THREE] GROWING THE HOUSE 



The dirt to be used should be exceedingly dry, and 

 be used freely. The pit should be emptied once in 

 three months." Such a provision as this is open to 

 the dangers of neglect; and it is also open to the dif- 

 ficulty that it does not take care of kitchen waste 

 and slops. One of the government bulletins warns 

 us that, "The supposition that because the privy 

 stands on slightly lower ground than the top of the 

 wall, and that because the well cannot become in- 

 fected by surface drainage, there is no danger to be 

 apprehended from the privy, is all too common. It 

 is practically impossible to judge by the surface of 

 the ground, of the various strata of soil below, some 

 of them capable of conveying sewage contamination 

 several hundred feet. The very fact that the liquid 

 in a privy vault seeps away, is sufficient evidence 

 that it has struck some porous strata and is going 

 somewhere; and the frequent cases of typhoid and 

 diphtheria, on what should be thoroughly healthful 

 farms, are ample proof that it finds its way to the 

 source of drinking water. Another fact that should 

 not be lost sight of is, that wells are usually fed by 

 underground courses, and one of these may pass 

 directly beneath the privy vault." 



I never saw a dozen decent cellars in my life. 



[41] 



