No. 10. Value of Server Water. — Machine for cutting Soles. 



307 



which are beautifully adapted for the de- 

 fence of the organs of vision ; in the small 

 hairs which grow in the apertures of the 

 nostrils, and serve as guardians to the deli- 

 cate membrane of the nose; and in similar 

 hairs in the ear-tubes, which defend those 

 cavities from the intrusion of insects. — Wil- 

 son on the Skin. 



Value of Sewer Water. 



If we take the population of Liverpool at 

 300,000, their annual produce of sewer wa- 

 ter would, according to Mr. Smith's (of 

 Deanston,) data, be 7,140,485,676 gallons; 

 and if use could be found for all of it, at 

 the yearly rate of 17,920 gallons per acre, it 

 would fertilise 398,460 acres. So that, al- 

 lowing about one-half of the saving to go to 

 the farmer, there would still, on Mr. Smith's 

 data, be a revenue of above £270,000 a 

 year to the town. And be it remembered 

 that this estimate rests on the assumption of 

 the present sewer water being used, without 

 taking into account the improved drainage, 

 by which the whole soil of the town — that 

 to a very great extent is now otherwise dis- 

 posed of — will be suspended in the water of 

 the sewers, and increase vastly its value as 

 a fertilizuig agent. 



By an experiment made lately in Lanca- 

 shire, it was proved that eight tons of sewer 

 water were superior in efficacy to fifteen of 

 farm-yard manure, or three cwt. of guano. 



We need hardly say, that if even a small 

 part of this be true, the authorities of Liver- 

 pool may have at their command, whenever 

 they choose, a fund amply sufficient to de- 

 fray every necessary expense in improving 

 the sanatory condition of the town. The 

 Rev. Mr. Clay, in his report on Preston, has 

 given a calculation in which he shows that, 

 to place that town in as perfect a sanatory 

 condition as external means well could, a 

 sum of money would be required, the annual 

 interest of which, to be raised by a rate, 

 would be £8,959 9s. 8d. For this sum the 

 whole town would be cleansed, every room 

 in it ventilated, every house would have a 

 water-closet and drain, the needful main and 

 secondary sewers would be laid down, and 

 half of the town supplied with water. To 

 meet this expenditure, he estimates the an- 

 nual value of sewer manure at £25,000, and 

 the whole annual saving from improved san- 

 atory condition, a lower rate of insurance, 

 &c., at £22,815 more. In other words, the 

 whole weekly expenditure per head of the 

 population, for every improvement, would be 

 about three farthings, while the whole week- 

 ly saving per head would be 4^d. This may 

 be thought somewhat extravagant by those 



who have not paid attention to the subject ; 

 but let us see what the Towns' Improvement 

 Company actually offers to do, and what it 

 is about to do for Leicester, and, not impro- 

 bably, for Manchester also. The proposal 

 for Manchester is — to lay on pipes to every 

 cottage, with a constant available supply of 

 water to the extent of 100 gallons per diem 

 to each house, for a penny a week for houses 

 under £5 rent. To provide every cottage 

 of the same class with a sink, washhand- 

 basin, and self-acting water-closet, for an- 

 other penny a week ; and for an additional 

 halfpenny a week, to keep the foot pavement 

 and roadway clean by the sweeping-machine 

 and washing with the jet. And lastly, •' to 

 effect street sewerage and pavement on terms 

 of contract, and to seek its profit from an un- 

 developed source of revenue — the application 

 of the refuse of the town for the purposes of 

 agriculture." The company expects an in- 

 come of twelve per cent, on the outlay froni 

 these sources, but offers to pay over one-half 

 of all dividends above eight per cent, to the 

 Town Council as an improvement fund. The 

 Towns' Improvement Company has in con- 

 nexion with it many individuals who are the 

 most competent to form a judgment on the 

 subject; and their proposals show the com- 

 mercial value attached to sewer water as a 

 source of revenue. Captain Vetch, R. E., 

 one of their engineers, says in his evidence: 

 " If the three objects of supplying water to 

 the town, extinguishing fires, and of sewer- 

 ing and draining, were skilfully combined 

 into one system, anc} if each town secured 

 the benefits of such a combination to the in- 

 habitants at large, their comforts and conve- 

 niences might be met either very cheaply, 

 or even be entirely defrayed by a proper ap- 

 plication of the manure." 



The objection to the use of sewer water 

 for agriculture, on the ground of malaria, is 

 very simply answered by the fact stated by 

 competent parties, that, while a top-dressing 

 of stable dung gives off gases for si.x days, 

 a dressing with sewer-water'ceases to do so 

 in one day. — Ldverpool Health of Towns* 

 Advocate. 



Machine for Cutting Soles. — The Bos- 

 ton Rambler says: "Mr. C. D. Bigelow, of 

 Marlboro, Mass., has invented a machine for 

 cutting out soles for boots and shoes of every 

 size and shape. The soles are cut out with 

 the holes for pegs all punched, so that the 

 peg awl will be entirely dispensed with, if 

 some arrangement can be made to punch the 

 inner sole. This will be a machine of great 

 benefit to boot and shoe manufacturers, and 

 we believe it can be got up at but little ex- 

 pense, as it is very simple. 



