Sewage Farm Comj)etition, 1879. 
7 
ceives the sewage of the borough of Bedford, which con- 
tains a population of 18,690 persons. Of the 183 a. Or. 22 p., 
153 a. 1 r. 2 p. are arable, and 29 a. 3 r. 20 p. pasture ; and 
153 acres of the farm are irrigated with sewage. The soil of 
the farm is light land, the subsoil being gravel. Experiments 
have been made with two samples of the soil, which show, on 
an average of three experiments with the most sandy soil, that 
it is capable of absorbing 33*6 per cent, of its weight in water, 
and that the more loamy soil would absorb 42'3 per cent, of 
its weight in water. As a rule, the smaller the percentage of 
water absorbed the greater is the percolating power of the water 
through the soil. 
The sum of 6950Z. has been expended upon this farm and 
upon the works necessary for lifting the sewage upon it, the 
expenditure being divided as follows : — 
£ s. d. £ s. d. 
Cost of land on wliicli pnmising works are) 250 q 0 
placed j ' 
Engine and boiler-liouse 779 15 2 
Pump, engines, &c 969 17 3 
Cast-iron delivery main 748 4 4 
Miscellaneous 352 18 10 
2850 15 7 
Compensation 53 1 0 
Farm buildings 603 11 8 
Labour, laying out farm, making roads, &c. 1213 9 1 
Horse hire for ditto 331 3 9 
Pipes, bricks, &c., used on farm .. 1647 19 7 
3192 12 5 
£6950 0 8 
The sewage from Bedford is brought by gravitation to tha 
site of the pumping station, which is situated upon land con- 
tiguous to the farm and adjoining the river Ouse, into which 
there is a storm-water overflow. When the river is in flood, we 
were informed that the sewers were liable to be flooded from the 
leakage into the outfall-sewer ; and at such times the sewage, 
with the exception of such portions of the solids as are retained 
by a grating, is turned directly into the river, as we found on 
our second visit to this farm, when the whole of it was passing 
into the river. At the pumping station there are a pair of 
horizontal high-pressure engines working centrifugal pumps, 
which are employed to lift the sewage on to the farm. The 
following figures show the acreage and the height to which 
the sewage is lifted : — 
A. E. P. 
30 0 21 — Sewage requires to be lifted 21 feet. 
123 0 1- „ „ 13 „ 
30 0 0— Not irrigated. 
