THE DISPOSAL OF WASTES FROM COUNTRY HOUSES 
By Albert Priestman 
S EWAGE treatment is a subject of which the 
exigencies of mankind demand that everyone 
should have at least some general knowledge. The 
days are far past when the health of communities 
was regulated by the imperfect knowledge of hygiene, 
possessed almost exclusively by the medical pro¬ 
fession. Steam and electricity have wrought won¬ 
derful changes. These mediums by which force 
has been harnessed for the service of us all, have so 
changed the habits of our lives, that it has been im¬ 
perative that each generation should take a more 
active part than its predecessor, in studying the 
conditions governing a healthy existence, amid the 
ever increasing populations inhabiting our cities 
and suburbs. 
We may shudder at the remembrance of the un¬ 
sanitary domestic arrangements of our forefathers, 
and of the regrettably high rate of mortality con¬ 
sequent upon the proximity of the pump to the 
kitchen and outhouses, but at least we must admit 
that it was seldom that village streams were not a 
pleasure to look upon, with their waters inhabited 
by fish, and their banks healthful places for a quiet 
hour. In this past fifty years of strenuous effort 
after wealth, and in the rush for place and power, 
it would appear as though we had become careless 
of the license taken by manufacturers, by our neigh¬ 
bors and by ourselves, to pollute rivers, streams 
and ground waters with the offscourings of streets, 
factories, and dwellings. Seemingly the larger por¬ 
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AEROBIC BACTERIA WHICH BREATHE AIR AND CHANGE 
ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE INTO MINERAL MATTER 
tion of our population is content in the erroneous 
belief that such pollution is unavoidable; that small 
watercourses in thickly populated districts must of 
necessity never again be expected to be inodorous and 
that if once then always, must fresh water fish give 
place to sewage. It is fortunate that although late 
in the day, a reaction is setting in, that our schools, 
colleges, and technical institutions are imparting 
the knowledge of a better way, and that the young 
voter is now ready to support at the polls, the en¬ 
actment of laws, which shall call a halt to this hither¬ 
to deplorable condition of affairs. 
We must not overlook the fact that every one of 
us is more or less to blame for what is wrong in re¬ 
gard to this important matter of sewage disposal. 
On the other hand it is much more a case of ignor¬ 
ance than anything else, which has held in check 
the advancement in the practical application of the 
knowledge, which fortunately has been greatly in¬ 
creased of recent years in this branch of sanitary 
science. It is our purpose, therefore, to speak of 
some of the truths underlying this subject, which 
have now been well established, and which, as they 
become better known, cannot fail to bring about a 
more united effort in abolishing abuses, which to¬ 
day, alas, are a scandal to our boasted civilization. 
In another issue we shall give particulars with il¬ 
lustrations of sewage disposal works for residential 
service, constructed upon strictly bacterial lines, and 
explain the reasons for the various parts, by the com- 
SAPROPHITIC BACTERIA. CONSUMES DEAD 
ORGANIC MATTER 
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