﻿534 
  Proceedings. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  J. 
  P. 
  Maxwell 
  asked 
  if 
  tlie 
  cost 
  of 
  the 
  sewage 
  farm 
  at 
  Croydon, 
  which 
  was 
  stated 
  

   to 
  be 
  about 
  £1,000 
  per 
  annum, 
  included 
  interest 
  on 
  the 
  outlay 
  incurred 
  in 
  carrying 
  out 
  the 
  

   drainage 
  of 
  the 
  town 
  ? 
  He 
  thought 
  it 
  did 
  not, 
  but 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  interest. 
  

   It 
  was 
  important 
  to 
  make 
  this 
  doubtful 
  point 
  clear. 
  The 
  table 
  attached 
  to 
  the 
  paper 
  

   gave 
  the 
  cost 
  of 
  irrigation 
  at 
  Banbury, 
  a 
  town 
  of 
  12,000 
  inhabitants, 
  at 
  about 
  £150 
  

   per 
  annum. 
  This 
  of 
  course 
  could 
  not 
  include 
  interest. 
  

  

  The 
  Hon, 
  Mr. 
  Waterhouse 
  thought 
  Mr. 
  Thomson's 
  paper 
  of 
  great 
  value. 
  In 
  spite 
  of 
  

   Dr. 
  Newman's 
  remarks, 
  he 
  believed 
  the 
  time 
  was 
  not 
  far 
  distant 
  when 
  people 
  would 
  look 
  

   back 
  with 
  surprise 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  extravagant 
  and 
  wasteful 
  system 
  of 
  dealing 
  with 
  

   sewage. 
  He 
  thought 
  the 
  chief 
  objection 
  to 
  sewage 
  farms 
  was 
  the 
  small 
  scale 
  on 
  which 
  

   they 
  v/ere 
  managed. 
  Not 
  being 
  large 
  enough, 
  they 
  very 
  soon 
  became 
  " 
  manure 
  sick," 
  and 
  

   consequently 
  proved 
  a 
  failure. 
  

  

  The 
  Chairman 
  said 
  he 
  thought 
  it 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  said 
  there 
  were 
  two 
  systems 
  of 
  sewage, 
  

   the 
  wet 
  and 
  the 
  dry. 
  There 
  is 
  a 
  certain 
  quantity 
  of 
  water 
  brought 
  into 
  a 
  town 
  clean, 
  and 
  

   nearly 
  the 
  same 
  quantity 
  goes 
  away 
  foul 
  ; 
  it 
  is 
  necessary 
  to 
  have 
  a 
  system 
  of 
  sewers 
  to 
  

   carry 
  it. 
  As 
  the 
  water-closet 
  ejecta 
  only 
  constitute 
  one 
  per 
  cent, 
  of 
  the 
  nastiness 
  of 
  

   sewage, 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  advantage 
  in 
  having 
  a 
  separate 
  dry 
  system 
  for 
  the 
  sake 
  of 
  it, 
  and 
  if 
  

   there 
  is 
  one 
  it 
  does 
  not 
  lessen 
  the 
  need 
  of 
  having 
  a 
  wet 
  system 
  too. 
  All 
  the 
  dry 
  systems 
  are 
  

   objectionable 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  smells, 
  and 
  should 
  be 
  as 
  much 
  as 
  possible 
  avoided. 
  The 
  

   value 
  of 
  sewage 
  for 
  agricultural 
  purposes 
  was 
  nearly 
  nil, 
  and 
  none 
  of 
  the 
  chemical 
  pro- 
  

   cesses, 
  and 
  not 
  even 
  the 
  irrigation 
  process, 
  could 
  get 
  what 
  there 
  was 
  out 
  of 
  it. 
  The 
  

   effluent 
  water 
  was 
  quite 
  as 
  valuable 
  as 
  the 
  sewage 
  itself. 
  He 
  therefore 
  recommended 
  when 
  

   possible 
  to 
  throw 
  sewage 
  into 
  the 
  sea. 
  As 
  regards 
  the 
  sewage 
  of 
  Wellington, 
  he 
  thought 
  it 
  

   would 
  be 
  waste 
  of 
  money 
  to 
  incur 
  great 
  expense 
  in 
  taking 
  it 
  to 
  the 
  sea, 
  as 
  it 
  would 
  not 
  

   create 
  a 
  sensible 
  nuisance 
  in 
  the 
  harbom-. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  J. 
  T. 
  Thomson, 
  in 
  reply, 
  stated 
  that 
  the 
  subject 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  done 
  with, 
  but 
  

   would 
  call 
  for 
  continuous 
  attention. 
  With 
  regard 
  to 
  excreta 
  as 
  a 
  manure 
  he 
  could 
  bring 
  

   forward 
  17 
  years' 
  experience 
  in 
  support 
  of 
  its 
  value, 
  as 
  he 
  had 
  seen 
  it 
  used 
  and 
  applied 
  by 
  

   the 
  Chinese 
  in 
  Eastern 
  Asia. 
  He 
  could 
  not 
  agree 
  that 
  no 
  improvement 
  had 
  taken 
  place 
  

   during 
  these 
  last 
  ten 
  years 
  in 
  sanitary 
  science, 
  the 
  better 
  condition 
  of 
  cities 
  being 
  the 
  

   proof 
  to 
  the 
  contrary. 
  He 
  had 
  indicated 
  where 
  the 
  separate 
  sj'stems 
  were 
  applicable, 
  

   and 
  held 
  a 
  different 
  estimate 
  of 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  laboiu's 
  of 
  the 
  Glasgow 
  deputa- 
  

   tion 
  to 
  what 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  speakers 
  did. 
  Even 
  that 
  gentleman 
  had 
  supported 
  their 
  deduc- 
  

   tions 
  in 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  utilization 
  of 
  sewage. 
  The 
  evidence 
  was 
  that 
  the 
  poorer 
  classes 
  

   of 
  Europe 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  brought 
  to 
  use 
  the 
  water 
  system 
  ; 
  it 
  oonld 
  therefore 
  not 
  be 
  

   universal. 
  At 
  Crossness 
  he 
  found 
  the 
  water 
  of 
  the 
  Thames 
  very 
  filthy. 
  He 
  agreed 
  with 
  

   Mr. 
  Carruthers 
  in 
  his 
  report 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  outfalls 
  for 
  Wellington, 
  viz., 
  that 
  they 
  should 
  be 
  at 
  

   points 
  in 
  the 
  harbour 
  not 
  over 
  one 
  mile 
  from 
  the 
  outskirts. 
  But 
  in 
  his 
  paper 
  he 
  purposely 
  

   avoided 
  bringing 
  in 
  local 
  topics, 
  as 
  tending 
  to 
  deteriorate 
  from 
  an 
  unbiassed 
  position. 
  

  

  Eighth 
  Meeting, 
  lltk 
  January, 
  1879. 
  

  

  A. 
  K. 
  Newman, 
  M.B., 
  Vice-president, 
  in 
  the 
  chair. 
  

  

  New 
  Members. 
  — 
  J. 
  Brown, 
  W. 
  France, 
  G. 
  J. 
  Binns, 
  George 
  Ashcroft. 
  

  

  1. 
  " 
  List 
  of 
  Plants 
  collected 
  in 
  the 
  District 
  of 
  Okarita, 
  Westland," 
  by 
  

   A. 
  Hamilton. 
  (^Transactions, 
  p. 
  435.) 
  

  

  2. 
  "Notes 
  on 
  Mr. 
  Hamilton's 
  Collection 
  of 
  Okarita 
  Plants," 
  by 
  T. 
  Kirk, 
  

   F.L.S. 
  [Transactions, 
  p. 
  439.) 
  

  

  