Stale of the Sewers and Water Supphj of Paris. 
339 
this sopnnvtion, whole or partial, shall bo inaintaincd ; and con- 
sequently wlu^ther the night-soil of Paris sliall retain, as hereto- 
fore, all its solid and liquid constituents, or only the former; and 
again, to what extent these fertilisers shall henceforth be diluted. 
After the great works undertaken to procure a water-supply 
from the Seine, from the Canal de I'Ourcq, and from the great 
Artesian well, eyery householder who is willing to pay the rate 
can have a supply of water for water-closets as well as other uses. 
The water compan}-, however, endeavours to regulate and limit 
the supply contracted for, by making only such an aperture as 
will allow the amount paid for to pass in a continuous stream into 
an inner cistern in twenty-four hours. The following -is the 
estimated rate of consumption : — 
Litres. Gallons. 
For a man 30 G^'j, 
., carriage 75 16J 
horse or cow, &c 100 22 
,, water-closet 75 16j 
„ garden or court, per square metre (]0^ I'eet) 5 l^j 
A contract may be entered into for 500, 1000, 1500, &c., litres 
per day, for an annual payment of 60 fr. for Seine water, or 50 fr. 
for Ourcq water, per 500 litres (110 gallons). The use of the 
water-closet is then inaugurated ; how is it henceforth to be regu- 
lated ? 
The builder who contemplates making a house must commu- 
nicate to the Board his plan of operation ; the choice open to him 
will depend on the locality. The new Boulevard de Sebastopol, 
with its costly and magnificent system of sewers, is the type of 
the new regulations. If the house be in that quarter, a separate 
pit must be provided for the soil ; but it will be so connected 
with the main sewer that the nightman will have access to it 
therefrom, and without entering or disturbing the dwelling will 
first deodorise and then let off the fluid into the sewer, and after- 
wards convey away the solid " soil " through a passage in this new 
subterranean town to the cart, and to the reservoir. Otherwise, 
by another plan under consideration, the soil, cScc, would drop 
into a cylindrical cistern, divided .vertically by a perforated 
metal screen or sieve, through which the fluid percolates of itself 
into the sewer. In either of these cases the fluid elements are 
lost, and if these contain the higher percentage of nitrogen, the 
loss may be much more than pro rata. 
It remains to be seen whether, since this magnificent network 
of drains has been already organised to retain the fluid as well 
as solid excrement, and other means have been provided for dealing 
with the soil, it will pay by enlarging the pits, emptying them 
more often, and restricting the supply of water used in the closet. 
One important step has been taken towards this end. A tank 
z 2 
