248 
Village Sanitary Economy. 
quantity of earth for those who have none at command, or who 
having it, are not disposed to use it. His duties would extend 
to the periodical removal of the eartli when used ; indeed, 
the success of this system of sewerage altogether depends upoa 
the supply of a proper (juantity of earth in a proper condition,, 
and its removal at the proper time. By the substitution of earth, 
for water, the sewage of each dwelling might remain the private 
property of the villagers, if they value its fertilizing properties at 
their worth, and take care to remove and use the sullage in their 
gardens. If any inhabitants have no garden ground on which to 
apply it, — and this is not unfrequently the case, — the scavenger 
supplying the earth at the cost of the parish would remove and 
dispose of the sullage on the best terms he could for the general 
benefit. 
How far village authorities, in obedience to improved sanitary 
legislation, may be able to eradicate cesspools, create water- 
supply, and effectually discharge or innocuously apply sewage, 
remains to be seen ; the whole subject is so new in its economical 
and social bearings, that the future can only be conjectured. The 
scattered condition of villages, — the inferior value of house pro- 
perty in villages, — the contradictory results from sewerage works 
in towns, — the doubtful return to be obtained from small quan- 
tities of sewage, — and, above all, the want of intelligence charac- 
terising the village populations, impose immense difficulties,, 
though, adopting the words of Liebig, " even the most ignorant 
peasant is quite aware that the rain falling upon his dung-heap 
washes away a great many silver dollars, and that it would be 
much more profitable to him to have on his fields what now 
poisons the air of his house and the streets of the village ; but he 
looks on unconcerned and leaves matters to take their course^ 
because they have always gone on in the same way." * 
APPENDIX. 
Ant general code of sanitary bye-laws, applicable to small towns and villages, 
should set forth where the combined action of a community for sanitary 
works shall commence and the individual action of private owners cease. 
Combined action should extend to districts comprising several towns and 
villages, where the cost would be reduced by such combination ; and it should 
be left to the determination of a central authority whether such united 
districts should exist or not. 
The code should include regulations as to the minimum accommodation to 
be afforded in the dwellings of the labouring classes in both " towns " and 
* ' The Natural Laws of Husbandry,' p. 275, 1863. 
