RCA\AI^KS ON Tilt: DISPOSAL OV RF.rUSL: IN 
 SO,nf: [:L'F^OPt:AN CITILS 
 
 BY 
 
 THOMAS MACFARLANE. F. R. S C . Ottawa, Ontario, 
 
 BEI'OKI", THK 
 
 Americcin l^ublic Health Association 
 
 AT A MEETING HELD IN 
 
 OTTAWA, SEPT. 27-30. 1898. 
 
 Reprinted from Vol. XXI \' of the Transactions of the Atnerican Public 
 
 Health Association. 
 
 COLUMBUS, OHIO: 
 
 THE BERLIN PRINTING COMPANY. 
 
 1899. 
 
REMARKS ON THE DISPOSAL OF REFUSE IN SOME 
 
 EUROPEAN CITIES. 
 
 By THOMAS MACFARLANE, F. R. S. C„ Ottawa, Ontariu. 
 
 In the summer of 18i)G I spent some months on the other side of 
 the Atlantic, visited some of the principal cities in England and 
 Germany and inspected their different systems of refuse disposal. I 
 do not propose, on this occasion, fully to recount my experiences; 
 indeed, even if I were to do so, that would still be very far from 
 exhausting the subject. I desire rather to put on record my impres- 
 sions regarding these systems and their merits, considered more 
 particularly with reference to the advantage of agriculture. 
 
 In order to avoid repetitions, I may, at the outset, state the mean- 
 ings which I attach to the terms used in this paper, and which are 
 intended to indicate the different sorts of city and town refuse, as 
 well as the various systems in use for their removal. Following the 
 example of W. H. Maxwell (Removal and Disposal of Town Refuse ; 
 1898), I make use of the word "refuse" as a convenient general term 
 for including every description of rejected and ejected matter. It 
 comprehends house refuse, street refuse, trade refuse, factory refuse, 
 etc., besides the liquid refuse which finds its way to the sewers. The 
 term, house refuse, I would restrict to that which cannot, by any pos- 
 sibility, find its way to the sev/ers. It consists of kitchen refuse, gar- 
 bage, ashes, cinders, etc. Street refuse is defined in the London 
 Public Health Act of 1891 as "dust, dirt, rubbish, mud, road scrap- 
 ings, ice, snow and filth," a formidable list to be the result of work 
 described by the one word "scavenging." Excluding the "ice, snow 
 and filth," a convenient word for the remainder might be found in 
 the word "sweepings," which corresponds to the German kchricht. 
 Of course, this would also exclude everything capable of finding its 
 way to the sewers. Trade refuse consists of rejected animal and 
 vegetable matter from markets and slaughter houses, while factory 
 refuse might be understood to mean similar substances from cotton, 
 woolen and other mills. 
 
 Sewage I take to be the liquid which flows in the sewers and which, 
 in the greater number of instances, consists of human refuse, rain and 
 storm water, wash water, including that from kitchen, baths, laundries, 
 etc., and also all liquids from mills and factories. The latter part of 
 the sewage it would seem to me to be practicable to characterize as 
 
2 J)ISroS.lL OF A'/:/'f/S/C /A' SOA//-: El'NonEAN CITIES. 
 
 drainage, while the other part, consisting: of feces and tirine, com- 
 bined with a certain quantity of flush water, constitute what might he 
 called excretage. Drainage and excretage together make up sewage. 
 Where the separate system of sewerage has hecn introduced this 
 nomenclature would also find its application. The one set of pipes 
 or sewers would contain the drainage, the other the excretage. In 
 the case of towns where there are systems of water supply and sew- 
 erage, but no water closets, as in many German cities, the term drain- 
 age might also apply to the contents of the sewers. In many such 
 instances, however, the excretage, or rather the excreta, would come 
 together with the garbage, forming a compound for which there is 
 no ether name than manure. Where, in the production of the latter, 
 an absorbent or deodorizer is used, a prefix might be necessary, and we 
 should have earth, ash and moss manure, or compost, as the case 
 might be. In my opinion, it is in the production of the latter that 
 the greatest advantage to agriculture is to be obtained and the public 
 health secured in the most economical manner. I do not mean to 
 say that no other process of utilizing refuse is applicable to the fer- 
 tilization of the soil, but I am inclined to maintain that in no other 
 way can this be accomplished so economically as by the production 
 of manures and composts. 
 
 Maxwell defines the term "conservancy system" as "the name given 
 to the practice of retaining and collecting excreta and waste sub- 
 stances with a view of turning them to account as manure." This 
 would seem to be too wide an application, and I propose to use the 
 term as covering all privy, cesspool and midden systems which serve 
 for the purpose of collecting and applying excreta direct to agricul- 
 ture. It would then correspond to the "Gruben system" of the Ger- 
 mans. In some English reports the term "interception system" is 
 applied when excreta are "intercepted" or prevented from passing into 
 the sewers. This appears to me to be a convenient term for use when 
 the intercepted matters are worked up by a manufacturing process 
 into a concentrated manure. But it should not be regarded as equiv- 
 alent to the "pan" or "pail" system, because in the corresponding 
 "Kiibel system" of the Germans the contents are not infrequently 
 used without admixture and direct for agricultural purposes. In con- 
 nection with sewage disposal the words precipitation, irrigation, etc., 
 do not require explanation. 
 
 Sewage itself has no value. When fertilizing material of any de- 
 scription has once been allowed to mix with the large excess of water 
 which comes from the clouds, its recovery is economically impossi- 
 ble. This is proved by the fact that where sewage can be conveyed 
 into the ocean or into such large rivers as the St. Lawrence or the 
 
DISPOSAL ()/■' A' /■:/'( 'S/-: /X so mi-: EVNOrEAN CITIES. 3 
 
 Ottawa, no attempt is made to utilize it. If further proof were wanted 
 that sewage is utterly valueless, the experience of the largest city in 
 the world, London, provides it. 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 In the month of Jtuie. 1S9G. I visited the sewage works at Crossness 
 on the north and J]arking on the south side of the Thames, in com- 
 pany with Mr. W. J. Dibdin, chemist to the London County Council, 
 and Dr. Thudichum, his assistant. At these places, in order to pre- 
 vent the pollution of the Thames, the London sewage is treated by a 
 precipitation process, the reagents being lime water, not milk of lime, 
 and a saturated solution of copperas. This lime water is first run 
 into the sewage and then the copperas. The proportions used are one 
 part of the crystallized copperas to four or five of burnt lime. The 
 additions increase the volume of the sewage about five per cent. After 
 treatment it is passed through a long canal, dammed up at the far 
 end, and here so-called "sludge" is deposited. This is a black mud 
 which smells somewhat offensively and every chance is afTorded it to 
 consolidate and become as free as possible from water. Nevertheless, 
 it contains about ninety per cent, of water when it is pumped into the 
 special steamers which convey it fifty miles out to sea and there dis- 
 charge it. It has been treated in filter presses and made into cakes 
 containing only fifty-five per cent, of water, but no application or use 
 was found for this product and its manufacture was discontinued. It 
 contained nitrogen equal to one per cent, when stated as ammonia. 
 The "sludge" is to be had gratis by any one who will undertake to use 
 it in sufficient quantity. Seventeen thousand tons of it are produced 
 daily. The present eflluent is very slightly turbid and in color appears 
 grayish. Its odor is somewhat disagreeable, although not to be com- 
 pared with that of the "sludge." It has been experimented with on a 
 filter bed of an acre area, and there is no doubt that its complete puri- 
 fication can be effected by intermittent filtration, if it is judged ad- 
 visable to incur the cost. At present, however, the effluent escapes 
 into the Thames and the degree of purification, as well as the condi- 
 tion of the river, is regarded as satisfactory. The discharged water 
 is, of course, carried up and down by the tide, but creates no annoy- 
 ance, and the opponents of this sewage purification system are now 
 said to be satisfied. 
 
 The cost of the whole establishment is £120,000 annually for treat- 
 ing two hundred millions of gallons of sewage per diem. This 
 $600,000 per annum is the price which London pays for the luxury of 
 her water-borne system of sewage removal. I have no doubt that it 
 
4 j)isj'()SAL OF h'/:irs/-: in so a//; fajkopean cities. 
 
 is the best system that such a city could adopt, and no one at the 
 present time thinks of reducing its cost by attempting the application 
 of the sewage or sewage products to agriculture. 
 
 LEYTON. 
 
 To the cast of London and unconnected with its sewerage system 
 are two municipalities, regarding whose method of sewage disposal 
 I made some inquiries. At Leyton there are precipitation works, in 
 which the precipitants used are twelve grains "sulphurous powder" 
 and eight grains lime per gallon. The sulphurous powder is said to be 
 alkali waste. The sludge produced is put through filter presses, with 
 the addition of three per cent, quicklime. The resulting cakes smell 
 of ammonia and are thrown aside as valueless. To prevent their 
 causing any nuisance, destructors were being created to burn them, 
 as well as the garbage, ashes, etc., which operation has since been 
 successfully carried out. 
 
 WALTIIAMSTOWE. 
 
 At Walthamstowe a precipitation process has been adopted similar 
 to that of Leyton, although a sewage farm had previously been in 
 operation. It was found impossible to apply the crude sewage to irri- 
 gation purposes without a previous separation of the sludge. The 
 manager of the Walthamstowe sludge farm said that in order to use 
 crude sewage, there should be one acre of land available to every one 
 hundred of population, whereas, at Walthomstowe there is only one 
 acre to three hundred. According to Gerson & Weyl (Rieeselfelder; 
 Jena; Gustav Fischer; 1896), one hectare of land is necessary for the 
 complete utilization of the sewage nitrogen from eighty persons. 
 Since one ha. is equal to nearly two and one-half acres, it follows that 
 one acre of land to thirty-two inhabitants would not be too much. At 
 Walthamstowe the crude effluent from the precipitation process is 
 led on to the various fields of the farm as required by these. Italian 
 rye grass, mangold wurzel and vetches are the usual crops, but no 
 grain is raised on account of the tendency it would have to "lodge." 
 The fields were formerly under-drained, but on account of the diffi- 
 culties of filtration, the use of the under-drains was abandoned and 
 arrangements made for working the fields by surface flow. The sew- 
 age comes into contact, more or less, with the growing plant, or at 
 least with the rye grass. I took occasion to smell several heaps of it 
 recently cut, and it appeared to be perfectly sweet. It is mostly cut 
 green for the use of cow-keepers, who say that more milk is obtained 
 from it than with dryer fodder. 
 
 In spite of all this, so great are the difficulties, both at Leyton and 
 Walthamstowe, that their authorities look forward with satisfaction 
 
DIsroS.lL OF h'FFUS/-: IN SOMJi fa: KG PEA N C/TIFS. 5 
 
 to the possibility of their beinp allowed to send their scwapc into the 
 London main sewer. This is the case, also, with the inhabitants 
 on the west side of the River Lee, who would also be glad to have all 
 their sanitary troubles ended in this way. There is no likelihootl of the 
 extension of the sewaj^e farm of Walthamstovve, and no anticipation 
 on the part of its authorities of being able to make money by 
 agriculture. 
 
 BERLIN. 
 
 It was difTerent with the system of sewage irrigation established in 
 the city of Berlin. Its originators certainly anticipated, away back in 
 1870, that the agricultural operations would yield a profit. In July, 
 189G, I had the opportunity of attending the exhibition of that year 
 in Berlin and of inspecting the magnificent exhibit made by the cor- 
 poration authorities of everything connected with the management 
 of the city affairs. Plans showing the limits of the several radial sys- 
 tems of collecting the sewage, photographs of the magnificent pump- 
 ing machinery at the central stations, specimens of the huge iron 
 pipes through which the sewage is forced up to the necessary level at 
 the farms and a great many more interesting objects than I can men- 
 tion here, were exhibited, so that it was quite possible to study the 
 whole arrangement without going near the farms. I undertook, how- 
 ever, a visit to one of them, Malchow-Blankenburg, over which I was 
 conducted by one of the intelligent inspectors in charge. The land 
 is mostly let to market gardeners, and the rent includes the use of sew- 
 age for irrigation. Some of it is, however, worked by the city, on 
 which grass is often cut four times a season and sold green in Berlin. 
 Grain was also being harvested and looked well, while the vegetable 
 growth was vigorous and healthy. It did not occur to me that there 
 was anything to complain of in the smell of the sewage which was 
 being applied, and from all I could learn, it was not in the slightest 
 degree detrimental to the public health. I conversed with some of the 
 market gardeners, who had nothing to complain of, except the low 
 prices caused by over-production, and competition from Holland. 
 One of them maintained that no money was to be made and that it was 
 all being hoarded by the capitalists. He admitted that he had enough 
 to eat, but no money. This gentleman was smoking a cigar at his 
 work, and the horse and wagon were waiting for the cabbages he was 
 rutting, to take them into the city. My friend, the inspector, told a 
 diflFerent story, and said that good market gardeners could make plenty 
 of money on the irrigation fields. 
 
 It would, of course, be the height of presumption for any one, pay- 
 ing, like myself, a short visit to Berlin and its irrigation farms, to 
 indulge in criticism, or express any opinions whatever, based upon 
 
6 /V.SVV'.SV/A OF h'Kl'CS/-: IN SOMIC /■:( '/y'O/'/i.l \ (7'/7/:S. 
 
 Ills hurried observations. It is a ^rcat deal more profitable to pay 
 some attention to the Hterature of the subject ami to learn what the 
 various authorities, who write both for and against the system, have 
 to say about it. After studying their writings as much as my time has 
 permitted, I have reached the following conclusions, which I place 
 before you for what they are worth : 
 
 It has been calculated that the amount of nitrogen contained in 
 the sewage used on the irrigation fields every year amounts to one 
 thousand five hundred kilogrammes per hectare, and that the quan- 
 tity contained in the crops harvested is only, at the most, two hundred 
 kilo, per hectare. Eighty-six and two-thirds per cent, of the nitrogen 
 thus appears to escajic unutilized in the water of the drains. Analyses 
 of the latter support the conclusion just stated and show that quantities 
 varying from one-seventh to one-half of the organic substances of 
 the sewage arc found in the drain water. The most favorable results 
 seem to be obtained with meadow land, from which the drain water 
 shows an almost complete mineralisation of the organic substances. 
 This does not, however, mean a complete utilization of the nitrogen, 
 but only that that part of it escaping in the drains is in the form of 
 nitrates. 
 
 The commission which was appointed by the state to control the 
 irrigation fields stipulated for a surface of at least one hectare for the 
 excreta of two hundred and fifty persons. Even with such a ratio as 
 this, a considerable quantity of inorganic nitrogen, i. e., nitrogen as 
 nitric acid, supposed to be harmless to health, but known to be valua- 
 ble for agriculture, will still be found in the drain water. In the year 
 1889 the following areas were used for the purification of the sewage : 
 
 At Osdorf, 1 hectarel for the excreta of 44G perosns. 
 At Grossbeercn, 1 hectare for the excreta of 538 persons. 
 At Falkenberg, 1 hectare for the excreta of 334 persons. 
 At Malchow. 1 hectare for the excreia of 242 persons. 
 
 At most of the farms, therefore, a quantity of sewage far in excess 
 of that anticipated by the Royal Commission was on the fields, such an 
 excess, in fact, as made the utilization of even the organic nitrogen and 
 the purification of the sewage an impossibility. 
 
 It has been ascertained that, in order to utilize, by the growth of 
 plants, the nitrogen in sewage from the excreta of eighty persons, an 
 area of one hectare is necessary. That is to say, if we exact that the 
 drain water of an irrigation field shall, just like the drain water of 
 cultivated and manured land, not only be free from organic nitrogen, 
 but also from all except the merest traces of nitrous or nitric acid or 
 ammonia, then one hectare of land will be required for eighty persons. 
 
 1 One hectare is equal to 2.471 acres. 
 
/)ISIH)S,U. OF h'/CFUS/i IX SOA/F EU ROPE AN CITIES. 7 
 
 In J'.erlin one hectare receives the excreta of five times this number, 
 so that tiie irrigation fields are really Irouhled with an cniburras ile 
 riclii'ssc. In IH'M) the population of I'.erlin was stated at l,(ii)l,;;03, 
 and the extent of its irrigation farms I,(mv' ha. This is equal to three 
 hundred and forty-eight persons to each hectare. 
 
 Acconling to the statements made by City Councilor MargK^'afT at 
 the seventh internati(jnal hygienic congress in London in August, 
 1891, with reference to the profits earned on the I'.erlin irrigation fields, 
 the largest certainly in the world, it appears that they earned about 
 that time two per cent, on their cost, or about one and one-half per 
 cent, less than the rate at which the city can borrow money. This is 
 all they have been able to do, without charging against the agricultural 
 operations any of the cost incurred for pumping the sewage out to 
 the farms. This is certainly not such a result as would induce other 
 cities to imitate the Berlin system. Nevertheless it is not unlikely that 
 such improvements may, in the future, be made in the management 
 of this magnificent undertaking as to place it on a remunerative basis. 
 As regards the direction in which such improvements are likely to take 
 place, I should anticipate the introduction of a sei)arate system of some 
 sort, for keeping the storm water from the excretage, of apparatus for 
 the thorough conuninution of the latter, and the acquisition of a still 
 greater anunmt of land for the complete agricultural utilization of the 
 fertilizing constituents. 
 
 IlIRMIXGIIANr. 
 
 In IS!).") the population of the city of Birmingham was said to be 
 484,000 and the extent of its sewage farms 4!)(i.5:5 hectare, or l,3-»7 
 acres. It has, however, to be remembered that a large amount of the 
 excreta never reaches the sewers, but is collected in "pans" and treated 
 in the so-called interception works. About 215,000 of the population 
 is accommodated in this way, so that the sewage farms have only to 
 take care of the excretage of a population of '^GD.OOO, or about five 
 hundred and forty-two persons to the hectare ; a number two hundred 
 higher than the Berlin ratio, above mentioned. 
 
 The sewage farms of Saltley and Tyburn differ from those of Berlin 
 in so far as the sewage is subjected to a precipitation process before 
 being used for irrigation. I walked over l.oth the precipitation plant 
 and the farms on the sixteenth of June, 1806. At the former the only 
 precipitant used is lime, but it is in the form of milk of lime. Eleven 
 tons of quicklime are said to sufifice for the treatment oi twenty-two 
 millions of gallons in twenty-four hours. 
 
 Six hundred tons of sludge are produced daily, the disposal of 
 which occasions a great deal of labor and trouble. It was at one time 
 
8 DISPOSAL OF REFUSE IN SOME EUROPEAN CITIES. 
 
 allowed to collect on the fields in large quantity and in the wet condi- 
 tion, but the consequence was a serious nuisance. Now it is spread 
 over the fields at Saltley in a layer eight or ten inches thick, and after it 
 is somewhat dry it is trenched or dug into the land. This means bury- 
 ing it under eighteen inches or two feet of earth, which ab'sorbs the 
 smell. After this the land looks well enough, but it will not bear the 
 weight of a horse. Even some time after the trenching is completed 
 the sowing of rape seed has to be done by men drawing a drill. Usu- 
 ally Italian rye grass is the first crop, then come rape, barley, etc., until 
 the fourth year comes round, when it receives another dose of "sludge." 
 It is stated that the ground will yield good crops, but that it becomes 
 "sick" from receiving too much "sludge." To me it appeared that 
 there was no time to make any use of the fertility o' the fields, owing to 
 the necessity of disposing of the product of the precipitation process by 
 continual trenching. In the neighbourhood of Saltley the smell of 
 sewage prevails, and although it cannot be called offensive, it is less 
 agreeable than in the neighborhood of other establisliments of a sim- 
 ilar character where solution of copperas is used in the treatment as 
 well as lime. 
 
 The efifluent from the tanks in which the sludge is deposited flows 
 away down to Tyburn, the fields of which farm are well under-drained. 
 Some fields are seen in beautiful bearing condition, while others 
 appear to have just received their dose of sewage. The w^f^r escapes 
 from the under-drains into a large brick-lined channe' .,'rtainly 
 
 looks clear enough, but seems to deposit a reddish •; -i.. on the 
 sides of the channel. It is still complained of, howevei, ;.nd the talk 
 goes that more land is to be purchased for further purifying it. This 
 final effluent escapes at Castle Bromwich, on the Midland Railway. As 
 regards its composition I have not been able to find such details pub- 
 lished as are given in the Berlin reports and which enable one to judge 
 as regards the extent to which the fertilizing constituents of the sewage 
 have been utilized. 
 
 I was informed on the spot that the cost to the city after deducting 
 all the receipts for agricultural produce amount to $12,000 annually. 
 According to the accounts for 1896 this loss amounted to over $17,000, 
 altogether independent of interest on the capital expenditure, which 
 amounts to over $400,000. 
 
 At the Montague street interception works I observed the manner 
 in which garbage, ashes and excreta are handled. The latter is col- 
 lected by the pan system, which was introduced in 1874, gradually 
 replacing the twenty thousand cesspools then existing. The pans, 
 which are made of galvanized iron, are cylindrical in shape, eighteen 
 
DISPOSAL OF REFUSE IN SOME EUROPEAN CITIES. ' 9 
 
 inches in diameter and fifteen inches deep, and covered with a tightly 
 fitting Hd. The vans used carry eighteen pans and have a receptacle 
 at the tail end into which the ash tub refuse is tipped. The garbage, 
 ashes and breeze (or half-burnt coal) is riddled on octagonal rotating 
 screens, which separate the fine ashes from the rougher material. The 
 latter is further sorted by removing from it broken crockery, brick 
 ends, tin cans, etc. What remains is in such a condition as to furnish 
 fuel for raising all the steam which is required in the works, and might 
 produce considerably more. The ashes or clinkers produced from 
 the destruction of the garbage and coarse ashes, etc., are useil for 
 even more useful purposes than filling up low ground. They are 
 applied in making concrete and are also ground, mixed with lime and 
 water, and sold as ready made mortar. The steam from the boilers 
 above the destructor furnaces is used for driving the engine, mills 
 and other machinery, the latter being chiefly employed for the treat- 
 ment of the excreta or night soil. As regards the latter, on reaching 
 the works, the contents of the pans are emptied into tanks, where 
 they receive an addition of about one per cent, oil of vitriol. Here 
 the more solid portion settles, and is drawn off into a machine, where 
 it is mixed with fine ashes from the rotating screens above mentioned. 
 This forms an ash manure, which is taken out into the country and 
 sold at varying prices, or given away to the farmers. 
 
 The more fluid part of the excreta is used for manufacturing a 
 species of poudrette. Both steam and hot furnace gases are used for 
 this purpose, the latter being preferred as cheaper and better. The 
 evaporating apparatus consists of a revolving cylinder, charged with 
 the liquid and through which the hot gases from the furnace pass 
 direct. There are no stirrers inside, and the product is not discharged 
 until it is semi-solid. It is then broken up into small pieces and com- 
 pletely dried. Its analysis shows : 
 
 PER CENT. 
 
 Nitrogen stated as ammonia , 7.49 
 
 Phosphoric acid total 3.2,3 
 
 Potash 2.!)7 
 
 This would have a value here of $24.38^ per ton, and is said to sell in 
 Birmingham at $6. Of course, it may be said that it costs more to 
 produce it than it sells for, but this can also be said of the agricultural 
 products of a sewage farm. 
 
 1 Values of Fertilizing- Constituents in Canada: 
 
 Nitrogen as Ammonia and Nitric Acid 13c per lb. 
 
 Organic Nitropen 12c " 
 
 Phosphoric Acid, Soluble 6c " 
 
 " Reverted SJ-^c " 
 
 " Insoluble Sc " 
 
 Potash sy^c 
 
10 DISPOSAL OF /REFUSE IN SOME EUROPEAN CITIES. 
 
 The processes of refuse disposal adopted by the corporation of Bir- 
 ming'ham are, to a large extent, the same as practiced in the other 
 English towns which I visited. Therefore, instead of describing all 
 that I saw at these places, I shall only point out variations from the 
 Birmingham practice, besides mentioning particulars of importance 
 which are peculiar to the localities visited. 
 
 MANCHESTER. 
 
 Manchester possesses precipitation works at Davyhulme, but no 
 sewage farm. The excreta is "intercepted" to such an extent that only 
 one-fourth reaches the sewers. A "storm overflow" is to be observed 
 In the sewage canal in the yard of the works, but it is said that it is 
 seldom that anything escapes there. The precipitants used are lime 
 water, milk of lime and solution sulphate of iron, and after their intro- 
 duction the whole mixture is agitated by waste compressed air- The 
 sludge produced is mixed with slaked lime and then pumped through 
 filter presses. Solid cakes are thus obtained, which is not possible 
 without the slaked lime. On the other hand, a considerable amount 
 of ammonia is liberated and passes into the water from the presses, 
 which smells of it strongly. The cakes produced are valueless and are 
 dumped over the "tip," where farmers are at liberty to remove them, 
 and frequently do so. There is no doubt that they are capable of 
 making excellent soil. 
 
 Eighty-six million gallons of sewage are treated every week, which 
 quantity receives fifty-eight tons of slaked lime, containint^ forty per 
 cent, water, and also fifty tons co])pcras. The wet sludtj^e amounts to 
 93,448 cubic feet of sixty-five pounds each. To effect the pressing- of 
 this quantity sixty-six tons of slaked lime are used, and the product 
 amounts to nine hundred and thirteen tons of pressed cake. 
 
 The effluent from the precipitating tanks is clear, slightly yellowish 
 tinted and has no smell nor any very disagreeable taste, but it is not up 
 to the standard of purity for being discharged into the river courses. 
 Nevertheless, the most of it is so discharged, and only four millions 
 out of thirteen million gallons daily are treated by a process of land 
 filtration. It is allowed to flow on to fields which are well under- 
 drained and which yield nothing agriculturally. There is about six 
 feet depth of a loamy sand, or, in places, of loamy clay, and the final 
 efifluent which flows from the under-drains is quite clear, colorless, 
 odorless and almost tasteless. 
 
 As regards the quantity of material used in the precipitation works 
 for causing the "sludge" to subside, a comparison may here be made 
 of the figures given me at Barking and Crossness (London), Saltley 
 (Birmingham) and Davyhulme (Manchester). At the first-named 
 
DISPOSAL OF REFUSE IN SOME EUROPEAN CITIES. 11 
 
 place four grammes of lime, or sixty-two grains, are said to be used 
 to the gallon of sewage, which is equal to about four tons per mil- 
 lion gallons. At Saltley only one-half a ton of lime is used to a 
 million gallons of sewage. At Davyhulme the quantity stated is 
 seven grains per gallon, which corresponds to one thousand pounds 
 per million, or 0.45 tons. The quantity of copperas used at the 
 London sewage works is abor one ton per million gallons; at Man- 
 chester it is 0.58 tons. 
 
 Manchester has, like Birmingham, a "pan" or "pail" collecting 
 system for huge quantities of excreta, which system, about ten years 
 ago, replaced, not only the open cess[)Ools, but also the ash-closet 
 system, which used to be described as peculiar to Manchester and 
 Rochdale. The latter system, which was thought to have many 
 advantages, was abandoned because, as a general rule, the sifting of 
 the ashes was not properly attended to by the inhabitants, and fre- 
 quent cases of nuisance was the result. The present system resembles 
 that of Birmingham so much that I need not take time to detail the 
 unessential differences. The products arc nnich of the same char- 
 acter, but in manufacturing the poudrctte an addition is made of bone 
 dust, in order to increase the percentage of phosphoric acid. The 
 "Manchester corporation concentrated manure" is guaranteed to con- 
 tain four per cent ammonia, ten per cent, phosphates, five phosphoric 
 acid and one per cent, potash. This, at the rates for valuing fertil- 
 izers in use in Canada, would be worth $'30.r)5 per twenty-two hun- 
 dred pounds. In Manchester this quantity sells for £3, or $15. It 
 has not been found possible to dispose of all the "ash manure" pro- 
 duced at the works of the corporation, and a great deal of it is utilized 
 on the corporation estate at Carrington ]\Ioss. This property, com- 
 prising one thousand one hundred acres, and Chat Moss, with two 
 thousand six hundred acres, both situated about ten miles from the 
 city, close to the ship canal, have been acquired for the express pur- 
 pose of receiving this and other refuse of the city. Such material as 
 clinkers from the WaLer street and Holttown stations, street sweep- 
 ings, which consist largely of horse manure, and market garbage are 
 conveyed direct to these estates and utilized. I shall have something 
 to say later on, as regards the great value of these properties for the 
 purposes of the corporation. 
 
 OLDHAM. 
 
 At the Oldham destructor works the furnaces used are made by the 
 Horsefall Company, of Leeds, and are said to ofifer many advantages. 
 The material destroyed in them consists not only of "dry refuse," but 
 also of household ashes, which are not even sifted. As a substitute 
 
12 DISPOSAL OF REFUSE IN SOME EUROPEAN CITIES. 
 
 for the fine aslies in the night-soil works, cotton shoddy and other 
 refuse from the mills of the place, is used. Of this two-thirds arc 
 used with one-th* ' excreta to make manure, for which the farmers 
 pay two shilling s x pence per ton besides the cartage. The Oldham 
 authorities propose to supplant the pail system by a water-borne 
 system of sewage and precipitation works. The latter are not yet 
 completed, although it is said that $300,000 have already been ex- 
 pended Qn them. 
 
 ROCHDALE. 
 
 The pail system was originated in Rochdale about the year 1870, 
 and so was subsequently the manufacture of ash manure from excreta. 
 In 1883 a new method of treatment was adopted for converting the 
 whole of the excreta into poudrette, and since then no ash manure 
 has been produced. Thus the fine ashes can be sent at once to the 
 "tips" or "dumps." The poudrette or manure is said to contain 
 eight and one-half per cent ammonia, eight and one-half per cent, tri- 
 basic phosphate of lime and five per cent, sulphate of potash. The 
 offensive gases produced from the evaporation of the excreta are car- 
 ried through what is called a "cremator," a brick chamber heated by 
 gas coke, and thus everything in the shape of a nuisance is prevented. 
 
 While visiting ^Manchester and Oldham I had become aware that 
 a certain degree of rivalry exists betwixt the pail system of collecting 
 excreta, by which it is "intercepted," and the water-closet system, 
 by which it finds its way to the sewers. Each has its adherents and 
 the contention between them is sometimes sharp enough. In Roch- 
 dale, at the time of my visit, the pail system had the upper hand, and a 
 population of 72,000 is served by it. There are only about six hun- 
 dred and fifty water-closets in Rochdale, corresponding to a popula- 
 iton of three thousand. Besides this small amount of excreta, there 
 are large quantities of domestic drainage and liquid manufacturing 
 refuse, for the purification of which precipitation works and an irri- 
 gation farm are being constructed and laid out. Leaving out of 
 consideration the expenditure connected with these new works, but 
 including everything else connected with the collection and treat- 
 ment of the refuse of the town of Rochdale, it may be said that, since 
 the introduction of the poudrette manufacture, the gross receipts 
 have amounted to one-third of the gross-expenditure. 
 
 GLASGOW. 
 
 The condition of the Clyde, which passes through the city of Glas- 
 gow, has long been instanced as an example of inexcusable river pol- 
 lution. The dark, almost inky color of its water is, I believe, chiefly 
 owing to the large amount of liquid manufacturing refuse produced 
 
DISPOSAL OF REFUSE IN SOME EUROPEAN CITIES. 13 
 
 in chemical and copper-extracting works. Of course, there is an 
 immense quantity of excretage, as well, in the sewage, but it is not 
 alone to blame for the dirty condition of the River Clyde. 
 
 A beginning has been made at introducing a better state of things 
 by the constructioi; of the "Eastern District sewage purification 
 works," at Dalmarnock, where about one-fourth of the water-borne 
 refuse of Glasgow is treated. The processes employed resemble those 
 of Davyhulme (Manchester), but sulphate of alumina is used instead 
 of copperas, as a precipitan*^. 
 
 HAWICK. 
 
 In Hawick (population 22,000), a water-borne system of sewerage 
 prevails and is, in fact, compulsory. When its enforcement began, 
 the water supply was found to be insufficient and more had to be 
 obtained. The original drainage of Hawick was on the surface, and 
 that being uneven and hilly, storm-water was readily got rid of. It 
 is still led ofT on the surface and very littK of it finds its way to the 
 sewers. Here we have a modification of the separate system, or at 
 least a case in which the contents of the sewers consist of excretage 
 only, the treatment of which is not interfered with or rendered abort- 
 ive by large and sudden inflows of storm-water. Previous to any 
 precipitation it is allowed to deposit, mechanically, some of its im- 
 purities by passing through two pretty large basins. The effluent 
 from these, as it passes on, receives six to ten grains of ferrous sul- 
 phate and ten grains of quicklime to the gallon. This treatment 
 has taken the place of one in which sulphate of alumina and a much 
 larger quantity of lime were used. The resulting sludge deposits 
 itself in some half dozen precipitation basins and the effluent from it 
 is comparatively clear and has an alkaline reaction. It then flows 
 through a series of ponds, where more deposition takes place. It is 
 not further filtered or aerated and finds its way through an iron pipe 
 fifteen inches in diameter into the River Teviot. It would seem that 
 this effluent must be unusually rich in fertilizing substances, but I was 
 not able to ascertain that any analysis had been made of it. The 
 mechanical deposit, and the sludge from the precipitation basins and 
 the ponds, all find their way into manure heaps, which are made up 
 of these and the sweepings and garbage of the town, including ashes 
 and other domestic and slaughter house refuse. This manure is sold 
 at six pence per ton, delivered on the cars. To the farmers it is 
 delivered at the rate of five pence per ton per mile, no charge being 
 made for the .manure itself. Two million gallons of excretage are 
 thus treated daily at a cost of £1,500 annually. 
 
14 DISPOSAL OF RliFUSE IN SOME EUROPEAN CITIES. 
 
 In Dr. J. II. Vogel's "Utilization of City Refuse" (Verwcrtluing 
 der Stiidtischen Abfallstofife), published in 189G, particulars arc j^iven 
 regarding the systems of refuse disposal practiced in five hundred and 
 sixty-four German towns and cities, having a population from five 
 thousand upwards. Of these ninety-two per cent, arc still contented 
 with the so-called Gruben system (conservancy system in England) 
 for the collection of excretage, for the very good reason that it ena- 
 bles the authorities to prohibit human refuse from gaining access to 
 the sewers. In 1896 I had an opportunity of observinj^c the work- 
 ing of this system in Freiberg, a town of 30,000 inhabitants, and 
 Leipzig, with a population of 400,000. 
 
 LEIPZIG. 
 
 In the latter city about one-tenth of the population make use of 
 water closets, and the remaining nine-tenths of the ordinary "aborts," 
 or privies, which are connected with the pits by glazed sanitary pipes 
 seven to eight inches in diameter. The pits are usually placed in the 
 court yards, are well built of stone or brick and have in the center 
 of their floors a depression in which the end of the suction pipe from 
 the receptacle wagons may be placed. A vacuum is created in the 
 receptacle by an air pump placed on another wagon and driven by 
 steam, and the contents of the pit arc thus drawn up into the air- 
 tight receivers. Any offensive gases drawn ofif by the pump are 
 passed under the grate of the steam boiler and so destroyed. The 
 system is the same as that in use in Dresden, Chemnitz, Stuttgart, 
 Mannlicim, Nuremberg and otlier German cities. The receptacles 
 above mentioned arc emptied into similar containers placed on rail- 
 way wagons, by means of compressed air, produced by the same air 
 pump and steam boiler used in emptying the pil;s. The railway 
 wagons are then taken out to stations four or five miles distant from 
 the city and there emptied by flow into lower-lying reservoirs of large 
 dimensions. This is done to store it until required by the farmers, 
 who pay for it at the rate of 2.20 marks per cubic meter, and cart it 
 away themselves from the reservoirs. When delivered on the farms 
 the price is three marks per cubic meter. When the stock accumulates 
 it is often given away gratis. The mixed fecal matters are applied by 
 the farmers at once in the fields. With reference to the w^ater-closets, 
 the excreta from them is not allowed direct access to the sewers. It 
 is received into a pit and disinfected by the use of chloride of lime and 
 other chemicals. From the first pit there is an overflow into a sec- 
 ond, where further treatment takes place, as well as precipitation. 
 The effluent here is under the inspection of a city official, who is sup- 
 posed to test it in some way or other. The disinfecting is done by 
 
DISPOSAL OF REFUSE IN SOME EUROPEAN CITIES. 15 
 
 the householder or by persons in his employment, and none of the 
 expense of it is borne by the city or by the contractors who remove 
 the refuse. The latter remove the substances deposited in these 
 disinfection pits in the same manner as from those of the ordinary 
 construction, but double rates arc charged for the service. Strangers 
 in Leipzig boa. ig at private houses sometimes comjjlain of the 
 smell rom the water-closets, but the foreman in charge of the work 
 of removing the refuse maintained that sucli cases were extremely 
 rare. 
 
 FREIBERG. 
 
 In the town of Freiberg, Saxony, the sanitary arrangements arc 
 essentially the same as those of Leipzig, but on a smaller scale. There 
 are a few water-closets but at lea:jt nineteen-twentieths of the popula- 
 tion are served by the system of direct removal. The machines used 
 for emptying the pits are worked by hand, and the escaping gases are 
 passed through a charcoal fire in a small iron stove, attached to the 
 pump, in order to accomplish their deodorization. Sonic of the 
 excreta pits are very badly placed. One, which I saw being emptied 
 in the old part of the town, was situated under the staircase of a ten- 
 ement house- There was no smell developed, although the contents 
 were constantly stirred to insure the effective working of the suction 
 pipe. The receptacles on the wagons in which the pit contents are 
 transported are constructed of wood, not iron. When loaded they 
 are driven out of the town to a reservoir about two miles distant, 
 which is built of brick, divided into two halves. These are covered 
 with a wooden roof upon which a wooden ventilation shaft is erected 
 with a height of about eighty feet. There is not much odor per- 
 ceptible around the reservoir, nor does the discharge of a receptacle 
 or the filling of the farmers' wagons occasion any difficulty. Upon 
 the latter are placed wooden cylinders about 12 feet long and ^Y-^ 
 in diameter in a horizontal position. The excreta is pumped up out 
 of the reservoir by a chain pump into a square stationary receiver, 
 containing a cubic metre, for which the farmers are charged M. 1.50. 
 So far there has been no difficulty in selling the product of the town 
 at this rate. 
 
 BREMEN. 
 
 In Bremen, a city of 135,000 inhabitants, there exists what Dr. 
 Vogel calls a mixed system of refuse disposal. Human refuse is ex- 
 cluded from the sewers, and about one-third of the inhabitants are 
 served by the pit system above referred to. A peculiarity connected 
 with it is the use of pneumatic receptacles for emptying the pits. 
 These are placed on wagons, are made of iron and look like small 
 
16 DISroSAL or A'/: ITS/-: in SOM/C ElfROrilAN CITIl'lS. 
 
 round boilers with a manhole in one end. These, when brought about 
 ten miles out of the city, full, are discharged by simple gravitation 
 into a reservoir, from which the farmers of the neighborhood arc sup- 
 plied. The boilers or receptacles when empty have a jet of steam 
 thrown into them which drives out the air, and takes its place. Then 
 the receptacles are securely closed. On their way back to the city 
 they cool, the steam condenses, and a vacuum is formed. On arriving 
 at the pit which is to be emptied the suction pipes which extend to the 
 bottom of it are joined to the hose of the receptacle and the valve of 
 the latter opened, when it is filled from the pit in about three minutes. 
 Of course, it sometimes happens that there are obstructions, and 
 occasionally the contents of the pit are not sufficient to fill the recepta- 
 cle, but on the whole the system works well and dispenses with the 
 engine or pumps used in Leipzig and elsewhere. 
 
 Another large portion of the excretage of this city is removed by a 
 well-conducted pail system, and about 55 per cent, of the population 
 is served in this way. A third system is also at work which consists 
 in the use of moss litter as a deodorizer, absorbent and disinfectant. 
 I inspected the working of this plan at the gas works where there are 
 about 200 men employed, who use the closets at least during one 
 shift. The receptacles, which looked like small casks, are placed un- 
 der the seats, and are removed and emptied twice a week whether full 
 or not. Every morning it is the duty of a workman to go to each 
 closet and strew moss litter on the contents of the receptacles. All 
 offensive odors are absorbed by it, and nothing disagreeable is to be 
 observed in inspecting the closets. Four bales of moss litter are used 
 per annum, averaging each 140 kilos, or about 1408 pounds in all. 
 This is equal to seven pounds per annum per man on a twelve hours' 
 shift. For twenty-four hours the yearly quantity required would be 
 fourteen pounds per man. This is a very small quantity and shows 
 that moss litter is far more eflfective as a deodorizer than dry earth, 
 Moss litter is used extensively in private houses and automatic closets 
 have been constructed to effect its proper admixture with the excreta. 
 I inspected two of these at the Tivoli Theatre and the Hansa res- 
 taurant. In one case the self-working apparatus was out of order and 
 in the other the box for containing the moss litter was empty. Under 
 such circumstances the question arises as to whether the moss litter 
 system would not work better without automatically constructed seats 
 and special receptacles. There would seem to be no obstacle in 
 carrying it out with the ordinary seats and well constructed pits in 
 which the resulting dung might be allowed to accumulate for, say, six 
 months before emptying. In towns irregularities might be prevented 
 by specially detailing men to strew the moss litter. Whatever the 
 
Disros.iL or a'/:fi\s/-: /n so a//-: Ecuorr.AN cities, i? 
 
 merits of this new system may be, there is no doubt that the use of 
 moss litter as a deodorizer is incrensitijj; in Bremen, while other Ger- 
 man towns such as Neumiinster, Mimden and Crossen a. O., have 
 adopted the moss litter system exclusively, Miindcn going so far as 
 to make its adoption compulsory. 
 
 BRAUNSCIIWErC. 
 
 On the other hand it has to be admitted that in Braunschweig, where 
 the moss litter system was first introduced, the authorities have seen 
 fit to resort to other means of refuse disposal. The population now 
 exceeds 100,000, and the building of new houses with modern con- 
 veniences has caused the pollution of the sewers with excretage, which 
 finds its way into the river Oker. To prevent any further contamina- 
 tion arrangements are being made for the treatment of the sewage by 
 irrigation as in Berlin. I was informed, however, that for about one- 
 half the population of Braunschweig the moss litter system is still pra- 
 ticed and that it works well. The resulting moss manure is not in the 
 slightest degree offensive and has been proved to have a high agricul- 
 tural value. Very thorough investigations have been made by such 
 German scientists as Gartner, Friinkcl and Stutzer regarding the 
 power which moss litter possesses of destroying bacteria. It has been 
 found that when it is moistened with about 2 per cent, of sulphuric 
 acid in a dilute condition it is capable of destroying every species of 
 disease-breeding germs, and that its use is in the highest degree ad- 
 vantageous from a hygienic point of view. It is therefore not only 
 an absorbent and deodorizer, but also a disinfectant. It contains from 
 0.75 to 1.75 per cent, of nitrogen in an inactive condition, but this 
 becomes available after its return to the soil in the shape of moss 
 manure. Its value in nitrogen alone is equal to $3 per ton. 
 
 Moss litter is produced in large quantity in North Germany and 
 Holland, and is shipped from Rotterdam to London and even to Bos- 
 ton and New York for use in stables as bedding and as an absorbent. 
 There are extensive bogs in Canada from which it can be produced, 
 and the sample now before the meeting is from one now being worked 
 in the County of Welland. Experiments have been made with it 
 which show that 100 pounds are capable of deodorizing 800 pounds of 
 excreta. Compared with dry earth its deodorizing power is at least 
 eight times greater. It is equally effective with kitchen refuse, which 
 in summer is a source of much annoyance to housekeepers. When 
 this refuse is collected in a tub, and strewed over with a small quantity 
 of moss litter all offensive odor disappears- Layer after layer may be 
 thus treated and, when the tub is full, the contents can be easily burnt 
 in a kitchen stove. 
 
18 DisrosAi. or Aw:/rs/:' /\ soj\//c in'RornAN cities. 
 
 Ill these "remarks" I have pointed out the (listitiijuisliinp^ features of 
 the refuse (hsposal systems in fourteen cities and towns in Kngland 
 and Germany, as they appeared to me at the time of my visit. If we 
 attempt to classify the systems described, as far as regards sewage dis- 
 posal, we at once become aware of their exceeding diversity. In 
 certain of the towns described, not far distant from each other, the 
 systems arc essentially the same. This is the case with London and 
 Lfeyton, with Rochdale and Oldham, with Freiberg and Leipzig. But 
 in all the others the systems arc distinctly different as the following list 
 shows : 
 
 London — Water carriage and precipitation. 
 
 Lcyton — Water carriage and precipitation. 
 
 Berlin — Water carriage and irrigation. 
 
 Walthamstowe — Water carriage, precipitation and irrigation. 
 
 Birmingham — Conservanc\ by pail system, interception, water car- 
 riage, precipitation and irrigation. 
 
 Manchester — Conservancy by pail system, water carriage and pre- 
 cipitation. 
 
 Rochdale — Interception by pail system. 
 
 Oldham — Interception by pail system. 
 
 Glasgow — Water carriage, conservancy and precipitation. 
 
 Hawick — Deposition and precipitation. 
 
 Leipzig — Conservancy by pit system. 
 
 Freiberg — Conservancy by pit system. 
 
 Bremen — Conservancy by pit and pail systems, and moss litter 
 system. 
 
 Braunschweig — Water carriage, irrigation, and moss Utter sytem. 
 
 In these fourteen cities and towns it would therefore appear that ten 
 different systems are in operation essentially differing from each other. 
 
 In the work above mentioned Dr. Vogel states that there is no one 
 method for the disposal of town refuse which can be considered as the 
 best and suitable for all circumstances and localities. Something to 
 the same effect has been stated more than once in tlie reports of the 
 Board of Health for the Province of Ontario. There is no universal 
 medicine, and no system everywhere applicable with equal economy to 
 the cleansing of a city. But it will readily be admitted that there are 
 many methods in operation at the present day which leave much to be 
 desired in aesthetic, hygienic and economic respects, and some of these 
 imperfect methods have been described in this paper. If any of these 
 are objectionable, then improvement is desirable, and it is for us to 
 endeavor to ascertain the direction in which such improvement is most 
 likely to be found. Each one of us has no doubt his convictions and 
 perhaps prejudices on the subject. I confess that I have mine, based 
 
n/srosAL OF a'/:fc/s/': in som/c /crA'or/c.iN ciriics. lo 
 
 largely, I claim, upon observations made in the localities above men- 
 tioned. With all due deference to the opinions of other members nf 
 this Association who have studied the subject, I shall state my views 
 for what they are worth. 
 
 For cities I believe the direction of improvement lies in the exclusion 
 from the sewers of storm and surface water, and the treatment of the 
 excretage by comminution or precipitation and irrigation. It is very 
 well known that in many precipitation works and also on irrigation 
 farms the regular course of work is frequently interrupted and the 
 proper utilization of the sewage prevented by sudden or long con- 
 tinued rains. By these the sewage is diluted, or carried away into the 
 water courses sometimes without any treatment at all, complaints and 
 suits for damages being the result. In the case of Hawick we have 
 seen that it is possible to exclude surface and storm-water from the 
 excretage in the sewers, and in all similar hilly localities, such as 
 Birmingham for instance, it would seem comparatively easy to provide 
 surface courses for the surface water. Where this is impossible there 
 seems to be no other plan available, except the separate system, the 
 drainage going direct to the water courses, and the excretage to the 
 precipitation works and irrigation farms. 
 
 For towns of 30,000 population and inider, I believe that improve- 
 ment will be found possible by substituting the moss litter system for 
 conservancy of every description. The reason why systems of direct 
 disposal are so difficult to abolish lies in the fact that the introduction 
 of any of the various systems which have been proposed in their place 
 involves financial sacrifices which many communities cannot be per- 
 suaded to make. On the other hand to convert a conservancy into a 
 moss litter system would seem to be a comparatively inexpensive un- 
 dertaking. Much alteration would not be required in the existing 
 conveniences, and the immediate result would be the production of an 
 inoffensive manure, scarcely recognizable as such, which could be 
 handled and transported without annoying anyone, and which would 
 be welcome to the farmer as an excellent fertilizer. In order, however, 
 to insure the successful working of the moss litter system it is before 
 all things necessary that the town authorities should manage it and that 
 a method of regular inspection should be carried out, so as to insure 
 the proper and regular use of the moss Utter. It is not to be expected 
 that such a system would replace that of water carriage where it has 
 been established, but there are many small towns where such a simple 
 and effective plan of excreta disposal as that by means of moss litter 
 could readily be established, and would be retained permanently even 
 after the population had considerably augmented. 
 
20 i)/sros.iL OF h'/:tusi-: in somj- inKoriiAN cihes. 
 
 I may mentioti that the treatment of excreta by moss litter has long 
 been in use at Caledonia Springs, Ont., and has given the most satis- 
 factory results. 1 give this as an excellent practical example of the 
 system which I look upon as the most effective and economical for 
 towns and villages. \\ ith reference to the plan which seems to me 
 ought to he recommended for cities, namely, exclusion of surface 
 water, comminution and irrigation, our best example in Catiada is 
 that practiced at the Asylum ft)r the Insane at London, Out. 
 
 I cannot conclude this paper without again noticing Manchester and 
 its peculiar troubles and surroundings. It appears that since the time 
 of my visit the effluent flow from the sewage works at Davyhulme has 
 not been giving satisfaction, and a scheme was proposed for conveying 
 it to the estuary of the Mersey by means of a culvert. Subsequently 
 this plan encountered violent opposition and had to be abandoned. 
 The corporation of Manchester must by this time have almost arrived 
 at the conclusioti that to solve the sewage problem "passes the wit of 
 man." At the same time it is the fact tliat the city owns 3700 acres of 
 lands on the banks of the ship canal, underlying which there is a prac- 
 tically inexhaustible quantity of moss litter. By removing this, and 
 utilizing it in the city for the manufacture of moss manure, an excellent 
 dumping ground might be obtained for the less offensive refuse of the 
 city, such as ashes, rubbish, etc. Upon this in course of time, and by 
 means of the moss manure, the whole extent of both Chat and Car- 
 rington Moss might be converted into a most fruitful area, and made 
 in fact to "blossom like the rose." 
 
I