98 . KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



time since the sewerage system was inaugurated, examined its workings, conferred 

 with the authorities and leading citizens, and considers that Mr. Chanute's claims 

 are fully justified. That city has for some years been growing nearly as fast as 

 this, and it is greatly due to the feeling of safety from epidemic diseases which 

 the improved sanitary condition of the city has given. 



Regarding the passing of storm-water under ground, Mr. Moore considers 

 1,000 feet (from the crest of the water-shed) as the maximum distance that it 

 should be allowed on the surface. As water runs slower and accumulates more 

 on flat than on steep grades, using this as an average we would have from two to 

 five blocks from the crest of the water shed in which it is unnecessary to con- 

 struct storm-water sewers. Mr. Conover, of Madison, Wisconsin, considers the 

 nuisance of storm water much less than Mr. Moore does, and the experience of 

 the writer in Memphis, being in the streets very much of the time for a year or 

 more, in all weathers, is similar. 



The City of Baltimore with 322,000 inhabitants has but eleven miles of 

 storm-water sewers, and the city engineer deems that but few more are necessary. 

 Mr. Moore cites complaints from other city officials to show that this sewerage is 

 very inadequate, but it seems that this is partly from the imperfect character of the 

 sewers as- well as the small amount. No advocate of the separate system would 

 expect to provide storm-water sewerage at so small a rate as a mile to 30,000 

 inhabitants. To reach all the lots in an average city as is needed for domestic 

 service, needs practically about the same amount of sewers as of water or gas 

 mains, averaging perhaps about a mile to each 1,000 inhabitants— less in densely 

 populated districts, more in those of less density. 



This city, as stated by Mr. Chanute, from its peculiar topography will be 

 more like a number of small towns than one continuous city in its requirements 

 for sewers. It follows from this that the amount of sewerage per capita will be 

 greater than in a more regular topography, and it is correspondingly more im- 

 portant that the best and most economical system be devised. Mr. Chanute in 

 this makes incidentally a strong point in that he says many engineers do not 

 realize that storm-water sewers are not needed everywhere. 



With regard to cleanliness of streets, so far as the experience of the writer 

 extends, it bears out Mr. Chanute's claim that the best sewered cities are not the 

 cleanest. Memphis without storm-sewers is very noticeably cleaner than this. 

 Our clay is but partly carried into our sewers by our occasional storms, and it is 

 very doubtful whether what is carried into them does not entail more expense 

 than it would be to cart it off, without having to bail it out of the catch-basins. 



This naturally brings us to the consideration of the value of these and the 

 office they are supposed to perform in keeping noxious exhalations out of the 

 streets. 



In passing through different portions of the city the writer has noticed in 

 cold weather the frosty air coming out of these catch-basins ; showing that the 

 traps had become so far emptied as to unseal them, and an average of these was 

 found to be about four out of ten. It may be questioned whether four catch- 



