IS50."] 



TflE ClVIt ENGli^fiER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



§3§ 



will be to consoliilate iindffr one and the Same public management, the whold works for 

 the supply ot water, and for the drainage of the metropoUs. 



ait. That it 19 esseulial to the ccouomy and efficiency of all such works that the whole 

 distributory apparatui, small as well as large, service pipei, and house drains, lojiether 

 with watermains, public drains, and sewers, sbould be laid down under one system, and 

 kept in action under one supervision. 



40. Ttiat it appears from the esamination of improved works which have been in 

 operation fur a sufficient length of time to test their efficiency, and from defailed esti- 

 mates mnde by different competent engineering officers upon house-to-house examina- 

 tions of the worse conditioned districts, that combined works, comprising a water pipe 

 fur the service of each house, a sink, a drain, a waste pipe, and a soil-pan or watercloset 

 upjiaratus, may be laid down and maintained in action at a cost not exceeding, on the 

 average, \^d. per week, or less than half the average expense of cleansing the cesspool for 

 any single tenement. 



41. That the general survey being now sufficiently advanced, such works may be 

 executed lor separate districts, without waiting for the completion of any general measure 

 or plan of main sewers. 



Provision for Supply. 

 Having considered the evidence in relation to the qualities of the water requisite for 

 the sujipiy of llie metropolis, we find : — 



42. That, in addition to the properties of clearness and freedam from animal and vege- 

 table matter whicii is aj»t to pass into decomposition and to prove injurious to health, 

 ooe o( the most essential properties of water is softness, or freedom from lime and other 

 substances productive of what is termed hardness. 



43. That, having made careful and (.■xtensive inquiries, with the ai i of the department 

 of the Ordnance geological survey, as to the most suitable sources of supply, having had 

 those districts which appeared to be the most eligible specially exnmined by ourengiueer- 

 ing inspectori, with other aid, we find, upon their unanimous testimony, that from a 

 tract of upwaids of 150 square miles of gathering ground* there is derivable a supply 

 nearly double the present actual domestic consumption, of a ([uality varyiiif^ from one- 

 tenth to on»-third the hardness of Thames water, and of a purity equalling the general 

 average of the improved soft-water supplies of the diatricts which liave yet been brought 

 under examination. 



44. That water obtained from silicious sands, such as those which cover the tract above 

 described, is proved to be of a quality only equalled in excellence by the water dtrived 

 from mountain granite rocks, or slate rocks, or other surfaces cf the primitive 

 formations. 



45. That upon the estimates which have been obtained, this water may be brought to 

 the metropolis and delivered pure and filtered into eacli house on the system of constant 

 supply at high pressure, and, at the same time, on the plan of combined works, the 

 waste water may be removed by a proper system of drainage, at a rate not exceeding an 

 average of erf or Ad per week per house, or from 3U to 50 per cent, less than the present 

 charges for defective water supply alone. 



4fi. That the saving of soap, from the use of soft water in the operation of washing 

 (the expense of wishing linen and other clothes being estimated at an average of Xa. per 

 head per week to be nearly 5.000,OOOJ. per annum on the population of the metropolis) 

 would be probably equivalent to the whole of the raoney expended at present in the 

 water supply. 



47. Tbat the saving in tea from tha use of soft water may be estimated at about one- 

 third of the tea consumed in the metropolis. 



48. That other culinary operutions would he much facilitated by the use of soft water, 



49. Th.tl solt water is j)eL-uliarly suitable for balhi, as well as for washing. 



50. That soft water would prevent those incrustations and deposits In boilers and pipes 

 which render hard water unsuitable for manufacturing purposes. 



Recommendations of the Commission* 



We therefore advise the rejection of all the schemes promoted by water companies, or 

 by parochial vestries and associations, which adopt, as sources of supply, th i Thames 

 and its tributaries of the same degree of hardness, w«lls, and springs from the chalk or 

 other formations which impart the quality of hardness. 



And further, whilst we believe that Thames water taken up beyond the Influence of 

 the metropolitan drainage, and filtered, may be used without injury to the public health, 

 and may be employed temporarily until other sources can be laid under contribution, ws 

 advise that I'hames water, and other water of like quality as to hardness, be as early 

 as practicable abandoned. 



In respect to the existing companies which have no property in any of the sources of 

 water supply, but whose capital is invested in engines and distributory apparatus, we 

 recommend that their plants should be puichased. but we are not prepared to recom- 

 mend flny pre-appointed terras of purchase; and we find — 



51. That, if the management of the water supply be consolidated, five if not six out 

 of the seven principal pumping establishments may be discontinued, and an expenditure 

 of from .SU,l)OUi. to lUll.Out.U. per ajnum saved by consolidating the management of these 

 works and connecting ihem with combined works of drainaye and sewerage, and that fur- 

 ther reductions may be made in the expenses of these iaiter establishments. 



Having considered, as required under the metropolitan Sanitary Commission, t>e 

 means of supplying water to extinguish fires, and having examined the practical experi- 

 ence ot improved works in relations thereto in other towns, we find — 



52. That the inadequacy of the supplies of water under the intermittent aystem occa- 

 sions great danger to life and property, but that by arrangements which are practicable 

 under a system of constant supply at high pressure, the whole force of the water in the 

 mains may be brought to bear at any point for e.i;tinguishlng fire in from one to five 

 minutes, or in about one-fourth the time that it takes the best appointed fire-engines 

 now to gain the spot and be in action after the alarm of fire has been given. 



53. That, judging from the experience of various places where improved arrangements 

 have been put in practice, it appears that by the general adoption ot these arrangements 

 more than two-thirds of the fires which now occur in the metropolis may be extinguished 

 before any extensive damage takes place. 



64. That the insurance risks on life and property may be diminished in a yet greate^" 

 proportion. 



55. That the crime of incendiarism may be checked, and that these consequences 

 alone, were there no other advantages to be obtained, would render it worth while to 

 make the change from the intermittent to the constant system. 



5't. That these advantages may be best given by the same means by which a more 

 perfect and cheaper surface cleansing of courts, alleys, foot-pavemenis, and carriage-ways 

 than that by hand may be eftected— namely, by jets of water distributed under high 

 pressure. 



Proposed Plan for the Metropolis, 



Having considered the most eligible administrative provisions for the execution of the 

 required works, we concur in the principles recommended by the commission of inquiry 

 as to the best m»ans of improving the health of tuwns, and confirmed by Parliament in 

 the Public Health Act, viz.: — 



57. That the works of water supply, and those for drainage, or the removal of soil or 

 waste water, should be carried into effect by one and the same administrative body. 



5y. But that the magnitude of the metropolis, the diversity of its local jurisdictions, 

 and its position as the seat of government, and the occasional residence of persons from 

 all parts of the empire, the large minorities requiring protection, and the unaccustomed 

 magnitude of the requisite outlay, render distinct and special provisions necessary for It, 



• The district from which the proposed supply is to be taken \a Bagshot Heath. 



and that the amendments required may be most speedily, safely, and economically 

 executed by special or by provisional arrangements. 



5y. That a general survey under the direction of the engineers of the Board of Ord- 

 nance, and other surveys, trial works, and preparations essential to the safe and econo- 

 mical executions of combined works of water supply having been completed, under the 

 direction of the consolidated Metropolitan Suwers Commission, such combined works 

 may now be executed and maintained at a lower rate of charge per house than has here, 

 tofore been incurred for any of their various branches executed separately. 



00. Tiiat the initiation and executive direction of such works by members, however 

 hi- hly qualified, giving casual attendance at meetings held weekly or fortnightly, causes 

 grievous delay, and that in cases which measures for preventing disease or arresting its 

 progress require the utmost promptitude. 



61. That, coneidering the great loss and suffering Incurred by the delay In carrying the 

 required works into execution, it will be expedient to confide their further preparation 

 and superintendence to a few competent and responsible officers, of whom a certain 

 portion should be paid, giving their whole time and attention to the subject. That the 

 VI hole of these works be carried into execution by contract upon open tenders, not 

 merely for the construction of the works, but for maintaining them In good action and 

 rtpriir for terms of years. 



t!2. That tha means provided by the Public Health Act for giving publicity to plans 

 and estimates of intended works, with opportunities of suggestion and appeal, be 

 extended to the works proposed for the sanitary improvement of the metropolis. 



()1. That the proper execution of the works will be best guaranteed, the responsibility 

 of the persons charged with their execution best insured, and the interest of the poorest 

 classes of the population {the inhabitants of tha most depressed districts, who, though 

 they pay no direct local rates, pay heavy rents), will be best guarded in the special case 

 ot the metropolis, at all events provisionally, by the direct control of Parliament ; the 

 importance of the proposed measures to the health, convenience, and comfort of larg« 

 misses of the population, the magnitude of the required constructions, the amount of 

 outlay, and the dangers of failure and waste as well as delay being, from experience of 

 separate works already constructed, such as to render it necessary that the highest order 

 of continued and undivided attention and responsibility should he secured for the 

 (xecutiOD of such works as this Report recommends. 



ROYAL SCOTTISH SOCIETY OF ARTS. 



Ajjril 22. — Patrick Wilson, Esq., ia the Chair. 

 The following communications were made : — 



1. On a New Method of inducing an upward Current in the Upcast Shaft 

 of Coal-Mines, to promote Ventilation. By Mr. J. Seton Ritchie, Edin- 

 burgh. — The author adverted to the vast numbers, as workers, and depend- 

 ants on them, interested in the adoption of means by which i^reedom from 

 danger in coalmines maybe attained; then, mentioning the theories by 

 which mine-explosions are accounted for, he noticed the numerous methods 

 which have been proposed for maintaining mines in a state of safety, and 

 particularly the method in general use of ind-'cing an upward current of the 

 air of the mine by means of a fire at the lower part of the upcast shaft, that, 

 as the provision of a separate shaft for the removal of the air of the mine 

 is prevented by the great additional expense, even though mechanical ap- 

 pliances may appear highly calculated to maintain a powerful and steady 

 current, difficulty exists in their application, as interfering with the free 

 working of the produce of the mine carried on by the upcast shaft, which 

 is further increased in making provision for continual reliance on them, 

 as spare appliances would require to be provided. The author stated that 

 the method now proposed is free from this obstacle. The current is induced 

 by means of pipes heated by water circulating in them, fixed round the cir- 

 cumference of the shaft in such manner within the line of it, as shall 

 shield them from injury, leaving sufficient exposure of them to communicate 

 their heat to the air in the shaft ; the furnaces for heating the circulating 

 water being at the nearest convenient distance, at a considerably lower level 

 than the orifice of the shaft, as on the depth at which they are placed will 

 depend the perpendicular extent of the upper part of the shaft around which 

 the pipes may be placed. Certainty of action could, with ordinary caution, be 

 relied on, as, even if one of the circulations ceased, from any cause, to act, 

 the others would during that time continue in action. A similar applica- 

 tion might also be made at the lower orifice of the shaft, and even extended 

 in some measure to the workings -, or the fires now in use at the foot of the 

 shaft might be retained, and the application alone made at the upper part 

 in aid, to promote greater certainty and steadiness in the current. It was 

 submitted that a similar application might be made of steam as of water. 

 It was pointed out that the maintaining of the upward current in the shaft 

 is hut one section of the keeping the mine in a state of safety — that, though 

 this will never he effected without a steady and powerful extracting current 

 in the shaft, the latter will he of little avail, unless accompanied by care- 

 fully-laid-out air-courses throughout the mine itself, properly modified as 

 the working advances, attention on the part of those appointed to open and 

 close the doors which it becomes necessary to erect in them to direct the 

 currents, and attention that that the building off of exhausted sections of 

 the mine be as frequently as possible accomplished, that they may not 

 become next to permanent reservoirs of noxious gases, ready to lend their 

 aid to a general explosion. 



2. Description of a Water-Meter. By Mr. F. -\. Buckn'all, New Swindon, 

 Wilts. — The author stated that the object of this meter is the measurement 

 of the supply of water to private dwellings, breweries, &c. It consists 

 chiefly of a fan-shaped bucket-wheel, revolving within a cylindrical case, and 

 kept water-tight by means of packing, made of India-rubber, leather, or 

 other elastic substance, supply and delivery pipes, and wheel and pinion 

 gear, which is connected with an index plate. The revolving action of the 

 meter is maintained by the gravity of the wheel being constantly greater on 

 the one side than on the other, owing to the continuous running ofi' of the 



