950 
tirely covered with water, so that the 
water does not throw the soil against 
the side. The only advantage the siphon 
closet has over it is the greater force of 
discharge given by the siphon. 
The siphon closet, like the wash down 
closet, retains a certain amount of water 
into which filth is discharged. In addi- 
tion there is a siphon trap provided with 
a long ascending arm, so that the water 
in the trap is at a lower level than the 
water in the bowl. The water from the 
flushing cistern is directed not only into 
the bowl, but downward into the trap 
itself. As a result of this discharge into 
the trap a siphon action is produced 
whereby the contents of the bowl are 
sucked through the trap into the soil pipe 
without soiling the bowl. The seal— 
that is, the body of water which prevents 
the sewer gas from escaping into the 
house—is deep, broad, and always in 
plain sight. 
Flushing Apparatus 
The flushing cistern or tank for a 
water closet is always distinct from the 
main water supply. As a rule, a plain 
hardwood box, copper lined, is support- 
ed by brackets from the wall about 7 
feet above and communicating with the 
closet by a pige. This pipe is usually 
about 1% inches in diameter and should 
have as few bends and angles about it 
as possible. The cistern should hold 2 
or 3 gallons of water, all of which should 
be discharged at one time into the closet. 
The flush of the closet should be quick, 
powerful, and noiseless, thoroughly scour- 
ing all parts exposed to fouling. 
The flow into the cistern is regulated 
by a float valve which allows the tank 
to fill, the float rising with the water; 
when it reaches the proper level the float 
is entirely raised and the supply shut off. 
When the tank is emptied by opening 
the flush valve, which is lifted by pull- 
ing a chain attached to it, the process is 
repeated. The cistern is usually provided 
with an overflow connected with the flush 
pipe, so that if the ballcock fails to act 
properly in shutting off the water the sur- 
plus will escape through the water closet 
to the drain instead of overflowing. 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
Soil-Pipe Connections 
The best closets are provided with a 
brass serew soll-pipe connection, calked 
with lead and cemented into the base of 
the closet. The corresponding threaded 
brass coupling is soldered into the end 
of the lead bend which connects with the 
soil pipe. The closet is then screwed in- 
to the threaded coupling until the base 
rests on the floor. The closet may be 
removed at any time by simply unscrew- 
ing it. No bolts are necessary through 
the base flanges. In setting a water 
closet a neater finish can be obtained if 
a porcelain floor slab is put in with the 
finished floor. 
General Suggestions 
The important need of the work is sim- 
plicity, not only in detail, but in general 
scheme. Construct the water closet to be 
used as a urinal and slop sink and ar- 
range to draw water through the bath 
cocks placed at the top of the tub. It not 
only saves cost, but is a great advantage 
to have the fewest possible points requir- 
ing inspection and care and to secure the 
most frequent possible use of every in- 
let into the drainage system. Great care 
must be taken not to throw into the 
water closet hair, matches, strips of cloth, 
or anything which is insoluble and liable 
to clog the trap and soil pipe. A burnt 
match seems small in itself, but if lodged 
in the trap it will collect other things 
and cause serious obstruction of the out- 
let. Tissue toilet paper should be used. 
[ts cost would be exceeded many times if 
a part of the system needed to be taken 
out to free it from newspaper obstruction. 
It is often found more convenient to have 
the water closet with a separate en- 
trance from the hall and entirely inde- 
pendent from the bathroom. 
Traps and Vents 
Every plumbing fixture must have a 
trap to prevent the foul air from coming 
back from the drain through the waste 
pipe. In its simplest form a trap is a 
downward bend in a pipe, so deep that 
the upper wall of the pipe dips into the 
water held in the bend, the extent to 
which it dips being known as the depth 
