XXV111 



drainage, carried out on the lines laid down by the model by-laws of the 

 Local Government Board at Home, and by the regulations of the 

 Adelaide Board of Health, is certainly the healthiest and most satisfac- 

 tory system for the disposal of all liquid refuse. 



On other than sanitary grounds, objections are also raised against the 

 adoption of water-closets, the principal being the quantity of water 

 required, and the cost of the system. As to the quantity of water 

 required — with proper arrangements less water is needed to flush closets 

 than to flush gutters. If all the houses of the city were fitted with 

 water-closets, with waste preventing cisterns, the quantity of water 

 required daily for flushing them would be 20 gallons a day out 

 of the 330 gallons furnished. The total quantity for the whole city 

 would consequently be 90,000gal. a-day. On the other hand, if the 

 whole city were drained by surfacegutters,thecleansing of them,as before 

 described, would require at least five gangs of scavengers. If these 

 gangs worked eight hours a-day they would have fire plugs open for 

 gutter flashing at least five hours of the eight. Of course the pressure 

 on the mains varies in various parts of the city, but if we take a mean 

 pressure of 150ft. and a mean length of 500ft. of 2in. pipe to each 

 plug, these five plugs would deliver 180,000gal. during the five hours; 

 so that, supposing that on one-fourth of the days of the year rain 

 would supply sufficient water for flushing without opening plugs, 

 street gutter flushing would require 45,000gal. a day more than 

 closet flushing. In addition to this, gutter flushing on private properties 

 would require a good deal of water, quite as much as sewer flushing, 

 so that the whole of the above 45,000gals. a day would be saved. 



As to the question of cost, there can be no doubt but that the 

 cheapest plan for conveying fascal matter from houses is by water 

 carriage. If the plan for removing pails now partially adopted by 

 the city be extended to all the houses, it is shown by my report that 

 the cost will be £9,000 a-year. It may be thought probable by some 

 that this amount might be reduced by profits on manufacturing 

 manure from the collected matter, but this is so problematical that 

 no independent engineer would counsel the corporation to expend 

 money on the erection of works and machinery for such a business. 



Some manure companies might offer to take the matter as a gift 



but they would have to be so carefully restricted in their manipulation 

 of it, so as not to cause a nuisance, that they could not be expected to 

 contribute towards the expenses of collection. The following considera- 

 tions will show this :— The real value of a manure is practically de- 

 pendent upon its dosages of nitrogen, and of soluble phosphoric acid, and 

 at home all artificial manures and natural guanos are sold upon 

 guaranteed dosages of these two fertilising elements. In the home 

 market the value of these was usually about Is. a pound for nitrogen, 

 and 4d. a pound for soluble phosphoric acid. Thus a guano containing 

 6 per cent, of nitrogen and 15 per cent, of soluble phosphoric acid would 

 be worth about £12 6s. a ton, as it would contain about 

 1341b. of nitrogen and 3361b. of phosphoric acid, and all the other 

 ingredients in the guano would be simply regarded as forming the 

 vehicle for conveying these two fertilisers to the land. Reckoned 

 in this fashion, and it is the only true commercial fashion, — what 

 would be the value of the manure that could be made of the collected 

 matter here ? In my report there is a reference to the method of 

 collection at Rochdale, where the most perfect of these pail systems 

 is at work. The matter collected is manufactured in the most scientific 

 manner, so as to retain all that is practicable of its ammonia and 

 phosphorus, and it appears from an account of a visit paid to the works 

 in 1883, by the Association of Municipal and Sanitary Engineers, that 

 the quantity so retained in the resulting manure is equal to a dosaga 



