Constituents of Thames Mud. By Lionel S. Beale. 19 



results in the formation of compounds of a most offensive and dele- 

 terious kind, whicli are afterwards only very slowly converted into 

 harmless substances. If the sewage passed into the sea in such a 

 manner that it became quickly diluted, it is probable that for miles 

 round, at a considerable distance from the outlet, organisms of many 

 kinds would grow and multiply in vast numbers. Many of these 

 would become the food of fishes, which in their turn would be taken 

 and help to support the population which had already supplied 

 their sustenance. 



That objections may be advanced to some of the details of the 

 drainage system now in operation is no doubt true, but the experi- 

 ence of many years has conclusively proved that it is workable, and 

 the results of its working may, I suppose, be considered fairly satis- 

 factory. The practical working of the main drainage system seems 

 to have shown that if only sufiScient quantity of water for dilution 

 can be provided, and a good outlet to the sea obtained, the sewage 

 of a city, however large, might be quickly and thoroughly disposed 

 of, and the sanitary condition of houses, however numerous, at 

 least as far as sewage is concerned, assured, while the alterations 

 rendered necessary by the gradual increase of population, could be 

 carried out from time to time as required, by the enlargement of 

 the sewers and their extension towards and into the sea. 



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