THREE] GROWING THE HOUSE 
The dirt to be used should be exceedingly dry, and 
be used freely. The pit should be emptied once in 
three months.” Such a provision as this is open to 
the dangers of neglect; and it is also open to the dif- 
ficulty that it does not take care of kitchen waste 
and slops. One of the government bulletins warns 
us that, “The supposition that because the privy 
stands on slightly lower ground than the top of the 
wall, and that because the well cannot become in- 
fected by surface drainage, there is no danger to be 
apprehended from the privy, is all too common. It 
is practically impossible to judge by the surface of 
the ground, of the various strata of soil below, some 
of them capable of conveying sewage contamination 
several hundred feet. The very fact that the liquid 
in a privy vault seeps away, is sufficient evidence 
that it has struck some porous strata and is going 
somewhere; and the frequent cases of typhoid and 
diphtheria, on what should be thoroughly healthful 
farms, are ample proof that it finds its way to the 
source of drinking water. Another fact that should 
not be lost sight of is, that wells are usually fed by 
underground courses, and one of these may pass 
directly beneath the privy vault.” 
I never saw a dozen decent cellars in my life. 
[41] 
