The Disposal of Sewage by Small Towns and Villages. 89 
sary to go through the different parishes of the Brixworth Union 
in detail, or to minutely explain the construction of their sewers. 
Sir Eobert liawlinson was consulted upon the different plans, 
and all the parishes were sewered upon the sound engineering 
principles which he has so zealously recommended as chief 
engineer of the Local Government Board. Where it was pos- 
sible, the closets of all the houses and cottages in the village 
were connected with the sewers, which are all constructed of 
glazed-earthen-socketed pipes, varying from G to 12 inches 
in diameter. The old drains, channels, and ditches are still 
used for carrying off the land drainage and surface-water from 
the roads. Very few accidents of any kind have happened to 
the sewers since their construction. Of three blocks, one 
was caused by cocoanut shell, and another by a turnip ; and if 
the presence of these articles in the sewers might possibly be 
due to accidental causes, the insertion of a horse-collar must 
certainly be classed among malicious and wilful obstructions. 
Beyond removing these impediments, very few repairs or altera- 
tions have been necessary, which shows how thoroughly well 
the sewerage-works have been executed in the Union. 
In every instance the sewage flows, by its own gravity, to a 
deeply-drained plot of land, surrounded by a clay bank, to pre- 
vent any overflow. These filter-beds are generally planted 
with osiers, but some with ash-poles, which are more easily kept 
clean, and, since the decline in the value of osiers, may yield a 
better return. On the other hand, osiers are preferable to ash- 
poles, for the hoeing and cleaning they require stirs the surface, 
and gives better filtration. Moreover, the osier is a grosser 
feeder, having a better appetite for filth, and converting more of 
it into vegetable growth. The annual cuttings expose the sur- 
face to the purifying influences of the sun, light, and air. If 
the filter-bed is of clay, some cultivation is very important, as 
without it the land is liable to crack, and the flocculent matter to 
go straight down into the drains. But the land under ash-poles 
can be dug once a year, and, if very stiff soil, might with advan- 
tage be covered with some friable soil, road-scrapings, &c. 
The sewage runs down a main carrier, and is diverted by 
the superintendent into the small channels which divide the beds, 
the only escape for the effluent water being through the deeply- 
laid under-drains. On the Brixworth osier beds, the quantity 
of solid matter deposited by the sewage has so raised the land 
that the top soil must be soon carted away. This deposit, 
although full of nettles and weeds, should be a capital dressing 
for grass-land, for it really contains as much goodness as the 
dried sludge which at some sewage-works, is converted into 
