1847.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



69 



tanks or reservoirs above mentioned. Fourthly, in the use and applica- 

 tion of chemical agents for the purpose of precipitalins the solid aDimal 

 and veget.ible matter contained in sewage water, and also for the purpose 

 of absorbing and combining with the gases evolved in such sewage water 

 and the animal and vegetable matters contained therein or precipitated' 

 therefrom. 



The first part of the invention relates to the construction of tanks or 

 reservoirs. Fig. 1 is a transverse vertical section, and Fig. 2 a plan, of 

 three tanks or reservoirs, in which the mass of sewage is to be collected • 

 also a section of buildings to be erected over the tanks or reservoirs in 

 ■which the vapours and gases arising from the tanks are to be collected and 

 condensed, or combined with other substances. A, the extremities of 

 the sewers, through which the sewas matter is to pass, communicating 

 with the tanks B, in such a manner that the sewage water will run freely 

 into them. The sewers A have sluices C, opened or closed at pleasure, 

 so as to allow or prevent the flow of the sewage water and matter into the' 

 tanks as may be desired. 



The tanks or reservoirs, B, may be constructed of brick, stone, or 

 ether fit materials, and of any number, form, and depth, as may be found 

 most suitable and convenient, according to their local position and the 

 quantity of sewage matter to be treated or operated upon. It is preferred 

 that each tank should be made in the form of a parallelogram, the sides to 

 •which shall be three times the length of the ends, and varying in depth 

 from twelve to lifteen feet. The bottoms of these tanks or reservoirs must 

 be so constructed as to drain down to some one or more places where a 

 filter or filters is or are to be placed for draining and drying the solid mat- 

 ter in the tanks, and ivith proper drains under such filters for carrying off 

 the water passing through them. It is preferred to construct the bottoms 

 of the tanks with double inclined planes, and with drains running down 

 the centres of the tanks, and into which the water in the tanks will drain. 

 Over each of these drains is placed horsehair cloth, or some other porous 

 and filtering material, to be supported upon gratings. The drains under 

 the filters must be made to communicate with a cistern or other receptacle 

 for receiving the filtered water, and so that the water may run freely from 

 them into such cistern or receptacle. 



The sewage water from time to time poured into the tanks B, after being 

 deprived of the solid animal and vegetable matter contained therein, is to 

 be let off' through the floodgates, C, into the water-ways, C-, so as to 

 l»ave the precipitated animal and vegetable matter, remaining in the tanks 

 to be afterwards treated as hereinafter described. The floodgates, c' 

 must be placed about three feet from the bottoms of the tanks" so 'as to 

 leave a convenient space below the level of the floodgates. 



M'hen a suflicient quantity of animal and vegetable matter has been col- 

 lected in a tank, the floodgate is closed, so as to prevent any further flow 

 of sewage into the tank until after it has been emptied of its solid con- 

 tents. The filtered water contained in the cistern, or other receptacle 

 must then be pumped up from time to time, or got rid of in some other 

 way,so that the drains under or communicating with the filters may be 

 kept free from water, and the filters so left free to act efliciently. 



In order to facilitate the process of depriving the solid matter in a tank 

 of Its moisture, a partial vacuum under the filters is formed, so that the 

 pressure of the air upon the contents of a tank may have the effect of 

 drawing the water contained in it down through the fillers into the drains 

 below; and for the purpose of producing and keeping up such a partial 

 vacuum, the patentee either uses an air-pump for exhausting the air in the 

 drains under the filters, from time to time, in the same manner as air-pumps 

 are generally applied to such purposes ; or he produces and keeps up such 

 a partial vacuum by means of the pump by which, from lime to time, the 

 filtered water is to be pumped out of the receptacle. 



The tanks B may be subdivided into two or more compartments by divi- 

 sions, B'. The line E, E, fig. I, represents the ground Ime, or level of the 

 ground, showing how much of the building is to be raised above ground. 



The second part of the invention relates to the buildings above the tanks 

 already described, F. Fig. 1 shows the walls of a buildings erected over 

 a set of tanks. G, the roofs furnished with a number of openings H, 

 through which the air may escape. I, are ceilings, furnished with one or 

 more of Day s Patent Archimedian Ventilators J, or other similar ma- 

 chinery, for effecting an upward current and drawing off the vapours and 

 gases evolved from the tanks, and carrying them up into the chambers K, 

 to be condensed or combined with some chemical agents or matters as 

 hereinafter described. 



In Ihe chambers, KS are fixed a number of uprights of wood, C^, and 

 to the.^e a number of spars are secured in a lougiludiiial position, on which 

 the salts or oti.er substances formed from the vapours or gases may rest 

 and attach themselves, as hereinafter described. 



The third part of the invention relates to the construction and arrange- 

 ment of machinery and apparatus to be used in distributing and depositing 

 chemical agents over the mass of sewage collected in tanks or reservoirs 

 which^ariangement consists of trams or rails, fixed along the edges of each 



side of the tanks or reservoirs 



oirs B, on which suitable carriages may travel. 

 The operator will, by these means, be enabled to distribute the chemical 

 agents or substances equally over the whole or any part of the surface of 

 tne contents of the tanks or reservoirs, as may be required. And for the 

 purpose of more equally distributing the contents of the wagon over the 

 surface of the matter in a tank, the bottom of the wagon may be con- 

 structed like the hopper of a flour mill, and have motion given to it in the 

 same manner, or any other similar means may, if thought fit, be adopted 



fnwi'!!f.'°t^ "'"^ ■"""!'" "''•""' ''"??'■■ ^'^'f 'i'^ting f»r the purpose of distri- 

 butiug or throwing down its contents into the tank below 



m,l»„,ti;'" '.''?','' "^ "'* '"™"'i°» '•elates to precipitating all the solid ani- 



rTin into the'^l'Inl "'T,' """''"u*^ '" ""^ ^^"''"'^ water^from time to time 

 run into the tanks, and to cause the vapours and gases arising therefrom 



hamirs Th"'' ^''r''"!:°' --bined, with s«me°other substL esTn th" 



s a1 e I ne i°™- r ", 'h ^"'r''' ''^'''•*'« "f "'"<=' commonly termed 



;e;ffo;Tffe':ti';gU.'"''''""°^ '='"^^^'^^' ■■'•"' "-' '''«'='->' ''-"'-I 



For the condensation of the vapours and gases arising from the mass of 



rudrfa'o'o .'r "'"P"''" '° "^'^ "''''""' ^'^ "> "■""^ -i"' and™ condense all 

 ^uch vapours or gases as are composed of ammonia, or sulphurretted hy- 

 drogen, which are evolved whilst sewage matter is collecting or under "he 

 chemical treatment in the tanks or reservoirs. Hydrochloric acid gas and 

 some other chemical agents, may perhaps be capable of Ircting the 'con- 

 deusation or absorption of the various vapours and gases a.lsing from 

 sewage matter but chlorine gas is preferred, because ^of its efficacy an" 

 the facility and economy with which it may be obtained 



Ihe solid animal and vegetable matter remaining in a tank after the 



hHftp7'"''h i" '"'iV 'T ^r" '^""""'^ '"" "f •' ^^ "eaas of filters, as 

 before described, ought to be dried so as to prevent the chemical decompo- 

 sition of it, and render it fit for being transported to distant places, for 

 application to agricultural or other useful purposes 



This solid matter ought first to be formed into pieces of suitable shapes 

 and dimensions, and then dried by any means which may be most conve- 

 nient according to circumstances. 



SHIPS' LOGS AND SOUNDING MACHINES. 



Thomas VFalker, of Birmingham, stove maker, for " Improvements in 

 ships logs and soK«rfi«gs."— Granted June 22; Enrolled December 22 

 1S46. ' 



These improvements relate to apparatus for registering the speed of ves- 

 sels and sounding depths at sea. The first to registering the speed of ves- 

 sels by external or internal rotators. Fig. 1, shows the rotatory placed on 



Fig. 3, 



Fig. S. 

 one side of the vessel, with its index above Ihe side of the ship, d is a 

 suitable metal tube, inclosed in the connecting medium. suchTj rope or 

 cfiain ; a, is the rotator ; *, Ihe rope, with a universal joint attached Fig. 

 7^T.eVZhZ: 'I <^'---^'=':'l'li''" of rotator for registering the speed of 



cunent^, whicu is contained in ac.rcular box or tube, a, having flan-es for 



showniu hecut; </, is a vacuum pipe, for the purpose of (=slractin- the 

 air and filling the tubes with water, to admit of a passing cnTrent throu ' h 

 Hie blades A, h ■ ^. ,s the water line. The whole apparatus bein" above T. 

 more road, y admits of repairs. Figs. 3, 4 and 5, represent the a°ppratioa 

 of the rotator withiu the weight or cylindrical metal e. a is the rotator ; b, 



:9* 



