322 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



water very lou";, but if you have au uu(ler<j;roun(l connection 

 between the well and your cesspool or privy you can keep up a 

 constant supply of able-bodied typhoid germs in your drinking 

 water and contract the disease. You know there are people who 

 are known as typhoid carriers, that is, people who may con- 

 tinue to expel the germs from their systems for years after hav- 

 ing recovered from an attack of the disease, and one of these 

 carriers might come to your house and leave the germs to do 

 their deadly work. So you see we must dispose of the sewage 

 in some way so that it cannot reach the Mater supply. 



The purpose of this little talk of mine is to tell those of you 

 who are interested how the sewage may be disposed of in a very 

 satisfactory manner in a large number of cases, but not in all 

 cases, for this plan has its limits. 



It is not designed for use in cities or towns where there is a 

 sewerage system, or where the premises are so limited that you 

 cannot construct the plant properly, or where there is danger of 

 ridding yourselves of a nuisance only to pass it on to your 

 neighbor. This system is what I call a farm sewage disposal 

 tank, but it has several names, and is constructed as you see on 

 the sketch. It is constructed of concrete and is made light and 

 air-tight, as the successful working of the tank depends on the 

 action of M'hat are called an.erobic bacteria, that work best 

 when kept dark and quiet and with little oxygen. The -bacteria 

 do their work by consuming the solids, except the mineral mat- 

 ter, and converting them into water which is disposed of in one 

 of the ways that we are to speak of. 



The successful working of the tank also depends on a con- 

 siderable quantity of water passing through it for flushing; and 

 because it will handle a large quantity of water, it makes pos- 

 sible the installation of bathtubs, flush closets, laundry tubs 

 and all of the modern plumbing conveniences that should be 

 placed in every house in the rural districts just as they are in 

 the city houses. These conveniences properly installed add so 

 much to the health and convenience of rural life that their 

 value is beyond estimation. Running water is necessary, of 

 course, to operate the closets, baths, etc., and can be obtained 

 in different ways. Where one has a supply of running water 

 from a spring on a hill that is well protected from pollution he 



