4 = 14, 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[November, 
Earth-Closets in. Country Houses. 
The Agriculturist was the first paper in the 
country to call attention to the use of Dry Earth 
as a disinfectant in private closets; and an arti¬ 
cle in our Agricultural Annual for 1868, “ Sew¬ 
ers and Earth-closets in their relation to Agri¬ 
culture,” was the first complete statement made 
here of the mode of operating the system, and 
of its many advantages. Since this publication, 
the Earth-closet has made very rapid advances, 
and is fast taking its place as an essential ac¬ 
cessory of country houses. It is not our pur¬ 
pose in this article to say anything about the 
contrivance patented by its English inventor, 
and manufactured by the Company at Hartford, 
beyond the statement that this apparatus seems 
to be simple and effective. For further informa¬ 
tion about it, the reader is referred to our adver¬ 
tising pages. What we do design to do is to 
show how the system is to be applied to the re¬ 
quirements of householders, without reference 
to the apparatus by which the principle is ap¬ 
plied ;—the principle being to throw down after 
each use of the closet about a pint and a half of 
sifted dry earth. Whether it is thrown by me¬ 
chanical appliances or by hand is a question of 
convenience only,—not of efficiency, for if the 
earth is thrown it accomplishes its purpose 
equally, however the throwing may be done. 
The principle is simply this. Ordinary soil, 
or clayey loam (not sand), if dried in the sun and 
wind, and sifted through a sieve having three 
or four meshes to the inch, or being so deposit¬ 
ed as to cover the solid faeces and to absorb the 
urine, entirely prevents the escape of the odor 
of the fresh matter, and of the gases that are 
formed during its decomposition. Instead of 
escaping to poison the air, these volatile matters 
enter the pores of the earth, form a mechanical 
or chemical union with it, and remain in this 
connection until, on being used as manure, they 
are withdrawn by the feeding roots of plants. 
Thus, two results of the greatest importance 
are secured : 1, Gases which are always highly 
offensive, and often dangerous to health, are 
locked fast in the vault; 2, The most valuable 
of all manures,—that one which has hitherto 
been almost universally wasted, with great det¬ 
riment to our prosperity,—is not only entirely 
saved, but so saved that its use is as inoffensive, 
both in idea and in fact, as that of wood ashes. 
Tiie application of this principle allows the 
occupant of a house in the country to dispense 
with the unsightly building at the foot of the 
garden,—approachable by delicate women only 
by means of a long walk; sometimes bordered 
and overlaid by wet grass and weeds; some¬ 
times obstructed by snow; always exposed to 
the weather, and not seldom to public view,— 
and to provide suitable closet accommodations 
in any part of the house in which it may be con¬ 
venient to have them, more completely inoffen¬ 
sive, and much less costly than the water-closet 
which is in universal use in sewered towns. It 
also enables him to save for use on the garden 
or farm a manure which may safely be valued 
at $5 per head for his whole family, old and 
young, and which, under the present system, he 
more often than not utterly wastes. 
The arrangements for the use of the earth 
may be whatever the means or the convenience 
of the individual may suggest. An ordinary 
vessel with a pint of earth at the bottom, and an 
equal quantity with which to immediately cover 
the deposit, is, so far as de- 
odorization and disinfection 
go, as perfect as the regular 
earth commode, and it may 
stand in a sleeping-room for 
any length of time (filled 
with the dejections of a 
cholera patient) without of¬ 
fense to sense or danger to 
health. A seat over a wooden 
box in the cellar or back 
shed, with a box of earth and 
a tin scoop at hand, may be used by an entire 
family without the least inconvenience beyond 
the necessary attention to throwing down the 
earth regularly. In the ordinary outer build¬ 
ing, all offensiveness may be prevented in the 
same manner,—but such buildings must soon 
pass out of use, owing to their cost, their pub¬ 
licity, and especially their inconvenience (an in¬ 
convenience which, particularly in cold climates, 
causes a degree of irregularity that is yearly 
making the health of our already too delicate 
women more and more delicate). Believing that 
the earth-closet system must inevitably be adopt¬ 
ed in all places where the water-closet cannot 
be, and that it will, in time (for economic rea¬ 
sons), entirely supersede even this, we give illus¬ 
trated instructions for the 
application of the principle, 
which will be of use to a large 
share of country readers. 
Home-made Earth-clos¬ 
ets may be constructed in 
the house,—or at least in a 
rear building which may be 
approached from the house 
without exposure to the 
weather. Various plans by 
which this may be accom¬ 
plished will suggest them¬ 
selves to all, according to 
their circumstances. The 
engraving (fig. 1) of a section 
of the end of a wood-shed 
behind the house shows how 
a permanent earth - closet 
may be easily and conveniently arranged. 
Those who desire to avoid the slight trouble of 
throwing down the earth by hand can substitute 
the simple machinery manufactured for the pur¬ 
pose, by which the earth is thrown whenever 
the weight of the person is raised from the seat. 
In this case the upper drawer would be dis¬ 
pensed with, and the earth would be placed di¬ 
rectly into the reservoir over the hopper through 
an opening into the outer room. 
The outer room—on the left of the cut—has 
a glass roof and a ventilator, so that earth taken 
from an ordinarily dry field will soon become 
thoroughly dry without furtlkcr trouble. In this 
same room there should be a bin in which to 
empty the contents of the lower drawer, and 
where they will in due time become so thorough¬ 
ly homogeneous and so dry that they may be 
used over again. By repeated use it may be 
made worth as much as the best bone-dust. 
On a farm, however, where it is an advantage 
to have all manures as bulky as possible, it will 
be best to use fresh earth each time. Coal 
ashes may be sifted and mixed with an equal 
quantity of earth, as they will not detract either 
from its deodorizing properties or from its 
value as manure. Even pure coal ashes may 
be used in cold weather. 
Preparing Earth for Closets.— It will 
save much trouble and cost, if arrangements 
are made to dry the earth for closets as much 
as possible without artificial appliances. The 
Fig. 2.— frame for drying earth. 
writer’s winter supply was laid in in August, 
by taking a thin scraping from the surface of a 
fallow field, while so dry that no further prepa¬ 
ration was necessary. 
If, however, this cannot be done for want of 
storage room, it will be a very simple matter to 
put up a drying-bed, such as is shown in fig. 2. 
This is made like a hot-bed, but raised slightly 
from the ground, to prevent the absorption of 
the earth’s moisture, and provided with a floor 
of rough boards. The floor boards should not 
project beyond the sides of the frame, lest they 
catch the water of rains and carry it into the 
earth. Ventilating holes bored through the 
sides and ends of the frame, so that the evapo¬ 
rated moisture may escape, will obviate the need 
for raising and lowering the sashes, according 
to the weather. The sashes should project an 
inch or so over the sides, to prevent heavy rains 
from being driven into the holes, and they should 
be hooked down, to keep them from being- 
thrown off by high winds. Such a frame, with 
three sashes (3 ft. x 6 ft. each) would cost about 
$15, and would suffice to dry sufficient quantity 
of earth for the supply of an ordinary family. 
It would be better—though somewhat more 
costly at the outset—to make the glass-roofed 
room behind the closet large enough to hold a 
year’s supply of earth taken from the field dur¬ 
ing the summer’s drouth. 
The quantity of earth required is less than 
would be supposed. Enough for ten uses of the 
closet per day, for a whole year, would be con¬ 
tained in a bin 7 ft. long, 4 ft. wide, and 3 ft. 
high. This earth would be worth at the end of 
the year—for manure—not less than $40, which 
would abundantly repay all cost of handling, 
to say nothing of the value of having such a 
convenience in communication with the house, 
and of immunity from infection. 
Storing Roots for Winter. 
This is the month for harvesting and securing 
roots of all sorts; for while mangel wurtzel 
ought to be taken up and topped before the first 
killing frost, it is better to leave them in small 
heaps in the field, covered only with their leaves 
or with a couple of inches of earth, until the 
weather begins to be decidedly cold. Then 
these, as well as turnips and carrots, must be 
