132 



♦ KNOWLEDGE 



[Feb. 13, 1885 



CHAPTERS ox MODERX DOMESTIC 

 ECONOMY. 



XV.— THE FKAIIEWOEK OF THE DWELLING-HOUSE. 

 GENERAL PRIXCIPLES OF CONSTRUCTION — (concluded). 



OUE necessary digression, or rather revei-sion to the 

 question concerning the rational disposal of house- 

 hold waste-waters last week, prevented us from completing 

 our remarks upon the furniture of the ordinary form of 

 closets. In a former article, we gave a full digest of the 

 principles to be observed regarding the relative position 

 and construction of those compartments both within and 

 without the framework of the dwelling-house. 



The principles to be observed with regard to closet 

 furniture may be formulated, in order of importance, 

 thus: — (i.) Absolute protection from the entry of sewer- 

 g^s. There are three ways in which sewer-gas can enter 

 the house through the closet-fittings ; (a) indirectly, on 

 account of the defective veutilatiou and trapping of either 

 the soil-pipe, or the house-drain, or improper passage of the 

 latter into the street sewer — in any case, foul air is liable 

 to be forced through the apparatus ; (p) it follows that 

 provision must be made against such an occurrence, and 

 hence the fixtures of the closet should themselves be ven- 

 tilated and trapped ; (y) in case of accident to the closet, 

 or, as it often hapj'ens, to the connecting-pipe between it 

 and the soil-pipe, a trap ought to Lnteivene, and prevent 

 the transmission of poisonous gas into the house. 



(ii.) The form of apparatus must be such as to secure 

 thorough cleanliness, and here (a) the material out of 

 which it is made ought to offer the utmost resistance to 

 the clinging of dirt ; (fl) the wash-down appliances should 

 be so disposed that unnecessary waste of water ought to 

 go hand-in-hand with thorough flushing, so that, in extreme 

 cases, decomposing materials cannot by any possibility 

 retain a hold anywhere ; (y) every part must admit of being 

 taken to pieces and easily cleaned when desired, and this, 

 therefore, necessitates provision for inspection, as well as 

 gas-tight jointing of the detachable parts. 



As house-slops are generally emptied into the basin, the 

 apparatus ought to possess not only a hinged seat, but a 

 special slop-top. In all cases the top and the seat should 

 rest accurately upon the rim of the basin, otherwise liquid 

 excreta is apt to find its way into the safe beneath the 

 seat, and outside the apparatus altogether, there to decom- 

 pose and puzzle, not only the inmates of the house, but 

 even professional plumbers, as to the origin of the 

 nuisance. 



An adequate history of the rise and progress of the 

 hydraulic system would necessarily include the special 

 development of closet furniture ; and this we shall trace in 

 our future illustrations. In its early days, when house- 

 hold cesspools were in vogue, the furniture consisted of 

 merely a perforated seat ; then came a seat with a basin 

 and discharge-pipe, and water was naturally used to rinse 

 out the simple arrangement. The necessity then arose, in 

 more or less densely-populated di-tricts, for the continuous 

 removal of the waste matters, aLd thus the great water- 

 sewerage system was established. As in all other depart- 

 ments of domestic economy, surrounding circumstances 

 prevailed unequally to modify the details, and every form 

 of apparatus may now be found in use, from the primitive 

 seat and cess-pit to the elaborate " Lambeth " valvate and 

 flush-out machines, leading to complicated systems of tubes. 



Most unfortunately, there are still hundreds and thou- 

 sands of cases in our very midst, where the hydraulic 

 system can never hope to become perfect. In the neigh- 

 bourhood of Kingston, Mortlake, Eichmoud, and, indeed; 



throughout the whole borderland of the Thames, new 

 streets are constantly being opened and houses erected. 

 Many such streets have continued year after v'ear without 

 any public sewer at all, and yet all the houses are furnished 

 with house-drains. "Where does all the sewage go to ' As 

 an instance we may refer to a street not far distant from 

 Richmond, as a typical example of the rule, and not the 

 exception, in outer London. The houses are all well-built, 

 averagely well-ventilated, and "provided with every con- 

 venience ; " they let well, and yield an income of from £iO 

 and upwards ^jer amium, so that they are not to be classed 

 amongst the dwellings of the poor, which are in an even 

 more deplorable condition. One of the " conveniences " 

 consists in a house-drain from each house which joins that 

 of one or two neighbours, to discharge into a concealed 

 cess-pit beneath the pathway in front of the dwelling, and 

 these accumulations are cleared out at the caprice of the 

 landlord, to suit his own convenience and pocket, for there 

 is no sewer, and no prospect of a sewer. 



Olfshoots from that comparatively salubrious street 

 consist of smaller houses in subdivided rows, which are of 

 the average rental value of £20 a year. The sections of 

 each row are furtished with a common drain, into which 

 long hopper-basins, without the shadow of a trap, open ; 

 so that, in the event of zymotic disease in one house, all 

 the others are open to attack through the most oflensive 

 and potent pathway that the germs can take, and thus all 

 the most favourable conditions for the outbreak of an 

 epidemic are fulfilled. At intervals the drain gives off 

 etUuent branches, which terminate in cesspools beneath the 

 pavement or its substitute, and constantly give trouble. It 

 is only a few days since a case came before our notice in 

 which a foot-passenger and an inquiring policeman came to 

 grief over one of these filthy pools. 



Xow, it is out of the power of the local authorities to 

 prevent these evils unless they incur the enormous expense 

 of immediately constructing public sewers in every existing 

 deficient strett. They cannot make present house-owners 

 subscribe to this without gross injustice, but they can do so 

 for future streets. If they do put such a measure into 

 force, it is obvious that no new streets would be erected, at 

 least, not for the housing of the working classes, and they 

 would, therefore, slowly, but surely, drive back the crowd 

 to the metropolis, there to make things more hideous in the 

 already overcrowded back-slums. But even if they could, 

 by an almost impossible effort, provide a sewer for each 

 street without an increased taxation, what are they to do 

 with the superabundant filth ? As we have taken a con- 

 crete example, in illustration of our remarks — which are 

 nevertheless true for every other suburb of London — let any 

 of our readers question the Board at Richmond. He wdll 

 learn, that without any accession to the present sewage, 

 they are in a dilemma, and cannot hope to escape 

 therefrom in these unregenerate days, when even puny 

 miraculous efTorts are only attempted by knaves and 

 jugglers. Yet, there is a perfect, simple, let us say 

 natural remedy open to them and suflicient to meet all 

 wants, — financial, sanitary, and social ; and that power for 

 good is to be sought for in the " dry system." 



This brings our discussion of general principles to a close ; 

 in our next we shall institute a series of practical illustra- 

 tiocs in support of those principles. 



The Australasian statistics for the vearlSSS have been published 

 bj' the Government Statist of Victoria. The total population of 

 the seven Australasian colonies is estimated at 3,012,451, distri- 

 buted as follows :— Victoria, 917,310 ; New Sonth Wales, 843,389 ; 

 Queensland, 267.865 ; South Australia, 299,012 ; Western Australia, 

 31,233; Tasmania. 12-1,350; and Xew Zealand, 529,292. 



