- 

 gence of all good citizens. 



Vital statistics show that the death rate from typhoid fever in New 

 York State since 1900 has de- 

 creased in the cities, while it 

 has remained about constant in 

 rural districts. This reduction 

 in the death rate in the cities 

 may be accredited in large meas- 

 ure to the unproved methods of 

 sewage disposal and close atten- 

 tion to pure water supply in- 

 tended for human consumption. 



It is, therefore, desirable 

 to purify sewage before its 

 discharge into any place where 

 it. may contaminate food or 

 water intended for human con- 

 sumption. 



The art of sewage treat- 

 ment when purification is 

 carried on in septic tanks con- 

 sists in two distinct forms of 

 decomposition. 



The first form of decom- 

 position takes place in the 

 absence of oxygen or air, and 

 is called anaerobic, or without 

 air. Under ordinary circum- 

 stances it is accompanied with 



THE KAUSTINE CLOSET. l 

 A germless water closet. 



disagreeable odors. The sec- 

 ond decomposition process 

 takes place in the presence of 

 air and is called aerobic, or with air. It is accomplished without dis- 

 agreeable odors. 



The first treatment consists in allowing the fresh sewage to enter a 

 water-tight septic tank, and remain for twenty-four or forty-eight hours. 

 During this period, in the absence of air, the organic matter of the sewage 

 is broken down into small particles. The purpose of this treatment is to 

 get the sewage in such a condition that it can be purified No purifica- 

 tion is accomplished during this process. The secondary treatment con- 

 sists in exposing the effluent from the septic tank to the atmosphere, wliere 



1 Courtesy of The Kaustine Company, Inc., Buffalo. 





