1S48.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



981 



grates should have no water traps, but in their place should have flap valves 

 of the same kiuil as the house drains. Figs. 6 and 7 sliow the liind of 

 gully grate and valve used. The grate, it will be seen, is vertical, the face 

 of it being in the same place as the face of the curb, and the top of it form- 

 ing a portion of the curb ; the flap hangs vertically, and acts so promptly, 

 that the smallest quantity of water opens it. This form of vertical gully 

 grate answers very well for streets which have not a great fall ; but where 

 the fall is great, the water would shoot past them without entering. I have 

 prepared drawings for a gully grate, valved on the same principle, to suit 

 steep streets where new gullies are required ; but to existing gullies I propose 

 to apply the valve, in the simple manner explained by the drawings. Fig. 9 

 shows a proposed alteration in a gully grate, which is removed to a short 

 distance from its original site, and a length of pipe with a flap attached 

 connects the new opening with the former cesspool, which is bricked up 

 until its bottom forms a continuation of the drain ; this I have used in a 

 gully at the fever sheds with perfect success. Fig. 8 shows the proposed 

 new grates for steep streets. 



For flashing and washing the sewers it is proposed to lay a main 

 along the summit of the to«n, kept continually full of water from 

 a reservoir ; and when a sewer requires flashing, a sluice is to be 

 opened, and the water allowed to rush down in a flood, carrying all 

 impurities along with it. 



Besides flashing for the underground filth, it is necessary to provide the 

 means of washing all impurities from the surface of streets and courts. For 

 this purpose every court should have a branch, with a stand-pipe at its upper 

 end for the washing of it daily. Every street should also have stand-pipes, 

 at such distances npatt that its whole surface may be washed over with the 

 aid of a short hose. From these stand-pipes also the streets should be 

 watered. Ultimately fountains should be erected in every available situation, 

 purifying the atmosphere by the motion of their jets, and cleansing the 

 water channels and sewers by their constant flashing effect. 



In my former report I submitted the following method of arranging 

 stand-pipes in the streets, by which their situation might be so readily 

 and distinctly indicated that, in the event of a fire, no loss of time would 

 ensue from the difficulty of discovering them. At present, the water-pipes 

 have three kinds of apparatus to which hose may he attached — the common 

 plug, the hydrant, and the Gavin-plug. The common plug consists of a 

 conical socket fitted on the pipe, which, when not in use, is closed by a 

 wooden plug. When a hose is to be attached, the plug is withdrawn, and 

 an apparatus, called a stand-pipe, inserted in its place. This is a copper 

 pipe, tapered at its lower end, to fit into the socket, and furnished at its 

 upper end with one or more screwed nozzles, projecting horizontally, to 

 which the hose is attached ; it has also a cock for regulating the discharge. 

 These stand-pipes are portable, and are carried by the firemen to the plug 

 nearest the place where the water is required. The hydrant is a more 

 simple apparatus; it consists merely of a branch from the main pipe, with a 

 stop-cock and an upturned end, with a screw coupling, to which the hose is 

 directly attached. The Gavin plug differs from the other two in being also 

 a cock ; a stand-pipe is required in using it. All these have their con- 

 veniences. The Gavin plug is a ready apparatus ; but besides the disad- 

 vantage of acting too quickly for high pressures, it is liable to the objections 

 of exposing a large surface of metal in the roadway, of being subject to be 

 acted on by frost; and from its cover being attached to the pipes, the latter 

 are apt to be injured by vibration and concussion. The stand-pipe is liable 

 to derangement from a pebble or dirt getting into its socket ; and as these 

 sockets are in boxes under the surface of the ground, there is sometimes not 

 a little difficulty experienced in finding their places. Further, the eye which 

 requires to be formed round the metal box seldom wears uniformly with the 

 general surface of the road (in the macadamised roads especially), hut pro- 

 jects above the surface, and forms a very serious obstacle to the traffic. 



My opinion is, that the apparatus, in any proper system of supply, should 

 be conspicuously placed, readily distinguishable, by night or by day, from 

 everything else, and always ready for use, without any appliances, which 

 may be mislaid or forgot at the very instant they are wanted. With this 

 view, I beg to submit the apparatus exhibited in figs. 1, 2, and 3. I propose 

 that several lamp-posts in each street should be made receptacles for the 

 water apparatus, the pedestal being made of a size sufficient to contain it. 

 In each lamp pedestal I propose that an upright hydrant be fixed, with a 

 coil of hose, sufficient for washing the streets, or filling the watering carts, 

 constantly attached. The cock-box I would fix in the footway, always on 

 the same side of the lamp-posts, and at a constant distance from them. In 

 the event of a fire, the firemen's hose would be instantly attached to the 

 hose of the stand-pipe by a coupling screw. The pedestals for the water 

 apparatus being square, and those for the common lamps being round, would 

 point out at once the place of the water apparatus ; and, if necessary, the 

 side panes of such lamps might be of coloured glass, as a still greater dis- 

 tinctive mark by night. Every superintendent of scavengers and every fire- 

 man would be provided with a key to the door of the pedestal, and in the 

 pedestal the key of the cock would constantly remain ; thus there would be 

 no delay in using the water for any purpose. In places where lamp-posts 

 are not required, the pedestals merely (fig. 3.) might be used, and these might 

 also be used as guard posts at the entrance to narrow streets. 



The lamp-irons thus made prominent, might be rendered still more useful 

 by the label attached to their tops, as shown on the sketch. On these would 

 be cut the names of the streets, and on the centre paael the distance in 



miles and furlongs from the Exchange. Coach and car fares might be thus 

 regulated. On the plinths too would be made the permanent bench-marks 

 necessary under the Act, with their height above the dock sill, expressed in 

 feet and decimal parts. By these means, the simple lamp-post may be made 

 a very useful as well as a very ornamental object. 



The Report contains some judicious advice on the best mode of 

 cleansing streets, emptying cesspools, dust-bins, lay-stalls, &c. ; 

 regulations for the width of streets and height of houses ; limiting 

 the population. 



The Hmitation of population per acre being once established, is easily 

 convertible into a rule to determine the area that a house should occupy. 

 The width of a street due to the class of houses being fixed on the principle 

 laid down above, the remainder should be a'lolted to the houses, the passages 

 before-mentioned, and the gardens or back-yards, as the case may be. On 

 examining the statistics of health in Great Britain, we shall find that, in 

 towns exhibiting the average rate of health, the aiea allowed to every inha- 

 bitant is about 25 square yards. If we assume 5-o8 (the Liverpool average) 

 to be the number of inhabitants to each house, and allow 25 yards to each 

 inhabitant, we sliall have 150 yards as the minimum area which health 

 demands to be allowed to every house. Now houses of the class usually 

 built in third-rate streets are 5 yards wide in front, and the width of the 

 street due to these is 6-6 yards. Of the quantity allotted to each household 

 we have thus 42| yards due to the street and lane, and lU-j yards, or an 

 area of 23 J yards deep by 5 yards wide, due to the house and yard. Of 

 this the house will probably occupy 10 yards, leaving 13 yards in depth, or 

 05 square yards for the garden or back-yard and its erections. This, then, 

 is what would be required to insure a state of health of the town districts of 

 Britain, when houses are built in streets without any other source of air and 

 light than what the streets aft'jrd ; if, however, open spaces are left, such 

 as° courts, squares, and tlie like, the problem being simply to allot a certain 

 number of yards to every inhabitant, a deduction commensurate with that 

 area may be made from the amount allotted to the yards or gardens, pro- 

 vided that, as before stated, the houses be so arranged in respect of these 

 open spaces as to receive the full benefit of them. 



From the remarks on buildings we give the following extracts : 



Every house should have a water closet ; but the water closet should be 

 adapted to the place it is to occupy, and the habits of the users. Water 

 closets at present in common use are essentially of two kinds, the valve and 

 the pan closet. The former has been long held in high esteem and is ex- 

 pensive ; the latter is the cheaper article, and 1 think undeservedly under- 

 valued. Both are open to the objections which I am about to point out. 

 As these apparatus perform an important part in sanitary improvement, it is 

 necessary to inquire how they can be made to fulfil their design in the best 

 possible manner, that is, to "carry away the soil instantly, not only into but 

 through the drain and sewer. This will obviously depend on the quantity of 

 water that is discharged along with the soil. Now, in the closets in use the 

 quantity of water retained in the basin and discharged with the soil is so 

 small as to be inadequate to carry the soil away, and reliance is generally 

 placed on the wash or stream that is sent after it. This stream is generally 

 discharged by a 1^ inch pipe, while the soil pipe is 3 inches in diameter, and 

 consequently it can have little flashing power. This is the defect in all 

 existing closets, the attention of the makers being directed invariably to the 

 increase of the wash, and not to the maintaining a sufficient quantity of 

 water in the basin. When, on the contrary, the basin retains a large quantity 

 of water, and the opening for discharge is made with the requisite sudden, 

 ness, the full flashing effect of the water is obtained, and the stream acts, as 

 in the other closets, in rinsing the basin and refilling it. It is on this prin- 

 ciple that the water closets shown in the figure are designed. Both have 

 answered completely. They combine the advantages of cheap.iess and sim- 

 plicity, and can hardly be put out of order. 



Fig. 10. Fig. n 



Figs. 10 and 11 show the closet adapted for the interior of a house, and 

 fig. 4 that adapted for a yard, a court, or public necessary. In the figures, a 

 represents the basin, which, with its supports and the pipes behind, e, are 

 formed of glazed earthenware in one piece. In the pipe at c is fixed a box 

 containing a collar of leathers, through which a brass or copper tube b slides ; 



37 



