July 19, 1912] 



SCIENCE 



85 



which he was so long a member. Some might 

 have wished these quotations to have been ab- 

 stracted and condensed, but most engineers 

 will very much appreciate having so many 

 important works set forth in such a conveni- 

 ent form for reference. While the author has 

 quoted largely he has not failed to express his 

 own ideas on most questions at issue. On 

 matters of doubt he has set forth the argu- 

 ments and opinions of experts on both sides. 

 Perhaps the most commendable feature of 

 Mr. Fuller's book is his point of view. It is 

 not a mere description of methods used for 

 attempting to purify sewage, it is far broader 

 than that. This is shown by the fact that 

 fully half of the book is devoted to the com- 

 position of sewage, its decomposition, sewage 

 bacteria and the disposal of sewage without 

 treatment into inland streams, lakes and tidal 

 estuaries. It is again shown by the use of 

 the term " sewage treatment " in place of 

 the misused and very misleading term 

 " sewage purification." This change the re- 

 viewer heartily approves and believes that it 

 alone will do much to place the matter of sew- 

 age disposal in the right light for those who 

 are interested in the subject from a sanitary 

 standpoint only. The sooner that the medi- 

 cal fraternity and the health officers realize 

 the limitations in the sanitary efficiencies of 

 some of the processes of treatment employed, 

 the more rapid will be the rational develop- 

 ment of the art. The point of view of the au- 

 thor is expressed by the opening words of the 

 sixth chapter, where he says " the disposal of 

 sewage by treatment in works of artificial con- 

 struction becomes necessary in some cases 

 through the failure of the dilution method to 

 meet local requirements." And again in the 

 last chapter, where he says : " One of the most 

 conspicuous facts to be borne in mind is that 

 there is no standard method of procedure for 

 the treatment of sewage, which can be uni- 

 formly applied to a large number of problems 

 with a view to securing satisfactory hygienic 

 results at least cost. Various partial methods, 

 arrangements or devices are suitable in some 

 combination or another for a large number of 

 problems. But there is no cure-all or appli- 



ance which can be installed for all problems. 

 Each set of local conditions should be carefully 

 studied, in order to secure proper hygienic 

 efficiency with due regard for economy of con- 

 struction and operation, before new works 

 are adopted, or extensions made to existing 

 works." 



Another good feature of the work is its 

 historical point of view. The reader can not 

 fail to be impressed with the fact that the art 

 of sewage treatment has been a gradual evo- 

 lution of methods to fit particular conditions 

 and that there are yet many problems to be 

 solved. Nor can he fail to observe how the ad- 

 vances in scientific thought in the realm of 

 bacteriology and physical chemistry are pro- 

 foundly affecting actual practise. An entire 

 chapter is devoted to the development of ex- 

 periment stations and a table is given showing 

 that during the last twenty-five years nearly 

 $900,000 has been spent in this country for 

 experimental studies relating to the purifica- 

 tion of water and sewage. Especial tribute is 

 paid to the pioneer researches of the Massa- 

 chusetts State Board of Health Experiment 

 Station at Lawrence. The historical aspect of 

 the book is well shown in the treatment of the 

 problem of sewage disposal in the harbors of 

 Boston and New York. 



It is probable that the first half of the book, 

 in which the more general aspect of the dis- 

 posal of sewage by dilution is considered, will 

 be more appreciated by engineers than the sec- 

 ond half, devoted to methods of treatment, for 

 the reason that data regarding the former 

 subject have never before been so thoroughly 

 compiled. The layman, however, will derive 

 benefit from the systematic descriptions of 

 processes in the second half of the book. 



To describe the book more specifically, 

 there are twenty-six chapters, devoted to the 

 following subjects: Composition of Sewage; 

 Aerobic and Anaerobic Decomposition of 

 Sewage; Sewage Bacteria as Related to Of- 

 fensive Odors; Sewage Bacteria as Related to 

 Public Water Supplies; Sewage as Related to 

 Shellfish; the Problem of Sewage Disposal; 

 Experimental Methods as Applied to Sewage 

 Disposal Problems; Dilution in Inland 



