128 The Paris Sewage Irrigation at Gennevilliers. 
New dwellings are being erected, and quite a new village, 
called Les Gresillons, has lately sprung up near the Clichj 
Bridge, and is chiefly inhabited by market-gardeners. 
Under these circumstances, it is but natural to find that the 
Paris municipal authorities, disregarding the petty opposition 
raised against the very existence of their scheme at Genne- 
villiers by a small knot of discontented or disappointed people, 
are pushing on their plans for the extension of their works of 
distribution, so as to dispose of the whole of the sewage. To 
that effect, they have applied for a declaration from the State 
that the scheme they have now selected to dispose of the Paris 
sewage through its absorption by the soil, is of utilite puhlique : a 
declaration which is equivalent to an Act of Parliament, autho- 
rising appropriations, and granting of all the powers, necessary 
to carry on works without any fear of individual opposition. 
The land available at Gennevilliers and Asnieres not being: 
sufficient to absorb all the sewage, it is now intended to cross 
the river again at St. Germain, and irrigate all the land lying 
on the verge of the forest along the river, and if need be, pour 
whatever is not used for agricultural purposes into the forest itself. 
This seems to be the only practical way of dealing with the 
serious difficulties in which the question is involved ; and, from 
the pressing necessity of the solution of the problem, in that 
way and in no other, it must at last prevail. 
The late lamented M. Ducuing had prepared a scheme to 
take the Paris sewage to the sea at Havre, along the course of 
the river Seine, thus repeating the scheme recommended of old 
by Ovid. 
" Dorice ab Iliaca placidus purgamina Vesta, 
Detulerit flavis in Mare Tibris aquis." 
But, on examination, that scheme was found impracticable, not 
only on account of the enormous expenditure of capital it would 
entail, but also on account of its engineering impossibilities. 
Such is the position of the sewage question in Paris. From 
what I have said, it may be fairly concluded that the happy 
solution of the grave difficulties in which the Paris Corporation 
found themselves involved when it turned out, against their 
fond expectation, that the River Seine did not remove the sewage 
along with its stream, but got liolph'ssly fouled and poisoned, 
has at last reached a point beyond the stage of groping exper' 
ments. The issue is now close at hand, and there cannot be 
any apprehension about its successful and satisfactory character, 
when we consider, on the one hand, the crushing urgency of the 
want and the completeness of the remedy, and on the other th 
irresistible power wielded by tlic great city's corporation, whic 
has determined to adopt that remedy. 
