386 CARBOLIC ACID AS A DISINFECTANT, ETC. 
it also renders the sanitary state of the atmosphere in the immediate 
neighbourhood where the sewage passes comparatively pure, the car- 
bolate of lime having answered the purpose of disinfecting the sewage, 
during the past three months of summer, and by the use of, on an 
average, about a gallon of carbolic acid per day, at a cost of 1 Id., whilst 
the quantity required to produce the same effect in winter, with the 
atmosphere at a low temperature, would be about two thirds that 
quantity. Thus estimating six months of the year at one gallon per 
day, at lid per gallon, and say \\d. per day for lime, would give a cost 
of Is. 0 \d. per day, or, for the six months, of 71- 10s.; whilst for the 
remaining six months the price will be 5/., giving the cost of the disin¬ 
fectant for one year at 12/. 10s. The superintendence of the man, at 10s. 
per week, interest on outlay, and wear and tear, say 1/. 10s. per annum, 
will give a total of 40/, per annum.The disinfecting being 
satisfactorily overcome, the next and very important part, that of utili¬ 
sing the sewage and rendering it remunerative to the Board, requires 
attention. First, in order to utilise the sewage, it is of course necessary 
to procure the assistance of the owners of the property through which 
the sewage passes; and were they sufficiently acquainted with its value, 
it would not have flowed to waste so long unheeded; but as prejudice is 
frequently a barrier to improvements of this kind, it necessarily becomes 
a work of time to undertake and carry it out, however much its merits 
are known and appreciated. And previous to the application of the 
disinfectant several objections offered themselves in preventing its being 
undertaken as a whole, which now no longer exist : First, from the 
land immediately below the depot, and through which the sewage 
passes, belonging to several owners, some difficulty was experienced in 
obtaining the sanction and assistance of the whole ; but there would be 
no difficulty in that respect, as the whole may now be taken by Lord 
Devon and Sir Lawrence Palk, who are, I believe, both favorable to the 
scheme. Secondly, before the sewage became disinfected, it was thought 
necessary to apply the whole of it to the land at all times of the year, 
but which is now indispensable, as at certain times of the year the sewage 
when disinfected, might be allowed to pass down the course, as at 
present, and be carried off without any additional expense than that of 
disinfecting, which would be self-acting. Thirdly, another important 
advantage offers itself, which is the increased value of the sewage, after 
being disinfected, by locking up and retaining its manurial qualities 
until absorbed by the soil.I believe no difficulty whatever 
would be experienced in getting a sufficient number of shares taken up 
by practical persons who have long since perceived the desirability of 
facilitating and grappling with a question so considerably discussed and 
possessing such national interest—viz., that of returning to the soil 
those beef-growing properties which are well-known to exist in the 
sewage of our towns, instead of allowing it to empty into and pollute 
our rivers. As such a step would, in my opinion, be a stepping-stone 
to the utilising the whole of the sewage of Exeter, as I have no doubt 
but that our neighbours on the opposite side of the Exe will, at no very 
distant period, not only from the interest they will feel in improving 
the sanitary state of the neighbourhood where their sewers empty into 
the river, but also to recognise and remedy the great agricultural waste 
which at present exists—a waste which could be easily obviated and 
turned to a very profitable account.” 
The Sanitary Manure Company of Manchester also has lately- 
taken this subject up, and apparently their product is likely 
