The Plumber and Sanitary 
 Houses. 
 
 A Practical Treatise on the Principles of Inte^-nal Pbimbing 
 
 Work; or the best means for effectually excluding 
 
 Noxious Gases from our houses. 
 
 WITH A CHAPTER ON COWL TESTING. 
 
 By S. STEVENS HELLYER. 
 
 Second Edition, greatly enlarged, with 23 Lithographic Plates, and 
 119 Woodcut Illustrations. 8vo. Cloth. Price los. 6d. post free. 
 
 " It would be superfluous to say more about a work the principal defect of which 
 is that it advocates a style of work so excellent, and so far beyond the mental powers 
 of the ordinary old-fashioned plumber, th it some trouble will no doubt be incurred by 
 those who insist on Mr. Hellyer's rules being put into practice. But there is nothing 
 advocated, after all, that is not suitable to the requirements of ordinary life in cities. 
 To all about to build a house we would say. Buy Mr. Hellyer's "work, and read 
 it." — The Ens^ineer. 
 
 " We should be glad if every plumber in the kingdom would buy the book ; this 
 would give a good sale to Mr. Hellyer, and a good lift to Sanitary Plumbing." — The 
 Builder. 
 
 " Unquestionably the best manual of Plumbing practice yet published. Archi- 
 tects, Plumbers, Builders, and Householders, who read it carefully, will surely gain 
 therebj\" — The Sanitary Engineer. 
 
 "Mr. Hellyer's book deserves very considerable praise from whatever point of 
 view it is regarded." — The Sanitary Record. 
 
 "Altogether we can recommend Mr. Hellyer's bonk in its enlarged form, as 
 heartily as we did the first edition. It is thoroughly practical, and eminently read- 
 able, and it is, in fact, a volume which every householder would do well to possess 
 and study." — Engitieering. 
 
 " If all working Plumbers had Mr. Hellyer's book off by heart, and believed in it, 
 we should have comparativelj' little need to warn householders of their dangers in 
 unsanitary houses." — 77ie British Architect. 
 
 "Clear and lucid in style, as a practical book should be ; well illustrated with 
 drawings and plans. . . We hope that the work will attain a circulation through- 
 out all the classes to whom it is addressed, and to whom it will prove interesting and 
 usefu'. " — Jilustrated Carpenter and Builder. 
 
 " This book ... we heartily recommend for the scientific and practical way 
 in which the important subject of house sanitation is treated. . . . His work 
 should be in the hands of every plumber." — The Plu77iber and Decorator. 
 
 " Exactly what it pretends to be, a practical treatise on the principles of internal 
 plumbmg work, and the best means of excluding noxious gases from our houses. 
 Since Mr. Hellyer gave forth in a first edition his sensible hints and suggestions, the 
 plumbing at Buckingham Palace, Marlborough House, and a great number of noble- 
 men's and gentlemen's houses in all parts of the country as well as in London, has 
 been overhauled and perfected ' on the principles which were therein laid down." — 
 Daily Telet^raph. 
 
 "A second edition has appeared of Mr. Hellyer's exhaustive volume on internal 
 plumbing work, which exposes ruthlessly the many dangers incident to the old- 
 fashioned systems, and points out the proper way of avoiding them. If the author is 
 at times too sweeping in his condemnations, that is a fault on the right side." — 
 Saturday Revieiu. 
 
 " Mr. Hellyer's book will be found to be of value in giving the experiences of a 
 practical man who has a personal knowledge of the best forms of apparatus to be used 
 by those who wish their houses to be healthy. The book is well illustrated, and a 
 brief account is given of all the apparatus which is generally in use, and which Mr. 
 Hellyer especially recommends." — Land. 
 
 " The book is well got up, is nicely printed, and profusely illustrated, and is likely 
 to be of service to Builders and Health Officers, whether medical or otherwise. — 
 Lancet. 
 
 B. T. BATS FORD, 52, High Holborn, London.
 
 
 SECOND EDITION-. 
 
 ^OMVM 
 
 
 ^lU 
 
 AMDAR"rO:F' 
 SANTTARy 
 
 PlyVMBItlO 
 
 Ajithor of 
 
 " The Phimber a?id 
 Sanitary HousesP 
 
 B. T. BATSFORD, 52, HIGH HOLBORN, LONDON.
 
 TO THE NATIONAL HEALTH SOCIETY, 
 
 WHOSE WIDE SYMPATHIES EMBRACE ALL SANITARY SUBJECTS, 
 
 AND WHOSE MOTTO, 
 
 "PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE," 
 
 W)cst TUntmtB 
 
 ARE INTENDED TO EXEMPLIFY.
 
 CONTENTS, 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introductory i 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 Joints and Pipe Bending 30 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 The Necessity of Traps 82 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 Traps and Trap Ventilation ... ... 121 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 Water-closets, Soil-pipes, and Waste-pipes 184 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 House Drainage and Ventilation 243
 
 THE SCIENCE AND ART 
 
 OF 
 
 SANITARY PLUMBING. 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 Unsanitary Plumbing — Force of Prejudices — Importance of Know- 
 ledge of Principles — \Vlio should call themselves Plumbers ? — 
 Need of a School of Plumbing. 
 
 It is due to many here to-night, as weU as to 
 myself, that I should make one or two prefatory 
 remarks before commencing my Lecture. T never 
 aspired to address an audience such as I now see 
 before me, for I do not set myself up as a lecturer. 
 All that I intended, was to give a quiet address to 
 plumbers. But, perhaps, I am now making a mis- 
 take, and }'0u are ALL practical plumbers } I 
 should, however, like to see your credentials, for I 
 should then feel more at home. The ladies ! well, 
 I must think of them as a superior order of 
 " mates." 
 
 Barnum, the American showman, once got 
 
 together a great concourse of people to see some 
 
 queer animal. The people were all formed into a 
 
 ring or circus, and the poor little animal was set 
 
 B
 
 The Science and A7't of 
 
 National 
 
 Health 
 
 Society. 
 
 Plumbers 
 
 and 
 
 Lectures. 
 
 in their midst, but the people were so disap- 
 pointed that they demanded their money back 
 again. Now, as many are likely to be disappointed 
 to-night, there will be no money to return, but you 
 will want compensation, no doubt. I beg, there- 
 fore, that you will indite your letters of complaint 
 to the National Health Society, for tJiey are respon- 
 sible for your presence — my address is to working 
 plumbers. 
 
 When asked by the chairman of the National 
 Health Society, Mr. Ernest Hart, to give a series 
 of lectures on plumbing to plumbers, a doubt 
 crossed my mind as to whether we should be able 
 to get a good attendance of plumbers to hear 
 them ; for plumbers are, as a class, very inde- 
 pendent, and difficult to draw out ; they are still 
 more difficult to turn, especially when they have a 
 roll of lead on their shoulders. 
 
 Therefore, before deciding to deliver these 
 lectures, I asked Mr. Hart to give me a week to 
 think over the matter, and for enquiries to be 
 made of the general London working plumbers, 
 to hear whether they would be likely to attend in 
 any force. I soon found that any doubt as to the 
 interest plumbers would take in these lectures 
 might be instantly removed, and the attendance^ 
 
 * "The hall was greatly over-crowded, and the audience over- 
 flowed into the ante-rooms and even on to the staircase, so that 
 many who attended were unable to hear the lecture." — The Builder^ 
 May 21, 1881. 
 
 Second Lecture: — "The hall was, as before, densely crowded, 
 and great interest was manifested in the lecture." — The Building 
 News, June 3, 1881.
 
 Sa?iitary Plumbing. 3 
 
 to-night proves that the National Health Society 
 was right in asking for such lectures to be delivered. 
 
 I do not underrate the difficulties of my posi- 
 tion in addressing an audience of practical plumbers 
 on the science of plumbing ; for if it is difficult to 
 get a joke into a Scotchman's head, it is even 
 more difficult to get a theory into the heads of 
 some plumbers ; but I claim your indulgence. 
 
 For many years I have made sanitary plumb- p^^^^tj^^ 
 ing my special study, and have written a book 
 upon it ; and as the joint-employer of the largest 
 number of working plumbers of any plumbing 
 house in the United Kingdom, I ask you to give 
 me a patient hearing while laying down what I 
 consider the true principles of sanitary plumbing 
 and house drainage. 
 
 I shall advance no theory which will not square Theory and 
 
 Practice. 
 
 With practice ; and to carry conviction to every 
 mind, or, so to speak, to make the new platform of 
 plumbing thought strong enough for the plumb- 
 ing world to stand upon, I shall prove my theories 
 by practical experiments. 
 
 In these lectures I am thinking and speaking Working 
 chiefly of the general working plumber, the hand- 
 worker, as I have elsewhere called him; but I have 
 in my eye at the same time the master plumber, Master 
 
 ^ ^ r J Plumbers. 
 
 especially the small master plumber (who is both 
 master and man), as I want what is said to be of 
 service to all who call themselves plumbers. 
 
 Unfortunately, some plumbers are difficult to Plumbers 
 
 •" ^ _ and their 
 
 move when once they have taken up a position ; Grand- 
 
 ^ r r > fathers. 
 
 B 2
 
 4 The Science and Art of 
 
 and, judging from the principles on which many 
 of them work, they must be occupying the posi- 
 tions taken up by their great-grandfathers about 
 a century ago — schemes may come, and schemes 
 
 Bad Prac- "^^^ S<^' ^^^ ^^^^^ Stand Still for evcr. For instance, 
 
 tices. J often come across service-boxes in drinking- 
 
 water cisterns; badly ventilated soil-pipes ; cistern- 
 wastes connected with W.C. traps ; waste-pipes 
 from sinks, baths, and lavatories branched into 
 soil-pipes ; waste-pipes from W.C. safes connected 
 with the soil-pipe or W.C. traps ; connection with 
 the drain everywhere, but <//j-connection nowhere. 
 And this is not a word-picture of the plumbing 
 in old houses only, for it is often seen in neiv 
 houses, too, and I am ashamed to say it, both for 
 the architect's sake and plumbers', in houses which 
 have never been occupied. 
 
 Unsanitary You will agree with me that plumbers who 
 impose such unsanitary plumbing upon the public 
 want waking up ; they have been in " Sleepy- 
 hollow " long enough, and should now be holloaed 
 out. 
 
 Plumbers'- Sanitarians are, no doubt, very hard upon 
 plumbers, but rightly so, for continuing these old 
 plumbing practices, now that a more excellent way 
 has been laid down for them. "" Men of light and 
 leading " are moving along the new sanitary way, 
 with their lamps well lit with truth, and yet the old- 
 fashioned plumber in city, town, and village will 
 not venture forth. There he stands, surrounded by 
 his pets — D-traps and pan-closets — as full of bigo- 
 
 Plumbing. 
 
 prejudices.
 
 Sanitary Plumlwig. 5 
 
 try as the many unventilated soil and waste-pipes 
 he has fixed are full of bad air. 
 
 But you say that plumbers do not take kindly Pro- 
 
 1 • 1 rr 1 1 fes=;ional 
 
 to the new light offered them, because it comes Sani- 
 from professional sanitarians. You say it is only 
 artificial light — second-hand light — and that it 
 flickers a good deal. I admit that in many cases 
 it is only a borrowed Hg/ii, and that there is not 
 much heat in it. But there are good steady 
 lights^ held forth by sanitarians of experience, as 
 well as the wandering lights which amateur sani- 
 tarians are fond of carrying about in their little 
 lanterns. 
 
 And as the cry should be for '' more light," you More 
 should always be ready to receive it, whether it '^ ^" 
 come from a rushlight, lantern-light, fanlight, or 
 skylight, but the purer the better. Never extin- 
 guish a light, but try to distinguish yourself in 
 the light. 
 
 Whenever you find a man who will not open his 
 mind to receive knowledge, no matter from whom 
 or whence it comes — and it often comes from 
 quarters whence it is least expected — you find a 
 man profoundly to be pitied. The flowers open 
 their petals to receive light (and they will work 
 their way through many obstacles, even through 
 brick walls^ to get it), but so unselfish are they that 
 by a little chemistry of their own they turn light 
 and air into sweet perfume, and so give back again 
 all they receive. And shall Man, the thinker, the 
 great reciprocator, shut up his mind, and cease to
 
 6 The Science and Art of 
 
 carry on commerce with mind ? That may do for 
 mummies, it will not do for living men. 
 
 Men differ. But aU men are not alike. Some men are like 
 
 cistern-heads, they hold nothing ; for as fast as you 
 put anything into them, it runs out again. And 
 there are men like solder-pots, which are soon 
 filled ; and then, when they are filled, you can get 
 nothing more into them. But, fortunately for the 
 world's progress, other men are like store-cisterns, 
 which are ever ready to fill anybody's cup, and 
 which never get empty, for they are supplied by a 
 ram fed by an ever-running brooklet, or a never- 
 failing spring. 
 
 Man's Now I hold it to be the duty of every man to 
 
 do his utmost to make himself a thorough master 
 of his trade or profession, not only for his own good, 
 but for the good of his time, and for the good of his 
 country ; and blessed is that man who counts this 
 not only his duty but his privilege. He may be 
 only a poor working plumber, but if in his life he 
 has done his best, his life will not have been 
 wasted, though his name go with him into the 
 grave, 
 
 " Unwept, unhonoured, and nnsung." 
 
 It is not so much ivhat a man does that makes his 
 life grand, as Jiow he does it. 
 British The British workman is not a general favourite 
 
 Workman. _ 
 
 with the public, and the plumber is no exception ; 
 for everybody takes the liberty of having a fling at 
 him. Shakespeare — who saw into men and things 
 with the eyes of a Seer — saw a weakness of the
 
 Sa?iitary Plumbing. 7 
 
 plumber in his day, and struck him, as he used to 
 strike, hard. But Bacon saw the better side of 
 him, for he speaks of the " goodly leads ■" laid by 
 the plumber on the " three-storied tower." 
 
 There are plumbers ajid plumbers ; and as it Plumbers 
 would be unfair to judge of the medical faculty by Tinkers, 
 quacks, so would it be equally unfair to judge of 
 plumbers by tinkers. 
 
 Men who write on their signboards, "Plumber, Tacks of all 
 
 Trades. 
 
 Painter, Glazier, Decorator, Paper-hanger, Gas- 
 fitter, Bell-hanger, Copper-smith, and Tin-plate- 
 worker," are not likely to be skilled plumbers, but 
 they are very likely to be " Jacks of all trades and 
 masters of none." 
 
 I am not exaggerating when I say that scores 
 of such signboards can be seen throughout Great 
 Britain, with the additional trades, in some cases, 
 of '' Builder, Hot-water engineer," and sometimes 
 " Undertaker " — the undertaking part of so many 
 trades must be unquestionable. Some such boards 
 are to be seen within six miles of this spot. Men 
 write a long list of trades on their business-cards, 
 and then wind up with the words " Sanitary Engi- 
 neer." And as a proof of their great sanitary 
 knowledge, they call in an engraver, and get a Pan 
 closet, with a D-trapand service-box supply arrange- 
 ment, illustrated in the margin of the card, as a sort 
 of badge ; and then, to remove all doubt as to their 
 ability, they write across the card in italics, *' Sani- 
 tary work carried out on the newest principles." 
 We have had several such cards sent to our house
 
 8 The Science and Art of 
 
 of business : — An enlarged copy of this card — and 
 a sample of many such — was shown on the wall, as 
 actually received by us in the early part of this 
 year. On the left-hand side is a wood-cut of a 
 Pan closet seen in section, fitted with D-trap and 
 elbozv soil-pipe, and supplied by a service-box 
 fixed in a drinking-water cistern ! The inscription 
 runs — 
 
 X. Y. Z., 
 BUILDER, PLUMBER, PAINTER, 
 ^la^ier, Carpenter, 
 
 RANGE AND STOVE MAKER, 
 
 Hot-Water Engineer, 
 
 WATER-CLOSETS FIXED ON THE /\/EWEST PRINCIPLES. 
 
 WRITING, GRAINING, MARBLING. 
 Fountains Erected. 
 
 Master of What must be the aq-e of such a man ? Suppose 
 
 Arts. ^ / ^ . 
 
 we say so many years for each trade — but it will 
 take too long to reckon up, so let us put him down 
 as verj ancient, and, though Oxford or Cambridge 
 know him not, he is entitled to the degree of Master 
 of Arts. I recommend the public to look tzvice at 
 such sign-boards before entering under them once 
 to get sanitary work done. They should be 
 treated as warning-boards, that " he may run who 
 readeth." 
 
 I know there would be great difficulties in 
 separating each individual trade just mentioned, 
 especially in small towns and villages, where it is 
 almost necessary for men to be what are called
 
 Sanitary Fliimbmg. 9 
 
 " three-branch hands " to get a Hving ; but I con- 
 tend that no man should be allowed to call him- 
 self a plumber, unless he understands the art of 
 plumbing. Further^ I would insist upon every 
 man being licensed before being allowed to carry Licensed 
 on the practice of sanitary plumbing, or to write 
 "Sanitary Plumber"" or "Sanitary Engineer" on 
 his sign-board or door-plate. And before he would 
 obtain such a license, he should be made to 
 pass an examination in the Science and Art of 
 Plumbing before fully authorised and qualified 
 examiners. 
 
 There is no trade the full knowledge of which Medical 
 
 Men and 
 
 by the craftsman is so important for the general House 
 
 , . rr^, . . Sanitation. 
 
 health of the community. Ihe ever-mcreasing 
 army of earnest and able medical men that are 
 labouring so self-sacrificingly, and therefore so 
 nobly, under the modern banner of " Preventive 
 Medicine/' will labour in vain if their efforts are 
 not seconded by the plumber. The medical man 
 is fully alive now to the value of house sanitation ; 
 and when he has reason to suppose that his patient 
 is suffering from a complaint attributable to bad 
 drainage, he at once calls upon the head of the 
 family to " set his house in order," and the plumber 
 should be equal to the occasion. 
 
 A stinking water-closet ; a non-cleansing sink Bad 
 
 Plumbing. 
 
 or closet trap ; a badly-ventilated soil-pipe or 
 w^aste-pipe ; a sewer ventilating itself into the 
 house-drain ; a drain ventilating itself into the 
 house — through a surface-trap, bell-trap, or any
 
 lo The Science and Art of 
 
 other kind of trap or defective piping ; a drinking- 
 water cistern badly placed, or in direct communi- 
 cation with a W.C. through a service-box supply- 
 arrangement, is quite sufficient to make a house 
 unfit for occupation. 
 Anybody a Now, when auvbodv is allowed to set up as a 
 
 "Sanitary" , ^ 
 
 Plumber. "sanitary plumber'^ regardless of any qualification 
 for it (except a few D-traps and pan-closets, &c., 
 in the window for the master plumber, and a large 
 pair of corduroy trousers for the journeyman, with 
 a little knowledge of joint- wiping), how are the 
 public to know the skilled and qualified plumber 
 from the unskilled and unqualified ? It is easy 
 to say " Codlin is your friend ; " easy to write 
 " Plumber " or " Sanitary Plumber," or " Sanitary 
 Engineer" on a sign-board or door-plate, but is 
 the man what he professes to be ? The important 
 question is — How am I, a stranger to plumbers 
 and plumbing, to know that the man who calls 
 himself a plumber is competent to carry out the 
 plumbing I want done in my house on sound 
 sanitary principles ? 
 
 Some people will say ''things right themselves, 
 as boats when capsized." But do they? At any 
 rate, if they do, it is generally after they have done 
 House- a deal of mischief Others will say, " householders 
 victims.' will soon find out when they have employed the 
 wrong man." Alas, poor victims, yes ! But not 
 before they are in the occupation of their houses, 
 and it will then be too late in many cases, for they 
 will have laid out all the money they can spare in
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. ii 
 
 the alterations of their houses, and in beautifying 
 them — for some people have a bad habit of spend- 
 ing right up to the hilt of their means ; and if they 
 have any money left they want that for a nobler pur- 
 pose — namely, for educating their families. They 
 know that the sanitary arrangements are defective, 
 for they meet with signs of bad drainage in many 
 parts of their habitations, and when they go into 
 their water-closets it is like going into huge 
 smelling-bottles. But they have paid for the work 
 to be done properly once^ and rather than pay for 
 it again they prefer to run some risk, and ill-health 
 and sickness are often the consequence. 
 
 The misfortune is, that if the dissatisfied house- 
 holder send for the plumber who did the work, to 
 come and explain the cause of certain bad smells 
 in his house, he would not get much help from 
 him ; for when he came he would remember that 
 the plumbing had been done by him to the best of 
 his ability. If he went into the water-closets he 
 would only find a " little smell," but his well- 
 seasoned nose always finds such smells in W.C.'s, 
 and he would only find what he expected, a fusty 
 closet smell, as of dried excrement upon a large 
 unwashed and uncleansed surface. He would admit 
 that it would be rather sickly to live in such W.C.'s, 
 but as one is only in such places for a short time 
 daily, he would think it does not so much matter. 
 He would forget that such stinking closets, when 
 they exist, breathe out their filthy odour into the 
 house day and night. And as he would most likely
 
 12 The Science and Art oj 
 
 be totally oblivious of the fact that W.C.'s could 
 be fixed zvJiicJi zvoiiid not be in anyway ojfensive^ he 
 would take his departure, in peace with his own 
 mind, to perpetrate in other houses the same evil 
 deeds. 
 The Public This is most unsatisfactory, both for the public 
 
 and the / > r 
 
 Plumber, and the plumber. The public have a right to be 
 guaranteed against such unsanitary plumbing when 
 they call in a plumber, and if plumbers were com- 
 pelled by Government to have a licence before 
 being allowed to carry on their business, no such 
 stinking water-closets would be fixed, no such 
 tinkering plumbing would be done, and the health 
 of this great city, the health of our towns, the health 
 of our hotels, the health of our sea-side lodging- 
 houses, would be generally improved. 
 
 Unsanitary J g^j^ often travelling; in various parts of the 
 
 Closets in t> i 
 
 Hotels. country, and the first thing I do when I have to 
 stay a night at any hotel, is to see that my bed- 
 room is well removed from any water-closet or sink. 
 I remember staying a night, a year or two ago, in 
 one of the best hotels in one of our most ancient 
 cities. I could not get off to sleep ; my mind was 
 at home, but my sense of smell was with me in the 
 bed. I sniffed about a bit — as a dog does when it 
 turns over a turnip leaf where a rabbit has been 
 sitting nibbling at the turnip a little while before — 
 and sniffed a water-closet smell. I could not 
 understand this, as, with my usual precaution, I had 
 looked to see that no water-closet was near, A 
 little later on in the night, the odour became more
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 13 
 
 pronounced, and I came to the conclusion that it 
 came from an old pan-closet. In the morning I 
 found, sure enough, a water-closet, and I noticed, 
 too, that it was a /(^//-closet. " Hast thou found 
 me, O mine enemy?" I said, as I banged-to the 
 door, and traced how the smell had passed to my 
 room. It had travelled behind the skirting of the 
 W.C. and the skirting of an empty room into my 
 bedroom ; and having to stay at this hotel another 
 night, I shifted my quarters. 
 
 I rarely come across -s. perfect water-closet, from 
 my point of view, in any of the best old hotels. 
 On the contrary, I am frequently coming across 
 very imperfect ones, and I pay my visits to such 
 places with great reluctance, for I cannot leave my 
 nose outside, and, being a non-smoker, I cannot set 
 up a counter odour in the shape of a cigar. 
 
 The old saying that " They do these things better Sanitaryar- 
 
 . '' . . rangements 
 
 on the Continent," is, I fancy, wearing out m more on the 
 
 1 • 1 Tr . r ^ i i • Continent. 
 
 thmgs than one. If it ever referred to plumbmg 
 and drainage, the Continental peoples must have 
 very much degenerated, for there is hardly a W.C. 
 fit for a decent person to use between Paris and the 
 Rhine. I have sought for a wholesome W.C, I was 
 going to say with tears. 
 
 In some of the grandest hotels, surrounded by 
 the fairest sights earth can afford, there are to be 
 found some of the filthiest W.C.'s in the world, 
 places which make you long for a quiet nook away 
 from the haunts of men. 
 
 The utter absence of good sanitary arrange-
 
 14 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 Sanitary 
 Water- 
 closets. 
 
 Education. 
 
 ments must be a great drawback to the enjoyment 
 of English people when traveUing abroad. And 
 while such water-closet accommodation is allowed 
 to exist as now exists, a great disgrace attaches 
 itself to the Governments of such countries. But I 
 am forgetting I am speaking to English plumbers ; 
 and we must not throw stones, for we live in glass 
 houses ourselves. 
 
 I know, and some of you know well enough, 
 that there is no difficulty in fixing a water-closet 
 which shall send out no bad odour at all. Nay, 
 more, that it is not only possible but easy to fix 
 such an apparatus — a water-closet which shall keep 
 as clean and sweet as a bedroom toilet basin. But 
 I know of no means whereby a stranger coming to 
 London, or going to any city or town in Great 
 Britain, could feel certain that he would get such a 
 sweet closet fixed in his house, if he wanted it. 
 The chances are, that in the present state of the 
 trade he would not, for he would have no means of 
 distinguishing between the sanitary and the tinker- 
 ing plumber, and most likely would call in the 
 wrong man. This, to my mind, is a very lament- 
 able state of things. 
 
 But some will say. What would you do } Would 
 you annihilate ?/;2sanitary plumbers 1 No ! I do. 
 not believe in annihilation ; I believe in progres- 
 sion. I would educate them in the theoretical 
 knowledge of their trade, and perfect them in its 
 practical application. I would rub them up, as 
 they do their irons when they take them out of the
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 15 
 
 fire — to get the scales off and to brighten them up 
 for better use. 
 
 We have Schools of Art in every quarter of Schools of 
 
 Art. 
 
 London, where willing students study painting, 
 drawing, &c. Heaven forbid that I should say 
 one word against such institutions. I mention 
 them for contrast, for what have paintings to do 
 with the health of the public ? They may have a 
 great deal to do with the moral tone of society, for 
 in beholding the " true and the beautiful," the mind 
 oucrht to be elevated, and the man who hath no 
 eye for the beautiful is as bad as the man who 
 hath " no music in his soul." But the Jiealth of 
 our homes does often depend upon hozu the plumb- 
 ing work is done in them. 
 
 It is monstrous that here in London, where I Sanitary 
 
 Science 
 
 believe plumbers are more skilled in their work Haii. 
 than in any other city in the world, there is no 
 school for the study and practice of plumbing : no 
 Sanitary Science Hall, where plumbers can pass 
 examinations in the art and science of their trade, 
 and receive diplomas authorising them to pursue 
 the practice of plumbers ; no place where journey- 
 men can meet to learn the theory of their 
 craft. I believe such a school would do immense 
 good in spreading the theoretical knowledge (the 
 why and wherefore) of plumbing among plumbers, 
 who now only care for the practical knowledge of 
 their trade. And the public would reap the benefit, 
 in having happier lives, lives more free from petty
 
 i6 
 
 The Scie?ice and Art of 
 
 Schools of 
 Plumbing. 
 
 Class- 
 rooms. 
 
 Models. 
 
 Teachers. 
 
 Lectures. 
 
 annoyances, and healthier homes in which their 
 lives would be passed. 
 
 Though the chief object of such a school should 
 be to teach the principles of sanitary plumbing to 
 plumbers, it should not be limited to this, but 
 should impart a practical knowledge or dexterity 
 to learners in the trade. 
 
 Class-rooms should be set apart for young 
 plumbers to improve themselves in the practical 
 knowledge of plumbing, such as joint-wiping, 
 pipe-bending, bossing, &c. And as this would 
 involve some extra cost to the institution, in firing 
 and in the use and waste of materials, the students 
 should contribute accordingly. 
 
 Good models of plumbing should be placed 
 where the student, or " improver " (as he is gene- 
 rally called by the trade) could examine and study 
 them, and models of all kinds of sanitary fittings 
 should be kept in the institution for easy reference. 
 
 Foremen and journeymen plumbers well 
 advanced both in the practical and theoretical 
 knowledge of plumbing could become teachers, 
 and form classes, which could be examined from 
 time to time by a committee elected for such pur- 
 poses, and rewards could be given according to 
 merit. 
 
 Lectures could be given illustrating and explain- 
 ing the newest principles in sanitary plumbing, and 
 old errors could be pointed out and condemned. 
 
 Plumbers meeting thus together could compare 
 experiences, and correct wrong impressions and
 
 Sanitary Plunibmg. 17 
 
 practices ; and in this way the newest Hght in 
 phimbing practice would make its way with 
 rapidity, to the benefit of all concerned. 
 
 But the grand thing in connection with such a Certificates 
 School, or Sanitary Science Hall, would be that 
 Certificates of Merit could be given to those 
 who qualified themselves to receive it, and the 
 public could be assured, when they called in the 
 holders of such certificates, that they would be 
 employing competent men. 
 
 I do not want anybody to die. But if some Legacy 
 
 • 1 1 1 < 11^1 1 , ^° Found a 
 
 rich person, who wanted to do a noble deed, would School. 
 leave a sufficient legacy to found such a School or 
 Institute as we have just been considering, and if 
 he would give an additional sum to be appropriated 
 in prize-moneys, to be given away yearly \.q young 
 plumbers who passed certain examinations in the 
 practical knowledge of their trade, and to journey- 
 men plumbers who passed certain other examina- 
 tions in the theory as well as the practice of 
 plumbing, an immense impetus would be given to 
 plumbers to perfect themselves in their craft, and 
 the public would be the gainers. 
 
 I believe the City Guild of Plumbers is at last 
 
 City 
 Guild 01 
 
 going to stir itself to do something towards improv- Plumbers. 
 ing the craft.* But though this Guild received its 
 
 * By aiding the City and Guilds of London Institute for the 
 advancement of Technical Education, and other ways. At the 
 Technological Examination of this Institute, in 1881, eighteen 
 persons passed examinations in Plumbers' work, <Sr'<r., three of 
 whom took prizes — one (my foreman, James W. Clarke) ;^5 and a 
 
 C
 
 1 8 The Science and Art of 
 
 Charter in 1611, I have yet to learn that it has 
 done anything to educate plumbers. Has it helped 
 any one, any of the London plumbers of to-day ? 
 Has it done anything through all these centuries to 
 encourage young plumbers in the study of the art 
 and science of their craft ? History is silent on this 
 question, and I will be silent too. 
 
 Plumbers' There are your own societies, your unions, what 
 
 have they done to advance the technical knowledge 
 of plumbing ? If they have in any way bettered 
 your positions, acknowledge the good they have 
 done. But do your societies insist upon each 
 member being thoroughly skilled in the art of 
 plumbing ? Or, if after he has been elected a 
 member, he is found to be a vmjf, is he struck off 
 the roll.'* I trow not ; at any rate^ the fact that a man 
 is a society man is no guarantee that he is a sober, 
 industrious, and skilled artisan, and this to my mind 
 is the weak joint in the vulnerable armour of union 
 societies. 
 
 Men are so Men are so different, you cannot level them like 
 
 water. If all men were cast in the same mould, like 
 the rain-water heads of a building, they might have 
 the same treatment ; but as they are as various as 
 the chimney-pots of London, they must have various 
 treatment. While one man is cocking his gun, 
 another will have his bird down ; while one plumber 
 
 bronze medal, one £l and a bronze medal, and one £,2 and a 
 bronze medal. Plumbers who wish to benefit themselves, and to test 
 their knowledge, should apply to the Secretary of the City and Guilds 
 of London Institute, Gresham College, London, for a programme.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 19 
 
 is lighting his fire, another will have made his 
 joint ; while one is looking at a trap, another will 
 have fixed it ; while one general is riding hither 
 and thither on the battle-field, another will take 
 the whole surroundings in at a glance, and march 
 straight to victory. 
 
 It is just the same in the natural world. Come Natural 
 
 11-11 World. 
 
 with me to the cliffs of the sea, and watch the wild 
 waves marching to the shore. How they differ in ■ 
 size, in height, in sweep ! Linger here awhile, 
 until the fall of night, and then lift your eyes, 
 and behold the night-lights of the sky, and see how 
 they differ ; and as one star differeth from another 
 star in glory, so does man from man here and 
 everywhere. Or go to the mountains, and let your 
 eye run up the heights ; peak after peak rising 
 higher and higher in the land of eternal snow, but 
 head and shoulders above them all stands Mont 
 Blanc, in snowy serenity, a king among mountains. 
 
 So do not look to union societies, to City Look to 
 Guilds, or committees of men, but look to your- y^"""^^^^ 
 selves, and put forth every effort, and strain 
 every nerve, to become intelligent men, skilled in 
 every section of your trade. 
 
 The plumber is often more sinned against than The 
 sinning. His work, unfortunately, is chiefly out sinned 
 of sight, and though he has done the work well, it ^^amst. 
 is rarely appreciated. 
 
 There is no trade which the public know so 
 little of; and, knowing little or nothing about it, they 
 c 2
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 Ignorance 
 of Plumb- 
 ing. 
 
 Plumbing 
 out of 
 sight. 
 
 Praise of 
 Women. 
 
 care but little. Even architects, who are expected 
 to know everything in a building, from the front 
 door-key to the lightning-conductor (though how 
 they are to do it is the puzzle of puzzles), know 
 but little, as a rule, of plumbing. They can give 
 wonderful detail drawings of everything except 
 plumbing, and when they attempt this they 
 generally fail. 
 
 One reason why the public take so little interest 
 in plumbing, is that the work is chiefly out of sight, 
 and when you cannot appeal to the eye, you miss a 
 very valuable organ. Other trades leave their work 
 to be seen, except gas-fitting, and a light is gene- 
 rally coming from that. The work of the mason, 
 joiner, painter, glazier, plasterer, bricklayer, paper- 
 hanger, decorator, upholsterer, &c., speaks for itself; 
 but the work of the plumber — the most important 
 trade of all, as far as the health of the house is 
 concerned — is out of sight, to a very large extent 
 at any rate. 
 
 Again, it is not a trade to call forth the praise 
 of women. And if, as the author of " Endymion " 
 thinks, women make men, there is little hope for the 
 plumber, for the trade is outside of their influence 
 to a great extent. If we wanted to give pleasure 
 to a lady-friend, we should not buy her a lead-trap, 
 or a bath — except we wanted to get into hot 
 water — or any other piece of plumbing. We 
 should patronise the artist, the jeweller, the pub- 
 lisher, the carriage-manufacturer, but never the 
 poor plumber.
 
 Sa?iitary Plumhi?ig. 21 
 
 The g^entle sex exerts a large influence upon 
 other trades, and it is not too much to say 
 that where one lady asks her lord to spend a 
 pound on plumbing, a hundred ask for thousands 
 to be spent on the other trades, and get it spent 
 too. 
 
 The misfortune is that when the plumber or Large Bill 
 
 ^ and little to 
 
 sanitary engineer is called .xi^ he may spend a good show. 
 sum of money, and leave little behind to show for 
 it. He may have reconstructed the whole of the 
 plumbing, and laid down an entirely new system of 
 drainage, and yet the only things to show for this 
 may be a pigeon-house cowl on the roof, and a biil 
 in the library. It is true that in many parts of the 
 house where the air was laden with foul stinks, pure 
 air now circulates, but you cannot see air, and many 
 people cannot smell it when it is charged with soil- 
 pipe or pan-closet odour ; for " noses have they, but 
 they smell not." Now a few pounds spent in 
 paper-hanging and painting, turn a dingy old house 
 almost into a new one. 
 
 Plumbers labour under other disadvantages ; Disadvan- 
 
 tac^es. 
 
 and if we look at them we see why plumbers have 
 not advanced, as they ought, in the theoretical 
 knowledge of their trade. 
 
 I. They work one day under a specification Faulty 
 
 -^ '' Specinca- 
 
 drawn up by an • architect who knows little or tions. 
 nothing of plumbing. The body part of the speci- 
 fication has been doing duty for a long time, and 
 for many a house ; and now, with but slight altera- 
 tions, it is doing duty again. The architect con-
 
 2 2 The Science and Art of 
 
 centrates his powers upon " elevation " — but not 
 the elevation of the plumber ; for it is the facade 
 of the building that will make his reputation, and 
 not the plumbing. 
 
 They work another day under the specification 
 of another architect, who goes in for good strong 
 plumbing. Everything must be made of the best 
 material ; but, belonging to the old school, he 
 specifies very large soil-pipes and drains, and very 
 small air-pipes, and thus " extremes meet " with a 
 vengeance. He insists upon D-traps and (their 
 outgrowths) pan-closets, for " they do not get out 
 of order like your new-fangled things." It is use- 
 less for the plumber to explain that these ?^;/sani- 
 tary fittings have an odour of their own, after they 
 have been used a week or two, different from a 
 rose or a lily though quite as pronounced, for the 
 architect insists upon the ''specification being 
 followed." 
 
 Another day the plumber works under another 
 architect, and is obliged to put on his glasses (and 
 perhaps take a glass or two as well) for he can't 
 believe his eyes. What, fix a tier of closets on 
 one stack of soil-pipes without traps ? Yes ! for 
 so reads the specification; and this architect, or 
 amateur sanitarian, is not going to be influenced 
 by anybody's experience or judgment in this 
 matter ; for has he not rubbed shoulders with 
 some great sanitarian } Lavatories, baths, sinks, 
 and water-closets are then fixed without traps ; the 
 waste from the former doing double duty, namely,
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 23 
 
 that of taking off foul discharges and ventilating 
 the house^ and the latter, the untrapped water- 
 closets, only waiting for a leaky valve or a piece of 
 hard substance under it to do the same. I am not 
 referring here to Mr. Norman Shaw's principle, 
 for, though he may allow luaste-pipes to be fixed as 
 just described, he does not fix a tier of trapless 
 closets upon one stack of soil-pipe. Is it any 
 wonder that the plumbers should be at sixes and 
 sevens, when architects are playing " ducks and 
 drakes" with their clients' money in the way I 
 have been describing ? Thank the stars that shine 
 out in the darkest nio;hts, there are architects who 
 take an immense deal of trouble to have the sani- 
 tary arrangements in their buildings perfect, and, if 
 they do not clearly understand sanitary plumbing 
 themselves, they trust to those who do — not throw- 
 ing away their own judgment however, nor picking 
 up loose ideas in the streets. 
 
 2. Another disadvantage to the trade is that Anybody 
 
 1 • -r> -1 1 employs 
 
 anybody employs journeymen plumbers. Builders, Plumbers. 
 Upholsterers, Cabinetmakers, and, I am told, now 
 Drapers carry out plumbing jobs. Now, it requires 
 a builder of large operations to keep a good, com- 
 petent foreman of plumbers, and a permmient staff 
 of journeymen always going ; but, unless this is 
 done, the work done by such a builder will not 
 be of a high class, and such work will be injurious 
 to the trade. Well, if it is difficult for large build- 
 ing firms to keep plumbers on constmitly, how 
 much more must it be for the other trades just
 
 24 The Scie7ice and Art of 
 
 mentioned, and for small builders ? The fact is, 
 the men in such places are taken on just when 
 they are wanted, and discharged directly their 
 work is done. There is no JLonic-fceling encouraged 
 in the men, and no great interest taken in their 
 work ; for the chances are that their master, if he 
 knows any trade at all, is a joiner, and the manager 
 or foreman a bricklayer or stonemason, but most 
 likely a carpenter too — for carpenters generally 
 make the best foremen. Now, is it not reasonable 
 to suppose that in such houses of business the 
 master and manager will take their greatest interest 
 in the trade with which they are best acquainted 
 rather than in sanitary plumbing, w^hich they know 
 little or nothing about } And, as to the men them- 
 selves, their best efforts are not likely to be called 
 forth where their work is but little appreciated, and 
 where directly they have finished their job they 
 have finished with that master, for he has nothing 
 more for them to do. But, where men know that 
 directly one job is done another awaits them, and 
 that they will only be discharged for indolence, 
 bad workmanship, or some misdeed, an incentive 
 is given them to do their best. And not only 
 that, for, if they did their work badly, when they 
 are in a constant place they could be called upon 
 at any time to explain, and such complaints would 
 not tell in their favour, and this they would soon 
 find out. 
 Plumbers' 3. But there are other influences at work against 
 
 and Ap- the growlli of plumbing knowledge. Men seldom 
 
 prentices.
 
 Sanitary PliLinbing. 25 
 
 learn, or only half learn, the trade of plumber. 
 I believe it is not only difficult, but impossible, 
 for young men — apprenticed or not — to learn the 
 art of plumbing in nine-tenths of the so-called 
 plumbers' shops of the present day. There is so 
 little experience for them in such places ; and 
 in many of these shops painting and glazing are 
 the staple trade, and plumbing is the accessory. 
 Young men and apprentices, not only do not get 
 zxiy practice in good plumbing, they never see it done. 
 I know we must have "■ small " men, or who should 
 we have to go into our small cisterns 1 but small 
 shops are not the places for youths to be apprenticed 
 in. I never knew a man (and I have known hun- 
 dreds of young men from all parts of the country), 
 who came from any shops in our country towns, 
 even though he had w^orked in them for a year or 
 two beyond his apprenticeship, capable of doing a 
 plumbing job as we have it done in London. I 
 believe " three-branch " country shops to be good 
 drilling places for two or three years, as they open 
 a youth's eyes and make him handy ; but it is a 
 monstrous waste of time, to my mind, for a young 
 man, who intends to perfect himself in plumbing, 
 to spend five, six, seven and eight years in a country 
 shop, as many do, before coming to London. For 
 come when he may, he is certain to have to work 
 as a mate, i.e., a plumber's labourer, for a year 
 or two. At any rate, he would if he came to 
 21, Newcastle Street. 
 
 I have looked at plumbing work, done by
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 Country 
 and 
 
 Foreign 
 Plumbers. 
 
 London 
 Plumbers. 
 
 Object 
 of these 
 Lectures. 
 
 plumbers in our chief towns in England, Scotland, 
 Ireland_, and Wales, as well as in France, Germany, 
 Belgium, and Switzerland — and I generally keep 
 my eyes open, and I think I should see a piece of 
 plumbers' work as sportsmen see game, when 
 nothing is visible to the eye of a stranger — but I 
 never saw in any of these places such JinisJied 
 plumbing, such well-made bends, such good bossing, 
 as I am constantly seeing in London, or in places 
 where the London plumber has done the work. 
 
 Now though the average London plumber is 
 much in advance of plumbers generally vci practical 
 skill, and in theoretical knowledge too, yet his 
 knowledge of house sanitation is very deficient. 
 However, there are a goodly number who know a 
 good deal about sanitary plumbing and house sanita- 
 tion ; and I know further that such men would pass 
 a stiff examination in the science as well as in the 
 art of their trade. They would astonish many of 
 our experienced sanitarians by the knowledge they 
 possess on this subject, and they would be able to 
 enlighten them on many points of detail. 
 
 To increase this knowledge, and to stimulate 
 plumbers everywhere to perfect themselves in the 
 knowledge and application of their trade is the 
 main object of this course of lectures. I hope by 
 practical experiments, and carefully prepared illus- 
 trations, to convince the oldest fashioned plumber 
 among you of the advantages of the new way of 
 sanitary plumbing, over that of the old or un- 
 sanitary way.
 
 Sanitary Flumbuig. 27 
 
 I will not waste time by arguing with the man 
 who forms so poor a conception of his duty as to 
 say he has nothing to do with the theory of his 
 trade, and who thinks that because he has learnt 
 the practice of it he has learnt enough : — 
 
 *' Breathes there the man with soul so dead 
 Who never to himself hath said " 
 
 "I will do what I can to learn my trade thoroughly?" 
 Where is the eye that does not take delight in the 
 beauty and changing tints of the leafage of fruit- 
 trees ? But the practical part of such trees is to 
 bear fruit. 
 
 We have Government training-schools for teach- Govern- 
 ing soldiers how to put lead bullets into men with sdToois for 
 the ease with which plumbers put lead wedges into bm^no^^' 
 the joints of brickwork to secure lead flashings. |iu°bers°^ 
 We have public jails all over the country to keep 
 men who are injurious to society ; but we have 
 no schools, no public institutions where young 
 plumbers can spend their evenings in perfecting 
 themselves in the knowledge of their craft, that 
 they may do some good in the world. 
 
 The motto of the National Health Society, National 
 
 ^ ^ ^ . i . . . Health 
 
 through whose auspices we are here to-night, is Society. 
 " Prevention is better than cure." How much 
 sickness, how much bad health in homes, in towns, 
 in cities would such training-schools for plumbers 
 be the means of preventing .'' Plumbers little 
 know what mischief is caused by their unsanitary 
 plumbing, or they would surely seek every means
 
 28 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 themselves in the 
 
 knowledge 
 
 of 
 
 of perfectin 
 their craft. 
 
 Well, as no such plumbing-schools are provided, 
 you must start one yourselves ; and, if you put your 
 heads and purses together, you will have no 
 difficulty in making such a school in London self- 
 supporting. I shall have great pleasure in present- 
 ing good models of plumbing work whenever such 
 a school is started. 
 
 Public to 
 be con- 
 gratulated. 
 
 Architects 
 
 and 
 
 Plumbers. 
 
 The public are to be congratulated that archi- 
 tects are taking up this subject of house sanitation, 
 for it is as much their birth-right as the plumbers'. 
 In new houses they are masters of the position — for 
 they hold the purse-strings — and if they only 
 insist upon having the plumbing and drainage 
 carried out on sound sanitary principles in all 
 the new houses they build, great good will be 
 done. There is a shaking of dry bones, and both 
 architects and plumbers, here and there throughout 
 the country, are clothing themselves with sanitary 
 knowledge. Only recently there have been some 
 important discussions on this subject at the Royal 
 Institute of British Architects, and elsewhere, and 
 if sanitary knowledge should find a congenial 
 atmosphere anywhere it should be in such institu- 
 tions. 
 
 I believe that if architects and plumbers through- 
 out Great Britain seriously took up this question, 
 there would not be in a few years^ time a new 
 house between John-o'-Groats and Land's End in
 
 Sanitary Pluinhing. 29 
 
 such an unsanitary state as two-thirds of the houses 
 are to-day in Belgravia. 
 
 Master -pkimbers and journeymen - plumbers ! 
 rise up to the needs of the times, and march in the 
 van of progress ! 
 
 I may hav^e wearied you with this lengthy 
 introduction, but plumbers will not complain. 
 They know well enough that it often takes longer 
 to prepare the ends of pipes for good connection 
 than it does to make the joint. As I have now 
 come to the subject o{ joints, but as these joints are 
 not for the supper-table, I will defer what has to be 
 said on them until we meet again, especially as the 
 '' metal " is now somewhat cold.
 
 n 
 
 ?m- 
 
 Everything 
 made by 
 Machinery. 
 
 Genius of 
 Man. 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 JOINTS AND PIPE BENDING. 
 
 Wiped Soldered Joints : Underhand, Upright, Overcast, Branch, 
 Block, Flange, Taft. Copper-bit Joints : Float or Flow, 
 Ribbon, and Ribbed, or Overcast, Astragal Joints, Blow-pipe 
 Joints. Pipe Bending : Elbows, Bends, &c. Lead — Pipes 
 — Solder — Alloys and their Melting-heats — Fire-places — 
 Blowing-lamps — Lead-burning. 
 
 Almost anything and everything — from a German- 
 sausage to a Swiss-chalet — can now be made by 
 machinery ; the clothes on your back, the shoes on 
 your feet, the watch in your pocket. By its aid 
 wood, stone, or iron can be formed into shapes of 
 beauty, and straight or circular mouldings cut with 
 mathematical precision. The materials of a build- 
 ing can not only be cut into shape and be hoisted 
 by machinery, but they can be taken round to the 
 very spot where they are wanted by it. The in- 
 ventive genius of man is so great that he has anni- 
 hilated space, and brought the country-house along- 
 side the town-warehouse, for the merchant can sit 
 in his counting-house and talk with his family in 
 the country, though the distance between the two 
 places may be greater than that pierced by the eye 
 of an Indian or a pigeon. Nay, the living voice
 
 Sanitary Phwibing. 31 
 
 may be caught and sent to a friend, or a child 
 travelling in a distant land, and the music of its 
 notes may be heard when the mouth which uttered 
 them may be silent in the grave. 
 
 The United States of America may be called 
 t\\Q forcing-house oi inventive genius. The fact is, 
 " wandering-stars " from other countries have been 
 collecting in this part for generations past : And 
 as the " stars " joined one another in matrimonial 
 united states (came into contact with each other), 
 the " sparks " flying off from them have been burn- 
 ing with a white heat of inventive force. But 
 though the Americans have invented machines to 
 
 Fig. I. — Welded Joint. 
 
 help everybody as well as the plumber, they have 
 not yet invented an apparatus for making wiped 
 soldered joints. They have, however, invented a 
 machine for uniting lead pipes of small diameter 
 together by what are called "welded" joints ; but 
 this mode of union is inferior to a wiped soldered 
 joint. Two such machine-made welded joints were 
 made on |-inch pipes in my presence in the space 
 of a few minutes, including the preparation of the 
 ends of the pipes for such connections. Fig. I 
 illustrates one of the joints. 
 
 Joint-making may be called the Alpha and 
 Omega of the plumber. It is, so to speak, the stair- 
 case which takes him to the various rooms in the 
 
 America.
 
 32 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 Joint- 
 making 
 difficult. 
 
 Preparing 
 Pipe-ends. 
 
 house of plumbing-knowledge. To leave joints out 
 of plumbing, would be to leave Hamlet out of the 
 play of " Hamlet." 
 
 I daresay joint-wiping to the majority here to- 
 night is as easy as " shelling peas," but to the 
 beginner it is no easy matter. Nay, as you who 
 have burnt your fingers over it know, it is very 
 difficult, so difficult that no man without consider- 
 able practice can accomplish it. And someplumbers, 
 though they make joints daily, never learn how to 
 make a perfect joint. There is always something 
 the matter with their joints! They are "gouty," 
 or " potatoey," too light or too heavy, too dumpy 
 or too elongated. And though they are not like 
 the world, flat at the poles, they are flat at the 
 sides. They are in no way symmetrical, and their 
 want of rotundity is very observable. 
 
 Will the good joint-wipers here to-night — the 
 men who have no difficulty in making wiped 
 soldered joints as true as if they were turned in a 
 lathe — bear with me, while, for the sake of the less 
 initiated, I enter into the elements of joint-wiping 
 and joint-making, which may possibly interest even 
 them. 
 
 In preparing the ends of the pipes to be con- 
 nected together, either in a vertical or horizontal 
 position, see that no burr is left on the inner edge 
 of the male pipe. In rasping off the outer edge of 
 this pipe^ a burr is formed on the inner edge, and if 
 this is not taken off with a shave-hook or pocket- 
 knife, and smoothed, the roughness would be liable
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 l?> 
 
 Soiling. 
 
 to catch any hair or such-Hke thing passing through, 
 in a soil or waste pipe. Well open the end of the 
 outer pipe to allow the inner pipe to enter about 
 5-in. or f-in., without contracting it in any way 
 (as shown at A, Fig. 2). Rasp off the outer edge 
 of the female pipe, to get a greater thickness 
 of solder upon the joint without increasing its 
 external size. 
 
 In "soiling" the ends of the pipes, "soil" over at 
 the same time, or better still, after the ends have 
 been shaved, the inside of the ifiner 
 pipe, i.e. the male end, to prevent the 
 solder running and adhering to the 
 edge brightened by scraping off the 
 burr. 
 
 To get a true ring round a pipe 
 of large diameter for the shaving-line, 
 put the blade part of a saw, or a piece 
 of planed wood, against the end of the 
 pipes, and take a pair of compasses 
 (opened out the width of the shaving 
 required) and describe a line round the pipe 
 with the point of one of the legs, resting the 
 other leg against the saw-blade as a guide : you 
 will in this way get a truer shaving-line than if 
 you described the line without the aid of the saw- 
 blade or flat surface board at the end of the pipe, 
 and you will save time as well — of course, in 
 small pipes no such guide is wanted. In shaving pjpg. 
 the pipe, be careful not to dig the shave-hook s^^^'^"&- 
 down into the lead, especially at the outer edgesy 
 D 
 
 Shaving- 
 line.
 
 34 
 
 The Sciefice a?id Art of 
 
 Ends 
 
 tinned 
 
 as it would weaken the pipe where there would 
 be no thickness of solder to strengthen it again, 
 for in wiping the joint the solder is often wiped 
 away at the outer edges, and no thickness of 
 solder is left upon the outer edges of the joint- 
 ing. All that is wanted is to take off the dul- 
 ness of the lead, for the solder to readily tin 
 upon it. 
 
 When joints are to be made to funnel pipes m 
 situ, (in chases where the back part of the pipes 
 cannot be seen), the pipes should be tinned upon 
 the bench before they are put in their places, to 
 prevent any foreign matter, as brick-dust, mortar, 
 &c., getting between the solder and the pipe, and 
 also to ensure the end of each pipe being well 
 tinned all over. When the ends of such pipes are 
 only shaved (and greased) on the bench, and not 
 tinned as well, in carrying the pipe — with, say, its 
 tacks and W.C. trap upon it — to its position, the 
 grease may get scraped off in places by the end 
 of the pipe being knocked against a wall, or 
 dragged on the floor, and then in wiping the 
 joint the solder may not tin itself upon the 
 damaged places. 
 
 In life it is often the manlier way to go against 
 rheTtream. the Stream, but in jointing, especially in all soil, 
 waste, or drain pipes, the ends of the inner pipe 
 should always go with the stream, as shown at A 
 and by the arrow, Fig. 2, i.e., the edge of the inner 
 pipe, the male end of the jointing, should never be 
 fixed against the current in waste-carrying pipes, 
 
 Ends 
 against
 
 Sanitary Plumhi7ig. 3^ 
 
 for it would form a ledge for dirt and filth to 
 accumulate upon. 
 
 For the benefit of the unskilled, I should like to ' 
 say a word or two on joint-making ; and first, as to 
 the solder. I need not say anything about the 
 proportions of lead and tin, for solder is generall}^ 
 bought ready for use. * 
 
 Solder for upright, branch, and flange joints, Plumbers' 
 and for sink and cistern wiping, wants to be a little 
 finer than that for underhand joints. When the 
 solder is too rich for making underhand joints, put 
 a little soft pig lead into it, but do not put any lead 
 pipe or new cuttings into it, for such lead may not 
 be pure. When you have made the solder right 
 for easy use, keep this solder-pot /;/ large jobs 
 solely for making underhand joints, to avoid any 
 further bother or loss of time. Get another solder- 
 pot for general work, and, as the tin wastes by 
 constant heating, supply the solder-pot for making 
 underhand joints from the richer solder-pot, and 
 feed the richer pot from the new "casts" of solder 
 — in small jobs it may not be worth the trouble 
 of this. 
 
 "Waste not, want not" would be a good motto "Waste 
 to put round every solder-pot, and plumbers will not.'"^^'^"^ 
 do well to remember that though the solder may 
 
 * I suppose that not one journeyman plumber in a hundred, in 
 London, makes solder. To make good plumbers' solder, put sixty- 
 five per cent, of soft pig lead to thirty-five per cent, of (Truro) tin, 
 but as tin varies a little in quality, at times it may require more or * 
 
 less than the quantity given : — Two parts of lead and one of tin is 
 the general way of calculating plumbers' solder (see p. 72). 
 
 D 2
 
 36 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 Heating 
 Solder. 
 
 not cost the user anything, it really does cost 
 money, and should never be wasted by putting 
 more solder upon the joint than good work requires, 
 or by not carefully picking up the splashed pieces 
 near where the joint has been made, or by over- 
 heating — or by keeping it always over the fire ; for 
 it is not necessary to keep the solder-pot always 
 "boiling" — that may do for the cook's pot, but it 
 will not pay for the plumber's. 
 
 In heating the solder over a coal or coke fire, 
 keep a cover, say a piece of board, over the pot to 
 keep the heat from flying off; but if the solder 
 is being heated over a wood fire, put a large ladle 
 over the top of the solder-pot with its mouth down- 
 wards, allowing it to sail over the top a little so as 
 to catch the flame and turn it inside to assist in 
 heating the solder, but do not allow too fierce a 
 flame to fall upon the solder to eat the tin away, 
 for the tin rises to the surface. 
 
 Time is money, therefore get the solder heated 
 as expeditiously as you can, and never over-heat it 
 — for in so doing you cause the solder to deterio- 
 rate, and if pockets never have too much " tin " in 
 them, solder- pots are often like them in this matter. 
 You can tell the right heat by taking out a ladleful, 
 and holding it near your face, or by passing the 
 back part of the hand over it. Or a piece of wood 
 is a good indicator, for if by dipping a stick into 
 the solder the stick smokes, it is ready for use. 
 
 Under- 
 handjoints. 
 
 Underhand Joints. — In making an under-
 
 Sanitary Plwnbing. 37 
 
 hand joint, first pour the molten metal on the soiled 
 parts of the pipes to get the pipes well-warmed. 
 Then pour a dribbling stream upon the shaved 
 parts of the pipes to be united, and well tin them 
 by pulling the solder round and round with the 
 solder-cloth. Keep on pouring out the metal, and 
 "let it flow "in one continuous stream round and 
 round on the outer edges of the tinning, working 
 at the same time the solder towards the centre 
 part of the joint, and bringing the solder from the 
 bottom of the jointing to the top. After manipulat- 
 ing it in this way, for a minute, and directly it is of 
 one consistency, and in a " teachable " mood, wipe 
 the joint, coaxing the solder round and round to 
 get the joint symmetrical. 
 
 If you prefer to use an iron, see that it is well 
 cleaned, and just red-hot before using ; then, having 
 a nice body of solder on the joint which is to be, 
 rub the hot iron round and round it, and take it all 
 ofl" on the cloth. Rub the hot iron upon the solder, 
 and work it up into a nice consistency upon the 
 cloth, forming it all the while into the shape some- 
 what of a sausage-roll, then quickly place the centre 
 part of the solder against the underside of the pipes, 
 at the centre of the jointing, and turn up the outer 
 half on the ofl'-side, bringing the hand back quickly 
 to turn up the other half on the near side. When 
 this is done, wipe the joint wdth all the dexterity 
 you can command. Of course this refers to under- 
 hand joints upon small pipes. In making an under- joints upon 
 hand joint upon large pipes, there will be no diffi-
 
 38 The Science and Art of 
 
 culty in getting the solder to stay upon the upper 
 sides of the pipes, the difficulty will be in getting 
 it to adhere to the under sides, where it has a ten- 
 dency to drop off in lumps directly the pipes get 
 hot. In making such a joint, keep moving the 
 solder round and round the pipes, pouring the metal 
 upon the cloth as well as upon the pipes, to convey 
 the solder to the underside of the joint in a molten 
 state ; this should be alternately done 
 on near and off sides of the pipes 
 during the process of making the 
 joint, and the solder forming round 
 the under side of the joint should be 
 brought round upon the upper side. 
 When a good bulb of solder is formed 
 upon the pipes, the ladle should give 
 place to the iron, and the joint should 
 
 Figf. "?. — View 
 
 of a Wiped be wiped as expeditiously as possible, 
 soldered joint, remembering that one secret of suc- 
 cess in wiping such a joint is to keep 
 the cloth following close to the iron. The outer 
 edges, to make a nice clean joint, as shown in Fig. 
 3, must be kept well heated with the iron. I have 
 here an underhand joint, wiped upon 6 in. pipes. 
 I think the best joint-wiper in the room will ad- 
 mit that it is a good specimen. ^ 
 
 Over-cast OvER-CAST JOINTS. — An over-cast joint, illus- 
 
 joints. trated in Fig. 4, is made in the same way as a 
 
 wiped joint, in fact, it is a wiped joint overcast with 
 
 * The joint was shown and admired.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing 
 
 39 
 
 the iron, i.e., directly the joint is wiped, and while 
 the solder upon it is still hot, the neck part of a hot 
 iron is drawn up and down over its surface, forming 
 it into a ribbed joint, or giving it a large number of 
 facets, as shown at b.b.b.. Fig. 4. The plumbers of 
 the early part of this century were very 
 clever in making this form of joint. I 
 have seen many over-cast joints as 
 true as it was possible to make them ; 
 and though I have rarely seen perfectly 
 true wiped joints on the Continent, I 
 have seen many over-cast joints per- 
 fectly made. But overcasting a joint 
 is time wasted, for though it may give 
 additional strength, and prevent " weep- 
 ing" in joints made upon service-pipes, 
 when under very great water pressure, 
 a wiped joint is really all that is necessary. A 
 wiped joint calls out, or should call out, greater 
 skill in the joint-wiper, for in overcasting a joint he 
 could regulate with the iron any irregularities in 
 his bad wiping. Over-cast joints are never made 
 now in London by good plumbers. 
 
 View of an 
 ' Over-cast " 
 
 joint. 
 
 Scotch Joints. — In Scotland the joints are Scotch 
 
 •' -^ Joints. 
 
 only made a little more than half the length ^ of 
 
 * Though I do not like "dumpy" joints, I am not at all in 
 favour of very long joints. I think i\ in. joints are quite long 
 enough for pipes from 4 in. to 6 in. diameter ; under that size, 
 say from 3^ in. down to i;^ in., 3 in. joints are quite long 
 enough ; and for smaller pipes a shorter length still.
 
 46 
 
 TJie Science and Art of 
 
 joints made by English plumbers. 
 There is a saving of solder in this; 
 but there is an absence of beauty, and 
 art should count for something ; be- 
 sides, in " funnel " pipes the longer 
 joint is the stronger. Fig. 3 repre- 
 sents an English wiped soldered joint, 
 and Fig. 5 a Scotch, except that in 
 the woodcut the Scotch joint (Fig. 5) 
 is shown longer than Scotch plumbers 
 generally make it. 
 
 Upright 
 Joints. 
 
 Upright Joints. — An iipright joint is a joint 
 made upon a vertical pipe or pipes. Fig. 8 shows 
 the two ends of a vertical stack of (3J in.) lead 
 soil-pipe ready to be united. The ends of the 
 pipes were soiled and tinned upon the bench before 
 the pipes were fixed in their places. The pipes are 
 brought out 2 or 3 in. from the wall, or a small 
 hole is cut round the sides and back of the pipe, (as 
 shown at M^ in Fig. 12) for the ladle and the 
 hand to go round the pipes to make the joint. 
 The edge of the outer pipe — the female end — is 
 well closed^ upon the inner pipe to prevent the 
 possibility of any solder running through the joint- 
 ing to form a burr, or any such like evil inside the 
 pipes. It must be evident to the most casual 
 
 * Some plumbers prefer not to close the edge of the jointing 
 upon the male pipe. With a quick joint-maker this would make 
 the better joint, as the solder between the two pipes would be of 
 great value, but with slow and inexperienced plumbers the solder 
 would be liable to nm through and form spurs inside.
 
 Sanitary Plumhing. 41 
 
 observer, that to make a joint in such a position, a 
 great deal of solder will be wasted if means are not 
 taken to catch the droppings of solder and falling 
 pieces from the joint. Plumbers know this well 
 enough, but do not always take the best means for 
 saving the solder. They place pieces of board or 
 slate round the pipe ; or they tie some rags, or a 
 wisp of straw, about the pipe and catch the solder 
 in this rude way ; and, when the joint is made, 
 they spend more time in picking off and picking up 
 the solder than they did in making the joint. 
 
 6- ^- — '^ 
 
 Fig. 6. — Lead Collar. Fig. 6a. — Plan of a Lead Collar 
 
 when turned up. 
 
 " Economy is no disgrace," and economy of time 
 in making or producing a thing is a virtue which 
 carries with it its own reward. 
 
 Instead of building up or improvising a rough CoUars. 
 means for catching solder when making joints on 
 vertical pipes, a proper instrument should be used, 
 and this is very readily made and attached to the 
 pipe, and with such means not a particle of solder 
 need be wasted. Figs. 6 and 6a show pieces of 
 lead cut with circular holes in the centre to suit 
 two sizes of lead pipes. Fig. 6a shows the collar 
 turned up, and clipped. These pieces of lead are
 
 42 The Sciejice and Art of 
 
 called collaj's ; they can be cut out of 5 lb., 6 lb., or 
 7 lb. remnants of lead to suit the various sized lead 
 pipes. They should be kept well soiled all over, 
 edges and all, to prevent the solder adhering to 
 them. With a well arranged set of " collars," 
 which should be kept ready for use in all large 
 jobs, a man ought not to take more than a minute 
 or two in selecting the right collar, and fastening it 
 upon the pipe, just where it is w^anted, about 2 in. 
 below the bottom edge of the joint, as shown at D, 
 Fig. 8. To secure the collar in its position upon 
 the pipe, all that the plumber wants to do is to 
 pull the collar tightly round the pipe and turn the 
 points [b, Fig. 6) one over the other to clip them, 
 as shown in Fig. 6a, and D, Fig. 8. He should 
 then sprinkle a pinch of dust — which be can easily 
 pick up in a building within a stride or two — to 
 cover over any small space or opening which may 
 be left between the collar and the pipe. As shown 
 in Fig. 6a, and D, Fig. 8, the collar, when on the 
 pipe, forms a " dish" for catching the falling solder. 
 There is this additional advantage with such an 
 arrangement, that the solder collecting in this dish 
 keeps the pipes hot, thereby facilitating the making 
 of the joint. 
 Splash To make an " upright " joint, unless the plumber 
 
 is well skilled in pouring with the ladle upon his 
 cloth, he wants a '' splash-stick " (illustrated in 
 Fig. 7) for splashing the solder upon the pipes. 
 These splash-sticks are made of wood or iron, 
 about 6 or 7 in. long, li in. wide in the spoon
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 43 
 
 part and ^th to a \ in. thick. With care, there is no 
 fear of the iron scratching the pipe, for the edges 
 are well rounded. When the stick is made of 
 
 ^ ximiiuui '''^'"''-"'-' f 
 Fig 7. — Splash-stick. 
 
 the Joint. 
 
 wood, the smoke is apt to get into one's eyes, and 
 
 interfere with the perfect sight just when it is most 
 
 wanted. In making this joint, splash the solder Making 
 
 well upon the upper part of the jointing, round 
 
 and round, at a little below E E, Fig. 8 ; keep 
 
 puUing up the solder from time to time with the 
 
 splash-stick from the lower part of the jointing 
 
 to the upper part, for the solder collecting in the 
 
 dish will keep the lower part 
 
 well heated. Splash on the 
 
 solder rapidly, remembering that 
 
 speed is the soul of joint-wiping, 
 
 and roughly form the joint with 
 
 the splash-stick. Then take the 
 
 rosy-iron in one hand and the 
 
 solder-cloth in the other, rub the 
 
 iron over the solder, and pat it 
 
 into its place with the cloth ; 
 
 then draw the hot iron right 
 
 round the upper edge of the 
 
 jointing, at the back, following 
 
 it closely with the cloth. Do the same at the 
 
 bottom edge, and then change hands with the 
 
 cloth and iron, and treat the front half in the same 
 
 Fig. 8. — View of up- 
 right jointing, ready 
 for making.
 
 44 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 way, and the joint is made. Before leaving the 
 spot, and while the iron is still hot, rest it in two 
 or three places upon the solder collected on the 
 collar ; pull the melting solder into the ladle, and 
 the rest of the collected solder on the collar will 
 then come away in sections, without waste or 
 damage to the pipe. 
 
 Branch 
 Joints. 
 
 Branch Joints. — I will not occupy your time 
 in describing the viode of wiping brancJi joints^ for 
 when a man can make an " underhand " and an 
 "upright" joint, he ought to have no difficulty in 
 wiping a " branch joint ; " but there are two points 
 that the learner will do well to remember, 
 (i) When the branch pipe is smaller than the 
 main pipe, the solder will rest readily upon the 
 jointing, but when the pipes are of equal sizes the 
 solder will have a tendency to fall off at the two 
 opposite sides. In jointing such pipes keep the 
 ^' catch-board," or whatever the solder is caught 
 upon, close to the underside of the main pipe ; for 
 the fallen solder will then not only help to keep the 
 pipe hot, but it will also enable the plumber to 
 dip his splash-stick into it, to supply the place of 
 the fallen solder from the sides. (2) As the lower 
 part of the jointing will be kept well heated by the 
 solder upon it, splash the solder well upon the 
 upper part, i.e., upon the branch pipe. 
 
 Branch- The principle of connectinsf branches with main 
 
 pipe Con . , ^ ^ ^ . 
 
 nections. soil-pipcs, or branches with main waste-pipes, is so
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 45 
 
 important, that I shall ask your careful attention 
 while describing in detail how the connection 
 should be made. 
 
 In forming an opening in a lead soil or main Socket, 
 waste-pipe to receive a branch pipe, cut an 
 elongated hole \\\ the main pipe, about half the 
 size of the end of the branch pipe to be connected 
 with it, and then work up the sides with a bolt or 
 
 i* ig- 9- — ^ iew of Branch 
 Pipe connection. 
 
 Fig. lo.— View of a 
 Branch Joint. 
 
 hand-dummy to form a socket upon the pipe, as 
 shown at G, Fig. 9, so that the branch pipe may 
 enter it, about three-eighths of an inch, without 
 coming into the bore of the main pipe to form any 
 kind of obstruction or collecting place there for 
 filth. Great care should be taken that the end of 
 the branch pipe fits well against the sides of the 
 socket all round to prevent any solder running 
 through to the inside when the joint is being 
 made. Fig. 10 illustrates a wiped soldered branch
 
 46 
 
 The Science a?id Art of 
 
 Branches 
 at Right 
 Angles, 
 
 Mitre- 
 Joint. 
 
 joint upon a 3| in. soil-pipe, leaving a clear way 
 right through the main pipe J. 
 
 No branch pipe should enter a main waste, soil, 
 or drain pipe at right angles. In lead pipes, how- 
 ever slight the fall may be, the branch can always 
 be "nosed"* over a little at the jointing for the 
 discharges passing through it, to look towards the 
 
 way they have to go — but 
 more on this in a subse- 
 quent lecture. 
 
 The old way of con- 
 necting branch pipes with 
 main pipes cannot be too 
 severely condemned. If 
 plumbers were also joiners, 
 one could understand how 
 the mitre joint, as show^n 
 in Fig. II, got introduced ; 
 but it is difficult to under- 
 stand why plumbers should 
 make such a connection, especially on waste water 
 or sewage-carrying pipes. Probably one reason is, 
 because they have never considered the matter. 
 They know that it is the best form of jointing 
 in soldering lead nozzles to pump-barrels, for a 
 socket^ as shown at G, Fig. 9, could not be pro- 
 perly formed on a stout lead pump-barrel, and 
 as this form of joint had been in use in pump- 
 making long before waste pipes or soil pipes 
 were'^ever fixed, custom has given it a place in 
 
 * See Fig. 106, p. 246. 
 
 Fig. II. — Mitre jointing.
 
 Sanitary Plumbifig. 47 
 
 waste water carrying pipes which it ought never 
 to have. Such a joint takes more time, more 
 solder, and is more difficult to make, than the 
 branch joint shown in Figs. 9 and 10. It is 
 also wrong in principle ; for however careful the 
 plumber may be, he cannot leave the main pipe 
 perfectly smooth at K, and the waste discharges 
 from branches fixed on the upper part of the main 
 pipe would have to travel through this badly-fitted 
 branch connection. The edges of the branch pipe 
 N, or of the main pipe K, Fig. 11, must form in 
 some degree a collecting place for filth, and the 
 solder in making such a joint would be more liable 
 to work through the jointing to the inside of the 
 pipe than it would in the other form of branch 
 connection, Fig. 9. We must have all the details 
 right, if the whole of the plumbing work in a house 
 is to be sanitarily perfect. 
 
 Block Joints. — When soil-pipes are fixed in Block 
 chases inside the house, there is no stronger 
 way of fixing the pipes and connecting them 
 together than by block joints. This joint is 
 easily wiped by a skilful plumber. In making 
 such a joint, round off the block as shown at 
 Q, Fig. 12. Cut out a circular piece of lead, called 
 a flange, about 5 in. larger in diameter than the 
 diameter of the pipe ; then cut a hole out of 
 the centre of this flange, a little larger than the 
 outside diameter of the pipe. Soil over both sides 
 and the edges of the flange ; dry it over the fire,
 
 48 
 
 TJie Science and Art of 
 
 or with an iron, and shave it so as to get about 
 l^ in. of margin on the inner edge for soldering 
 upon. Grease over, and then tin the shaved part 
 of the flange, and put it over the end of the pipe, 
 and taft over the pipe upon it in a round form, so 
 as to get a body of solder tinder, as well as over the 
 tafting, as shown in the section. Fig. 12. Never 
 taft over a pipe in such a way as to get a square 
 
 miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiBiiiiif!iifi)iiifiiin^^ I 
 
 |li|!||lli|if ^ ' - 
 
 I 
 
 Fiu^. 12. — Section of a 
 
 edge next the pipe, for in so doing the pipe would 
 not only be very much weakened by it, but you 
 would not get such a hold of solder upon it, and the 
 joint would soon break. "^ Open the pipe with a 
 " turn-pin," to allow the end of the upper length to 
 enter (without contracting it in the least) about 
 
 * Specimens of badly-made joints with square-edge taftings were 
 sliown, with the pipes broken away from the underside of the joints, 
 i,e. , at the edge of the tafting.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 49 
 
 f in,^ and well tin the end of the upper length 
 before putting the pipes together. I need not say 
 a word about wiping this form of jointing, except 
 this : — See that the pipes are well fitted, to prevent 
 the solder running through to the inside, and splash 
 on the solder quickly, rub a well-cleaned hot iron 
 round and round it, and wipe the joint dexterously. 
 The chase in the back wall is shown by the letter 
 M ; and M^ shows the brickwork 
 cut away for making the joint. 
 The flange is shown at F. This 
 flange should always be tinned 
 before being put in its place. 
 
 A flange joint, as shown in 
 Fig. 13, is made in a similar way 
 to the block joint just described. 
 It is chiefly made on waste-pipes, 
 and small pipes where they pass 
 through a floor. In fixing the 
 pipe, working from the bottom 
 upwards, the top end of the pipe of a Flange joint. 
 is made to stand an inch or two 
 above the level of the floor. A lead flange (R, 
 Fig. 13), as described in the block joint, is then 
 put over the end of the pipe, and a piece of board, 
 about f in. thick, is placed on the flange for 
 the blade part of the saw to rest upon, as a guide 
 in cutting the pipe off to the requisite length for 
 tafting. When the pipe is cut ofT, the board is 
 removed, and a turn-pin is driven down into the 
 pipe with one or two sharp strokes of the mallet, 
 E 
 
 Fig. 13. — Section 
 
 Flange 
 Joint.
 
 so 
 
 The Scie7ice and Art of 
 
 and the end of the pipe is then tafted back upon 
 the flange. A section through a flange-joint on a 
 2-in. lead pipe is shown at R, Fig. 13. The 
 making of the joint, and the connection of the 
 upper pipe with it, need not be described, the 
 thing speaks for itself 
 Taft Joint. A taftjoiut (Fig. 14), is the simplest form of 
 
 wiped joint. It is made by tafting back the end of 
 the lower pipe, as shown at S, Fig. 14, 
 for the solder to rest upon, and the 
 joint is so simple to wipe that the 
 poorest joint-wiper can make it. But 
 the joint is inferior in strength, in 
 funnel pipes, to the block joint or 
 round joint, and wherever it is found 
 it is a mark of the want of skill in 
 joint-making of the plumber who 
 made it. When a pipe is tafted back 
 to get a sufficient base for wiping 
 Fig. 14. —Section such a joint on light pipes, the outer 
 join . ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ,^ ^^^^ ,, ^^^^ ^^^^ much 
 
 reduced in substance ; and, by the time it is 
 shaved for the solder to adhere to it, there is little 
 or no strength of lead left in the taft or base, as 
 may readily be seen by reference to the diagram, 
 Fig. 14, at S. Consequently such a joint can 
 never be a very strong one, and is very liable to be 
 a weak one. As for its elegance, look at it, gentle- 
 men and joint-wipers, and judge for yourselves. 
 " Look on this picture, (Fig. 14), and on that 
 (Fig 12)."
 
 Sanitary Phwibing. 51 
 
 I have dwelt at length upon wiped soldered Sanitary 
 
 . . way of 
 
 joints, because there is a sanitary way of joining joining 
 pipes and an unsanitary way, and because good 
 j'oint-wiping is a mark of a plumber's skill. It costs 
 no more for a skilful joint-maker to make a perfect 
 j'oint, than for an unskilful man to make an imper- 
 fect one. Nay, the imperfect joint is generally the 
 costlier, for the excrescence of solder upon it is 
 wasted, and its ugliness is a proof of want of dex- 
 terity. Unskilled labour (when skill is wanted) is 
 always more expensive, as it consumes more time 
 than skilled labour. 
 
 Copper-bit joints are not in favour with the Copper-bit 
 
 Joints. 
 
 London plumber. So prejudiced are some against 
 them, that they never make a copper-bit joint. 
 Every joint is made with "plumbers' solder," and 
 wiped with the solder-cloth. The smallest sized 
 ball-cocks, bib-cocks, stop-cocks, unions, gratings, 
 boiler-screws, caps and screws, plugs and washers, 
 washers and wastes, nuts and linings, &c., &c., are 
 all connected to their pipes or places, irrespective 
 of size, by wiped soldered joints. There is a want 
 of wisdom in this ; for copper-bit joints are specially 
 adapted for connecting small brass-work, such as 
 unions, and " nuts and linings," &c., to lead pipes, 
 as the copper-bit joint gives more room for the 
 " nut " to move up and down the " lining " than a 
 wiped soldered joint. Besides, well-made copper- 
 bit joints are stronger and cheaper than wiped joints 
 for such connections. 
 E 2
 
 52 
 
 The Science a?id Art of 
 
 Copper-bit 
 Joints in 
 Soil-pipes, 
 
 I would not, however, allow a copper-bit joint 
 to be made on a soil-pipe, funnel-pipe, or thin lead 
 waste or ventilating pipe, especially the usual 
 form of copper-bit jointing, as shown at T, Fig. 15, 
 for though the union of the two pipes 
 may be perfect, the jointing would not 
 strengthen the piping, like a wiped sol- 
 dered joint, as shown in Fig. 3, or Fig. 
 12. The band of solder round the pipe 
 (Fig. 3) strengthens it, like a belt round 
 the waist of a navvy ; moreover, instead 
 of the solder only biting a thin edge of 
 piping, (as in the copper-bit joint, Fig. 
 15) it has a grip of fully \\ in. on each 
 pipe^ and the body of strong soldering 
 round such 'pipes keeps them in good 
 "Copper-bit" rotundity. 
 
 In soldering brass work to lead, 
 well tin the brass before making the joint — the 
 plumber's mate should do such tinnings at odd 
 times. The "hatchet" form of copper-bit is the 
 best. It should be kept well tinned, and 
 the soldering edges well feathered. The 
 copper-bit "float," or "flow" joint, as 
 shown at U, Fig. 16, is easy to make. 
 When the copper-bit is well heated, so 
 that you can feel a genial warmth from it 
 by holding it within a foot of the face, 
 place one of the tinned edges against 
 the tinned part of the brass work, keeping the 
 head of the bit as near the brass as practicable 
 
 View of a
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 53 
 
 to assist in heating it ; then push a *' strip " of fine 
 solder against the other tinned edge of the copper- 
 bit, and the solder will "flow" round the pipe-base, 
 U, Fig. 1 6. When sufficient solder is formed on 
 the top of the pipe, pull the copper-bit slowly 
 round the jointing, allowing the tinned feathered 
 part of the bit to rest upon the pipe, and keeping 
 the thin edge against the brass work. 
 
 A ribbon joint, as shown at W, Fig. 17, is also Ribbori 
 made with a copper-bit and fine solder. This 
 joint is more difficult to make, but it is 
 a better joint than the " flow joint." A 
 band of fine solder, about an inch wide 
 and A in. thick, is formed round the 
 jointing, and this is so dexterously done 
 by some plumbers, that it is difficult to 
 see where the silver-coloured ring com- 
 mences and where it ends, i.e., there is 
 no mark of the copper-bit left upon the soldering. 
 
 An Over-cast Ribbon joint is simply a copper-bit Over-cast 
 jointing made as just described and overcast with jjint. 
 the copper-bit, giving it several facets ; 
 Fig. 18 shows a view of 'this form of 
 joint. When joint-makers fail in putting 
 a true ring, band, or "ribbon" of solder 
 round the connection, they generally over- 
 cast it with a copper-bit to make good 
 Over-cast ^j-^y unevcnness, and when this is skil- 
 
 Copper-bit 
 
 joint, fully done the jomting looks very neat, 
 
 Fig. 17. 
 
 Ribbon 
 
 joint. 
 
 and is at the sarne time very strong.
 
 54 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 Blow-pipe 
 Joints. 
 
 A bloiv-pipe joint looks precisely like a copper- 
 bit joint, as shown at U, Fig. i6 : the difference is 
 in the mode of making. One joint is made from 
 the heat of a copper-bit, the other from the heat of 
 a flame — from a handful of rushes tied together,, or 
 of a flame from a spirit-lamp — by the aid of a 
 mouth blow-pipe. I need hardly describe a blow- 
 pipe. It is a small trumpet-shaped copper tube, 
 about 9 in. or a foot long, with the thin end bent 
 round, and an air- way of about one-eighth of an inch 
 diameter through its smallest part. The larger end^ 
 which is about half an inch in diameter, is held in 
 the mouth, and the smaller end is kept near the 
 flame, so as to blow the heat upon the jointing just 
 where it is wanted. 
 
 Astragal 
 Jointing' 
 
 Astragal Joint.^ — Though I condemned 
 copper-bit jointing, as shown in the woodcut at T, 
 Fig. 15, I am in favour of a strong fine solder 
 jointing, for (j'?//^-/^/^ soil-pipes, as shown at A, Fig. 19, 
 but there is a great difference in the two joints. 
 There is three times the strength of soldering on 
 this jointing, as will readily be seen by a glance at 
 the illustrations, Figs. 15 and 19, though the 
 soldering in the latter (a. Fig. 19) is not shown 
 quite bold enough. The astragals, B and C, 
 can be cut out of \ in. or | in. strong lead pipe ; 
 and bent round and soldered to the funnel pipe, 
 
 * This is not the right kind of astragal jointing for lead ram 
 water pipe, for as the ends of such pipe should socket one into the 
 other, the female end should be enlarged, so as to receive the male 
 end without reducing its size.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 55 
 
 but I prefer them cast in moulds, in strips of a 
 size to suit the size of the soil-pipe. They are very 
 easily bent round on the pipe where they are to be 
 fixed^ and soldered to it with a copper bit. The 
 astragals are reversed, as shown at B and C, and the 
 neck part of the upper astragal moulding is opened 
 out a little, and rasped off on the inner edge, as 
 
 Fig. 19. — View of a Soldered joint with Astragals and Tacks, 
 
 shown in section, at A, to give space for a good 
 body of fine solder for making a strong joint. The 
 tacks* are soldered to the pipe in the usual way, 
 and to make them ornamental a device is cut out 
 of the centre part, and dots are raised over the nail- 
 heads, as shown at D. Roundheaded nails are fixed 
 as shown at E, and that part of the tack which is 
 
 * See Figs. 97 and 98, showing tacks soldered on.
 
 56 The Science and Art of 
 
 to cover them is domed back by a tap or two from 
 the small end of the mallet, as shown by the tack 
 G, which is left unfolded for the purpose. The 
 astragals round the pipe help to strengthen it, com- 
 bining thus the useful with the ornamental. Bacon 
 noticed in his day the neatness of astragal joint- 
 ings, for he speaks of leaden pipes " bound with 
 leaden bands." 
 
 Pipe Bending. — I now come to the im- 
 portant subject of pipe bending. "'Tis a long 
 lane that has no turning," says the proverb, 
 and verily that pipe would be long indeed 
 which had no turning in it. The plumber can- 
 not go far in fixing a pipe — be it a soil, waste, 
 or service pipe — without coming across the neces- 
 sity of turning or bending it to suit localities ; 
 and upon the principle of such turning or bending 
 will depend the wholesomeness, or unwholesome- 
 ness — other things being equal — of such piping, if 
 it be a soil or waste-pipe, after it has been in use for 
 only a short time. 
 Bend or *' Turn or burn " was the " burning " phrase in 
 
 the martyr days, and the noble martyrs preferred 
 to burn rather than " bend " in their principles. 
 " Bend or break " was the breaking question brought 
 to bear upon stubborn natures, and bend or break 
 is the mode of turning lead pipes. With bad 
 treatment, and in unskilled hands, lead piping is 
 very stubborn, and breaks rather than bends; but in 
 skilled hands it is very pliable, and bends and 
 
 Break.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing, 
 
 57 
 
 "Turn 
 asrain." 
 
 turns in any direction the plumber wants, with the 
 grace with which a swan bends its sinuous neck. 
 
 Having made the bend, and turned the pipe in 
 one direction, it will not go far before circum- 
 stances will call for it to turn in another. In fact, 
 circumstances will be continually calling for it, like 
 the Highgate bells to Dick Whittington, to " turn 
 again." Bending, then, is an important branch 
 in plumbing knowledge. 
 
 In olden times — and I am sorry to say it is still Elbows 
 the practice with many country plumbers — when 
 plumbers wanted to alter the 
 course of a lead R.w. pipe, 
 or soil-pipe, they used to cut 
 the pipe and solder it, i.e., 
 they made an elboiv-joint, as 
 shown at A, Fig. 20. In 
 making an elbow-joint, some 
 plum.bers wipe the joint right 
 round, as shown in Fig. 21. 
 Others make the improved 
 
 elbow, by bending the heel part of the pipe, as 
 shown at B, Fig. 20. 
 
 There are several objections to an elbow-joint. 
 In making this jointing, one pipe is made to enter 
 the other at the mitre so as to get an overlap to 
 prevent the solder running through to the inside 
 of the pipe. Sometimes one pipe is left to stand 
 up inside the other half an inch or more (I have 
 seen it in old elbow-joints nearly an inch); and the 
 jointing is often made without consideration of the 
 
 Fig. 20. — View of an 
 elbow-joint. 
 
 Evils of 
 Elbows,
 
 58 The Science and Art of 
 
 direction of the water-course through it, so that the 
 " stand-up " inside often forms a check to the 
 discharges passing through the pipe, as shown at 
 A, Fig. 21, and causes the filth to collect there as in 
 a gutter with a stoppage across its bed. There is 
 also the possibility of the solder running in through 
 the connection, or mitreing, and forming " tears *' 
 and "spurs" inside. As to its appearance, no sane 
 man would compare it for a moment with a bent 
 
 i^^ 
 
 Fig. 21. — Section of the Mitre. 
 
 lead pipe, as illustrated in Fig. 27. I am afraid 
 that not one-third of the plumbers in the United 
 Kingdom (leaving out London) could make such 
 bends as the specimens here to-night. 
 Bending The bending" of lead soil and funnel pipes 
 
 Pipe with- ., .^ ,,. ,^ , 
 
 out Cut- (without cuttmg or solaermg them) commenced 
 
 ting. , . 1 r 
 
 about forty years ago, but tor many years it was 
 only a plumber here and there, very skilled in lead- 
 bossing, that succeeded in making a perfect bend. 
 Art in There is an art in bending lead pipes. Many 
 
 Bending 
 
 Pipes. try it, but miserably fail. In bending the pipe, 
 
 they considerably reduce its strength, especially at
 
 Sanitary Plumbmg. 
 
 59 
 
 the heel of the bend, as shown by the illustration in 
 Fig. 22, at E and F. If the strength of a chain is 
 only equal to its weakest link, the strength, and 
 therefore the safety, of a stack of soil-pipe, or a 
 stack of waste-pipe, is only equal to its weakest 
 parts; so that when a lo lb. or a 12 lb. lead 
 waste-pipe, or an 8 lb. or a 7 lb. lead soil-pipe is 
 reduced at the bends to half its original strength, 
 
 Fig. 22. — Section of badly 
 bent pipe. 
 
 Contracted. 
 
 the whole length of the piping is depreciated 
 accordingly. But this is not the only evil in badly 
 bent pipes. Unskilled plumbers often contract the Bends 
 tubing in the neck part of the bends, and reduce 
 the bore at such points to nearly half the original 
 diameter of the piping, as shown at C and D, 
 Fig. 22. I often notice this as I travel about. Pipes 
 of 4-in. diameter are reduced to 3-in. and less, and 
 when this takes place in soil-pipes, waste-pipes, and
 
 6o 
 
 The Sa'e?ice a?id Art of 
 
 ventilating-pipes, where the tubing should be quite 
 of full-bore at the bending, the value of such piping 
 for its work is considerably reduced. If a stack of 
 4-in. pipe is reduced to 3-in. at its bends, the whole 
 of the stack may as well have been 3-in., and the 
 difference in the cost saved to the householder. I 
 have seen, in bad workmanship, 5 -in. piping reduced 
 to 4-in. at the bendings, 4-in. to 3-in., 3-in. to 2-in,, 
 
 Elbow 
 Joints. 
 
 2-in. to li-in., i |-in. to i^-in., ij-in. to 
 
 -m. 
 
 Now 
 
 no sanitarian, with any fair knowledge of plumbing, 
 would allow such pipe-bending on any of his works. 
 All these pipes, if they had been bent by men 
 skilled in their trade, would have been of full bore 
 throughout. 
 
 In making an clboiv joint, as Fig. 20, you have 
 to cut out a V-shaped piece of piping, but in 
 making a bend you are in want of a V-shaped piece
 
 Sanitary Flinnbmg. 6i 
 
 of piping, as shown at G and H, Fig. 23. The 
 skilful plumber will provide for this, and knowing 
 that he is working a pliable material he will, in 
 bending the pipe, dress the lead round from the 
 neck (c, Fig. 22), where there is a surplus, to the 
 heel (g, Fig. 23), where there is a deficiency. 
 
 In making the bend in a 3-in. or 4-in. lead How to 
 soil or ventilating pipe (or any size from 3-in. and Bends, 
 upwards), well heat the pipe by a flame from a gas- 
 jet, or from wood shavings put inside the pipe, or 
 by pouring some hot lead or solder upon the part 
 to be bent. Heat the pipe as hot as you can — 
 without melting it, of course ; then, if it is a long 
 piping, stride over it with your face towards the 
 end (n, Fig. 24) to be pulled up, and press your 
 hand (with a felt or a thick cloth under it, to 
 prevent the hand from being burnt), upon the pipe 
 where it is to be bent, and get your mate to pull 
 up the end of the pipe, humoring the bending part 
 as much as possible to keep it in a circular form to 
 prevent it from crippling. Lay the pipe down on 
 one side quickly, and, with two or three sharp 
 driving strokes of the dresser, jerk and dress the 
 bulged part (K, Fig. 24) of the piping from the side 
 facing you, round towards the heel, L, of the bend. 
 Turn the pipe over, while it is still hot, and dress 
 the bulged part of the opposite side round to the 
 heel, in a similar way to that just described. By 
 this means, you will thicken the lead where it had 
 been weakened in bending it, and you will at the 
 same time be giving room for the dummy to work
 
 62 The Science and Art of 
 
 inside the pipe. Take the dummy, as illustrated at 
 P, Fig. 24, and put inside the pipe, N, and get your 
 mate to knock up the neck part of the bend 
 with the bulb of solder, O, on the end of the 
 dummy, P, while you are dressing out the irregu- 
 larities — dressing the lead ever towards the heel, L, 
 to thicken the lead there. Do not attempt too much 
 
 Fig. 24. — View of an unfinished Bend in a length of soil-pipe, and 
 of two lono[ Dummies. 
 
 at a time, for to make a good bend, and to make it 
 quickly, several such heats must be given it as I 
 have just described. Watch the blows of the 
 dummy, and see that they are rightly delivered, so 
 Dummies, that uot a blow may be wasted. Fig. 25 shows a 
 hand dummy, which is a very useful tool for the 
 plumber, especially in bending lead funnel pipes. 
 The handle is generally made of cane, and the
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 63 
 
 dummy of solder. The long dummy, as shown at 
 P, or Q, Fig. 24, is wanted in various lengths, but a 
 five feet dummy is a very useful length. Some 
 plumbers make their dummies with pieces of |-in. 
 iron rod, but the general plumber uses |-in. or 
 f-in. gas tubing, according to the length of the 
 dummy. 
 
 Some young plumbers, to show that they have Young 
 mastered the art of pipe-bending, over-bend their 
 pipes. Wherever a bend is wanted in a pipe, they 
 make it as sharp as possible. Now no pipe should 
 be bent at a greater angle than necessity requires. 
 
 Fig. 25. — Hand Dummy. 
 
 and great care should be taken to keep the bend 
 ronnding, for plumbing is not engineering. It has 
 this great advantage over cast-iron pipe fitting, that 
 lead pipe, by the skilled plumber, can be bent on 
 the spot exactly as it is wanted. 
 
 Remember that no bend is properly made in a 
 lead pipe, where the lead is in any part reduced in 
 strength below its original substance. 
 
 I am told that it is the practice now with some "Bobbins 
 plumbers in bending pipes to use what are called fowers." 
 bobbins and followers, for opening out the 
 pipes. The funnel pipe is partly bent, and then a 
 bobbin, as shown at B, Fig. 26, is put into the 
 pipe with one or two followers, which are made 
 of boxwood, in various lengths, as shown in the
 
 64 The Science and Art of 
 
 illustration, Fig. 26, at F F F. The bobbin and 
 followers are then driven through the bent piping 
 with the " driving-rod," B. Such a means may 
 ensure the pipe being opened out full bore, but it is 
 a most ?^;/skilled way of doing it. A Jiecfge- 
 carpenter could manage to drive a bobbin (and 
 followers) through a pipe as easily as he drives 
 down a gate-post, but for a phnnber to adopt such 
 means proves that he is not an observant man ; 
 
 Fig. 26. — Section of a bent pipe, showing the evils of " bobbins " 
 and " followers." 
 
 Tools for otherwise he would know the nature of the material 
 he is working upon. He would know that in bend- 
 ing a pipe he w^ould weaken it in places, and then, 
 without troubling to strengthen it to its right sub- 
 stance, he would drive this bobbin through the pipe 
 with its followers, reducing the strength of the lead 
 in the w^eakest parts (perhaps) to bursting points, as 
 shown at F, with the arrow pointing to this evil. All 
 the tools a man wants, to make a perfect bend or 
 bends in a lead funnel pipe, as illustrated in Fig. 27, 
 is a dummy and a dresser or two, and, if he cannot
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 6s 
 
 manage to bend a pipe without the aid of bobbins 
 and followers, he had better " bob " out of plumbing, 
 and "follow" some other trade. There are some 
 specimens of bent lead pipe 
 on this board, which I shall 
 be glad for you to examine 
 and criticise when the lec- 
 ture is over. The bends 
 on the larger pipes were 
 made with the "dummy," 
 and those on the smaller 
 pipes were made with the 
 "bolt." The bolt is a ne- 
 cessary tool in bending 
 light lead pipes of small 
 diameter. The small bolt, 
 A, Fig. 28, is generally 
 made of steel, and the long 
 bolt is also generally made 
 of steel, but some plumbers 
 prefer the long bolt made 
 out of h in. and | in. 
 wrought iron steam tubing, 
 as shown at B, Fig. 28, as 
 it is lighter to carry ; the 
 long bolts vary in length 
 from 2 ft. to 2 ft. 6 in. 
 
 Fig. 27. — View of a double 
 bent pipe. 
 
 In making bends in small pipes,* in pipes too Bends in 
 
 Small 
 Pipes. 
 * Specimens of icizt pipes were shown at the close of the 
 
 lecture. Inch pipes bent and formed into the shape of the (/), and 
 half-S trap ; 2-in. and 3^-in. P traps were also exhibited, which had 
 
 F -e
 
 66 The Science and Art oj 
 
 small for the dummy to work inside, heat the pipe 
 as hot as you can — without melting it, of course — 
 and bend the pipe gently round, giving it as large a 
 radius as circumstances will allow. Then lay the 
 pipe down on its side, placing a tJiick piece of soft 
 leather, or felting, or two or three thicknesses of 
 carpeting, under one of the bulged sides of the 
 bend ; and then, with your old cap, or " felt," on 
 the top side (to break the sharpness of the blows), 
 jerk and dress the bulging side back towards the 
 " heel " of the bend. Turn the pipe over, and do 
 
 B 
 
 Fig. 28. — Iron bolts. 
 
 the same with the other side. Bends can be made 
 in strong lead pipes, both of small and large dia- 
 meter, in this way, by skilled plumbers, without 
 contracting the bore of the piping to any notice- 
 able extent, without the aid of a bolt or dummy. 
 In ligJit lead pipes, it w^ill be necessary to open out 
 the pipe, contracted in the bending, with an iron 
 bolt — shown at B, Fig. 28. 
 Bends in Service pipes should also be carefully bent to 
 
 Pipes. prevent the bore of the pipe being reduced in any 
 
 been bent into such shapes from straight pieces of lead pipe. 
 Letters, forming the word PLUMBING, were also shown on a 
 board, and these letters were bent out of strong inch lead pipe, and 
 were of full bore throusrhout.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 67 
 
 part and interfering with the water supply to the 
 sanitary " fittings," especially to water-closets. 
 Bends'^ in service pipes are often made in such a 
 way that the sanitary fitting is robbed of its proper 
 flush of water, and made unwholesome thereby. 
 
 When a man can make joints and bends as Plumbers' 
 
 Efficiency. 
 
 described to-night, he has, so to speak, the trade of 
 plumber in his hands, and though he may have no 
 intellectual knowledge to boast of, he has some- 
 thing whereof he can boast ; for he has educated 
 his hands to do what the most learned professor in 
 the land could not do to-day. His fingers are so 
 educated that he can do almost what he likes with 
 lead and solder; and talent, wherever it is found, 
 should be respected. 
 
 I daresay you have heard the story of the story of the 
 
 '' •' Astrono- 
 
 astronomer and the boatman. The boatman was men 
 rowing the astronomer across a piece of water ; and 
 the astronomer, wishing to test the boatman's 
 knowledge of the heavenly bodies, asked the 
 boatman what he knew of the stars. Now the 
 starry sky was as a sealed book to the waterman. 
 The vaulted space under its great dome might be 
 an electric-jar for catching the electricity generated 
 by the friction of revolving worlds, and the stars 
 electric lights, for aught the poor boatman knew. 
 Or the stars might be simply holes in Heaven's 
 floor to relieve it of its effulgent splendour. 
 Finding that the boatman knew nothing of the 
 stars, the astronomer called him a " fool." By-and- 
 
 * See Fig. 122, p. 275. 
 F 2
 
 68 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 Mind 
 Educated. 
 
 Joint 
 Making 
 and Pipe 
 Bending 
 not all. 
 
 bye a storm arose. Now the astronomer would have 
 been perfectly at home in the sky, among the stars; 
 but in the water, among the fishes, he would be '' at 
 sea." The storm increased in fury, and the boat- 
 man, looking at the astronomer and seeing that he 
 was no longer star-gazing, but getting very anxious- 
 looking, asked him " if he could swim ? " " No !" 
 was the reply. '^ Then, what 2.foolyo\x are," said the 
 boatman, and the boat that instant capsizing, the 
 astronomer's knowledge of the stars did not save 
 him, but the boatman's knowledge of swimming 
 carried him to the shore. 
 
 But I want plumbers not only to educate their 
 hands, but their minds as well ; and never to be 
 satisfied with themselves until they have learnt the 
 science as well as the art of their trade. 
 
 When a young plumber has learnt the art of 
 joint-making, and pipe-bending, he is apt to grow 
 contented with such knowledge. In learning to 
 make joints, he poured the molten solder into the 
 palm of his hand as much as into the cloth. He 
 burnt his fingers over and over again, and if he did 
 not dance about for joy he danced about in agony; 
 but he did not give it up ; he tried again, and 
 again, and again ; now burning his hands, and now 
 burning the pipes — pouring the solder at times 
 right through to the inside. At last, having suc- 
 ceeded in making a good underhand joint, on a 
 5 in. or 6 in. pipe — like the one now before me — 
 he felt as proud as if he had put a silver band 
 round two hemispheres, instead of round two pipes.
 
 Sanitary Flufubing. 69 
 
 And in learning to make bends in pipes if 
 he did not burn his hands, he constantly burnt the 
 pipes, and that too just when he had nearly suc- 
 ceeded in making the bend. But now he can 
 make a good joint, and a good bend, and is not 
 that enough ? No ! I tell such plumbers, that 
 joint-making and pipe-bending are but the " three 
 R''s " — the stepping-stones to plumbing knowledge. 
 It is but the beginning of the path which leads up 
 to a mountain height of perfection in sanitary 
 knowledge, the siniimit of which has never yet been 
 trodden by the foot of any plumber or sanitarian. 
 
 Though there was no time to say more than 
 was said at the lecture, the foregoing subjects will 
 be more complete if something is said here — and 
 it can only be a word or two, for want of space — 
 on the solder used for making the before-mentioned 
 joints, and on lead, tin, pipe, and one or two other 
 methods of soldering. 
 
 Lead has a specific gravity of 11,352 (water Lead, 
 being taken at 1,000), and melts at 612° Fahren- 
 heit. The weight of a cubic inch in lbs. is '4150. 
 A great deal of lead comes from our own English 
 mines, but the bulk comes from Spain. 
 
 A pig is a piece of solid lead, about 2 feet "Pigs 
 3 inches long, 5 inches wide, and 3 inches deep, 
 but it varies in size and shape — of the under side —
 
 7o The Science mid Art oj 
 
 and therefore in weight, according to the mould 
 of the manufacturer ; and may weigh about i cwt. 
 \\ cwt., or \\ cwt. Lead is generally run down 
 into pigs for better transit. 
 
 Sheet. A sJieet of lead ^ (milled lead) varies in length 
 
 and width, depending upon the manufacturer 
 Sheets are rolled from 28 feet to 34 feet long, 
 and from 6 feet 10 inches to 8 feet wide — viz., 
 6 feet 10 inches, 7 feet, 7 feet 3 inches, 7 feet 
 6 inches, 7 feet 9 inches, and 8 feet. A sheet of 
 lead can be milled of any strength, from \\ lbs. to 
 20 lbs. per superficial foot, or stronger, but above 
 this strength it is called plates, and plates of lead 
 can be had of any thickness, from f-inch to I -inch, 
 or thicker still. 
 
 Tin-lined sheet-lead is now made for lining 
 cisterns and sinks, for dietetic purposes, &c., &c 
 The soldering should be done with fine solder 
 using a blowing-lamp, or blow-pipe. 
 
 * Fosbroke, in his " Encyclopedia of Antiquities " says (p. 325), 
 " Caylus shows that the ancients used sheet lead, and speaks of a 
 piece of lead but half a line thick, taken from the dome of the 
 Pantheon." 
 
 Sir Phillip Howard and Francis Watson took out a patent, in 
 1617, for an "engine on rollers, for drawing lead into sheets" — 
 for milling lead, in fact. Cast sheet-lead is very little used now. 
 We have ceased to make cast sheet lead in our factory, though up to 
 about fifteen years ago we made it in large quantities. I consider 
 milled lead, made out of soft pig lead, much preferable to east lead. 
 An eveft siibstanee can be depended upon in the former (except 
 when the rollers are worn), but in the latter it may vary a good 
 deal.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 71 
 
 Lead pipes * are made in every size from i\ths to Lead 
 6 inches diameter by hydraulic pressure, and almost 
 any strength, f Inch pipe and downwards are 
 made in London in 15 feet lengths, or in coils of 
 about 60 feet ; above that size — ij-inch, ij-inch, 
 i|-inch, and 2-inch — they are made in 12-feet 
 lengths, or in coils of from 40 to 50 feet. • Fimnel- 
 pipes, for socket- pipes, rain-water-pipes, ventilating- 
 pipes, soil-pipes, and waste-pipes, are made in 
 every half-inch from 2\ inches to 6 inches, in 
 lo-feet lengths. They can be made of any 
 strength lead, from 5 lbs. to 12 lbs. per superficial 
 foot, or stronger. When they exceed a certain 
 substance, and are, say, from ^-inch to J-inch thick, 
 such pipes are called barrels. 
 
 Lead-encased tin-pipe. — This piping is made in Tin-lined 
 every size from f-inch to 5 -inch inclusive, and of pfpes. 
 any strength for which it may be required. We 
 have used it in large quantities for water-services 
 for dietetic use. It requires great care in making 
 the joints, and they are best made with the blow- 
 pipe, though a quick joint-wiper will find no diffi- 
 culty in making underhand joints. The tin is sure 
 to run a little. Brass connectors can be used for 
 coupling the ends of such pipes, without solder, 
 and this is the better method. As I do not believe 
 
 * In my book, "The Plumber and Sanitary Houses," I have 
 classified lead pipes for various works. 
 
 t See the weights of lead pipes, as rec^uired by the London 
 Water Companies, p. 306,
 
 72 
 
 The Science and Art oj 
 
 so much in pipe poisoning"^ from lead pipes, I have 
 not so much to say in its favour, especially as I 
 consider stout lead pipe, though of less cost, more 
 durable. 
 
 Plumbers' 
 Solder. 
 
 
 p 
 
 rrihT 
 
 rill 
 
 P" 
 
 n 
 
 '1: 
 
 illllliiil!! 
 
 i ' i ; 
 ll!!t!!!!:::!ll!il!li^'ii!! 
 
 ' '■ 
 
 i;:;,:;:::i:,^ 
 
 Plumbers' solder f is made out of two parts 
 of lead and one of tin. J 
 It is generally made in 
 casts, from prints stamped 
 in sand, put into flasks, or 
 spread out in level beds. 
 A cast of solder is illus- 
 trated in Fig. 28'. A, shows 
 a view of the top side, and 
 B the under side. It has 
 eight bars, and weighs 
 j,.^_ ^gi_ about 56 lbs., or 7 lbs. per 
 
 Cast of Solder, &c. bar. 
 
 Fine 
 Solder. 
 
 Fine solder, or copper-bit solder, is made out of 
 about eight parts of tin to seven of lead. It is 
 run into sticks (from grooves sunk in iron plates) 
 
 * See p. 291. 
 
 t Soldering is mentioned in Isaiah xli., 7 ; and Pliny and 
 Plutarch have something to say on soldo- — caWtdi plumbus ar- 
 gentarius — made of lead and tin. But I am not going into its 
 history. If the ancients had to go to the East for their wise men, 
 they certainly came West (Great Britain) for their ti?i, and that, too, 
 in early times. *' Soft seder " seems to have been used from the 
 very beginning, but its mixtux-e is so very various that I will not 
 attempt to give the ingredients out of which it is made, even if I 
 could. 
 
 X See foot-note, p. 35.
 
 Sanitary Fhnnbing. 73 
 
 about 18 inches long, h inch wide, and -g- inch thick. 
 A " stick " of fine solder is shown at C, Fig. 28'. 
 
 Bloiv-pipe solder is made with about seven-and- Biow-pipe 
 
 Solder. 
 
 a-half per cent, more of tin than fine solder, or fine 
 solder is melted down and enriched by adding 
 from 5 to 10 per cent, of tin to it. It is run out, 
 upon faced iron plates, in thin narrow strips, about 
 y\ths wide, y^th thick, and 18 inches long. Cotton 
 and Johnson's patent " Torch " is a very useful 
 means of getting a good flame jet for making blow- 
 pipe joints. 
 
 Tin has a specific gravity of 7,291, and melts at Tin. 
 442° Fahrenheit. Alloyed with lead it ioxWiSpeivftr 
 and solder ; with small proportions of antimony, 
 copper, and bismuth, it forms block-tin, Britannia, 
 8ic. ; and united with copper in different propor- 
 tions, it forms bronze, bell-metal, &c. 
 
 Soft Solder y^ — Tin i part, and lead 10 parts, melt ^"JoftSoider. 
 
 ■^ r 5 r > Alloys and 
 
 at 541 deo-. Fahrenheit; tin i, and lead 5,at Ui des:. ; their Meit- 
 
 •^^ ^ ' ' -^' -^ ^ ' ing Heats. 
 
 tin I, and lead 2, at 441 deg. ; tin \, and lead i, at 370 
 deg. ; tin 3^ and lead 2, at 334 deg. ; tin 2, and 
 lead i^ at 340 deg. ; tin 3, and lead i, at 356 deg. 
 Tin 4, lead 4, and bismuth i, melt at 320 deg. ; 
 tin 2, lead 2, bismuth i, at 292 deg. ; tin i, lead 2, 
 bismuth 2, at 236 deg. ; tin 3, lead 2, bismuth 5^ 
 at 212 deg. ; tin 5, lead 3, and bismuth 3, at 202 
 deg. 
 
 * Extracted chiefly from " Appleton's Dictionary of Mechanics," 
 590, Vol. II.
 
 74 The Science and Art oj 
 
 Fire-place. I need hardly say a word on fire-places for 
 
 heating pots of solder. A good fire-place is essen- 
 tial where a large amount of soldering is wanted — 
 if it is to be expeditiously done. In jobbing work, 
 where the plumber cannot use a modest stove in 
 the house, he prefers going to the devil — a Avell- 
 known fire-grate — rather than go into the kitchen 
 for his heat, to be sent to such a quarter by 
 the cook. The heat in kitchens is generally too 
 great for men with " metal " to stand it. If the 
 plumber happens '' to be without a devil " — a position 
 " devoutly to be desired," I should say, by others 
 as well as plumbers — he can easily make a fire- 
 place with a few bricks. A plumbers' stove is 
 shown in the view which heads this lecture, and it 
 is a great improvement on the old fire-grate. But 
 the plumber, especially the jobbing plumber, can, 
 if he chooses, be independent, in a large majority 
 of cases (except in new buildings) of fire-places, 
 pots, ladles, and irons, and I recommend him to 
 take up his independency in this matter by using 
 some such means as hereafter described for his 
 solderings. 
 
 Self-acting Self-acting Blowing-lamp. — This apparatus is 
 
 Blowing- 
 lamp, illustrated in Fig. 28^, and it is all the plumber 
 
 wants, in many cases, for melting his solder, for 
 
 making small joints, and for repairing-jobs. Some 
 
 of our men have been using this lamp for years, 
 
 for making joints with fine solder, &c., but it is not 
 
 in such general use with us as I should like. Mr,
 
 Sanitary Phiinbing. 
 
 75 
 
 R. Smith, of Messrs. Barnes and Smith, showed 
 some very nice wiped joints at one of the lectures, 
 which he had made with this process. The lamp 
 is a French invention. It has been improved 
 upon, but there is room for another improvement. 
 The hinged wind-guards, D, would be better if they 
 were made to take off, for getting the lamp, when 
 so wanted, into confined places. 
 
 ig. 28-. — Self-acting Blowing-lamp. 
 
 The lamp, A, should be filled with methylated 
 spirit, and the wick (common lamp-cotton) should 
 be kept well in front of the jet, E, to prevent the 
 blast from jumping. The boiler, B, should never 
 be more than half-filled with methylated spirit, 
 and the safety-valve, C, should be loosened and 
 cleaned from time to time, to prevent its sticking 
 and bursting the boiler. One of our men narrowly 
 escaped an accident some time ago through neglect-
 
 76 
 
 The Sde?ice and Art of 
 
 Blow-pipe 
 Lamp. 
 
 ing such a caution. These lamps are made in 
 several sizes, and are used for various purposes. 
 An upright joint, or branch joint, of any size, can 
 be made with this lamp in a very short time after 
 the pipes are prepared — say, from five minutes to 
 twenty — depending, of course, upon the size of the 
 joint and the skill of the joint-maker. Underhand 
 joints from |-inch to 2-inch are easily made with 
 such a lamp, but large underhand joints are 
 difficult. The lamp is not so helpful for soldering 
 sinks and cisterns as well-heated pots of solder. 
 For making wiped joints, &c., with such lamps, 
 plumbers' solder should be run out into thin strips, 
 say about \ inch thick, i inch wide, and 15 or 
 18 inches long. This solder is quickly melted 
 upon well-heated jointings from the flame of such 
 a lamp. With a well-directed blast a bulb of 
 solder is soon formed upon the pipings, and heated 
 up to the consistency of wiping. If the joint is 
 too large to wipe right round, the cold parts can 
 
 be heated up as the 
 wiping proceeds. 
 
 Fig. 
 
 Fig. 28^ — Blow-pipe Lamp. 
 
 28^ shows 
 another kind of lamp 
 for heating solder, for 
 making joints, and for 
 soldering purposes. 
 The lamp illustrated 
 here is an improve- 
 ment upon some small
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 77 
 
 lamps of a similar kind. This lamp was made for 
 us for a special work, and it is very much liked by 
 those who have worked with it. The lamp, A, is 
 filled with common lamp-cotton, and this is satu- 
 rated with benzoline. A powerful blast is obtained 
 by blowing through the india-rubber tubing, C, 
 which can be of any length, and which is blown 
 by the solderer, or his mate, or it can be blown by 
 bellows, attached to the tubing, or any air-forcing 
 machine, and the lungs of the plumber saved. The 
 solder is melted upon the jointings as explained 
 in the other lamp. 
 
 A very valuable method of '' soldering " metallic Airo- 
 substances was invented in France, in 1838, by the Blow-p^pe. 
 Count de Richemont. This airo-hydrogen blow- 
 pipe was called by the inventor the " Chalumeau 
 Aer-hydrique." The English patent for this in- 
 vention was taken out in the name of Luke 
 Hebert, in 1838. But Mr. Mallet claims to have 
 used a similar apparatus prior to 1833. The 
 " soldering " done by this instrument is improperly 
 called ^' aiLtogenoiis'' soldering. As I shall speak 
 simply of lead joinings — though it is used for 
 uniting various metals — I shall speak of it as lead Lead 
 
 7 • 1 • 1 • • 1 -1 Burning. 
 
 otirmng, the name by which it is known in the 
 trade. An apparatus complete is illustrated in 
 Fig. 28^, from one of those now in our possession. 
 It consists of a self-acting and self-regulating gas 
 generator, ABC, for giving a continuous current of 
 hydrogen gas, through the forked-shaped blow-
 
 78 TJie Science afid Art of 
 
 pipe, D, and of a pair of bellows, E, for supplying 
 atmospheric air (through the same blow-pipe) for 
 the combustion of the gases. The organist found 
 to his cost that the organ-blower played an im- 
 portant part in producing his music, and the 
 burner, or solderer, will find, in using this appara- 
 tus, that his burning will depend much upon the 
 blower. A good steady stream of air is required 
 to be sent through the tubing, x a, for the proper 
 combustion of the gases. Stop-cocks are fixed at 
 S S, in the forked-shape piping, D, to regulate the 
 current of hydrogen from the gas generator, and 
 the stream of air from the bellows. The bent jet- 
 tube can have any sized nozzle, n, screwed to it to 
 suit the work to be done. The india-rubber 
 tubings, a and Ji, connecting the bellows and 
 hydrogen gas holder with the blow-pipe, can be 
 of any length to suit circumstances. The gas 
 generator is divided into three nearly equal com- 
 partments, as shown in the section, ABC. It is 
 about 12 inches by 13 inches, and stands just 3 feet 
 high. The upper and lower reservoirs, A and C, 
 are lined with lead, the lower one, C, being made 
 air-tight. The metals and pipings are united 
 without solder — i.e., by fusion of the metals. 
 A plug is fixed, as shown at b, in the upper 
 reservoir, A, over the communicating-pipe, d, to 
 the lower reservoir, C. Diluted sulphuric acid,"^ of 
 
 * Our people charge the apparatus by putting 7 lbs. of zinc 
 clippings into the lower reservoir, c, through the aperture, e, 3 quarts 
 of water and a pint and a half of sulphuric acid into the upper
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 79 
 
 the specific gravity ri6, is put into the upper 
 reservoir, A ; and the lower reservoir, c, is filled 
 with zinc clippings through the aperture, e, which 
 is afterwards made air-tight. /, is a leaden tube, 
 closed by a cork, and through which the saturated 
 acid is discharged, g, is a safety chamber, into 
 which the hydrogen generated in the reservoir, c, 
 is conveyed by means of a tube, vi ; /^ is a stop- 
 
 Fig. 28-*. — Airo-hydrogen Blow-pipe and Apparatus. 
 
 cock fixed in the tube, vi ; ^ is a tube fixed in the 
 safety-chamber, G, with a cork stopper, which acts 
 as a safety-valve to prevent explosion ; r is a per- 
 forated false bottom, which supports the zinc 
 clippings in the lower reservoir, C ; ;/ is the brass 
 jet-tube, screwed to fit the various-sized nozzles 
 through which the gaseous mixture escapes. 
 
 Very intense and forcible jets of flame can be 
 
 reservoir, A. A pint of acid is added about every two hours. The 
 zinc lasts eight or ten days. The saturated acid should be dra\\Ti 
 off after each usage.
 
 8o The Sciefice and Art of 
 
 obtained by this airo-hydrogen blow-pipe, at any 
 rate sufficient to melt strong platina wire. For 
 neat burning, it is important to have the right 
 flame-jet. When applied to a bit of shaved lead, 
 the heated point becomes immediately as bright 
 as silver. The following test will indicate with 
 certainty if the mixture and the force of the 
 current be duly regulated ; e.g,^ when the hottest 
 and most reductive point of the interior flame is 
 applied to a piece of shaved lead, the heated point 
 becomes immediately as bright as silver, and the 
 flame itself assumes a violet tint, produced by 
 the volatilisation of a small portion of the lead. 
 When there is too much or too little air, the heat 
 is not so intense ox pointed, and the melting spreads 
 over a larger surface owing to its being heated 
 more slowly. 
 
 Two pieces of lead can be united when they 
 only butt against each other, as shown at F, but it 
 is better in many cases to make one piece lap over the 
 other. The parts to be united should be shaved 
 bright (the width required for the burning) and a 
 narrow strip of thin lead, as shown at /, shaved 
 bright, should be held in the left hand for supplying 
 the lead required for filling up the uneven space of 
 the joining, or for making a raised seam. In 
 lining cisterns and sinks, for burning under this 
 process, the sides and ends should turn on to the 
 bottom a little, say, \ inch to \\ inches, and butt 
 against each other, as shown at G, so as to get a 
 flat surface burning for uniting the bottom with the
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 8r 
 
 sides ; and the sides of tlie cistern should be con- 
 nected with the ends in a diagonal line, as shown 
 at H, the under-piece forming- the overcloak — at 
 the lappings — for easier burning. 
 
 I consider that every young plumber* should 
 learn this method of uniting metals, for it is very 
 valuable. It requires a good bit of practice, like 
 joint-wiping, to become skilled in lead burning. 
 We have used this method for the last twenty 
 years for making sinks, and lining cisterns and 
 tanks for chemical works ; and we are using it 
 on the fleche which is now being erected on the 
 Central Hall of the New Courts of Justice, which 
 will be, when done, the most elaborate piece of 
 lead work, I should say, in the world. 
 
 Two pieces of lead can easily be burnt together Copp-r- 
 with the aid of a hatchet-shaped copper-bit. To ing. 
 do this, shave the edges to be united, put a piece 
 of brown paper under the joining, and pull a 
 copper-bit — heated nearly red-hot — along the 
 edges, using a narrow strip of thin lead, well 
 shaved, for making good the seam. The tinned 
 edges of the copper-bit should be preserved as 
 much as possible, and they should be brightened 
 up, by pulling the end of a stick of fine solder 
 over them, before commencing the burning. 
 
 * This is one of the many things they could learn at a School 
 of Plumbing, if such a place existed.
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 TRAPS. 
 
 The necessity of Traps proved by Practical Experiments. Un- 
 trapped Waste-pipes to Sinks, Lavatories, &c. Untrapped 
 Soil-pipes ; Mr. Norman Shaw's principle. Stacks of Soil- 
 pipes with Untrapped Water-closets upon them. Traps ^^•hich 
 form themselves into collection-boxes or cesspools. Non- 
 cleansing Traps ; — The D-trap ; The "improved" or narrow- 
 band D-trap ; The "Helmet" Trap; The "Eclipse" Trap; 
 The Bell Trap. 
 
 Traps, Our subject to-nicrht is " Traps and trap ventlla- 
 
 variety of J t> r r ^ 
 
 meanings, tion." As the word t}'ap has such a variety of 
 meanings, it may be well to state — on the threshold 
 of the subject, and before attempting to 'Ventilate" 
 it — that the word will be limited to-night to plumb- 
 ing and drainage. If not thus confined to " home " 
 uses, there is no telling where your thoughts may be 
 wandering during the prosy part of this lecture. 
 Some would be thinking, perhaps, of the trap-rock 
 on the sides of volcanic mountains, and travelling 
 in thought where Mr. Whymper travelled on foot, 
 over the trap on Cotopaxi ; for, according to Mr. 
 Whymper, that burning mountain is very " trappy •" 
 from its base to its summit. Others w^ould be 
 thinking of quite another kind of " trapT They 
 would think of the trap which took them up, when, 
 as tired pedestrians, or homeward-bound toilers, 
 with their knapsacks or bags of tools on their
 
 Sanitary Pliinihin^. 83 
 
 backs, and blisters on their feet, they were trudging 
 along some country road. When the driver of the 
 trap pulled up alongside of them, and asked them 
 to jump up into his trap, and he would give them a 
 *' lift,'' they thought there were no such traps in the 
 world as four-wheeled traps. But it is not of such 
 traps that I want to speak, for though they may be 
 great vehicles for traffic, it is of vehicles for a very 
 different kind of traffic that we are here to speak 
 to-night. 
 
 The strategical trap is a very curious sort of gtrageticai 
 
 , Trap, 
 
 trap. It is used in many ways, and for various 
 purposes. In the hands of a clever strategist, it is 
 capable of doing almost as much mischief as a 
 bell trap, or an old D-trap. But this kind of trap 
 is also outside of my subject, and it is only manoeu- 
 vring with the word trap, to introduce it at all. I 
 will, therefore, just give it a passing notice before 
 entering upon the vexed question of drainage-traps. 
 A countryman comes up to London with more 
 money in his pocket than wits in his head. As he 
 walks through the streets (as if he were going over 
 a ploughed field), in clothes not quite of the West- 
 end cut, he is watched by a man who soon contrives 
 to pick up an acquaintanceship. This man 
 '^ happens " to be going the same way as the 
 countryman, and as he knows a little more of 
 London than the new arrival, he generously offers to 
 show him some of the great sights. They go from 
 place to place, and as they go the countryman 
 slowly opens his heart, and loosens his purse-strings, 
 G 2
 
 84 The Science and Art of 
 
 for whatever suspicions he had at first are now 
 allayed, for his jovial companion is quite as willing 
 to treat, apparently, as to be treated. But before 
 the day is over, and this mushroom kind of friend 
 has done with him, the countryman finds he has 
 been led into an awful trap. Plumbers may never 
 make such a trap as that, to catch a friend or foe, 
 but some plumbers do make diabolical traps for 
 catching _/^////. 
 Poachers "yV^g jjyg \^ g^ stran^c world. '' 'Tis strange, 
 
 and Man- ^ *=> ' 
 
 traps- 'tis passing strange ; yet strange as 'tis, 'tis true " 
 
 that owners of mansions and parks are often more 
 generous to their enemies than to their friends, for 
 they warn poachers, but they do not caution their 
 guests. They write in large letters, on boards nailed 
 to trees in conspicuous places : — 
 
 ''Beware of Man-traps." 
 
 Guests and But whocvcr saw a notice-board on the walls of a 
 mansion, with such words as these upon it : — 
 
 " BEWARE OF THE FOUL TRAPS WHICH BREATHE 
 OUT NOXIOUS GASES." 
 
 There may only be a man-trap here and there 
 about the grounds, or in the woods, or preserves, 
 where poachers trespass ; though there may be 
 dozens of foul traps in and about the house, where 
 the guests are likely to be found daily. And man- 
 traps do not kill ; they only catch a would-be thief, 
 and bruise his leg a little ; but foid traps not only 
 *' catch " a friend^ at times they give him illnesses, 
 perliaps typhoid fever, and even death.
 
 Sanitary Plumbiiig. 85 
 
 It Is a most iniquitous thing, to my mind, that Traps, or 
 , ., . . 1 , • , "Collect- 
 
 when soil-pipes, waste-pipes, and drains want trap- ting 
 
 ping off, as they ahvays do, that such filth-collect- 
 ing boxes as D-traps, bell traps, cesspool traps, and 
 manhole drain syphons should be used. 
 
 Malicious spirits wxre formerly supposed, Malicious 
 among other ways of working mischief, to take 
 the form of bad smells ; if so, I can well imagine 
 their grin of delight at finding such congenial 
 lodgings to lurk in. Or did they have a hand 
 in the mischief even earlier, by suggesting the 
 forms of such traps (as just referred to) to the 
 minds of the inventors ? But I must be prac- 
 tical, and leave such speculations to theorists. 
 
 I have said a good deal on traps elsewhere. Traps, 
 As it would be impossible, in the brief space of an " 
 hour and a half, to do more than enumerate all 
 the traps now in use — for their name is legion — we 
 will confine our attention to-night to the general 
 traps most largely used for trapping off waste- 
 pipes and soil-pipes. I am afraid we shall not 
 have time to examine those used for trapping off 
 drains, sewers, and cesspools. In examining these 
 traps, we shall touch upon the principles of nearly 
 all the traps in use. 
 
 In criticising certain traps, which I consider Prejudices 
 totally unfit for the purposes for which they are Traps. 
 chiefly used, I may be condemning traps which 
 many here may consider good and efficient traps. 
 I will not ask anyone to surrender his opinion to 
 mine without his judgment, " for he that complies
 
 S6 The Science and Art of 
 
 against his will, is of the same opinion still." All 
 I ask for is a patient hearing, that I may prove 
 my case. I shall be glad, if there are any here 
 who have prejudices for certain traps, if they 
 will clear their minds of such prejudices, that I 
 may have free access to their reasoning faculties. 
 This will not be easy for some plumbers to do in 
 the case of D-traps, for they have been accus- 
 tomed to make and fix such traps all their life- 
 time. Moreover, the making of a D-trap was their 
 first great feat in plumbing-practice, and is it any 
 wonder that such a trap should be a favourite 
 with them } 
 
 Necessity But I am anticipating. Before we go into the 
 
 ^^^^' merits or demerits of traps, we must first prove 
 their necessity, and in this I am sure to have the 
 sympathy of all plumbers and practical men. 
 
 Anti-trap As many of you are aware, some men are now 
 
 condemning the use of traps altogether. True, 
 these anti-trap men are few and far between, but 
 the fact that men are to be found preaching 
 against the use of traps, and practising what they 
 preach (for in their works they do not fix traps 
 to sinks, lavatories, or W.C.'s), calls for some 
 notice from us to-night in dealing with our 
 subject. 
 
 To thoroughly examine this question, and to 
 point out the many evils likely to arise from 7ih- 
 trapped waste-pipes^ soil-pipes, and drains, would 
 occupy several evenings. But it will not take long 
 to show that serious consequences are likely to 
 
 men.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 87 
 
 arise out of such untrapped pipes. I will, there- 
 fore, point out in a few sentences the general 
 arrangement of such wastes, and prove, by one or 
 two practical experiments, that the advocates of 
 tmtrapped pipes are utterly wrong in their teachings. 
 
 Untrapped Waste-pipes. — When waste-pipes are Waste- 
 fixed without traps, as shown in Figs. 29 and 30, VemUators 
 
 Fig. 29. — Section of Sink, with Untrapped Waste. 
 
 i.e.^ when such pipes are open at both ends, as 
 tunnels, what is to prevent them acting as ventilat- 
 ing-pipes t especially when one end of the pipe is 
 in warmer and more rarefied air than the other, as 
 would generally be the case, one end being con- 
 nected with the sink (as shown at C, Fig. 29), or
 
 88 The Science and Art of 
 
 lavatory, bath, or W.c. inside the house, and the 
 other end open to the colder and heavier air out- 
 side (as] shown at D). The fact is, that directly 
 such pipes complete their legitimate work, that of 
 conveying waste discharges, they become veJiti- 
 iators, and help to feed the fires and house with 
 air of questionable freshness and purity. 
 
 Now if such waste-pipes can be kept perfectly, 
 sweet (a thing practically impossible) no danger 
 can come from such an arrangement, and it would 
 save lazy servants the trouble of opening the 
 windows. Or if it would be possible to prevent 
 the pipes exceeding the length of a short tobacco 
 pipe, I imagine there would be no great risk in 
 fixing such pipes without traps ; but as it is im- 
 possible to discharge foul water through pipes 
 without fouling them, and as circumstances would 
 demand various lengths for such pipings to reach 
 from the sanitary fitting inside the house to the 
 receiving vessel outside, there can be no safety in 
 fixing waste-pipes without traps. 
 Waste- A waste-pipe from a sink or lavatory, and still 
 
 pipes get 
 
 foul. more from a urinal, cannot help getting foul, and 
 
 I think it only wants a little common sense to see 
 this at once. Take the case of a scullery-sink, 
 the general sink in small and moderate-sized 
 houses. The servant throws down into this sink 
 a body of green-water, hot from the saucepan, 
 and before the waste-pipe is dry she turns a tub 
 of hot greasy dish-water into the sink with the 
 washings out of the dripping-pan. Then she
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. - 89 
 
 washes her hands in a bowl, using plenty of soap 
 of necessity, to get her hands clean, and the bowl 
 of soapy water, which in the hands of a country 
 lad, and with the aid of a tobacco-pipe, would 
 have sent thousands of soap-bubbles into the air, 
 stains its way down the sides of the waste-pipe, 
 the suds adhering all the way down the pipe to 
 the greasy matter already formed upon it, and 
 " bubbling " itself off in bad air to come back again 
 into the house. Now I should like these anti- 
 trap men to push a pocket-handkerchief through 
 such a waste pipe, as shown in Fig. 29, and then 
 to wipe their noses with it, and try the scent of it 
 as they would a nosegay. Would any one of these 
 men drink a glass of water after it had passed 
 through such a waste-pipe t And yet they do 
 not mind the occupants of the scullery (or where- 
 ever such sinks are fixed) breathing the air which 
 has come through such filthy pipes. 
 
 In making this simple experiment which I am Experi- 
 
 , 1 T 1 Ml • Ml nients with 
 
 about to make, 1 am but illustratmg a very mud untrapped 
 case of such open-pipe treatment ; for if I had a pipes. 
 scullery sink here instead of a lavatory basin, and 
 used it in the way just described, the effect upon 
 the waste-pipe would be much greater than will 
 now be the case. I have here an ordinary wash- 
 hand-basin (illustrated in Fig. 30), and I attach to 
 it a short length of glass tubing, as shown at C, 
 for a waste-pipe. As those who are near me will 
 see, this glass tube which I hold in my hand is 
 perfectly clean. I now connect it with the waste
 
 90 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 connection of the w.H. -basin. This done, I wash 
 my hands, using a little soap, and discharge the 
 contents of the basin through the glass waste-pipe 
 in the ordinary way. I now disconnect the glass 
 
 
 Fig. 30. — View of Basin with Untrapped Waste-pipe. 
 
 waste-pipe to see if the passage of the soapy 
 water through it has stained it in any way. There 
 is no doubt about it ; but I will pass it round for 
 you to see, and those of you who have average 
 powers of smell will at the same time, by smelling 
 the glass tube, be able to tell me what soap I used
 
 S>ajiitary Ptumbing. 91 
 
 in washing my hands, clearly proving that the pipe 
 has been contaminated."^ 
 
 Now if instead of using a perfectly smooth sur- 
 face, as this glass pipe affords, I had used an iron 
 pipe, the amount of soap hanging about the waste- 
 pipe would have been much greater, as those who 
 have had only a small experience with iron waste- 
 pipes will know very well. Perhaps some will say, 
 " But iron waste-pipes are never fixed in the manner 
 shown by your experiment.'"' My answer is, that 
 they are, and that too not in ones or twos but in 
 dozens. And they are not only so fixed in 
 cottages, and what are called ''Jerry buildings,''' 
 but in mansions as well — when the sanitarian is 
 abroad — and in an aggravated form, for such waste- 
 pipes are often 2-in. in diameter with a }-in., or in 
 some cases only J-in., outlet from the basin into them. 
 
 I will now make another experiment, using 
 the same basin, but a different waste-pipe ; for the 
 glass tube just used is only about 2 ft. in length, 
 and in practice the minimum length of such 
 waste-piping would be 4 ft. — what its maximum 
 length may be under certain circumstances, I 
 cannot tell, but I have seen such pipes over 10 ft. 
 in length — without a trap upon them. I will now 
 attach a 5 or 6 ft. length of i-in. A^^^ piping, as that 
 is of a smoother nature than iron ; and as lead pipe 
 is generally used, we shall be illustrating the actual 
 thing. 
 
 * In making this experiment the soap-suds hung about the 
 sides of the pipe as described.
 
 92 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 Corroded 
 Wastes. I 
 
 Lady's 
 Lavatory. 
 
 I wash my hands again (though even ladies 
 would confess that they hardly need it so soon), and 
 discharge the contents of the basin through this 
 piece of new lead waste-piping. I now disconnect 
 it, and by threading a wire through it, I pull a small 
 piece of sponge through the entire length of waste- 
 piping to clean its sides. There's a sponge for a 
 schoolboy to clean his slate with ! In practice 
 there would be no sponge pulled through the 
 waste-pipe, but the soapsuds and drainings from 
 each use of the lavatory would be left to dry and 
 corrode upon the pipe; for in most cases the basin 
 and piping would not even be rinsed out with 
 water. The fact is, as all jobbing plumbers know 
 well, that waste-pipes whether from sinks or lava- 
 tories soon become foul and offensive. Here is a 
 piece of waste-pipe "^ cut out from a lavatory, so 
 corroded that it is a wonder how it answered its 
 purpose so long, and the stink from it just after a 
 body of water had passed through it was intoler- 
 able. 
 
 In my own house, I had a waste-pipe fixed as 
 an experiment, which did not exceed 2 ft. in length, 
 and though it was only from a small porcelain sink 
 for sundry purposes, the pipe, which was an inch in 
 diameter, and without a trap, soon got corroded, 
 and the offensive smell from the core of collected 
 filth in it was quite beyond imagination. 
 
 In these two experiments, I have used a simple 
 
 * I have not had this piece of pipe ilhistrated, but it is fairly 
 represented at e, Fig. 29, p. 87.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 93 
 
 form of scented soap. I do not profess to be in 
 possession of the secrets of a lady's toilet-table, but 
 if I were a lady, and used this W.H.-basin in my 
 dressing room, possibly I should assist nature a 
 little, and powder up a bit. Perhaps I should also 
 do a little pencilling, to show up the eyelids and 
 eyebrows ; and if I were passing over into the " sere 
 and yellow leaf," I might also use a little dye or 
 hair-restorer. Now, though / might come out " spic 
 and span " from such a process,, I am afraid the 
 lavatory waste would not, especially if my atten- 
 dant forgot to flush out the waste-pipe, as every- 
 body does except sanitarians. It is only fair to 
 attendants to say that however desirous they may 
 be to keep sink and lavatory wastes clean, it is 
 impossible to do so in nine-tenths of such sanitary 
 fittings, for the " mouths " of such pipes are so con- 
 tracted, or the brass connections or " outlets " from 
 W.H. -basins and sinks are so small, that efficient 
 flushes cannot be sent through the pipes to scour 
 them out. Where good hot water flushes ca7i be 
 sent through such pipes, they can be kept toler- 
 ably wholesome ; but, even then, the pipes should 
 be trapped. 
 
 No lavatory or sink should be fixed (whether Wastes 
 
 well flushed 
 
 the waste-pipes from them be trapped or not) out. 
 which will not allow a body of water to be sent 
 through them to more than fill the bore of the 
 waste-pipe ; for all sorts of matter is at times 
 emptied into such fittings, and unless good and 
 efficient water flushes can be sent through them to
 
 94 
 
 TJie Science and Art of 
 
 Gentle- 
 man's 
 Lavatory. 
 
 Lavatory 
 W'astes as 
 Ventilators. 
 
 Croydon 
 Board of 
 Health. 
 
 Air- 
 currents in 
 Waste- 
 pipes. 
 
 cleanse it away, the matter adheres to the sides of 
 the waste-piping and decomposes there. I referred 
 just now to the treatment a lady's lavatory often 
 receives, but a gentleman's fares worse, for the 
 short ends of his beard, from his daily shavings, are 
 sent through the waste-piping with the clippings 
 often from his whiskers. Now hardly anything 
 adheres more to a waste-pipe than hair, and the 
 short ends of one's beard, especially when mixed 
 with soapy water — hot and greasy from washing 
 one's hands after oiling or pomading the hair. 
 
 I have said enough to show that waste-pipes in 
 time get very foul and offensive, and more than 
 enough to show that such pipes ought not to be 
 allowed to supply the house with the air needed 
 for breathing, and for feeding the fires. 
 
 In a gentleman's house recently built, and with 
 its sanitary arrangement carried out under the 
 rules laid down by the Local Board of Health for 
 the Croydon district, I had a test made to see the 
 quantity of air which passed in an ordinary way 
 through untrapped waste-pipes, such as we are 
 now considering. Fig. 29, page "^J, illustrates 
 this waste-pipe arrangement. An anemometer 
 was fixed on the grating (c, Fig. 29, page 87) 
 over the top of a 2-in. untrapped waste-pipe of 
 the scullery sink, and between the hours of 9 p.m. 
 on a Wednesday night and 7 a.m. on the morning 
 following, in the first week of April of this year, 
 the anemometer registered 8,205 lineal feet of air 
 as having come into the scullery through this sink-
 
 Sa?iiiary Plumbing. 95 
 
 waste ; or an average of 820 ft. (lineal) per hour. 
 Of course the air which passed in through this 
 foul"^ waste-pipe (C D, Fig. 29) would not remain 
 in the scullery, but would pass to any part of the 
 house, to be breathed by its occupants. Comment 
 on such a mode of ventilation is unnecessary. I 
 will, therefore, pass on to consider untrapped soil- 
 pipes to water-closets. 
 
 Nobody attempts to fix a water-closet without Water- 
 having some sort of seal between it and the soil- sealed off 
 pipe. And though anti-trap men dispense with pipes. 
 the water-seal (or trap), they do not fix water- 
 closets without some mechanical means of shutting 
 off the soil-pipe from the closet ; i.e., somewhere 
 in the closet, or on the basin " outlet," they contrive 
 to fix an india-rubber or metal valve, or plug, or 
 stopper, to prevent soil-pipe air coming into the 
 house through the closet. 
 
 Untrapped Water-closets. — There are several Mr. 
 
 Norman 
 
 methods now of fixing untrapped water closets and Shaw's 
 soil-pipes ; and if asked to say which of these I 
 considered the most sanitary, I should say that 
 known as Mr. Norman Shaw's. In a letter to the 
 Builder, in March, 1878, I condemned this prin- 
 ciple, and gave my reasons pretty fully. I will, 
 therefore, not occupy your time to-night by any 
 
 * The bad air emitted from a foul gully-trap would also find 
 its way through such a waste-pipe, as shown by the arrows in 
 Fig. 29, p. 87.
 
 96 
 
 The Sctefice and Art of 
 
 lengthy examination of Mr. Shaw's system. Fig. 
 31 repi;esents his arrangement : — A, the water- 
 
 F^S- Z^' — Section, showing Mr. Norman Shaw's Principle. 
 
 Pipes 
 fouled. 
 
 closet (a valve-closet) ; C, soil-pipe arm ; D, soil- 
 pipe-head ; E, soil-pipe ; F, drain-trap. 
 
 We have just seen how filth can accumulate
 
 Sanitary Pluinhing. 97 
 
 upon sink and lavatory wastes. Now if pipes for 
 conveying "dirty water" get foul, how much more 
 must pipes which take away the excremental dis- 
 charges sent through a water-closet ? I am quite 
 willing to admit that if large and efficient water- 
 flushes are sent through the soil-pipes after each 
 usage of the closet, such an arrangement as we 
 are now considering may be kept tolerably whole- 
 some, but if the closets were used with ///efficient 
 water flushes, as would often be the case, the soil- 
 piping must in time become offensive. 
 
 1st. The handle of a water-closet apparatus is Discharg- 
 often pulled only just sufficient to discharge the ^"^ 
 contents of the basin into the soil-pipe, leaving 
 the deposit which escaped out of the closet-basin, 
 with whatever water there was in it, to stain its 
 way down the sides of the soil-pipes to the drain. 
 Then, as the basin-valve would be closed, there 
 would be no flush of water to follow it to cleanse 
 the filth away, but the excrement would be left 
 to corrode upon the pipe. 
 
 2nd. However learned a person may be in xo Water 
 the art of pulling up a closet-handle, to give a ^"^^•*^^- 
 free passage to the outgoing matter, and to well 
 open the flushing-valve, there would at times be no 
 water in the supply- pipe to come into the closet 
 to cleanse it. I will give one or two reasons why 
 the supply of water sometimes fails, (i.) Because 
 some leaky valve has leaked all the water out of 
 the store cistern, and there is no water to come 
 into the closet. (2.) Repairs are going on with 
 H
 
 98 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 Soil-pipes 
 fouled. 
 
 Urine in 
 w.c's. 
 
 Soil-pipes 
 ventilating 
 the House 
 
 the water company's main, and the water is 
 " turned off." (3.) The supply-valve, or w.w. pre- 
 venter, is out of repair, or the cranks or wires 
 have given way. (4.) The water in the pipe is 
 frozen. Of course, this reason is peculiarly the 
 plumber's, for he ought not to have fixed the 
 service-pipe where it would freeze ; but he has, 
 as many poor victims found to their cost last 
 winter ! 
 
 To use a closet under any one of the evils just 
 enumerated, that is, without water, would be quite 
 sufficient to foul the soil-pipe, and as one or more 
 of these evils occur at times in most water-closets, 
 the soil-pipe must get offensive. 
 
 3rd. But there is another source of fouling 
 the soil-pipe. A water-closet is often used as a 
 urinal, and the standing water, largely impreg- 
 nated with urine, overflows down the overflow- 
 pipe into the soil-pipe, and corrodes upon it, for 
 it is seldom in such cases that the handle of the 
 closet is pulled, especially when used by ladies 
 and children. I have known many soil-pipes to 
 ladies' water-closets, e.g.^ at railway stations, to 
 get so furred that the bore of the piping has been 
 reduced to one-half its original size after a few 
 years' usage. 
 
 Having shown the probability of soil-pipes 
 becoming foul, it only remains to show how such 
 untrapped pipes may act as ventilators. I said 
 a while ago that all untrapped closets had some 
 means for excluding soil-pipe air, and that the
 
 Sanitary Plumbing, 99 
 
 means were chiefly mechanical. Whatever me- 
 chanical means may be employed for such pur- 
 poses, they are sure at times to fail. In the case 
 of water-closets with metal seatings, india-rubber 
 valves, or plugs, there are several ways whereby a 
 failure may arise ; for instance, the mechanism 
 itself may fail, or a piece of paper may get be- 
 tween the valve and its seating, or the solid ex- 
 crement may get caught under the valve by a 
 careless usage of the discharging handle. Now 
 in any of these cases the water would at once 
 escape out of the closet basin, and the soil-pipe 
 air would have an easy passage into the house. 
 As a proof of this, with an imperfect seating of 
 the basin-valve, a little essence of peppermint 
 poured down at C, or even E, Fig. 31, would be 
 smelt by anybody who placed his nose over the 
 closet at A. I hoped to have had an arrange- 
 ment here for proving this, but the bare statement 
 will suffice, with the aid of the illustration in 
 diagram, Fig. 31, to convince all present that such 
 would be the case. 
 
 There are other evils attending- such a system Danger of 
 
 ^ ^ _ Frost. 
 
 (i.) The danger of frost at such exposed points 
 as D and E, Fig. 31, where the wind would readily 
 catch and freeze any droppings of water (from leaky 
 valves, &c.), cork up the pipes with ice, and render 
 theW.C.'s worse than useless. But as this would be 
 more inconvenient than injurious, I pass on to 
 another evil. (2.) The difficulty in limiting the Long 
 length of the soil-pipe, for circumstances would sdfpiping. 
 H 2
 
 loo The Science arid Art of 
 
 require it to be of various lengths, and careless 
 people would put no limit to it. Architects do 
 not gain their reputations by designing the ele- 
 vations of their buildings to suit water-closets. In 
 some buildings the last thing to be considered is 
 a W.C, and so it gets stuck anywhere where there 
 is room for it^ without reference to the drainage 
 from it. Make way for a W.C. by pushing back 
 the partition on the right, and the partition on 
 the left, as policemen make a way in the crowd, 
 and then to get a pipe to reach from the water- 
 closet apparatus to the soil-pipe head outside 
 requires a long length, for the porch, or oriel 
 window, or some other projection, has to be 
 avoided. 
 Soil-pipe This length of soil-piping would generally be 
 
 hlto^^he^ filled with bad air, for there would be no venti- 
 ^°^^' lation through it, i.e., there would be no circulation 
 of air through it, (except what escaped inside the 
 house through the basin -valve, when open or de- 
 fective), the pipe being only open to the atmosphere 
 at one end, and that at the lowest. Now this 
 vitiated air in the soil-pipe arm would often escape 
 into the house through an open basin-valve, or 
 imperfect seating, in the manner we have just 
 been considering, and this soil-pipe would then 
 become a ventilating-pipe for supplying the house 
 with fresh (.^) air. (3.) The bad air from an 
 offensive dejection would often go out at the soil- 
 pipe and come in at the window ; i.e., the soil-pipe 
 head, D, Fig. 31, being of necessity in many cases
 
 Sanitary Pluiiibing. loi 
 
 near a window, and as the window would at times 
 be open, the air driven out of the soil-pipe (by the 
 discharges of the closet) would be sucked into the 
 house by the fires and the more rarefied air inside 
 the house. 
 
 Stacks of Soil-pipes with Untrapped 
 Water-closets upon them. — Having examined 
 and condemned what is, in my judgment, the more 
 " sanitary " method of the two (or more) systems of 
 fixing ?/;/trapped water-closets, I should like to 
 call your attention to the more dangerous one, and 
 I shall be surprised if all do not assent to-night in 
 strongly condemning it. I would not have brought 
 such an insanitary system of plumbing before your 
 notice, did not circumstances call for it ; but it is 
 within my knowledge that the plumbing and so- 
 called sanitary arrangements of a nobleman's 
 mansion have been carried out on principles which 
 I am about to explain, and that too within the 
 last twelve months. 
 
 I do not know who is responsible for intro- stacks of 
 
 1 . ,-.,.., Soil-pipe 
 
 ducmg stacks of soil-pipe with /r^/Z^j-j- water-closets with 
 
 1 1 T 1 1 • • • 1 r , Trapless 
 
 upon them, but I believe it is the outcome of two closets. 
 or three would-be sanitarians. A tier of trapless 
 water-closets is fixed on one stack of soil-pipe, 
 as represented in Fig. 32, or in Fig. 33, plate i, 
 and this stack of pipe, having one, two, three, or 
 four water-closets upon it, may or may not be 
 trapped at the bottom. By some it is trapped and 
 ventilated at top and bottom ; but by others it is
 
 102 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 Drain 
 inside the 
 House. 
 
 No depen- 
 dence on 
 the Venti- 
 lation. 
 
 not trapped at all. In the nobleman's house 
 referred to, where this system (illustrated in Fig. 
 33, plate i), has been carried out, the soil-pipes 
 are not trapped off, or disconnected from the 
 drain, though I believe the drain is open to the 
 atmosphere somewhere in the grounds — three or 
 four hundred feet off. 
 
 I have had this trapless closet scheme illus- 
 trated, that you may the more easily follow what 
 I have to say upon it ; and if you will kindly keep 
 your eyes upon the diagrams. Figs. 32 and 33, 
 plate I, you will easily follow me. 
 
 A drain is brought into the honse^ and branches 
 from it are carried under the floors to receive the 
 various stacks of soil-pipe, and R.w. pipes. The 
 drain is carried some distance away from the 
 house before it is exposed to the atmosphere. 
 The various stacks of soil-pipe are continued up 
 through the roof full size for ventilation, with 
 cowls upon them — as shown at E, Fig. 33, and the 
 rain-water pipes, fixed inside the house, are 
 trapped off at their feet. 
 
 The branch drains from such pipes must, 
 therefore, be always full of stagnant or drain 
 air, except when the traps to the R.w. pipes get dry 
 — through want of rain — then the drain-air would 
 pass up the rain-water pipes and into the house, 
 perhaps through a dormer window. 
 
 With such an arrangement as this, there would 
 often be no ventilation at all in one or more of 
 the stacks of soil-pipe. A stream of air, we will
 
 PLATE /. 
 
 Figs. 32 and 33. — View of two stacks of Soil-pipes, to show the 
 evils of Trapless Water-closets, &c.
 
 104 . I'Ji^ Science and Art of 
 
 suppose, is passing into the drain at its outlet 
 
 end, where it has an induct-pipe, or is open to the 
 
 air, but this stream of air will have to push its 
 
 way through, or move on with it the colder and 
 
 heavier air of the drain, and by the time it reaches 
 
 D, Plate I, it will be very slow in its movements, and 
 
 the first stack of pipe, F, will take it all away ; so 
 
 that little or no " fresh " air will pass on to stack 
 
 C to air-cleanse that. Or, by the incKnation of 
 
 the main drain, or other local circumstances, the 
 
 air-flushes may miss the first stack of soil-pipe, 
 
 and pass on to others, where the influences may 
 
 be greater. The man who could determine which 
 
 of the two stacks of soil-pipe, represented in Figs. 
 
 32 and '^i, would be the up-cast pipe, would be a 
 
 clever man ; and yet it would be easier to do this, 
 
 i.e.^ to point out the stack which would become 
 
 the chief ventilating-pipe, than to insist upon 
 
 each pipe acting equally well as an up-cast 
 
 pipe. 
 
 Soil-pipes In certain states of the atmosphere the soil- 
 
 acting as . , . .. 
 
 Down- pipes would be acting as doivn-cast pipes, if any 
 
 movement of air was taking place in them at all, 
 for there is sufficient proof to satisfy every reason- 
 able man that there is no ventilation going on in 
 such pipes at times. And even with cowls upon 
 stacks of pipes having their own inducts, there 
 may be no perceptible movement of air for many 
 minutes together ; or if any, the tendency is 
 downwards rather than upwards in certain states 
 of the atmosphere, and this downward tendency 
 
 casts.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 105 
 
 is helped by any discharges from the water-closets 
 into the soil-pipe at such times. 
 
 It would, therefore, be quite possible for one or Air 
 
 1 r -1 . 1 ^111-111 stagnant in 
 
 more stacks of soil-pipe to become filled with bad Soii-pipes. 
 air. Excremental matter would at times be left 
 unwashed out of the soil-pipe or drain, and the 
 gases rising from this would ascend, as shown by 
 the arrows at L, into the soil-pipes, even though 
 there was no perceptible movement of air in such 
 pipes ; for excrement gases readily ascend ; but 
 the cold heavy atmosphere outside, resting like a 
 valve upon the top of the soil-pipe or cowl, would 
 prevent circulation through them, and so such pipes 
 would become full of bad air. Now, where a defec- 
 tive basin-valve exists from causes already ex- 
 plained, this vitiated air would find an easy passage 
 into the house. It would also readily escape when Escaping 
 
 11 into the 
 
 a piece of paper, or other matter, got caught under House. 
 the plug seating, as shown at B, Fig. 32, and K, 
 Fig- Zl' This bad air from the soil-pipe and drain 
 would also easily come into the house — especially 
 if the house were well warmed — if the handle of the 
 W.C. were pulled with a dry closet basin, or with the 
 water supply to it " off," as shown by the arrows to 
 closet, H, Fig. II. We have seen how the water 
 supply to W.C.'s at times fails, and we most of us 
 know how, when we want the water to come into 
 the closet, we keep pulling the closet handle, though 
 we may know that the water is locked in ice in the 
 service-pipe, or that the cistern is empty. Now all 
 the time the basin-valve or plug (h) is open, the
 
 io6 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 Air-barrier. 
 
 soil-pipe air — and in this case drain air too — is 
 coming freely into the house, whether noticed or 
 not ; and here is the great value of a trap under 
 or in connection with the water-closet — an air- 
 barrier to stand ever between the house and the 
 soil or waste-pipe, so that whatever else may fail, a 
 water-lock in the pipe, to shut out any air travelling 
 through the drain or soil-pipe, shall not. 
 
 Enough has been said to show that a stack of 
 soil-pipe with a tier of trapless water-closets upon 
 it may ventilate itself, and the drain too, into the 
 house. One or two simple experiments ^ will make 
 this quite clear. 
 
 Necessity 
 of Trap- 
 ping. 
 
 Having proved the necessity of trapping off all 
 pipes for conveying " dirty " water, and sewage — 
 whether waste-pipes, soil-pipes, or drains — to pre- 
 vent any air, stagnant in or travelling through 
 them, from entering the house, it remains to show 
 the best means of doing this. All that is wanted 
 in well-ventilated waste-pipes, soil-pipes, and drains 
 is a watcj'-lock ; and the smaller the quantity of 
 water used for such purposes, consistently with cir- 
 cumstances — i.e., giving the pipe a watei^-seal, to 
 prevent an air current in it, and to allow for evapo- 
 
 * Glass tubes were fitted up on a board to represent two stacks 
 of soil-pipe with w. c. branches into them, and the drainage from 
 them, as illustrated in Figs. 32 and '^'^, plate i, facing page 102, 
 (except that there were no cowls on the soil-pipes, as shown in the 
 illustration). By a series of experiments made with smoke it was 
 clearly shown that though the air current, in such an arrangement, 
 might be good in some stacks, it might be stagnant in others, or 
 upwards in one and downward in another. It was also clearly shown,
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 107 
 
 ration, the more efficient will be its effects. No 
 sanitary fitting, waste-pipe, soil-pipe, or drain, Water 
 should be trapped in a way that w^ill not admit of changed, 
 the whole of the water in such traps being entirely 
 changed every time a good flush of water is sent 
 into them. 
 
 Traps should only be required to act as air- Traps as 
 barriers to ward off the air travelling through the riers. 
 pipes, and to prevent it, after it has become con- 
 taminated, from entering a house through a bath, 
 sink, lavatory, water-closet, or any other sanitary 
 fitting. But the traps largely used for such pur- 
 poses are so badly constructed, and the principles Traps as 
 ^ ^ ^ ' r i Cesspools. 
 
 on which they are made are so wrong, that they 
 
 both collect and hold their filth, and turn them- 
 selves into little cesspools ; here is one such trap, 
 the D-trap. In "Dulce Domum " I may be con- o-trap. 
 sidered to have said all that could be said against 
 this unsanitary trap, but I must add a word to- 
 night. It is only fair^ however, that I should say 
 that one reason why some plumbers prefer the 
 D-trap to the syphon is that it is not easily 
 syphoned out like the latter. But I shall have 
 more to say on syphonage^ in my next lecture. 
 
 Adoia the first form of trap f used for fixing Syphon- 
 
 ^ ' ° traps. 
 
 by the use of smoke in the glass tubes, how drain air and soil-pipe 
 air could 'readily pass through an imperfect seating of the closet 
 plug, or defective basin-valve of an untrapped water-closet into the 
 house. 
 
 * See trap-syphonage, pp. 133 to 174. 
 
 t The first patent, No. 1330, for "stink-traps " on record, in the 
 Patent Office — leaving out of consideration the syphon trap which
 
 io8 
 
 The Science a?id Art of 
 
 underwater-closets was the syphon or round-pipe trap, 
 i.e., a pipe bent and recurved in the shape of the 
 letter CO ; but as the water in such a trap was easily 
 syphoned out, and as plumbers had not learnt the 
 way of preventing such syphonage by ventilation, the 
 D-trap was invented. In a subsequent lecture "^ will 
 be shown an illustration of a lead syphon trap under 
 a water-closet, taken from a drawing made in 1775, 
 more than a century ago. But I am considering 
 D-traps, and there is proof 
 in the records of the Patent 
 Office, that the D-trap was 
 in use in 1790. Fig. 34 
 represents about the oldest 
 D-trap, with its cheeks sol- 
 dered outside to the band. 
 This trap was extensively 
 used during the first half of 
 the present century. The 
 present form of this trap, as shown in diagram 
 Fig. 35, and which has been in extensive use 
 during the later half of this century, is little 
 better than the older one, for though it has a less 
 sudden rise to reach its " out-go," its principle and 
 character are the same. 
 
 Fig- 34- — View of a 
 D-trap, early shape. 
 
 Cummings patented in conjunction with his water-closet — was 
 granted to John Gaillait, a cook, on June 19th, 1782. There is no 
 drawing, but his specification reads as follows ; — " The invention of 
 an entire new machine or stink-trap, which can be made of any and 
 all sorts of metal and earthenware, and which will entirely prevent 
 the very disagi'eeable smells from drains and sewers." 
 * See Y\g. 81, pp. 195, 196.
 
 Sanifarv Plumbifiz. 
 
 109 
 
 The larger size, z>.,from9-in. to lO-in. (measuring sizes, 
 from the top to the band, in the usual way) is 
 chiefly used for trapping water-closets. One of our 
 old foremen, who worked at 21, Newcastle Street, 
 from about 1830 to his death, about 10 to 15 years 
 ago, made his D-traps, for fixing under water-closets, 
 lo-in., and for fixing at the bottoms of soil-pipes 
 from 14-in. to i6-in., though the latter were chiefly 
 P-shaped. The smaller sized D-traps, 6-in., 7-in., 
 and 8-in.,are used principally (by the plumbers who 
 use D-traps) for fixing under 
 sinks, baths, and lavatories, 
 and for trapping " safe 
 wastes '"' to W.C.'s. Having 
 said so much elsewhere on 
 its unfitness for fixing under 
 water-closets, &c., it will not 
 occupy much of our time to 
 show that such traps are to- 
 tally unfit for fixing on '' dirty water " and sewage 
 wastes. The average weight of corroded matter 
 (dried excrement) which can be knocked out of an 
 old " full-sized " D-trap, when it is just cut out from 
 a water-closet, and after it has been in use for 
 10 or 15 years, is about ^ 5 or 6 lbs. ; and the 
 smaller sizes, from sinks, urinals, and lavatories, fare 
 just as badly. 
 
 The internal surface of a " full-sized " f D-trap inner 
 
 Surface of 
 * The filth knocked out of an old D-trap, which came into our a D-trap. 
 
 warehouse, just before I prepared this lecture, was 8 lbs. 
 
 t K full-sized D-trap is made 9-in. (measuring from the '' top " to 
 
 the "band") by some plumbers, and lo-in. by others. 
 
 Fig. 35. — View of a D-trap, 
 modern shape.
 
 no 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 is nearly double that of a 4-in. " round-pipe " trap, 
 Fig. 59, and it is greater still over my " V-dip," or 
 " Anti-D-trap," Fig. 61. In fact, the "narrow 
 
 SCALE-f-iN = lFT 
 Fi.J. 36. — Internal surface of aD-trap. 
 
 band" D-trap, Fig. 40, is double that of the 
 " Anti-D-trap," Fig. 61, though the way through 
 the former is smaller, i.e., a larger body of water 
 could be sent through the " V-dip " trap in less time
 
 Sanitary Plumbbig. iii 
 
 than through the D-trap, The internal * surface of 
 a 9-in. D-trap is equal to about 3 ft. 6 in., or 3 ft. 
 9 in. superficial. It is illustrated in Fig. 36, and 
 the figures can be checked, for it is drawn to scale — 
 the soldering is not shown. There are the inner 
 sides of the two cheeks^ A and B, the inner side of 
 the band, c, the under side of the top, D, the outer 
 side of the dip-pipe, E — which stands inside the 
 trap — and its inner side, F. All these surfaces, 
 A B C D E, are exposed to any matter sent through 
 the trap, and they very soon get coated over with 
 excremental matter^ as shown in the illustration ; 
 but a better illustration is shown of the interior of 
 an old D-trap, in Fig. 36 of my book, " The Plumber 
 and Sanitary Houses."" 
 
 The misfortune is, that when this large exposed 
 surface of the D-trap became coated over with filthy 
 matter, from settlements and splashings, it could 
 not be thoroughly cleansed again ; for no scouring 
 flushes could be sent over the outer side of the dip- 
 pipe (standing down in the trap), the space round 
 the dip-pipe, between the cheeks and the band, 
 and along the under side of the top. But in a round- 
 pipe trap, Fig. 59, and in the " Anti-D-trap," Figs. 61 
 and 63, the whole of the internal surfaces could be 
 thoroughly cleansed, for good scouring flushes could 
 
 * The iiitemal szirface of a 9-in. D-trap is just 3 ft. 6 in. sup. ; 
 in the improz'cd ox "narrow band" D-trap, Fig. 40, it is about 3 ft. 
 In a 4-in. rowid-pipe trap, as Fig. 59, it is under 2 ft.; in my large 
 size " v-dip " or "Anti-D-trap," Fig. 61, it is 18 in.; and the "small" 
 size ditto, Fig. 63, it is only about 15 in. or 16 in. The " outgo " is 
 not considered in the measurements of any of these traps.
 
 112 The Science and Art of 
 
 be made to pass over the whole of the interior of 
 such traps with a frictional force. 
 
 I will not say any more on this trap for water- 
 closet uses ; and instead of occupying your time 
 with a lengthy criticism on the smaller sizes for 
 trapping off what are called " dirty water " wastes, 
 (to distinguish them from sewage wastes, soil-pipes, 
 drains, &c.), we will give a {q.\y practical experiments 
 to show their unfitness for such purposes. In doing 
 this, we will not aggravate the case by using the 
 trap unfairly, for instead of using such adhesive 
 matter as greasy water from saucepans, &c,, we 
 will use a little soapy water, and after that some 
 plain water with a little stone-blue put into it to 
 colour it. 
 D-trapfor I havc had a small size D-trap made with glass 
 
 meriting. checks to it, for you to see the working inside, and 
 this trap is connected to a small wash-hand-basin 
 with I -in. brass plug and washer, the usual size being 
 only |-in. This trap is made much smaller than 
 the usual " small " hand-made D-trap, or than the 
 small-size cast lead D-trap, so that any experiment 
 made upon it will be more favourable for cleansing 
 it than would be the case with the D-traps as 
 generally used in practice. Fig. 37 illustrates this 
 trap, B, with a small wash-hand-basin. A, fixed upon 
 it. The depth from the top to the band is 4-in., the 
 width of the band, between the cheeks, 3 -in., and 
 the length along the top 6-in. The ^ dip-pipe first 
 
 * In subsequent experiments (vSee pp. 132-139) the dip-pipe was 
 increased in size to i^-in.
 
 Sanitary Plumbmg. 113 
 
 used was i-in., and the distance from the bottom 
 
 of the basin to thestandingwater of the trap is 8-in. 
 
 The short length of waste-pipe, c, consisted of a 
 
 piece of glass tubing. 
 
 Two or three experiments were then made with Experi- 
 ments, 
 this model, to show the non-cleansing nature of 
 
 D-traps. Some blue water, i.e., water coloured with 
 
 stone-blue, was put into the trap, and though two 
 
 SCALE, t In. = I Ft. 
 
 I^iS- Zl' — View of D-trap and basin. 
 
 or three charges of clean water from the basin were 
 sent into it, the whole of the blue water was not 
 removed. The trap was then charged with soapy 
 water, as in practice when fixed under lavatories 
 would be the case, but though several flushes of clean 
 water from the basin were sent into the trap, every 
 vestige of soapy water was not removed, and with 
 one flush the suds remained strongly in the trap, 
 floating about and around the dip-pipe. 
 I
 
 114 The Science and Art of 
 
 The experiments showed clearly enough how 
 such traps become cesspools, ox filth-collecting ho^Q.s,. 
 And yet there are hundreds of thousands of such 
 traps in use in England to-day, under baths, sinks, 
 urinals, safes, lavatories, and water-closets. But 
 their use has very much declined during the last few 
 years, though probably they are still being fixed at 
 the rate of about four or five thousand a year. 
 
 I did not want to exaggerate, but this number 
 is said to be only about half the number of the cast 
 lead D-traps used, so the evil is greater than I 
 thought. I was thinking chiefly of the hand-made 
 D-trap. 
 
 Dip-pipe The Evil of the Dip-pipe being inside 
 
 inside the t • • i • i 
 
 D-trap. THE D-TRAP. — It IS important also to notice the 
 evil of having a dip-pipe inside a trap, for the 
 dip-pipe becoming defective — from age, want 
 of ventilation in the soil-pipe branch, or any 
 other cause — would not show itself, i.e., the dip- 
 pipe, standing inside the walls of the trap, as in a 
 box, would not show a water leak, for any water 
 escaping through a defect in the dip-pipe would fall 
 inside the trap. But though no evil would arise 
 from a leakage of water, great danger may come 
 from a defect in the dip-pipe, for soil-pipe air would 
 then find an easy passage to the house, above the 
 water-lock of the trap, as shown by the arrows in 
 Fig. 38. This illustration is taken from an old 
 D-trap, recently cut out from under a valve-closet. 
 The dip-pipe, right round, above the water-line of
 
 Sanitary Plu?nbifig. 
 
 115 
 
 the trap (equal to about i2-in. by 4-in.), is eaten 
 away in large holes, as shown in the illustration, at 
 B. The cheeks are also eaten through, and two or 
 three holes are eaten through 
 the top. This old D-trap 
 shows clearly enough that 
 serious evils may arise from 
 using traps with dip-pipes 
 inside them, for though the 
 defects in the cheeks showed 
 a water-leakage, and called 
 attention to the trap, the dip- 
 pipe, though more defective, and to all appearances 
 of much earlier date, showed no such defect, for the 
 water which escaped through its holes fell inside 
 the walls of the trap and disclosed nothing. 
 
 an old D-trap, showing 
 the evil of a dip-pipe 
 bein<T inside a trap. 
 
 The improved or narroiu-band D-trap. — At the 
 discussion which followed these lectures, it was 
 endeavoured to be shown how the D-trap could be 
 improved, but it must be remembered that I 
 have been dealing in these lectures with the 
 D-trap — the " hand-made " and "cast lead" D-trap 
 — used throughout England, by people who 
 use them at all. I have not been criticising an 
 " improved " D-trap, which had no existence before 
 my lectures, and which was admitted to be quite 
 new, and brought out by my remarks on the non- 
 cleansing nature of D-traps, and contrasting them 
 with the self-cleansing nature of round-pipe and 
 "syphon" traps. I should like to examine this 
 I 2 
 
 ' ' Narrow- 
 band " 
 D-trap.
 
 ii6 
 
 The Science ami Art oj 
 
 D B 
 
 Fig. 39. — Plan of the 
 " Narrow-bind" D-trajD. 
 
 narrow-band D-trap a little closely. The improve- 
 ment consists in bringing the two '' cheeks " (the 
 sides) of the trap closer together, so as to leave as 
 little space as possible between the dip-pipe and 
 the inner sides of the cheeks, 
 as shown on plan, Fig. 39, i.e., 
 in the fidl-sized D-trap, the 
 band, C, Fig. 36, p. 1 10^ is 6-in. 
 wide, but in the narrow-band 
 D-trap, Figs. 39 and 40, it is 
 only 4i-in. wide, so that the cheeks of the trap 
 stand closer together by i|-in., making the trap 
 more compact, and less difficult to flush out. 
 But to call this trap * self-cleansing would be 
 misleading, for the inner surfaces of the trap are 
 just the same as in the full-sized D-trap, minus about 
 5 -in. sup., for the narrower 
 band and narrower top, 
 t.e.y the internal surface of 
 this " narrow-band " D-trap 
 would be equal to about 
 3 ft. sup. against i8-in. in 
 the large "V-dip/' trap, of 
 equal capacity for removing 
 discharges sent into it. No 
 scouring flush could be sent 
 up the two vertical angles, A and B, Fig. 39, nor 
 at D and C, so that these parts would become 
 lodgments for filth; and the dip-pipe, though it 
 
 Fig. 40. 
 View of the "Narrow-band" 
 D-trap, with ** square " 
 pipe outlet. 
 
 * See tables i and 2, pp. 160, 161.
 
 Sanitary Plunihin^ 
 
 117 
 
 would often c^et splashed over with excremental 
 
 matter, would rarely, if ever, get thoroughly 
 
 cleansed, for no frictional force could be brought to 
 
 bear upon it, from F G H, 
 
 and upwards. Then there 
 
 is the evil of the dip-pipe 
 
 being inside the walls of the 
 
 trap, as explained in the 
 
 D-trap, p. 115. Fig. 40 shows 
 
 this trap with a " square " 
 
 pipe outlet^ J ; and Fig. 41 
 
 with a round-pipe outlet, K. 
 
 The latter trap forms greater resistance against 
 
 syphonage, but the former would, I consider, be 
 
 the more wholesome^, as it would allow the contents 
 
 of the trap a freer passage to the soil-pipe. 
 
 Fig. 41. 
 
 View of trap as last, but 
 
 with a round outlet. 
 
 The " Helmet" trap. — The criticisms on the "Helmet' 
 D-trap proper have brought the cast lead " Helmet " 
 trap into notice. This trap is illustrated in Figs. 
 
 Fig. 42. — View of the "Helmet" trap. Fig. 42A.— Section. 
 
 42 and 42A. I consider it a more wholesome trap 
 to use than the D-trap, for it holds less water, and 
 has less room for collecting filth. As will be seen
 
 " Eclipse ' 
 trap. 
 
 ii8 The Science aJid Art of 
 
 by a look at the woodcut, the ends and bottom of 
 the trap are rounded, but being a box kind of trap 
 it is an accumulator of filth, and the evils com- 
 plained of in a dip-pipe being inside a trap also 
 apply to this one 
 
 The " Eclipse " trap. — A verticdl section is 
 given of this trap in Fig. 43, and 2. plan of it in Fig. 
 
 Fig. 43. — Section of the "Eclipse" trap. 
 
 44. I have criticised this trap at length elsewhere, 
 and therefore simply enumerate one or two evils 
 belonging to it here. The dip or " seal " of the trap 
 (being slightly under i-in.) is insufficient to allow 
 for the smallest syphonage and evaporation; in fact, 
 it is not enough, as I consider, to form 2,good water- 
 lock, apart altogether from any consideration of 
 syphonage. 
 
 The trap is not self-cleansing, for the outer side 
 of half the dip-pipe standing inside the trap, as
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 119 
 
 shown at B c and E and F, is exposed to splashings 
 of excremental matter when sent into the trap ; and 
 though good flushings may follow such discharges, 
 they would not pass with any scouring process upon 
 the parts so fouled. Then there is the risk of a 
 defect taking place in that part of the dip-pipe 
 
 Fig. 44. — Plan. 
 
 which stands inside the trap, as explained in the 
 D-trap, p. 115. 
 
 Bell-traps. — Next to the D-trap, the bell trap Beii-traps. 
 has been most largely used during the last half- 
 century. It is used chiefly for sinks, areas, and 
 surface-drainage. 
 
 It is a non-cleansing trap, and ill-adapted for its 
 work. It can vie with the D-trap in the amount of 
 evil it has achieved. Perhaps it would be impos- 
 sible, in connection with drainage matters, to find 
 two more fruitful sources of evil than the bell trap 
 and the D-trap; and if it could be possible to collect 
 the number of illnesses and deaths caused through 
 such traps, the statistics would be appalling. But 
 householders — as well as doctors, sanitarians, archi- 
 tects, and plumbers— are getting alive to these 
 enemies of health and sanitation, and their day will 
 soon pass.
 
 I20 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 A glance at the illustration — diagram, Fig. 45 — 
 will show that a bell trap is not self-cleansing. The 
 trench, 5, round the stand-pipe, d, forms a well or 
 ditch for the filth to collect in ; and no flush of 
 water could be sent through the round holed grating 
 and contracted space, C, to keep this ditch clean. 
 The truth is, that such a trap soon gets clogged up 
 with filth, and to remove this filth, or to get a 
 passage through the trap, servants take the top off. 
 In doing this they ?/;^lock the 
 ^^rpp trap, and leave the house un- 
 protected, as far as that trap is 
 concerned, from the air in its 
 waste-pipe, and perhaps drain 
 too. It is not too much to say 
 that thousands of bell traps could be found at this 
 moment in London with their tops off. But when 
 their tops are o^i, there is no great protection: from 
 them, for the " dip " or '' seal " is so slight that the 
 water soon evaporates, or is drawn out by a piece 
 of rag, sufficiently to untrap them, or to allow the 
 air in the pipe or drain to pass through them. 
 
 There are many other non-cleansing traps, but 
 as those of which I want to speak are chiefly used 
 in connection with drains, I will defer what must 
 be said about them until we meet again, when I 
 hope to bring before your notice traps which are 
 self-cleansing. 
 
 The evening is now so far advanced, that I am 
 sure you will be glad for me to pick up my " traps," 
 and go.
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 TRAPS AND TRAP VENTILATION.— C^/^/w/zc-^/. 
 
 Non-cleansing Drain Traps — " Mansergh," "Triple-dip," " Drain- 
 syphon," Bad Trapping means Bad Drainage. Principles of 
 Self-cleansing Traps. Trap-syphonage. Experiments with 
 Traps, — the D-trap, the " Narrow-band " D-trap, the " Helmet " 
 D-trap, the "Eclipse" trap, the "Syphon" trap, the "Round- 
 pipe" trap, the *' Anti-D-trap," and the "Bower" trap. 
 Tables of Trap Testings. Ventilation of Traps. " Drain Inter- 
 ceptors," " Sewer Interceptors," &c. 
 
 I FIND, according to the syllabus of this course of Traps - 
 
 cojiti fined. 
 
 Lectures, that I ought to have " cleared the subject 
 of traps in my last lecture ; and that to-night I 
 ought to be "entering" upon the question of 
 " soil-pipes and waste-pipes ; " but, as I then 
 showed, traps are not so easily '' cleared." " The 
 job took longer than I expected," is often the 
 plumber's plea for not getting away from a place 
 sooner ; and I confess that this examination of the 
 trap question is taking more time than anticipated 
 — but in all sanitary matters it is much better to 
 ''clear away" as we go. Without these pre- 
 liminary remarks, you may have concluded, by my 
 continuing the subject of traps, that I had fallen 
 into one, and could not get out of it ; but you 
 ma\' rely upon my always " moving on," especially 
 where ;/^;^-cleansing traps are concerned ; or, as I
 
 122 The Science and Art oj 
 
 have elsewhere called them, " collecting-boxes." 
 People are generally in a hurry to move away 
 from the latter, if they are in no hurry to get away 
 from the former. 
 
 Traps, The name of the traps now in use is legion ; 
 
 to examine each one individually w^ould occupy 
 more time than we have at our disposal. 
 
 We have considered the characteristic traps 
 used in plumbing works, of the non-cleansing 
 
 Drain principle — and possibly I condemned them too 
 
 severely for the peace of mind of many present. 
 Many other traps befoul themselves in use, but 
 1 only want to-night to speak of this class used 
 outside — i.e., in connection with drains — before 
 passing on to consider self-cleansing traps. Some 
 may think that drain-traps — whether for receiving 
 waste-pipes, &c., or trapping off the sewer — are 
 " outside " our subject, but I think the journeyman 
 plumber's knowledge ought to cover the whole 
 area of house drainage, and ought certainly to 
 extend to the sewer or cesspool ; not for planning, 
 but for carrying out his work intelligently. 
 
 " Mansergh " Trap. — The first of these drain 
 or stoneware traps for examination is the " Man- 
 sergh " trap. Here is one for any one to examine 
 after the lecture is over. Fig. 46 shows a sectioji 
 of it. Though this trap has only been in use a 
 few years, comparatively speaking, it has had 
 an extensive sale, and is much liked by many. 
 ^'°"' . I condemn this trap, first, because it is no?i- 
 
 cleansing. ^' '
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 12 
 
 cleansing ; and secondly, because it does not leave 
 the end of the waste-pipe (discharging into it) open 
 to the atmosphere. 
 
 A fair look at the illustration, Fig. 46, will 
 show practical men that this flat-bottomed, trunk- 
 shaped trap is non-cleansing. The body part is 
 shaped like a trunk, or box, with a partition across 
 it, dividing it into two unequal compartments for 
 holding water in each, as shown at A and B. An 
 opening is made in the middle, or upper-part, 
 of this partition for the discharges to pass from 
 the inlet-compartment to 
 the outlet-compartment. 
 A dwarfed partition is 
 taken down from the top 
 of the trap, as shown at G, 
 to screen the outlet and 
 to prevent the drain-air 
 escaping. A round, bent- 
 pipe, called the "inlet," is formed in the side of 
 the smaller compartment, as shown at C, for 
 receiving the end of a sink or lavatory waste 
 (or any other such pipe), and this pipe is dipped 
 into the " standing-water " of the trap. The 
 "outlet" of the trap, a round-pipe, is formed at 
 the opposite angle, as shown at D. Provision is 
 made at F for ventilating the drain with which the 
 trap is connected. A large opening over the 
 centre part of the top of the trap is made, as 
 shown in the illustration, for receiving surface 
 drainage, and for allowing any gases which may 
 
 Fig. 46. 
 Mansergh " trap, section.
 
 124 The Science and Art of 
 
 generate in the trap to escape through the grating 
 E. So much for its construction : a word or two 
 will suffice to show that this trap is not only not 
 self-cleansing but that it is dirt-holding. In use it 
 must form itself into a " collecting-box," for there 
 are no less than eight corners for filth to accumu- 
 late in ; and no amount of water sent through such 
 a trap could scour the parts fouled. The bottom 
 is flat, the sides are vertical, the partition dividing 
 the two compartments is upright, and the area 
 of the surface water of the trap is several times 
 greater than its inlet or its outlet. So that the 
 " standing-water " of the trap, with its decom- 
 posing matter, could not get changed by any 
 single flush, nor by many flushes, of water sent 
 through its " inlet." The bad air from this conta- 
 minated body of water, if it did not escape through 
 a waste-pipe into the house, would at times blow 
 in at the wiiidoiu, or door, when near it. 
 
 Again, the arrangement of the '' inlet " is bad in 
 principle ; for it " water-locks " the discharging end 
 of the waste-pipe, instead of allowing it to be 
 exposed to the atmosphere. There is also another 
 evil in connection with this, namely, the waste-pipe 
 (discharging into such a trap) being trapped at its 
 outlet end, i.e., the remotest end of the pipe from 
 the sink, or " fitting," would expose the house to 
 any bad air^ or decomposing matter left in such 
 a waste-pipe. We saw in our last lecture how foul 
 such pipes get, and we know that every time a 
 little hot water is sent through them what action is
 
 Sa/iitary Plumbing. 
 
 125 
 
 set up by the corrosive matter on the sides of the 
 waste pipes ; the vapour coming from this would 
 pass readily through the sink-grating into the 
 house. This trap, therefore, is not the right kind 
 of trap to use for receiving " dirty water " wastes, 
 i.e.y from sinks, lavatories, urinals, &c., where such 
 
 Fig. 47. — Section of the " Triple-dip " trap. 
 
 water^ remaining stagnant in the trap, would 
 become offensive.* 
 
 Fig. 47 shows a trap which I designed some djJ^Trap. 
 years ago for receiving waste-pipes, and inter- 
 
 * If any reader doubts this, let him tiy the effect of stirring up 
 the water standing in such a trap, and his doubts will soon be 
 removed.
 
 126 The Science and Art of 
 
 cepting them from the drain. This trap has three 
 dips, or air-barriers, to prevent drain-air reaching 
 the ends of any waste-pipes discharging into the 
 waste-receiving compartment. Like the " Man- 
 sergh " trap, it has two separate bodies of water. 
 It was specially constructed for receiving waste- 
 pipes from baths and lavatories, when fixed on the 
 bedroom floors, and for protecting them from 
 the drains ; and this it most effectually does. It 
 has two important advantages over the " Man- 
 sergh " trap. First, it leaves the end of any waste- 
 pipe discharging into it open to the atmosphere. 
 Second, the bottom of the trap is rounded, and its 
 configuration makes it easier to cleanse. But this 
 trap is not self-cleansing, i.e., an ordinary flush or 
 flushes of water sent through it will not cleanse 
 it. Now, when a trap cannot be thoroughly 
 cleansed, and all the water standing in it be 
 changed by a good flush of water sent into it, 
 it ought never to be used ; and so, though I hold a 
 patent for this trap, / condemn it as unfit for use. 
 
 Quiiy I have had the well-known Gully-trap illus- 
 
 Trap. trated at D, Fig. 29, p, 87, because it is now being 
 
 used for receiving waste-pipes from sinks,, &c. 
 And as I do not want plumbers to be "gulled" 
 into its use for such purposes, I have it here to 
 criticise. It may be a good trap for catching 
 detritus, and therefore just the trap to use in yards 
 and streets for surface drainage ; but as traps for 
 receiving the discharges from waste-pipes are not
 
 Sanitary Pluvihing. 127 
 
 wanted for catching (in the sense of holding) any- 
 thing — not even a " sunbeam/' much less decom- 
 posing matter — it is not the right kind of trap for 
 sink, urinal, and lavatory wastes, &c. &c. It forms 
 a catch-pit for filth and decomposing matter, and 
 no ordinary flushes of water would cleanse it. It 
 is a non-cleansing trap, and we must therefore put 
 it aside with the rest of the incurables. 
 
 There are other traps used for disconnecting Other 
 
 ^ . . - . . Traps Non- 
 
 waste-pipes from drams of a non-cleansmg nature, cleansing. 
 which we have no time to examine ; we therefore 
 hasten to consider the much used Drain-syphon for 
 trapping off sewers, &c. 
 
 Draix-SYPHOX.— This trap, illustrated in Fig. 
 48, being a round-pipe trap, would be self-cleansing 
 if it had no " man-hole," and was provided with 
 
 Fig. 48. — Section of a Drain-s}'plion. 
 
 means for a water-fall into it. But, as it is, no 
 pressure of water is (or only very rarely) brought 
 to bear upon the " standing water" "^ of the trap 
 
 * The quantity of water held by an ordinary 6-in. Drain- 
 syphon, with a man-hole in it, as shown in Fig. 48. is about 
 eighteen pints, or just ten pints more than my 6-in. "Ventilating 
 Drain-syphon," Fig. 77.
 
 I2J 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 at B, and consequently it never gets perfectly 
 changed by a flush of water sent into the 
 drain. Then the man-hole, A, forms a collecting- 
 place for filth ; and this " inspection-hole," as it is 
 often called, soon needs not only " inspecting," 
 but cleaning ; for it quickly gets bunged up with 
 matter which, in floating through the trap, has 
 itself been entrapped. Another evil is its want of 
 ventilation, i.e., it has no provision for ventilat- 
 ing itself or the drain with which it may be 
 connected. 
 
 Bad Trap- 
 ping, bad 
 Drainasre. 
 
 Details 
 perfect. 
 
 Passage 
 througli 
 Traps. 
 
 I have dwelt at length upon the non-cleansing 
 class of traps, and severely criticised those brought 
 before you, as perhaps its worst specimens ; 
 because bad trapping means bad drainage. Cer- 
 tainly, good trapping is absolutely necessary to 
 good drainage. 
 
 If we want perfection in the sanitary arrange- 
 ments of a house, we must pay attention to its 
 every detail ; for, however well-planned the plumb- 
 ing and drainage may be, it would not be sani- 
 tarily perfect with non-cleansing traps under the 
 "fittings'" inside the house, or with filth-collecting 
 traps on the drains outside, i.e., round about the 
 house. 
 
 When foul matter is discharged into a trap, 
 with a water-flush after it, it should pass through 
 it, as dreams through the brain, leaving no sub- 
 stance behind. I hope to prove to-night that cer- 
 tain traps do this, and such traps I have called
 
 Traps, 
 
 Sanitary PJu/ulnng. 129 
 
 self-cleansing ; but, before experimenting on these, 
 let me lay down the principles on which such traps 
 are constructed, and the conditions on which they 
 should be fixed : — 
 
 (i) The trap should be free from all angles, Principles 
 corners, and places where filth could accumulate. cleansing 
 
 (2) A free way should be made for the dis- 
 charges to pass through the trap without breaking 
 their form, i.e., the traps should be like a round 
 pipe, so made or bent as to form a water-seal of 
 about I J or 2-ins. deep. 
 
 (3) The body of the trap, for fixing in " hori- 
 zontal" pipes or drains, should be smaller than its 
 inlet, so as to hold as small a quantity of water as 
 possible, consistent with the position in which it 
 will be placed and the work it will have to do, to 
 admit of easy changing every time a flush of water 
 is sent through it. 
 
 (4) The minimum-sized^ trap should be used 
 consistent with circumstances, but governed to 
 some extent by the size of the waste-pipe or drain 
 on which it is fixed, and the flush of water likely 
 to be sent into it. 
 
 (5) The water-way into a trap for fixing to 
 flat-bottomed vessels with a grating over its mouth, 
 should be larger than its body part, or than the 
 waste-pipe with which its outlet may be connected, 
 
 * A trap, though of a self-cleansing form, may become a little 
 cesspool if the size is greater than can be cleansed by an ordinary 
 flush of water from the "fitting "— washhand-basin, sink, or water- 
 closet — on which it is fixed. 
 
 J
 
 I30 
 
 The Scieiice a?id Art of 
 
 so as to be able to send efficient water-flushes 
 through the trap to cleanse it and its waste-pipe. 
 When the trap is smaller than the waste-pipe, no 
 good flushes can be sent through such piping to 
 cleanse it. (See Figs. 49 and 50, showing such traps ; 
 or the plumber can easily cone a piece of lead 
 pipe for receiving a larger grating or plug, or 
 
 U-3^-4 
 
 t<-2->i 
 t I 
 
 Fig. 49.— 2-in. S-trap, uith 
 
 enlarged mouth. 
 
 Fig. 50. — 2-in. Half-S trap, 
 with enlarged mouth. 
 
 washer, and solder this to the inlet of a syphon- 
 trap, as shown at A, Fig. 103, p. 238.) 
 
 (6) The inlet, or mouth of the trap, should be 
 so arranged that the water-flushes shall fall upon 
 the " standing-water " of the trap with a vertical 
 pressure, so as to drive everything foreign out of 
 the trap, and to entirely change its previous 
 contents. 
 
 (7) The iiilet side of all traps fixed upon drains 
 outside the house should be opcjt to the atmospJierc,
 
 Sanitayj Plumbing. 131 
 
 so that any bad air rising from foul matter decom- 
 posing in the trap, or coming through it from the 
 drain or sewer, may readily pass into the open air, 
 or be largely diluted with fresh air before passing 
 into any waste-pipe, soil-pipe, or drain discharging 
 into such traps. In cold countries, where the Traps 
 
 T • 1 1111-11 exposed to 
 
 water standnig in such traps would be liable to Frost, 
 freeze in severe frosts, the mouth of the trap should 
 be sealed over, and the " foot-ventilation," or air- 
 induct, should be taken into the waste-pipe, soil- 
 pipe, or drain some little distance away from the 
 " standing-water " of the trap, to prevent the cold 
 air-currents playing upon it and freezing it* In 
 this country, in sheltered places, there is little or 
 no risk ; and if the trap (for disconnecting waste- 
 pipes, soil-pipes, or drains) is kept well down into 
 the ground in exposed places, there is no danger 
 from frosts, though in severe frosts it is well to 
 throw a little straw over the gratings of such traps. 
 During the last severe winter, out of hundreds that 
 I have had fixed, I only heard of one such discon- 
 necting-trap being frozen ; and scores of them, from 
 circumstances, have their "standing-water " within 
 15-ins. of the ground level. 
 
 * Another advantage is gained by keeping the air-induct pipe 
 some little distance up (say 15-ins.) from the bottom of a trapped 
 soil or waste-pipe, for when a full and rapid discharge of water is 
 sent into a soil or waste-pipe it does not get away as fast as it 
 enters, but accumulates in the bottom of the pipe, and, rising up in 
 the pipe, would readily flow into the foot-ventilating or air induct 
 pipe if kept too low down, and perhaps stop it up with foreign 
 matter. 
 
 J 2
 
 Traps. 
 
 132 The Scicfice and Art of 
 
 Experi- Ocular demonstrations that ** round-pipe " traps, 
 
 ments with ., 1 ,> , 1 /- 1 
 
 Self-deans- or "syphoH traps, are self-cleansing, were now 
 given by the model trap arrangement, illustrated in 
 Fig. 5i_,and explained on p. 135. In order to show 
 the workings of the insides, the traps were made of 
 glass, and a strong light was thrown upon them 
 from a bull's-eye lantern. The following experi- 
 ments, among others, were made : — 
 
 (i) The glass "round-pipe" trap (d. Fig. 51,) 
 was charged with blue-water, and a small flush of 
 clean water was then sent into the trap from the 
 washhand-basin, washing out the blue-water and 
 leaving the trap perfectly clean. 
 
 (2) The trap was then filled nearly up to the 
 level of its " standing water " with india-rubber cut 
 into small pieces, and this was completely washed 
 out of the trap by a flush of about three pints of 
 water sent into it from the basin. 
 
 (3) The water in the trap was then well coloured 
 with plumbers' soil, and a handful of gravel was 
 also put into the trap ; and the whole of it washed 
 out, and the trap left clean, by' a small flush of 
 water from the basin. 
 
 (4) The trap was also tested with strong soapy 
 water with a like result, i.e.^ the soapy water was 
 washed out and the trap cleansed by a small flush 
 of clean water from the basin. 
 
 D-trap, The small"^ D-trap with Hass cheeks, as used 
 
 Non- ^ "^ 
 
 cleansin'''. 
 
 * Though this trap is so much smaller than the "small" 
 
 D-traps in use all over the country, and though the " wire -barred "
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 133 
 
 in a previous lecture, was again tested ; but, after 
 several flushings, it remained largely charged with 
 soapy water (Fig. 37, p. 113, illustrates this trap, 
 with its plug-and-washer and washhand-basin), and 
 the figured dimensions on p. 1 12 will give the reader 
 a clear understanding of the actual thing as experi- 
 mented with. 
 
 Trap-syphonage, and Displacement of 
 Water in Traps. — The experiments that we have 
 just made clearly prove that while some traps are 
 non-cleansing, others are self-cleansing. But '* self- 
 cleansing" traps — i.e., round-pipe traps — are syphon- 
 ing traps, and especially when they have long 
 vertical lengths of piping attached to them — the 
 
 plug-and-washer is larger than that generally used — having an inch 
 clear way in its "lining" — the " standing- water " of the trap (as 
 tested with soapy Avater, water coloured with stone-blue, and 
 plumbers' soil) could not be entirely changed by a single, nor by 
 many discharges of clean water sent through the trap from the 
 washhand-basin. What a new form of D-trap may be made to do, 
 as explained on page 1 15, is not the question; the trap under 
 criticism here is the D-trap as used up to the present time. 
 
 It was unfortunate that the distance between the bottom of the 
 basin and the " standing- water " of the trap was not the same in 
 the D-trap as in the glass "round-pipe" trap, for the extra length 
 of the dip-pipe in the latter told in its favour. But, after the close 
 of the lecture, on the re-delivery night, the dip-pipe of the glass 
 round -pipe trap was shortened, and made less in length than that of 
 the T>-trap, and the experiments were repeated with it with the like 
 results — that is, a perfect cleansing out of the round-pipe trap by 
 a small flush of water from its basin. If any man doubts the self- 
 cleansing nature of the syphon, i.e., a I'ound-pipe trap, and believes 
 in the sanitxriness of the D-trap, let him try the traps .with soapy 
 water, under precisely similar circumstances, and he will soon satisfy 
 himself on the wholesomeness of the one, and the unwliolesome- 
 ness of the other.
 
 Testing 
 Arrange- 
 
 134 7 he Science and Art of 
 
 longer the leg the greater is the syphonage. They 
 are often called " syphons " — and they are this — 
 and, unless such syphonage can be prevented, to 
 use such traps would not only be useless but 
 dangerous. Let me give some experiments to 
 show how, in practice, traps are often unsyphoned 
 — that is to say, unsealed. 
 
 A series of experiments were here made to 
 show how in practice traps were often unsyphoned 
 by discharges sent through them, or through the 
 waste-pipe or soil-pipe on which they were fixed. 
 
 An arrangement^ for testing trap-syphonage, 
 ment. and for other experiments, was fitted up on a stand, 
 
 as illustrated in Fig. 51. a represents a model 
 bath fixed on a chamber floor, and B a lavatory 
 basin on a ground floor. Inch glass syphon, or 
 round-pipe traps half-S, were fixed under the bath 
 and lavatory, as shown at G and D, with inch lead 
 branch-wastes from them into the main waste-pipe, 
 II. The waste-pipe was continued up for ventila- 
 tion, as shown at j, and it was left open at its 
 discharging end, where for convenience it was 
 made to discharge into a R.W. head outside the 
 Hall. An inch lead air-pipe was taken out of the 
 lowest trap, and continued up above the highest, 
 and branched into the air-pipe of the waste-pipe, 
 
 * Though this model bath and lavatory arrangement was, for 
 convenience, fitted up on a smaller 'scale than that which generally 
 obtains in practice, the results were just the same as those which 
 actually occur under similar treatment, viz., a syphoning out of the 
 water in unventilated traps, and a non-syphoning in ventilated traps 
 (see results of experiments with full-sized fittings, pp. 144-152).
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 135 
 
 receiving the branch air-pipe from the bath trap 
 on its way up, as shown in the illustration Fig. 51. 
 Stop-cocks were fixed in the air-pipes from the 
 
 I CI 
 
 ivi v_-_-^:. 
 
 f 'o- 5^- — Vieu' of model used for testing traps^ and syphonage. 
 
 traps, as shown at E and F, for controlling the 
 ventilation during the experiments. A stop-cock 
 was also fixed in the air-pipe on the top of the
 
 136 The Science and Art of 
 
 main waste, as shown at J, for shutting off the 
 ventilation at this point when so wanted. 
 Experi- Among other experiments, the following were 
 
 ments with 1 n 1 1 / 1 x^- x 1 • 
 
 unventi- made, all the stop-cocks (E, F, and J, Fig. 51) bemg 
 Tr.\ps. shut off to stop the ventilation, except that the 
 discharging end of the waste-pipe H was left open, 
 (i) By discharging a small quantity of water from 
 the bath A, the lavatory trap D was unsealed. 
 (2) By discharging a basinful of water from the 
 lavatory B^ the bath trap G, above, was similarly 
 unsealed. (3) By discharging a small quantity of 
 water out of the bath, and suddenly shutting off 
 the waste-valve, both traps, D and G, were unsealed. 
 ' (4) By discharging a basinful of water from the 
 lavatory,"^ B, both the upper trap G, and lower 
 trap D, were unsealed. 
 
 The main waste-pipe H was then ventilated by 
 opening the stop-cock j ; and, though it prevented 
 the bath trap G from being unsyphoned by a dis- 
 charge from the lavatory, it did not prevent the 
 syphonage of the trap D, through which the dis- 
 charge was sent. Nor did it prevent the syphon- 
 age in either trap in a discharge of water from the 
 bath, as proved by one or two tests.f It should 
 
 * In plug-basins, when no overflow-pipe enters the dip of the 
 trap to give it vent, the water can be held up in the dip in sus- 
 pension by a quick replacement of the plug, and by this means the 
 trap may be made to retain its seal, even though the discharge 
 through it may have unsyphoned all the other traps fixed on the same 
 waste-pipe (see experiment, p. 172). 
 
 t These experiments prove that those who depend upon the 
 ventilation of the main pipe only, be it a soil or waste pipe, depend 
 upon means inadequate for the protection of a house from bad air ;
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 137 
 
 be borne in mind that the waste-pipe was open at 
 both ends, top and bottom. 
 
 The foregoing experiments proved that two 
 traps fixed on one pipe, like two negatives in a 
 sentence, destroy each other. 
 
 Some experiments were then made with the Experi- 
 D-trap B, Fig. 37 ; the ''Bower" trap. Fig. 52 ; and wkh the 
 the "EcHpse" trap, Fig. 43, to show that though 
 these traps were not unsyphoned with the ease 
 with which "round-pipe-traps" were, they were by 
 no means proof against the action of discharges sent 
 through them, or through the main pipes into 
 which they may be branched. 
 
 (i) The small glass-cheeked D-trap, illustrated D-trap. 
 at Bj Fig. 37, was fixed at L, Fig. 51, and soapy 
 water was put into it. With the ventilating-cocks, 
 E, F, J, Fig. 51, turned off — to prevent ventilation 
 — and a discharge of water sent out of the bath A, 
 the water in the D-trap was kept in a very agitated 
 state during the whole time the discharge was 
 passing through the main-waste H ; and, by the 
 time that seven or eight gallons of water had 
 passed out of the bath, the water in the D-trap 
 had been lowered half-an-inch, i.e., the water had 
 been syphoned out of the trap enough to reduce 
 its " seal" to about half its normal depth. 
 
 (2) The "Bower" trap, ij-in.. Fig. 52, was The 
 
 " Bower 
 
 for, as clearly shown, an air pipe on the main-pipe, though of the 
 same size, is insufficient to prevent round-pipe traps, and self- 
 cleansing traps, from being unsyphoned, where large bodies of water 
 ai-e sent through the main piping.
 
 138 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 and 
 
 " Eclipse." 
 
 Results. 
 
 Fig. 52- 
 
 ' Bower ' 
 
 trap. 
 
 then fixed in lieu of the D-trap, at L, Fig. 51, and 
 the effect upon this trap was even greater than that 
 upon the D-trap. 
 
 (3) The ''Eclipse" trap, ij-in.— 
 the large size of which is illustrated 
 in Fig. 43 — was then fixed in place 
 of the *' Bower " at L, but before 
 half-a-dozen gallons of water had 
 passed through the main waste-pipe 
 from the bath this trap had lost 
 more than three-fourths of its seal, 
 and after discharging a few gallons 
 more the trap was practically unsyphoned, for, 
 though the dip-pipe stood a trifle under the water, 
 the smallest vibration broke the seal. 
 
 These experiments prove that, like syphon 
 traps, all traps require ventilation, at any rate 
 under certain conditions ; for if all the traps tested 
 did not become quite imsealed^'^ their " seals " were 
 reduced to a very easy breaking-point, and the 
 water in them was stirred up so much by want of 
 ventilation that bubbles of air passed into the dip- 
 pipes by almost every discharge from the bath A. 
 
 With the air-cock j open, i.e., with the main 
 waste, H, ventilated at top and bottom, I have 
 proved, by the same apparatus, that all traps 
 require ventilating, apart from the ventilation of 
 the main-pipe. 
 
 I have thus shown that round-pipe traps — that is 
 
 * The syphoning action would be greater in a longer length of 
 waste piping.
 
 Sanitary Fliiinhing. 139 
 
 to say, "self-cleansing" traps — easily syphon them- 
 selves, and are easily syphoned by others fixed in 
 connection with them. I need hardly say to 
 practical plumbers that, unless such syphonage can 
 be perfectly remedied, such traps are worse than 
 useless ; for while they would impede the cleansing 
 force of the discharges through the waste-pipes, 
 they would be of no protection to the house. 
 
 By these experiments I have also proved 
 that if absolute safety is wanted, the " Eclipse '' 
 trap, the " Bower " trap, and even the D-trap — 
 which is equivalent to saying that all traps — must 
 be ventilated. 
 
 In my book, " Dulce Domum," I have explained Action 
 
 upon 
 
 the action upon traps of discharges sent through a Traps; 
 waste-pipe or soil-pipe ; and shown how to prevent "Duke 
 
 , •- ir • Domum.* 
 
 one trap acting upon another, or upon itseli ; in 
 other words, I have explained the proper method 
 of ventilating traps. We shall therefore, to-night, 
 give some experiments to prove that what is there 
 said on this is absolutely correct, and show }-ou 
 by one or two severe tests that trap-syphonage is 
 prevented by trap-ventilation. 
 
 In the model bath and lavatory arrangement Experi- 
 
 .... . . 1 r ments with 
 
 for experimenting with, an air-pipe was taken troin Traps 
 the branch waste to the lowest trap, as illustrated 
 in Fig. 51, and continued up above the highest 
 trap, and branched into the main waste or air-pipe. 
 Into this ascending air-pipe, from the lower trap, 
 the branch air-pipe from the upper trap was taken,
 
 140 The Science and Art of 
 
 so that each trap was properly ventilated. The 
 stop-cocks E and F (which had been shut during 
 the former experiments) were then opened, giving 
 the traps ventilation, when the water was left 
 undisturbed, or if disturbed, it was only very 
 slightly in either trap, notwithstanding that full 
 and rapid flushes were sent through the waste- 
 pipe H. I give here the results of some of the 
 experiments made : — 
 
 (i) A large body of water was sent out of the 
 bath A, sufficient to charge the whole length of the 
 waste-piping H, but it did not affect the water 
 in the lavatory trap D. 
 
 (2) The washhand-basin B was then filled with 
 water and rapidly discharged (through an inch 
 clear way " lining " of the plug connection), but it 
 did not affect the water in the bath-trap G, above, 
 in the slightest degree. 
 
 (3) The above-mentioned experiments were then 
 made over again with the air-cock J shut, but this 
 made no appreciable difference so long as the trap- 
 ventilation remained perfect. 
 
 These experiments were several times repeated, 
 but always with the same result, that is to say, no 
 discharge of water sent through the waste-pipe H 
 from the bath or lavatory could unseal either the 
 working trap or the idle trap when the branch 
 wastes were ventilated, clearly establishing the fact 
 that efficient trap-ventilation prevents trap-syphon- 
 age.
 
 Sanitary Plumbmg. i^i 
 
 A great deal of ignorance prevails on this igno-ance 
 
 question of ventilation, and that, too, among men 
 who fancy they know all about it. As a proof of 
 this, many simply ventilate the umin waste-pipe, or 
 main soil-pipe, but do not ventilate the branches 
 upon them. They insist upon the main soil-pipe 
 being carried up full-size to the open air, and in 
 some cases are willing to give it foot-ventilation, 
 but the}" are satisfied with this. Now I hope all 
 here are convinced that no stack of waste-pipe, or 
 soil-pipe, is properly ventilated which is not only 
 exposed to the atmosphere at both ends, but 
 unless, in addition, it has each individual branch 
 ventilated, and especially where large bodies of 
 water are likely to be sent through the main 
 piping.; 
 
 I was. amused some time ago in reading some 
 remarks; on the ''bends" of a ventilating-pipe to 
 a soil-pipe, written by a gentleman who had been 
 called on to give a report on some plumbing. He 
 found two or three bends in the 4-in. ventilating- 
 pipe of the soil-pipe, and he wrote that the pipe 
 ought to have been carried up ''straight." A 
 ventilating-pipe cannot be fixed without something 
 to fix it to. It will not stand like a flag-staff or a 
 scaffold-pole, fixed or secured only at its foot. 
 If this gentleman had had more experience, he 
 would have known that bends in such pipes, 
 when they are made full-bore, make a trifling 
 difference ; at any rate, not enough to write about 
 in a report. I have given elsewhere, in my report 
 
 tion.
 
 142 The Science and Art of 
 
 on the value of cowls,^ the air-currents through 
 some pipes which are full of bends, and anybody 
 who reads the results will be satisfied tliat it is 
 better to let an air-pipe follow the lines of the 
 building to a reasonable extent, rather than stick 
 up a hideous pipe like a scaffold-pole, with struts 
 to support it from chimney and parapet. But let 
 me give you a proof! As you see, I have here a 
 pipef fulloi bends. I will now have it placed on 
 the top of the present air-pipe to the main waste- 
 pipe on which we have just been experimenting. 
 I will send some flushes of water through the piping, 
 and there will be little or no movement of the 
 " standing-water " of the traps, proving that bends, 
 when properly made, do not interfere to any 
 appreciable extent with the working of the traps 
 upon a pipe ; nor do they, when made of easy 
 radius and of full-bore, interfere much with the 
 ventilation. 
 
 Mr. Teak's Mr. Prids^in Teale, M.A., suro-eon to the 
 
 Book. , ^ ' ' t. 
 
 General Infirmary of Leeds, has done so much 
 good by his interesting book, entitled " Dangers to 
 Health," that I hesitate to refer, to it in any way 
 disparagingly ; but duty compels a criticism. 
 
 Mr. Teale rings the alarm-bell vigorously, and 
 paints vivid pictures of the dangers people run by 
 neglecting the proper drainage of their houses ; but, 
 
 - "The Plumber and Sanitary Houses," pp. 278 — 350. 
 t The dotted lines above the letter j, Fig. 51, show the pipe 
 referred to here.
 
 Sa7iitary Plumbing. 143 
 
 though he shows valuable improvements on old 
 plumbing practice, his method of saving them is 
 not perfect. He sends out a boat which will not 
 hold water, rather than a life-boat ; for by his 
 arrangement the water would be syphoned out of 
 the traps, and then there would be no protection 
 from them. Let me give one example. In the 
 second plate in his book, entitled, " House with Faulty 
 Arrangements Avoided," I will show you how one 
 and all of the traps there shown would at times get 
 unsyphoned. By emptying the bath, the lavatory 
 trap C, and the sink trap G, would become un- 
 syphoned, and the air in the waste-pipe would find 
 an easy access through them into the house. 
 Again, b}^ discharging the lavatory, the sink-trap 
 and the bath-trap would get unsealed. 
 
 Then, as you see, even the main waste-pipe is 
 not ventilated ; for cutting off the pipe at the dis- 
 charging end, and exposing that to the atmo- 
 sphere, is not ventilating it, any more than an 
 air-pipe only at the top and the end trapped at the 
 bottom ; in fact, not so much, for the gases thrown 
 off by matter adhering to the sides of a waste-pipe 
 are more likely to ascend than descend. 
 
 I will not criticise the detail arrangement, 
 though that is important ; and would not have 
 brought this before you but that waste-pipes arc 
 being fixed pretty freely, as shown in this diagram; 
 i.e.y long lengths of waste-pipe are fixed without 
 trap ventilation, so that others as well as Mr. Teale 
 have fallen into the same error.
 
 144 ^^^<^ Science and Art of 
 
 Trap As trap-ventilation is so important to prevent 
 
 Ventilation . . . , t -n • i 
 
 Important, traps from becoming air-mlets, 1 will give you the 
 results of some important experiments made a 
 month or two ago, when testing the capabilities 
 of waste-pipes and traps. It would take an entire 
 evening to give the result of each test, and to 
 explain the various modes adopted, but with the 
 aid of the illustrations it will not take long to put 
 you in possession of the facts gained by some 
 of the experiments. 
 
 Experi- That these may be better understood, I have 
 
 ments with 
 
 Traps on had the testing arrangements illustrated ; and as 
 Waste- they are drawn to a scale, a clear idea of the 
 actual sizes of the pipes and fittings can readily 
 be formed. The traps in each case were fitted up 
 with glass windows in their sides for taking obser- 
 vation. 
 
 Fig. 53, Plate 2, represents a stack of ij-in. 
 lead waste-pipe, fixed in a house to take the 
 discharges from three slop-sinks — one each on 
 chamber floor, second floor, and third floor. Beard 
 and Dent's patent cast lead traps, \\ in., were 
 fixed, as shown, under the sinks A, B, and C, with 
 ij-in. branch-wastes from them into the main 
 waste D. 
 
 A pailful of water thrown down sink A, sucked 
 three-fourths of an inch of water out of traps 
 B and C. Another pailful practically unsealed 
 them. A pailful of water thrown down sink A, with 
 the air-pipe E stopped up, sucked an inch of water
 
 PLATE II. 
 
 Fig- 53- — Section of a stack of Waste-pipe, with three Slop- 
 sinks upon it, as used for testing Syphonage of " round-pipe " 
 traps. 
 
 K
 
 146 The Science and Art of 
 
 out of each trap, and practically untrapped itself — 
 sink A. 
 
 A pailful of water thrown down sink B, with 
 the air-pipe E stopped up, pulled an inch of water 
 out of traps A and C. Another pailful unsyphoned 
 them. 
 
 These traps were then ventilated by taking a 
 ij-in. lead pipe (the same size as the waste) 
 from the lowest branch, and continuing it up and 
 connecting it with the air-pipe of the main waste 
 above the highest trap, and branching ij-in. air- 
 pipes from the other traps into it, on its way up. 
 Three pailfuls of water (stable pails, holding about 
 three gallons) were then thrown down sink A in 
 rapid succession, but, though there was a little 
 movement of the "standing-water" in traps c and 
 B, not Toth of an inch was drawn out of either, 
 and its own trap was left fully charged with 
 water. 
 
 Ditto, with Similar tests were made with a larger waste 
 
 larger . _ , r 1 1 • • • • • • 
 
 Pipes. pipe. Instead of the ij-in. piping, 2-in. piping 
 was used for the main waste, and also for the 
 branches from the sinks, and 2-in. traps, with 
 enlarged mouths (as illustrated in Fig. 50), were 
 fixed under the sinks. 
 
 A pailful of water was thrown down sink A, 
 Fig. 53, and this discharge sucked an inch of water 
 out of traps B and C, and nearly untrapped itself. 
 Another pailful quite uncharged, i.e.^ untrapped, 
 the two lower traps, and nearly its own. The
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 147 
 
 air-pipe E was stopped up in each of these 
 two trials, but with this air-pipe open it made 
 Httle difference to the lower traps, though it was 
 helpful in preventing the top trap from being un- 
 syphoned. 
 
 With a trap formed in the pipe at F (the air- 
 pipe E being open to the atmosphere), and a 
 pailful of water thrown down sink A, air was forced 
 out through the trap C, and some of the " standing- 
 water" of the trap was sent a foot or i8-in. up 
 into the sink. At the same time the sink-trap B 
 was more than half unsealed. 
 
 These trials were all made over aq;ain, with the 
 branch to each trap ventilated, and though several 
 pailfuls of water were thrown down in the latter 
 tests, no appreciable effect was made on the traps, 
 not even with a trap formed in the main waste- 
 pipe at F. 
 
 Fig. 54 shows a bath, and a lavatory, discharg- Tests with 
 ing into one main pipe, at different levels ; and Waste, 
 (without the dotted lines, showing hoiv such pipes 
 shoidd be ventilated) it is a fair representation of 
 how waste-pipes are fixed even in these enlight- 
 ened days, except perhaps that the waste-pipe 
 here — li-in. — is smaller than that generally used. 
 
 A bath is fixed on the chamber floor with i|--in. 
 waste-pipe from it to discharge in the open air. 
 The waste-pipe from a lavatory on the ground floor 
 is branched into this bath waste. I have shown an 
 air-pipe, K, on the top of the main waste, as in the 
 K 2
 
 148 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 tests which I made there was one, but many 
 people never even fix this air-pipe — they are 
 satisfied if the pipe is open to the air at its dis- 
 charging end. Let us see the result of the tests. 
 
 Fig. '54. — View of bath and lavatory waste, as used for testing 
 trap-syphonage. 
 
 With the air-pipe K open to the atmosphere, 
 and the end of the waste-pipe J open also, the 
 water in the lavatory trap H was not only 
 syphoned out by the emptying of a bath of water 
 containing about fifty gallons, but 130 feet (lineal)
 
 Sanitary Pliimhijh^. 149 
 
 of air was drawn through it into the waste-piping, 
 as registered by an anemometer fixed over the 
 mouth of the trap H. 
 
 Another test was made exactly as the last — 
 but with a "Bower" trap (Fig. 52) fixed at H, 
 instead of the i J-in. '' patent cast lead trap." Dur- 
 ing the discharge, the india-rubber ball did not 
 keep its seating for three seconds together; the 
 water in the trap was kept in a very agitated state 
 all the time, and no feet (lineal) of air was drawn 
 through the Bower trap, as noted by an anemo- 
 meter. Directly the discharge ceased the ball 
 regained its seating ; and, on measurement, though 
 a good drop of water had been syphoned out of the 
 trap, it had still a |-in. seal, but this test proved 
 that this trap also requires ventilation. 
 
 With i|-in. air-pipe fixed on the branch to the 
 trap at L, and made good into the air-pipe K, as 
 shown by the dotted lines, not a movement was 
 caused in the fan of the anemometer, which was 
 placed over the mouth of the trap H, as before ; 
 nor was the "standing-water" of this trap or the 
 bath-trap affected by a discharge of a bath of fifty 
 gallons of water in 2-J minutes. 
 
 An air-pipe on the "Bower trap" also pre- 
 vented any action upon it by discharges through 
 the waste-pipe J. With the trap H moved back 
 into the room, 12 feet away from the main waste- 
 pipe, the result was just the same, i.e., it was 
 unsealed without ventilation ; but with ventilation 
 the water remained in the trap intact.
 
 The Scie?ic'e and Art of 
 
 Results of 
 Further 
 Experi- 
 ments. 
 
 In Fig. 55, Plate III., I. show another arrange- 
 ment, and will now give the results of some of the 
 tests made with it. 
 
 It represents a stack of 2-in. waste-pipe, with 
 a bath, slop-sink, and lavatory upon it. There are 
 four traps on the middle branch — to see the effect 
 upon each during a discharge through the main 
 waste-pipe. 
 
 Each trap had a glass side or window in it for 
 making observations. 
 
 A 2-in. " patent cast lead trap " was fixed under 
 the bath, and each of the two sinks with 2-in. lead 
 branches into the main waste-pipe. A 4-in. trap 
 was fixed at T, ij-in. at V, and ij-in. at U, as 
 shown in the illustration. 
 
 Trap-ventilation was fixed, as shown by the 
 dotted lines, i.e., a 2-in. air ascending-pipe was 
 taken off the branch to the lowest trap, and con- 
 tinued up and branched into the main air-pipe 
 above the highest trap, with branches from each 
 trap connected with it on its way up. This ven- 
 tilating pipe was only used when so wanted, and 
 was under the control of stop-cocks, fixed at R, 
 w, and S. 
 
 The first experiment w^as made zvithotit trap- 
 ventilation. The bath-cock was opened, and the 
 bath discharged, but before one-quarter of its con- 
 tents had passed through the waste-pipe, traps P, 
 Q, U, and V were unsyphoned {i.e., unsealed), and 
 three-quarters of an inch of water-seal pulled out 
 of the 4-in. trap T. But as the unsyphoned traps
 
 PLATE III, 
 
 Fig. 55. — Section of a stack of Waste-pipe, Avith several 
 traps upon it, as used for testing Trap-syphonage.
 
 152 The Science a?id Art of 
 
 gave air to the branch-waste, on which this trap 
 was fixed, no more water was drawn out of it by 
 the rest of the discharge. 
 
 The same experiment was repeated, but zvith 
 the trap-ventilation perfect, as shown by the dotted 
 lines, and though sixty gallons of water was sent 
 out of the bath, and through the waste-pipe in 
 2\ minutes, not one of the traps was unsyphoned. 
 During the greater part of the time the bath was 
 emptying, the water stood up from an inch to two 
 inches in the dip, or inlet, of each trap — P, T, U, V, 
 and Q — but directly the bath was empty the water 
 returned to its normal level. There was no oscilla- 
 tion of the water in any of the traps, and on 
 measurement it was found that trap U was the 
 only one that had lost any water, and this trap 
 had only lost Jth of an inch, if quite so much, 
 leaving it with a perfect seal. 
 
 Many other tests were made. Pailfuls of water 
 were thrown down sinks Q and P, and the upper 
 and lower traps unsealed by such discharges, with 
 the trap-ventilation shut off by the stop-cocks, 
 R, O, S ; but with each branch ventilated the 
 " standing-water" in the traps remained intact, 
 notwithstanding the severe trials to which they 
 were subjected. 
 
 All Traps I wil] not occupy your time with further results 
 
 must be 
 
 Ventilated, of my cxpcrmicnts with traps fixed upon zvaste- 
 pipes, but simply state they all proved that where 
 tiers of traps, of any description, are fixed upon
 
 Sanitary Flumbtng. 
 
 153 
 
 one stack of piping, for receiving discharges from 
 slop-sinks, baths, and "quick-waste" lavatories, 
 &c., each individual trap, or branch, must be 
 ventilated, if the traps are to keep their " water- 
 seals " intact. 
 
 These tests, made with Beard and Dent's shape of 
 
 Round- 
 
 patent cast lead traps" (li-in. and 2-in., both S Pipe Trap 
 
 Fig. 56. — Section of S-Traix 
 
 Fig. 57. — View of Ilalf-S-Trap. 
 
 and half-S shaped, as Figs. 56 and 57), also estab- 
 lished the fact that round-pipe traps, when properly 
 ventilated, as shown in Fig. 70, and properly 
 shaped — that is U-shaped in the water-holding 
 part of the trap, e.g., as Figs. 56, 57, and 5Q — are 
 perfectly free from any injurious effects from 
 syphonage ; i.e., such traps will maintain their 
 " seals " in any treatment they are likely to receive
 
 154 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 in practice ; for if they could not be unsyphoned 
 when fixed on pipes of the same diameter as them- 
 selves, nor of smaller diameter, they are more 
 certain to hold their seals when fixed on pipes of 
 larger diameter, where the friction, and therefore 
 the suction power of a corresponding discharge of 
 water, would be so much less. But though U- 
 shaped round-pipe traps (as Figs. 56, 57, and 59) 
 hold their seals securely enough when ventilated. 
 
 Fig. 58. — Section, Trap Badly Shaped, 
 
 round-pipe traps having an easy rise to their out- 
 lets, as Fig. 58, which is a section of Beard and 
 Dent's 4-in. " P-trap," will not under certain con- 
 ditions. When, for instance, such a trap is fixed 
 under a "c^f^/z^^-closet, and the basin is filled with 
 water up to the brim, or nearly so, and discharged 
 quickly by a sJiarp pull of the closet handle, the 
 water falls in a column through the space A, 
 between the basin and the water of the trap, and 
 strikes the " standing-water " of the trap with such 
 force that where a too easy passage-way exists, as
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 155 
 
 in trap Fig. 58, the contents of the trap arc not 
 only forced out (in itself a merit), but the water, 
 falling from the basin in a column, and with so much 
 pressure, rushes through the trap, leaving insufficient 
 behind to re-charge it, except where a proper 
 service of water is laid on to the closet to pass 
 through with the discharge in a more broken form. 
 But this is not the case with round-pipe traps 
 having- a "vertical" rise to their outlets. The 
 
 Fig. 59. — Section, Trap Rightly Shaped. 
 
 water, when discharged with some force into such 
 a trap as Fig. 58, strikes against the too-sloping 
 side B, and then glancing off, as a ball would, to C 
 — as shown by the arrows — runs away through the 
 soil-pipe D; but in a trap shaped as Figs. 56, 57, 
 and 59 the water would have no such sloping side 
 to glance off from, but, rising vertically out of the 
 trap, would strike against the dome of the outgo, 
 and partly fall back again into the trap and 
 re-charge it, unless at the same moment a syphon- 
 ing action was set up by the passage of the dis-
 
 156 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 "Mansion* 
 Trap. 
 
 charge through the soil-pipe, through inefficient 
 ventilation. The plumber can easily boss back the 
 neck of a round-pipe trap when the way to the 
 outlet is too easy — though, of course, all traps 
 should be perfect in themselves. 
 
 Knowing the strain upon the seal of a trap when 
 fixed under a valve-closet, especially with certain 
 
 usages (as, for instance, 
 when the basin of the 
 closet is filled up to 
 the brim with a pailful 
 of slops and discharg- 
 ed with great force into 
 the trap), I nowhere 
 in my book, " The 
 Plumber and Sanitary 
 Houses." show a rottnd- 
 
 Fig. 60. — " Mansion " Trap. 
 
 pipe trap fixed under a valve-closet. In the first 
 edition of that book I show a " Mansion " trap 
 (illustrated in Fig. 60) under each " fixed " valve- 
 closet ; and as I had improved this trap before 
 the publication of the second edition, I showed, 
 in the Appendix of the later edition, my patent 
 cast-lead "V-dip," or *' Anti-D-trap," instead of the 
 " Mansion " trap. 
 
 *' Anti- 
 D-Trap. 
 
 Referring to this"Anti-D-trap"at the Lectures, 
 I said, " as it was my own design I would say no- 
 thing about it, but leave it to take care of itself" 
 As, however, a controversy on traps has grown out of
 
 Sa7iitary Plumbing. 
 
 ^57 
 
 what I said on traps, I will say something about this 
 trap here. The " Anti-D-trap " is made in two sizes 
 for fixing under water-closets, &c. The large size 
 is shown in Figs. 6i and 62, and is intended for 
 fixing to water-closets in hotels and public build- 
 ings, where it is likely to receive all sorts of things. 
 The small size is shown in Figs. 63 and 64, and is 
 specially adapted for fixing to water-closets and 
 slop-sinks, &c., in private houses, or in places where 
 the water-closets are not likely to be treated as 
 
 Fig. 61. — View of " Anti-D- 
 Trap," "Large" Size. 
 
 Fig. 62. — Section of " Anti-D- 
 Trap," "Large" Size. 
 
 dust-shoots. I admit that the size (Fig. 64) seems 
 small, and I know plumbers will want educating 
 up to the use of it ; but it may encourage those 
 who have feeble knees to use it, if they are told 
 that " Anti-D-traps " of smaller size than Fig. 64 
 have been in use for many months, and that no 
 sign of stoppage in them has shown itself The 
 " Anti-D-trap " placed on the table at the third or 
 fourth lecture was precisely like the one illustrated 
 in Figs. 67, and 64, except that it was \-m. smaller 
 in diameter in the body part of the trap. This
 
 iS8 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 trap has since been fixed In my factory,"^ under an 
 "Artisan" closet basin, for the use of a good 
 number of men, and it is working perfectly. To 
 be quite sure on this point of stoppage, I have had 
 a trap made of smaller size than the "small" 
 " Anti-D-trap," Fig. 64, and fixed under a valve- 
 closet^ for the use of the clerks in my ofiice, and 
 though this trap has been in use many months, it 
 has never stopped up once, and it is as free from 
 
 Fig. ()T^. — View of " Anti-D- 
 Trap," "Small" Size. 
 
 Fig. 64. — Section of *' Anti-D- 
 
 Trap," " Small" Size, 
 
 filth to-day as it was after the first day or two's 
 
 use. 
 
 Well, if a smaller trap than the " small " ^'Anti- 
 D-trap " does not stop up, there can be no risk in 
 fixing the larger size (Fig. 63), and the great advan- 
 tage gained by its use is worth an imaginary risk 
 of stoppage, for it is the only water-closet trap with 
 which I am acquainted — not excepting even a 4-in. 
 " round-pipe " trap — that will allow its contents to 
 be e7itirely cJianged with one ordinary flush of 
 
 * See Fig. 67, Plate V., showing same.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 159 
 
 water from a valve-closet. This trap (Figs. 63 
 and 64) only holds two pints and a half of water, or a 
 little over. Its " seal " cannot be broken, however 
 high a valve-closet may be fixed over it, or however 
 full of water the closet basin may be, nor can it be 
 unsyphoned, where the main pipe is ventilated, by 
 a discharge from a valve-closet, or a pailful of 
 slops thrown down any closet or basin fixed on the 
 same piping, though, as explained elsewhere, the 
 trap, or branch, should be ven- 
 tilated when other fittings are 
 connected to the same stack. 
 
 As no results of experi- 
 ments made with water-closet 
 traps were given at the Lec- 
 tures — though the results 
 given of traps fixed upon 
 waste-pipes applied also to 
 traps fixed on soil-pipes — I 
 will give here the results of 
 some of the experiments which 
 
 I have had made during the 
 last two or three months, and 
 many of them are so simple 
 that they can easily be verified. 
 The arrangement for 
 making the first series of test- 
 ings is illustrated in Fig. 65, 
 and it is so clear that I need 
 not say a word in explanation. 
 
 Tests 
 
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 various 
 
 Closet 
 
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 Fig. 65. — View of Valve- 
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 Testing Traps.
 
 
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 1 62 TJie Science and Art of 
 
 Testing of With the arranq-ement illustrated in Fic^. 66, 
 
 Traps on ^ ^ , . . . 
 
 Tiers. Plate IV., another series of testings with closet-traps 
 
 was made. A stack of 3j-in. soil-pipe was fixed 
 as shown, and a " narrow-band " D-trap (Fig. 40) 
 was fixed at B, a full-sized cast lead D-trap at C, 
 and an " Eclipse '■' trap at D. A trap was fixed at 
 the foot of the soil-pipe, at E. In some of the 
 testings the main pipe was opened to the air, both 
 at top and bottom, but when this is done it is so 
 stated. A Wedgwood ware valve-closet basin, A, 
 was fixed directly over the upper trap, as shown, 
 and the contents of the basin discharged by means 
 of a basin-plug placed over its outlet. 
 
 Test I. — By discharging a basinful of .water 
 quickly (and sealing over the outlet directly the 
 discharge had completed its effect upon the work- 
 ing trap, so that the further effect of the discharge — 
 through the main pipe — might be thrown upon the 
 idle traps), the " Narrow-band " D-trap, at B, was 
 unsyphoned^ so much so that the water was left 
 three-eighths of an inch below its dip-pipe ; the cast- 
 lead D-trap, at c, lost three-fourths of its seal, by 
 syphonage ; and the " Eclipse " trap, at D, had some 
 of its water blown out (to the height of three or 
 four feet) on to the floor, causing it to lose more 
 than one-third of its seal. 
 
 Test 2. — With the " small " size " Anti-D-trap," 
 Fig. 63, fixed at B, instead of the " Narrow-band " 
 D-trap, the result, in a similar trial, was just the 
 same as in Test i, except that the water in this trap 
 was left one-eighth of an inch lower.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 163 
 
 Test 3. — With a full-sized cast-lead D-trap fixed 
 at B, and the '' Narrow-band " D-trap at C, a dis- 
 charge from the basin A, as before, /<?;r^<i water out 
 of the " Eclipse " trap, reducing its seal one-third ; 
 practically tnisypJioncd the " Narrow-band " D-trap ; 
 and s}-phoned enough water out of the full-sized 
 D-trap to rob it of more than half its seal. The 
 water would have been syphoned out of this " full- 
 sized " D-trap still more if the sides had withstood 
 the syphoning action better ; but the withdrawal of 
 the air from its inside caused the top and sides to be 
 pressed or drawn inwards, and this broke the piece 
 of glass in its side (for making observations), and 
 allowed the air to pass through it to fill the 
 partial vacuum, and at the same time to break the 
 syphoning action of the discharge. 
 
 The positions of the various traps were changed, 
 and it was found, by a series of similar trials to 
 those already given, that while the /////- j-2>^<^ D-trap 
 withstood the action of syphonage better than any 
 other closet trap (and this I suppose everybody 
 has known for years), the " Anti-D-trap " was less 
 easily^ forced than any other trap fixed at D. But 
 the various experiments proved clearly enough that 
 every trap, or branch from it, requires ventilation in 
 addition to the main pipe. 
 
 Another series of trials was made with the 
 
 * It took ten discharges to force the water out of the "Anti-D- 
 trap " (fixed at d) below the seal, but it only took four discharges to 
 unseal some of the other traps. 
 
 L 2
 
 164 Tlie Science and Art of 
 
 main soil-pipe open to the air full bore, at top and 
 bottom, with the results as follows, viz. : — 
 
 Test I A.— With the "small" '' Anti-D-trap '' 
 fixed at C, and the basin, A, filled with water and 
 discharged ten times, the water is lowered about 
 three-quarters of an inch, leaving the trap at the 
 end of the ten discharges with I in. seal. 
 
 Test 2A. — With a " Narrow-band " D-trap fixed 
 in the same position, at C, and a similar number of 
 tests, it lost a little over three-eighths of an inch, 
 leaving it with J in. seal. 
 
 Another series of experiments were made with 
 the small bath used at the lectures (a, Fig. 51), 
 instead of the closet basin, and this bath was fixed 
 over a 4-in. " round-pipe '^ trap fixed atB (Fig. 66). 
 The bath was discharged by means of a basin-plug 
 fixed over its outlet. 
 
 Test IB. — In two discharges from this bath, the 
 " Narrow-band " D-trap, fixed at C, lost three-fourths 
 of its seal, notwithstanding that a 2-in. air-pipe was 
 fixed at F. During the whole of the time the dis- 
 charge from the bath was passing through the main 
 soil-pipe, the water in this trap was drawn away 
 from its dip-pipe, and air passed through it to the 
 soil-pipe very freely. 
 
 Test 2B. — The ** small " " Anti-D-trap " was then 
 fixed instead of the "Narrow-band" D-trap, and 
 subjected to the same test, and the result was that 
 it was left with ^ in. less seal than the other trap. 
 
 Test IB. — Beard and Dent's 4-in. P-trap (Fig. 58) 
 was then fixed at C, and this trap was readily un-
 
 Fig. 66. — Section of a stack of Soil-piping used for testing 
 Trap-syplionage, 
 
 To /ace page 164,
 
 rt7 \ 
 
 F 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
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 Ji 
 
 n 
 
 n 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 -J« 
 
 
 
 
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 5 
 
 ■n 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 c 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 "^ 
 
 ^eJ 
 
 Fig. 66.— Section of a. stack of Soil-piping used lor testing 
 Trap-syphonage.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 165 
 
 syphoned without an air-pipe on its branch; but with 
 the trap ventilated by a 2-in. air-pipe, it could not 
 be unsyphoned by any discharges from the bath, 
 fixed as before over the upper trap. 
 
 An entire book could be filled with the results 
 of various experiments made with traps, but I have 
 only space here to mention a few more. 
 
 Fig-. 61, Plate V., represents a stack of 3-in. lead Testings of 
 
 ° ' ^ , Closet 
 
 soil-pipe, which I had fixed some months ago, with Traps on 
 
 . 3-in. Pipes. 
 
 three water-closets upon it, for the use of the people 
 in my factory. The pipe was fixed of this small 
 size to test its capabilities, and I may say here that 
 it has never shown the least sign of stoppage, 
 though the two upper closets are used by about 
 thirty people daily, and some days by a much larger 
 number. An "Artisan '■' closet basin is fixed, at A^ 
 on the second floor of the warehouse, with an *' Anti- 
 D-trap " ^ (of smaller size than Fig. 64) under it. 
 Adjoining this closet, a " Vortex " closet is fixed, as 
 shown at B. On the floor below a valve-closet is fixed, 
 as shown at C, for the use often or more clerks, and 
 under this closet, at F, is another " Anti-D-trap " of 
 smaller size than Fig. 64. Stumps are fixed at H, 
 J, and K, for fixing traps, &c., upon them for making 
 experiments. The branches to the water-closet 
 traps are ventilated by a 2-in. lead air-pipe, as 
 shown, but this trap ventilation is under the control 
 of stop-cocks, for making experiments with or 
 
 * This identical trap was placed on the table at one of the 
 lectures.
 
 1 66 The Sciejue and Art of 
 
 without the ventilation of the traps. A small 
 angle cistern with syphon arrangement for giving a 
 two-gallon flush of Vv^ater is fixed over the " Artisan '* 
 closet ; a " sluice " apparatus is fixed over the 
 " Vortex " closet ; and the valve-closet is supplied 
 by means of a valve and regulator attached to the 
 apparatus. 
 
 Tests to show the self-cleansing nature of the 
 " small " " Anti-D-trap '■' in practice. 
 
 Test IC. — Twelve pieces of water-closet paper, 
 put into the valve-closet basin, c, are easily sent out 
 of the basin and through the " small " " Anti-D- 
 trap," F, under it, with one pull of the closet handle — 
 i.e.y with the handle pulled up as far as it will go, 
 and held there two seconds, or with the handle 
 slowly pulled up and closed, giving only a fair flush 
 of water. 
 
 Test 2C. — Ten pieces of India-rubber (5 ps. i^ in. 
 dia. ij-in. long, and 5 ps. i in. dia. ij in. long) are 
 easily sent out of the closet basin, and through 
 the trap, with one fair flush of water. 
 
 Test 3c. — With the water in the basin well- 
 coloured with plumbers^ soil, one pull of the handle 
 will clear it out of the basin and trap, leaving not a 
 vestige behind. 
 
 Test 4c. — After the closet has been used for the 
 purpose of nature, one fair flush of water, by pulling 
 up the closet handle and slowly closing it, will 
 clear the matter right out of the basin and 
 trap.
 
 Sanitary PhnnMng. 167 
 
 Tests for syphonage of traps on the same Tests for 
 
 ^ T^. ^ Syphonage 
 
 arrangement — Fig. 67. 
 
 Test ID. — With the valve-closet basin, c, filled 
 up to brim, and no water allowed to come into it 
 during the time of the discharge without trap-venti- 
 lation, but with the main soil-pipe open at top and 
 bottom, the trap is left intact — i.e., with its full 
 seal. 
 
 Test 2D. — A pailful of water thrown down 
 either of the water-closets, A and B, will not un- 
 syphon the " small " " Anti-D-trap," F, and that, too, 
 without any ventilation of the trap ; and it is left 
 with more than half its seal with five pailfuls of 
 water thrown down the above closets in suc- 
 cession."^ 
 
 A valve-closet, with an " Anti-D-trap " under it, 
 was fixed on the branch H, and some tests made 
 with traps fixed on the branches j and K ; the out- 
 lets of the closets, A and B, were stopped up to 
 obtain greater results. 
 
 Test 3D. — With one discharge from a valve- 
 closet (filled to brim) into branch H, the " Narrow- 
 band " D-trap, fixed at J, lost \ in. ; the " Helmet," 
 at K, \ in. ; the " small " *' Anti-D-trap " at F, | in. 
 
 Test 4D.— With the "Helmet" fixed at J, and 
 the " Narrow-band " D-trap at K, a similar test as 
 last syphoned \ in. depth of water out of the " Anti- 
 
 * During this test the " Hehiiet " trap was fixed on the branch, 
 K, and lost exactly half its seal— /.^., \ in. depth of water was 
 syphoned out of this trap by the discharge of the five pailfuls of 
 water down the upper closets.
 
 1 68 The Science afid Art of 
 
 D-trap," fixed at H, the trap through which the dis- 
 charge had passed; \ in. out of the '' Helmet;" \ in. 
 out of the '* Narrow-band " D-trap ; and | in. out of 
 the '' small " "' Anti-D-trap," F. 
 
 Test 5 D.— With 2, full-sized D-trap^ fixed at K, 
 instead of the " Narrow-band " D-trap, and branch, 
 J, stopped up, a discharge of water from the valve- 
 closet, as before, through branch H syphoned half- 
 an-incJi depth of water out oi \h.t fidl-sized D-trap, 
 and nearly half-unsyphoned the small " Anti-D- 
 trap," F. In this test, as in the others in this series, 
 the main soil-pipe was opened to the atmosphere 
 (full bore) at top and bottom. 
 
 Test 6D.~With Beard and Dent's 4-in. " P " 
 trap (Fig. 58) fixed at K, and a full discharge, as 
 last, from the valve-closet fixed over its trap at H, 
 the 4'in. P-trap lost more than half its dip ; but 
 with a 2-in. air-pipe on its outgo its '* standing water " 
 could not be interfered with by the fullest discharge 
 from the valve-closet fixed at H, nor with a closet 
 fixed on any other branch of the piping. 
 
 Test 7D.— This test was made with a '' round- 
 pipe " trap (Fig. 59) and the result was very similar 
 to the last — Test 6d — i.e., it lost |- in. without venti- 
 lation, but with ventilation it lost nothing. 
 
 Test 8d.— With the " small " '' Anti-D-trap," F, 
 under the lower closet, ventilated, and a " Narrow- 
 band " D-trap fixed at K, not ventilated, a discharge 
 from a valve-closet filled to brim, through branch H, 
 
 * It has been proved over and over again, as the reader will 
 have noticed, that the D^-trap is subject to syphonage.
 
 A 
 
 I 
 
 Fig. 67. — Section of a stack of 3 in. Soil-pipe, with three Water- 
 closets upon it, as fixed in our factory for the use of our 
 employes, and for testing trap-syphonage. See pp. 165-168. 
 
 Note i.— The bends in the main air-pipe are shown too sharp, and the con- 
 nection of the branch to closet B is imperfectly shown. 
 
 Note 2.— Stop-cocks are fixed in the air-escape pipe, TV, as shown by the 
 dotted lines, for shutting off the ventilation of the traps. 
 
 Tofixce page 168.
 
 Fig. 67.— Section of a shuk of 3 in. Soil-pipe, with three 
 closets upon it, as fixed in our factory for the use 
 employt-s, and for testing trap -syphon age. See pp. 165-16S, 
 
 Note i.— The bends in the main air-pipe are shown too sharp, and the co 
 ncction of the branch to closet B is impcrftcily shown. 
 
 Note 2.— Slop-cocks are fixed in the air-escape pipe, TV, as shown by ll
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 169 
 
 as before, the*' standing-water " in the "Anti-D-trap " 
 is not affected in the sHghtest degree, but the D-trap 
 suffers and loses one-third of its seal, nothwith- 
 standing that the air-escape pipe from the " Anti-D- 
 trap " is within 7 or 8 ft. of it. 
 
 1 will not occupy the reader's time with further Subject 
 results of my experiments with traps, either for 
 fixing on waste-pipes or soil-pipes, for if I have 
 not exhausted the subject I have every line of space 
 that can be given to it here ; and though I have 
 shown how to syphon the water out of traps, I am 
 not desirous of showing how the patience of the 
 reader can be " syphoned " out. I will, therefore, 
 simply add, the experiments proved that where 
 tiers of traps of any description are fixed upon one 
 main pipe, for receiving discharges from water- 
 closets, slop-sinks, baths, quick-waste lavatories, 
 &c., each individual trap or branch must be venti- 
 lated, if the traps upon the piping are to maintain 
 their " seals " intact. 
 
 There are three distinct actions upon traps fixed Displace- 
 ment of 
 on one stack of piping, each one of which may Water in 
 
 cause loss of water in unventilated traps, (i) The 
 
 water may be/^;r^<^out of them by airpressm'c — i.e.^ 
 
 a full discharge into the main pipe from an upper 
 
 trap forms itself into a sort of water-plug and drives 
 
 the air in the pipe down before it and out through 
 
 the lower traps, unless a way of escape is made for 
 
 it. See Test i, p. 162, also Fig. 66, Plate IV., show-
 
 lyo The Science and Art of 
 
 ing the water forced out of trap, fixed at D, as if it 
 came from a fountain. (2) The water may be 
 forced through a trap by faUing into it from some 
 height, as from the basin of a valve-closet, especially 
 when the distance between the basin-valve and the 
 '* standing-water " of the trap is greater than a 9-in. 
 or lo-in. joist requires. We have already considered 
 this action on pp. 162, 163. (3) The water may be 
 sypho?icd out of traps. A few words on the cause of 
 syphonage — i.e., the displacement of water in traps 
 by discharges sent through a pipe on which traps 
 are fixed — may be interesting. We have no time to 
 go into the matter thoroughly, so will keep outside 
 the laboratory, and simply look at the matter from 
 a common-sense point of view, leaving a fuller 
 investigation for a more leisurable time — should 
 that ever come. 
 Trap- Trap-syphonage is chiefly caused by the atmo- 
 
 E^iaS! spheric pressure being greater on one side of a 
 trap than on the other. When a body of water is 
 sent through a soil or waste pipe it interferes with 
 the pressure of air on the " standing-water " in the 
 outlet of the trap or traps fixed on such pipes. 
 The pressure of air being thus removed, or par- 
 tially removed, from the outlets of the traps, by the 
 passage of the discharge — like a zvater-phtg — in the 
 main pipe, the "standing-water" of the traps is forced 
 down on the inlet sides of the traps (by the greater 
 pressure of the air on this side), and rising up on 
 the outlet sides, it instantly wastes away through 
 the branch-wastes, unsealing the traps and allowing
 
 Sanitary PlumhiJig. 171 
 
 the air to pass through them and out with the dis- 
 charge through the main waste — i.e.^ a body of water 
 discharged from the bath, E (Fig. 54), would, on 
 passing through the main waste, J, interfere with 
 the air pressure on the " standing-water " on the 
 outlet side of the lavatory trap, II. The pressure 
 of air being then greater on the inlet side, the 
 water would be forced down on this side, and, 
 rising up on the oiitlet side, it would readily escape 
 through the branch-waste, M, unsealing the trap, 
 and allowing the air to pass through the lavatory 
 basin, F, and out with the discharges through the 
 waste-pipe, J. I explained in the earlier part of 
 this lecture that directly a trap became unsealed, 
 the air rushed through it all the time the discharge 
 was passing through the main pipe on which the 
 trap was fixed. It passes through a ij-inch sy- 
 phon trap, fixed, e.g., on a 30 feet length of ij-inch 
 piping, and when the pipe is fully charged, as 
 from a bath, at the rate of about 50 feet (lineal) per 
 minute. 
 
 Therefore, to prevent the ''standing-water" from 
 being displaced in a trap, the weight of the air should 
 be equipoised on both sides of the seal, and this is 
 readily done by fixing a ventilating-pipe on the 
 outlet of the trap — for the air can always reach 
 the inlet in properly arranged sanitary fittings. 
 
 An experiment was given with the model bath 
 and lavatory arrangement — illustrated in Fig. 51 — 
 to prove this. A good flush of water was sent out 
 of the bath, A, which at once removed or inter-
 
 172 The Sde?ice and Art of 
 
 fered with the pressure of air on the " standing- 
 water " on the outer side of the lavatory trap, 
 D ; but, to prevent the syphonage of this trap, 
 the pressure of the air was removed, or interfered 
 with, on the inlet side by sealing over the dip 
 [i.e., inserting the plug) ; and notwithstanding the 
 rapid discharge of about three gallons of water from 
 the bath, through the waste-pipe, H, the lavatory 
 trap D was left intact. The plug was then re- 
 moved, and another flush of water was sent out 
 of the bath, but this instantly unsyphoned the 
 lavatory trap. Another experiment was then 
 made with the trap open to the atmosphere on 
 each side of its water seal — i.e., the stop-cock, E, 
 was opened, and the trap ventilated, and the plug 
 being out of the basin, the weight of the air was 
 equalised on the inlet and outlet sides of the 
 " standing-water " of the trap, and though two or 
 three good flushes of water were sent through 
 the main pipe from the bath, the water in the 
 lavatory trap was not affected by it in the slightest 
 degree. 
 
 Those who understand the principle on which 
 pumps raise water ought to understand this princi- 
 ple well enough. You know that the atmosphere 
 exerts a pressure of nearly 15 lbs. on every ex- 
 posed square inch, and that, therefore, it will lift 
 a column of water 33 feet high. You know that 
 a suction-pipe of a pump, when it does not exceed 
 this height — though practically the pump will not 
 work at all at this height, and works better when
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 173 
 
 the suction is under 26 feet in height — is full 
 of water, and that this water is kept there by 
 the weight of the air on the surface-water in the 
 well, I have here a glass trap (see illustration, 
 Fig. 6Z). I remove the atmospheric pressure from 
 its mouth or inlet, by shutting the stop-cock, B, 
 and the water is kept up in the dip-pipe, A, as 
 you see it, by the air pressure on its 
 outlet, C ; but if I allow the air to pass 
 into the inlet by opening the stop-cock, 
 the water finds its level instantly by 
 running out of its outlet, C. Prick the 
 suction-pipe of a pump, and allow the 
 air to pass into it, and the water is 
 out of it — well, quicker than our sol- . ^„ 
 
 ■^ Fig. 05. 
 
 diers were out of Candahar. 
 
 But in trap-syphonage there is not only the 
 weight of the air, or atmospheric pressure, to 
 consider ; there is also the pulling power of the 
 discharges through the piping, and this often 
 very considerable. A large flush of water is sent 
 into a waste-pipe, or a soil-pipe, which is from 
 50 to 70 feet high, we will say, and this flush 
 passes through the piping as a sort of ''water- 
 plug" several feet in length, exerting a pulling 
 action" all the way through, and producing a 
 partial vacuum in every branch upon it, unless 
 such branches are ventilated. When these branches 
 are not ventilated, the vacuum produced in them 
 is instantly filled by the atmospheric pressure 
 upon the trap inlets, forcing the water out of
 
 174 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 them, and rushing through to supply the vacuum ; 
 but I believe " scientists " now say there is no 
 such thing as a perfect vacuum. 
 
 Enough has been said 
 on the necessity of ven- 
 tilating traps, both for 
 preserving them from sy- 
 phonage, and the injurious 
 effects of stagnant air. A 
 ■"" word, with the aid of illus- 
 trative examples, will suf- 
 fice on the mode of venti- 
 lating them. To take an 
 air-pipe from a trap when 
 fixed on a stack with more 
 than one trap upon it, and 
 carry it into the main 
 waste or soil-pipe, as many 
 _ do, is not ventilating the 
 trap according to its needs : 
 for during the time the 
 discharge is passing 
 through the main pipe — 
 i.c.^ when the ventilation 
 is most needed — all ven- 
 tilation is shut off from 
 the lower traps ; e.g., a discharge sent through 
 an upper trap, A (Fig. 69), would pass through the 
 main pipe in a sort of water-plug, as shown at 
 c, and shut off the air-pipe, E, to the lower 
 trap, B. 
 
 Fig. 69. — Trap-ventilation 
 Bad Arrangement.
 
 Fig. 7o.-View of a stack of Waste-pipe, with a Washing up Sink 
 and Slop-sink combined, -Bath, and Lavatory fixed upon it, 
 showing perfect ventilation of same.
 
 Sanitary PliDiibing. 175 
 
 In Fig. 70, Plate VI., I show what I consider Traps 
 the best method of ventilating waste-pipes"^ and VenSed. 
 traps. The discharging end of the main waste- 
 pipe, J, is open to the atmosphere at K, and the 
 top end is open to the atmosphere, above the roof, 
 having an extracting cowl upon it, as shown at M. 
 A " washing-up " sink, A, with a " water-shoot " 
 slop-sink, B, combined, are branched into the 
 main waste on the second floor. On the floor 
 below, a bath, C, is fixed, and its branch waste, Hi, 
 is taken into the same main waste ; as is also 
 the branch, h^, from the lavatory, D, fixed on 
 the ground floor. Each branch is ventilated, as 
 shown at N, N, N, and the air-pipe from these 
 branches is taken into the air-pipe of the main 
 waste, as shown at P, above the highest branch ; 
 so that each trap is perfectly ventilated, and in 
 such a way that no discharge passing through 
 the main waste — from the sinks, lavatory, or bath 
 — can disturb the water in any of the traps, E, F, 
 G ; i,e., a discharge from any of the " fittings " 
 can neither unseal the trap through which the 
 discharge has passed, nor any other trap fixed 
 on the main piping. Also, by this arrangement, 
 a current of air is made to pass through every 
 inch of the main waste, and no air is allowed to 
 remain stagnant (to damage the traps and piping) 
 in any part of its branches. The main waste, 
 
 * See Fig. 93, Plate VII., showing' ventllcition of soil-pipes and 
 closet-traps.
 
 176 The Science and Art oj 
 
 branches and traps are all of small size, for 
 better cleansing purposes. 
 
 In high buildings, it wants a long ladder to 
 reach from the bottom to the top, and a clear 
 head to ascend it, but divided into stages the 
 ascent may be made easy enough for a land- 
 lubber to climb to the top. We have come to 
 our present point in this trap question by stages. 
 (i) We saw that traps under sanitary fittings 
 were needed ; (2) that the traps largely used for 
 such purposes were ?/;//sanitary — i.e., //<?;/-cleansing ; 
 (3) that traps could be made sanitary — self- 
 cleansing ; (4) that self-cleansing round-pipe traps, 
 when fixed in certain positions, were easily un- 
 syphoned, and, like the cow which kicked over 
 the pail of milk which she had given, did more 
 mischief than good ; (5) we found out how to 
 remedy the evil of trap-syphonage. And now 
 all that I have to do, in concluding this subject, 
 is to ask you to make self-cleansing traps instead 
 of non-cleansing ones. Master plumbers may 
 say, " But our apprentices and journeymen make 
 up D-traps in idle times, and if we buy * Syphon ' 
 traps we shall have nothing for them to do when 
 work is slack ! " There is a story^ told of Bishop 
 Wilson, that on ordering a coat, he expressly 
 charged the tailor not to make it in the fashion 
 of the gallants of the day, and only to put in 
 two rows of buttons ; buttons all over being 
 then the fashion. '' My lord," said the tailor^ 
 
 ''' Note to " Passages from the Life of the Rev. Robert Anderson."
 
 Sanitai'y Plumbing. 177 - 
 
 ''what then becomes of all the button-makers?" 
 The bishop answered, *' Sayest thou so, good 
 Master Robert ? Then button me all over." 
 Now, though I want you to cease making D-traps, 
 I do not want to prevent you from making traps. 
 If you cannot bend lead pipes, and form them 
 into traps, " S " or ''half-S " shape, by hand, as the 
 traps here by my side, you can knock them up 
 out of sheet lead, in two halves, and solder them 
 together, as I daresay many plumbers here have 
 often done. If any one objects to the soldered 
 seams of such traps, you have a good reply — 
 namely, that there is less solder in a syphon-trap 
 with soldered seams than there is in a hand-made 
 D-trap. I have had some syphon — i.e., round-pipe 
 — traps made by hand, bent out of patent lead 
 pipe, for you to examine after the lecture is over. 
 They are "S" and *'half-S" traps in various 
 sizes — I -inch, ij-inch, 2-inch, and 3|-inch — as 
 true and as good as machine-made traps, and there 
 is not a particle of solder about them. 
 
 As I am laying down the principle on which 
 self-cleansing traps are made, rather than pointing 
 out the various traps made, I will pass on to self- 
 cleansing traps for fixing outside — i.e., in connection 
 with drains. I should say, however, that there 
 are some traps here, of various makes, which I 
 shall be glad for any one to examine after the 
 lecture is over. 
 
 Any earthenware trap which can have its 
 previous contents washed out by a flush of water
 
 178 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 sent through a waste-pipe, soil-pipe, or drain, may- 
 be set down as self-cleansing, no matter who 
 makes it or where it comes from. 
 
 Fig. 7 1 shows a stone- 
 ware " drain-intercept- 
 ing " trap, which I con- 
 structed some years ago, 
 for receiving the dis- 
 charging ends of waste- 
 pipes and exposing them 
 to the atmosphere, thus 
 cutting off the connec- 
 tion with the drain per- 
 fectly. 
 Fig. 72 shows my large size stone-ware drain 
 intercepting trap, for disconnecting rain-water 
 drains, &c., from the soil-drain. To avoid long 
 
 Fig- 71- — Section of "Drain- 
 interceptor." 
 
 Fig. 72. — View of large size '' Drain-interceptor, 
 
 branches of unventilated piping from a soil-drain, 
 or the necessity of extra ventilating-pipes through 
 fixing long brancb-^s, a "drain-interceptor" (as Fig.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 179 
 
 71 or 72 — or the size between these two) should be 
 fixed close to the main drain, and the clean water 
 drain brought into one of its three sides — B, C, D — 
 as shown in the wood- 
 cut. At the foot of 
 the rain-water pipe 
 could be fixed a stone- 
 ware " Rain - water 
 Shoe/' as shown in 
 Fig. 7^, which I de- 
 signed and patented, 
 for " disconnecting " 
 drains from rain-water 
 pipes and giving ac- 
 cess both to the drain and pipe. Or when the soil 
 drain is close to the rain-water pipe, a drain- 
 
 Rain-water 
 
 Fig. 74. — View of "Rain-water Trap." 
 
 intercepting trap, as shown in Fig. 74, of my 
 design — for disconnecting rain-water pipes from 
 drains — could be fixed, and this trap could also 
 M 2
 
 i8o 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 be made to take the waste-pipe from any draw- 
 off sinks or lavatories near it. 
 
 Fig. 75 shows my patent trap for disconnecting 
 soil pipes from drains. It is specially constructed 
 for treating the ends of soil-pipes as just explained 
 to waste-pipes. The trap is self-cleansing. The 
 
 P"ig. 75. — "Soil-pipe Disconnector. 
 
 value of such disconections will be explained in 
 a subsequent lecture.^ 
 
 Fig. 'j^ shows Buchan's stone-ware trap for 
 disconnecting pipes from drains, and drains from 
 sewers. This trap is self-cleansing, as may readily 
 be seen by a glance at the diagram. The cleans- 
 ing power of this trap is helped by its water- 
 drop ; and by having a vertical opening to the 
 
 * See pp. 226 to 229.
 
 Sanitary PliDubitig. 
 
 181 
 
 atmosphere right over its inlet, any sewer air 
 passing through the " standing- water " of the trap 
 
 rOR JOINTINO. 
 
 CLEANSING OR 
 
 EXIT OF SEWAGE GA3 
 
 Fig. 76. — Buchan's Disconnecting Trap. 
 
 would readily get away, or be largely diluted 
 with fresh air before passing into the drain. 
 
 Fig. 77 shows a section of my patent "ventila- 
 ting drain-syphon and sewer-interceptor" — the 
 
 ;A— ^^-/^H 
 
 jrig_ 77. —Section of a 6-inch " Sewer-mtercept
 
 182 
 
 The Science a) id Art of 
 
 principle being just the same as the last trap. 
 This trap has a greater water-drop for driving 
 out the contents of the water left " standing " in 
 the trap, and the body of the trap is made smaller 
 than its inlet and outlet, so as to hold less ^ 
 water — for easier changing, &c. 
 
 Fig. "jZ shows a 
 section of Weaver's 
 '^\ 1\ ^^^ii^J\ <^i'^i^ ventilating trap. 
 
 1 ^ \ \ / ',^B '^^^^ ^^^P ^^ ^ great 
 
 viil4.. m.^^"^ ,^w^ improvement upon the 
 
 man-hole drain-sy- 
 phon ; but the want of 
 a vertical fall or drop 
 on the " standing- 
 water" prevents it from being so self-cleansing 
 as it might be, and it also holds too much water 
 for the contents to be ^ 
 
 easily changed. 
 
 Fig. 79 shows a 
 section of the " Croy- 
 don " syphon. This 
 trap has been largely 
 used during the last 
 few years. It is in- 
 
 78. — AYeaver's Trap. 
 
 79. — " Croydon " Syphon. 
 
 finitely superior to the old syphon generally used 
 for trapping off drains from sewers, but it is not 
 
 * This 6-inch " Sewer-interceptor," with greater water seal than 
 either the "Croydon" or Drain-syphon (Fig. 48), holds [fully one 
 gallon less of water; for the 6-inch *' Sewer-interceptor " (Fig. 
 77) holds just one gallon, a 6-inch " Croydon" over two gallons, 
 and a 6-inch common Drain-iyphon two gallons and a quarter.
 
 Sanitary Phunbing. 1%-^ 
 
 absolutely self-cleansing when used for such pur- 
 poses, for the body of the trap is too large for 
 the water previously standing in the trap to be 
 washed out by a flush of water sent into it. 
 
 Enough has been said on traps for intercepting 
 pipes from drains, and drains from sewers ; those 
 of you who care to push inquiries further will 
 doubtless have an opportunity of seeing, and 
 examining, many such traps at the Medical and 
 Sanitary Exhibition, which will be opened at 
 South Kensington in a week or two. I hope to 
 show some of these traps fixed for disconnecting 
 drains from sewers, &c., on large diagrams in a 
 subsequent lecture, but it is now time that we 
 "disconnected" our thoughts from such matters, 
 or I shall " drain " your patience and " intercept " 
 your good wishes.
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 HOUSE DRAINAGE AND VENTILATION. 
 
 Privies. Close-stools. Closets in Pompeii, Paris, Berlin, Spain, 
 Edinburgh, London. Water-closets — Cummings', Prosser's, 
 Bramah's, Pan-closet, Valve-closet, &c. Soil-pipes— Material, 
 Size, Positions, Disconnections from Drains, and their Ventila- 
 tion. Tacks soldered to Pipes. Waste-pipes generally ; with 
 Sizes, Positions, Disconnection from Drains, and Ventilation. 
 
 Our subject to-night is '* House Drainage and 
 Ventilation." For convenience, and easier refer- 
 ence to the diagrams, I shall treat this subject 
 somewhat differently from the course laid down 
 in the syllabus. Instead of considering soil-pipes 
 and waste-pipes in one lecture, and their discon- 
 nection from drains with their ventilation in 
 another, I propose clearing them off completely 
 as I go on. 
 
 Our last subject extended itself so much that 
 if I kept strictly to the syllabus to-night, I should 
 have to drop out the first half of our present 
 subject, i.e., one night's lecture. When the Irish- 
 man in his travels lost a night's sleep, he regained 
 it the following night by sleeping on two beds, 
 placed on top of one another. I cannot get over 
 my difficulty so easily, for I cannot get two 
 lectures into one : besides, it would hardly be 
 sanitary, for, to say nothing about the ventilation
 
 Sanitary Plwnbing. 185 
 
 of this room where we shall have to be for three 
 or four hours, the sewer ought not to be so con- 
 nected with soil-pipes and waste-pipes — a space 
 ought always to be between them. So I ask your 
 permission to postpone the second half of this 
 subject — ** House Drainage and Ventilation " — to 
 the evening announced for the lecture on '* The 
 Art of Lead Laying," which I shall be glad to 
 drop out of the course. 
 
 In commencinfT the internal plumbinor-^^ of a Plumbers 
 
 ^ _ ^ ^ ^ begin with 
 
 house, plumbers generally begin with soil-pipes ; Soii-pipes. 
 but before they can get such pipes ready for fixing, 
 they require to know the kind of water-closets to 
 be fixed upon them, so as to arrange the branches 
 and traps accordingly. I will to-night follow 
 their practice, and begin the subject of House 
 Drainage with Soil-pipes and Water-closets. 
 
 A rapid glance at some of the first water- 
 closets used inside a house may not be uninterest- 
 ing. 
 
 Privies served their purpose well enough when Privies, 
 every man had a garden or piece of ground, but 
 when men congregated together in cities and 
 towns, remote places for putting such conveniences 
 could not be found, and drains and sewers had 
 to be made, into which the general slops of the 
 house were thrown. 
 
 Listead of building^ water-closets as we do ciose- 
 
 *=" stools. 
 
 * In a book called " The London Art of Buildhig," published 
 in 1734, plumbers' work is called " Plumbery."
 
 1 86 The Science and Art of 
 
 now, the rich ancients used close-stools, or 'pans 
 which were frequently made of gold, besides the 
 water-closets which were made in vaulted recesses 
 in their kitchens."^ The Romans placed vases, 
 called gastra, upon the edges of roads and streets, 
 just as we now fix urinals. 
 Water- 111 Sir William Hamilton's account of " Dis- 
 
 closets in 
 
 Pompeii. covcrics at Pompeii," he says, in a paper f read 
 before the Society of Antiquaries, in 1775, "Close 
 to the Temple of Isis is a theatre, no more of 
 which has been cleared than the scene, and the 
 corridor that leads to the seats. In this corridor 
 was a retiring-place for necessary occasions, where 
 the pipe to convey the water, and the basin, like 
 that of our water-closets (a.d. 1775) still remain, 
 the wood of the seat only having mouldered away 
 by time," As Pompeii was destroyed — by an 
 eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the year A.D. 79 — 
 this W.C., which Sir William Hamilton saw, must 
 have been 1,700 years old at the least. Fosbroke, 
 in his "Encyclopaedia of Antiquities'" (p. 397), 
 says, "The water-closet in the Palace of the 
 Caesars is adorned with marble arabesques and 
 mosaics ; at the back of one is a cistern, the 
 water of which is distributed by cocks to different 
 
 * In writing of the discoveries made by antiquarians in Pompeii, 
 Fosbroke says, in his "Encyclopaedia of Antiquities" (p. 78), 
 " The kitchen is descended by stairs, on the left hand of which 
 is an arched stone di-esser, used as the hearth for cooking. On 
 the right hand is a vaulted recess frr a privy, three feet deep, 
 formerly provided with a door and seat, an ancient appendage to 
 a kitchen, still retained in modern Italy." 
 t " Archaeologia, " vol, iv,, p. 168.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 1S7 
 
 seats." Olympiodorus says that in the ThcrmLu 
 of Antoninus (which were baths and gymnasium 
 combined) there were 1,600 seats of marble 
 pierced Hke cJiaiscs-pcrcccs for the convenience 
 of those who bathed.* The fall of the Roman 
 Empire led to the disuse of w<7^'^r-closets, and to 
 a return to the customs of earher ages. 
 
 Beckman says that in Paris, so late as the four- Disposal of 
 
 ^ Slops in 
 
 teenth century, the people had the liberty of throw- P-'^ris 
 ing anything from their windows whenev^er they 
 chose, provided they gave notice three times before 
 by crying out, " Gave Fcau ! " This practice was, 
 we learn, forbidden in 1395.! A like practice 
 seems to have continued much later in Edin- 
 burHi ; for in A.D. i7^o, when people went out ^nd 
 
 ^ ' ' ^ ' ^ ^ Edinburgh. 
 
 into the streets at night, it was necessary, in order 
 to avoid disagreeable accidents from the windows, 
 that they should take with them a guide, who, 
 as he went along, called out with a loud voice, 
 " Haud your han ! " This must have been a good 
 time for hatters and tailors. At that period, 
 when the luxury of water-closets was unknown, 
 it was the custom for men to perambulate the 
 streets of Edinburgh, carrying conveniences (pails) 
 suspended from a yoke on their shoulders, and 
 enveloped by cloaks sufficiently large to cover both 
 their apparatus and customers, crying, " Wha wants 
 me for a bawbee t " J It has since been used 
 
 * Fosbroke's *' Encyclop.-cdia of Antiquities," p. d"]. 
 t PJecknian's "Inventions," vol. i., pp. 277-281 (1846). 
 X " Letters from Scotland " (1760).
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 Paris 
 Laws. 
 
 Spain. 
 
 Privies in 
 Germany. 
 
 against the Edinburgh people as a joke or satire 
 upon an ancient custom. By way of set-off, how- 
 ever, it may be observed, that in 1846 almost 
 every house in Edinburgh had a water-closet. 
 
 In a Parisian code of laws, which was improved 
 in 15 13, it was expressly ordered that every house 
 should have a privy ; but in the year 1700 they 
 had not this " luxury " in every house, for at 
 that time, only 180 years ago, the police had in- 
 structions to see that each house had a privy, or 
 to lock the house up if the occupants did not 
 make one within a month. 
 
 If we turn to Spain, matters were worse, for 
 we are told that " the residence of the King of 
 Spain was destitute of this improvement, at the 
 very time that the English circumnavigators found 
 privies constructed, in the European manner, near 
 the habitations of the cannibals of New Zea- 
 land." * 
 
 Privies seem to have been common in the large 
 and flourishing towns of Germany much earlier 
 than in Paris. In the annals of Frankfort-on-the- 
 Maine, we are told that an order was issued, in 
 1496, by the Council, forbidding the proprietors 
 of houses, situated in a certain place planted with 
 trees, to erect privies towards the side where the 
 trees were growing In 1498, George Pfefifer von 
 Hell, I.U.D., Chancellor of the Electorate at 
 Mentz, fell by accident into a privy, and there 
 
 * Foot-note, "Cook's first Voyage," vol. ii., p. 281.
 
 Sauiiary FliDiibing. 189 
 
 perished — a privy chancellor ! A writer, "^ speak- 
 ing of Berlin in 1846, does not say much in favour 
 of the sanitary arrangements there at that time — 
 thirty-five years ago. He says, " In most of the 
 houses small closets are located on the landings of 
 the stairs, which require to be emptied every other 
 night to the no great satisfaction of the olfiictory 
 nerves. Nor are the streets kept in a very proper 
 state, large puddles of filth being allowed to 
 collect before the doors even of the best houses, 
 and which, especially in the hot summer months, 
 diffuse a most horrible stench." 
 
 But let us return to our own country. Stow English 
 
 Water- 
 tells that, " In 1290, the monks of White Friars closets 
 
 complained to the King and Parliament, that the 
 putrid exJialatioiis arising from the Fleet river 
 were so powerful as to overcome all the frankin- 
 cense burnt at their altars during divine service, 
 and even occasioned the deaths of many brethren. 
 Many attempts were made to cleanse this river 
 and restore it to its ancient condition of utility as 
 a navigable stream ; but they proved unavailing, 
 and the stream which formerly conducted vessels 
 with merchandise as far as Fleet Bridge and Old 
 Bourne (now Holborn) Bridge, if not farther, 
 became, in the language of Pope, 
 
 * The king of dyk^s ! than whom no sluice of mud 
 With deeper sable blots the silver flood.' " 
 
 Sir John Harrington is credited by Nares with 
 
 * Beckman's ''Inventions," vol. i., pp. 277-2S1. Foot-note 
 (1S46.
 
 190 The Science and Art of 
 
 the invention of the English water-closet, or 
 latrine, in Queen Elizabeth's time ; but Fosbroke 
 says that this is a mistake, though probably Sir 
 John made them known in England. Portable 
 close-stools "^ were used in the reign of Queen 
 Elizabeth, and placed in garrets, and were called 
 *'ajaxes." -|- 
 
 Aubrey, writing in 171 8, describes a water- 
 closet he had seen. He says, '* Here [at Sir 
 Francis Carew's, Beddington, Surrey] I saw a 
 pretty machine to cleanse an ' House of Office,' 
 viz., by a small j stream of water no bigger than 
 one's finger, which ran into an engine made like 
 a bit of a fire-shovel, which hung upon its centre 
 of gravity, so that when it was full a considerable 
 quantity of water fell down with some force and 
 washed away the filth." + 
 An old I have been looking through a very interesting 
 
 Plumbing, old book, entitled " The London Art of Building," 
 published in 1734 — 147 years ago — and though 
 ** the Plumber " occupies a place of honour in the 
 book, and a schedule of plumber's work is given, 
 there is nothing in the whole book to warrant one 
 in supposing that traps were used in those days.§ 
 
 * The regal one was made of silver. 
 
 t "American Mechanical Dictionary," vol. iii., p. 2763. 
 
 X Aubrey's " Surrey," vol. ii., p. 160. 
 
 § Campbell in his book, " A Compendious View of all Trades 
 practised in the Cities of London and Westminster," published 
 thirteen years after this (in 1747), in speaking of the plumber's 
 duties, does not say a word about traps, soil-pipes, or water-closets, 
 except that the plumber must lay on water to the " Office Houses." 
 Under the head of "Plumbers' Business," he says— "He must
 
 solitary Piumbifig. 191 
 
 Nor is there the smallest reference to water-closets 
 in the "plumber" or "joiner" — for making the 
 seats, or *' mason " — for shaping the closet pan 
 just referred to ; but many references are made to 
 the drainage of a house. I have culled a few 
 extracts, and will leave you to determine whether 
 there is enough in them to warrant one in sa}'ing 
 that soil-pipes or water-closet wastes were fixed in 
 those days — I mean soil-pipes from water-closets 
 .fixed " upstairs." There can be no doubt about 
 water-closets being at that time fixed in yards, 
 and places where they could be connected with 
 the drain direct. Here is one of the Rules: — 
 
 " That convenient Drains, to carry away Soil, &:c., be well con- 
 trived, and secretly placed, with Vents to discharge the noisome 
 Vapours that usually arise from them." * 
 
 " Conduits. Sewers or Gutters to convey away the Suillage of 
 a House." 
 
 ^' Sezvers, in Architecture, are Conduits, or Conveyances, for the 
 Soilage and Filth of a House." f 
 
 " That convenient Cisterns be well placed, plentifully to furnish 
 every Ofiice with Water ; and that proper Machines be made to 
 raise the same therein." 
 
 Under the heading, "of Plumber's Work," I 
 have extracted two or three items, together with 
 some of the scheduled prices, which will make 
 some sigh for those good old times : — 
 
 ''Flats, [Roofs, Guttering, 7 to 10 lb. lead to the foot super- 
 ficial." _ 
 
 furnish us with a cistern for water, he must fix a sink with lead, he 
 covers a house with lead when it requires it, and makes gutters to 
 carry off the rain-water, he makes pipes to convey water into our 
 kitchens and Office Houses." 
 
 * " The London Art of Building " (i734). 
 
 + ''Ibid.
 
 192 Tlie Science and Art of 
 
 "Lead Rain-water Pipes, Rain-water Cisterns, Battened 
 
 Cisterns." 
 
 " Lead pumps," Water pipes from \ to 7-ins. Bore." 
 
 "Brass cocks and bosses up to 3-ins.," "Stop-cocks" and 
 
 Ball-cocks," &c. &c. 
 
 As to some of the prices — established prices — 
 charged by the London plumber of that day : — 
 
 " Sheet-lead, either cast or milled, i8s. per cwt." 
 
 " Lead Rain-water pipes, R-w-cisterns, batten'd cisterns. Lead 
 pumps, — including soder* and labour, f at 22s. per cwt." 
 
 "All Water Pipes from | to 7 inches Bore (labour and soder), 
 20s. per cwt." 
 
 "Brass cocks \\ to 3-ins. at is. 3d. per lb." 
 
 And though the price of ^' soder " is set down 
 at 8d. the pound, the prices of the joints were 
 charged as follows, viz. : — 
 
 " Soldering a joint on a water-pipe f-in. Bore, 2s. 6d." 
 
 , i-m. ,, 
 
 3s. 
 
 , l^-ins. ,, 
 
 3s. 6d." 
 
 , 2-ins. ,, 
 
 4s. 6d." 
 
 3-ins. „ 
 
 7s." 
 
 , 4-ins. ,, 
 
 lOS." 
 
 5-ins. „ 
 
 I2S. 6d. 
 
 , 6-ins. ,, 
 
 i6s." 
 
 ,, 7-ins. ,, 
 
 21S." 
 
 At the end of the schedule of prices "of 
 Plumber's Work," occur special notices which are 
 amusing : — 
 
 " N.B. — That there are some Men of this, as well as of all other 
 Professions, that will sell for less Profit than others the following 
 advertisement is a Proof. " 
 
 * Spelled " soder." 
 
 t Though the rate of plumber's wages is not given in this book, 
 R. Campbell, Esq., writing a {q.\\ years after this time, in 1 747, 
 says — "A journeyman (plumber) eai-ns from 15s. to a guinea per 
 week, working from. 6 to 6." The rate of plumber's wages, in 
 London, now (1881) is lod. per hour.
 
 Sanitary Flumbin^. 
 
 193 
 
 " Whereas it has been the practice of many Plumbers to charge 
 an extravagant Price for Leaden Pipes (to the great Discourage- 
 ment of Gentlemen), they not being satisfied under Thirty per Cent. 
 Profit, to prevent which Imposition for the Future, John Heysham, 
 Plumber in Eton, near Windsor, makes and sells Leaden Pipes of 
 all sizes." 
 
 and then the prices for such pipes follow. But this 
 is going away from my subject. 
 
 Fie. 80. 
 
 As far as I can make out, Fig. 80 represents the Marble 
 best form of water-closet used in England about a closets, 
 century or a century and a half ago. These water- 
 closets were made of 
 marble — A the pan ; B the 
 waste-plug ; c the ser- 
 vice-pipe ; D the over- 
 flow. We have one (an 
 old one) in our ware- 
 house to-day. In ex- 
 amining the sanitary arrangements of Osterley 
 House, a year or two ago, I found two such water- 
 closets. A niche in a fair-sized room was formed 
 to receive the marble closet pan, and a door, shut- 
 ting up close to the seat, hid the whole arrange- 
 ment from sight. A lead soil-pipe was connected 
 with the outlet plug-waste of the pan, and con- 
 tinued from it to the drain, which was brought 
 into the house to receive it. The soil-pipes had no 
 ventilation. 
 
 Patents of privilege, or monopoly, have been 
 granted for several hundred years. The annals of 
 some in very many instances have gone into
 
 194 The Science a? id Art of 
 
 oblivion. No. I, standing first in supplementary 
 numerical order, was a patent of privilege, or 
 monopoly for 31 years, granted to Simon Stur- 
 tevant, on the 29th of Feb., A.D. 161 1, "for 
 * Metallica,' a treatise to neaky melt, and work all 
 kinds of metal ores, irons, and steeles, with sea 
 coale, pit coale, earth coale, and brush fewell." 
 
 The first patent in this country under Laws of 
 Patents for Inventions, as far as I can glean, was 
 granted by James I. in 161 7; but according to 
 the Records of the Patent Ofiice, not a single 
 patent was taken out for a water-closet until the 
 year 1775, or 158 years after special licenses were 
 granted for protecting inventions. The presump- 
 tion is, therefore, that no water-closet other than 
 that of a simple nature (as Fig. 80) had been in 
 use up to this date, 1775. But the specification 
 of the first patented water-closet clearly establishes 
 the fact that water-closets were in use at that 
 time, for the inventor calls his invention a 
 " Water-closet upon a New Construction ; '^ and 
 the drawing annexed to the specification clearly 
 proves that soil-pipes at that time w^ere well 
 known, and that water-closets were fixed " up- 
 stairs," i.e., in various parts of the house. 
 
 Cumming's In the year 1775 Alexander Gumming, a 
 
 Water- 
 closet, watchmaker in Bond Street, took out the first 
 
 patent for a water-closet — and many closets in use 
 
 to-day are more unsanitary than this one. Fig. 81 
 
 is a faithful representation of the drawing annexed
 
 Sani/ar] 
 
 Plumbing. 
 
 '95 
 
 to the Inventor's specification. The water Is brought 
 Into the basin, very low down, at E, and is kept in 
 the basin by what the patentee calls the " slider " 
 e. The details are all carefully engraved and 
 explain themselves. I will give two or three 
 extracts from Cumming's specification, as it will 
 
 show us that traps were used under closets at this 
 period, and that they were offensive ; also that soil- 
 pipes were fixed without ventilation, and that such 
 pipes emptied themselves into drains, and the 
 drains into cesspools : — 
 
 " The advantages of the said water-closet depend upon the shape 
 of the pan or bason, the manner of admitting water into it, and on 
 having the stink trap so constructed that its contents shall, or may, 
 be totally emptied every time the closet is used "
 
 196 The Science and Art of 
 
 " The stink-trap hitherto used for water-closets is too well known 
 to require a description here ; and although it may serve effectually 
 to cut off all communication of smell from the drains, pipe, and 
 cesspool, it becomes in itself a magazine of foetid matter, which 
 emits an offensive smell every time that it is disturbed by using the 
 water-closet.* In this water-closet, the pipe which carries off the 
 soil and water is recurved about twelve or eighteen inches below the 
 pan or bason, so as constantly to retain a quantity of water sufficient 
 to cut off all communication of smell from below, and this stagnated 
 water in the recurved part of the pipe is totally emptied, and 
 succeeded by fresh every time the pan or bason is emptied." 
 
 As shown in the illustration,, the trap under 
 Cumming's closet is a 7'oimd-pipe, or syphon-trap. f 
 And as he includes it in his patent I take it that 
 this was the first time it was used in England 
 (1775). But it does not follow that syphon-traps 
 had not been used before ; for the ancients knew 
 the working of syphons, and may have used syphon- 
 traps. 
 
 " Syphons " are shown in Egyptian tombs of 
 the date of 1450 B.C. The syphon was a favourite 
 contrivance with Hero of Alexandria (150 B.C.) in 
 his various toys and automata, of which the Cup 
 of Tantalus is a favourite instance.^ 
 
 '■ If the trap referred to here, by Cummings, as the ** stink-trap 
 hitherto used," is the D-trap, its character was as bad then (1775) ^^ 
 it is to-day, for he goes on to say that "it becomes in itself a 
 magazme of foetid matter, which emits an offensive smell every titne 
 that it is disturbed by using the luater-closet.''^ 
 
 t With regard to syphon-traps stopping up, my foreman fixed 
 some 4-in. (or 4|-in.) cast-lead syphon-traps thirty years ago, and 
 he went and examined them the other day, and they are still in 
 perfect working order. These traps were made from sand-cores, and 
 moulds, made by Chalklen, brass founder, the inventor of the iron- 
 frame for Bramah's closet. Bonham, his nephew, succeeded to his 
 business. 
 
 X Knight's "American Mechanical Dictionary," vol. iii., p. 
 2i8q.
 
 Sanitary Flunibing, 
 
 197 
 
 About two years later {i.e., in 1777) Samuel Prosser's 
 Prosser, a plumber living in the parish of Saint closet" 
 Martin-in-the-Fields, took out a patent for what 
 he describes in his specification as "A Water- 
 closet upon an entirely New Construction, which 
 will always remain free from any Offensive Smell." 
 A very desirable closet for everybody to have 
 to-day if such were the 
 case. But I should say 
 it was about as bad as the 
 pan-closet, i.e., a water- 
 closet which would never 
 " be free " from an " of- 
 fensive smell." Fig. 82 
 shows this closet, as 
 copied from the drawing 
 annexed to the inventor's 
 specification. Two pages suffice to include his 
 specification, preamble, claims, and license. It will 
 be seen by the woodcut that excremental matter 
 has free access to places where it could never get 
 properly cleansed. 
 
 In 1778, Joseph Bramah, of Cross Court, Bramah'i 
 
 Water- 
 
 Carnaby Market, Middlesex, cabinet-maker, took closet, 
 out a patent for his invention of the now well-known 
 valve-closet.^ I give an illustration of this water- 
 
 * Bramah's closet has been much improved upon by the various 
 makers of the valve-closets of to-day, and though each and all may 
 follow Bramah in the principles of his water-closet, there is hardly a 
 bit of " Bramah " left in the valve-closet now made. I have had my 
 share in its improvements, which others have not been slow to copy. 
 
 Fig. 82. 
 Prosser's Water-closet.
 
 I9B 
 
 The Sciejice and Art of 
 
 closet in Fig. Z^, as taken from the drawing 
 attached to the inventor's specification. 
 
 As you will see, by looking at the woodcut, the 
 shape of the basin is very similar to Alexander 
 Cumming's closet, referred to just now. The great 
 advantage of Bramah's closet over Cumming's is 
 that the former is made with a valve which seats 
 itself against the bottom of the basin by a cranking 
 arrangement, whereas the latter slides under the 
 
 Fig. 83. — Bramah's closet. 
 
 bottom ol the basin, as shown at e, Fig. 81. In 
 his specification, Bramah says, " The valve is placed 
 under the bottom of the basin, and when closed 
 retains any water that may be therein, thus cutting 
 off all smell." If Mr. Bramah were with us to- 
 night — and I dare say he would not object if Ave 
 only had Mr. Home's professed power of bringing 
 him — he would be able to tell us some very inte- 
 resting things in connection with the introduction of 
 water-closets inside the houses of this country about 
 a century ago. And we should be able to tell him
 
 Sanitary Phunbing. 199 
 
 that though Jic, by his invention of the " Bramah " 
 closet, tried to shut offensive smells out of closets, 
 many inventors since, as well as many manu- 
 facturers of to-day, have tried their utmost, and suc- 
 ceeded well, too, in making closets which not only 
 did not attempt to shut out any bad smells (for they 
 had no " protecting " valve on their '' outlets,") but 
 which had large " containers " for generating and 
 holding bad smells. And as he would, no doubt, 
 want ocular proof of the insanity of such manu- 
 facturers making such an unsanitary fitting, I would 
 show him this old pan-closet,^ except that I should 
 be afraid of losing him ; for a man whose olfactory 
 nerves were so sensitive that he could not endure a 
 water-closet which allowed bad smells to come 
 occasionally from it, would instantly disappear at the 
 sight of this closet, which ahvays sent out bad 
 smells. 
 
 In Bramah's day, according to the wording of 
 his specification, they were looking to water-closets 
 to "shut out bad smells," whereas the foremost men 
 of to-day are looking for closets to be self -cleansing ^ 
 and to the drainage to be zvJwlesonie. 
 
 The difficulty in getting the " slider " {e, Fig. 
 81) of Cumming's closet, and the cranked metal- 
 valve of Bramah's, to always seat themselves, so as 
 to keep the basin always charged with water, and 
 to stand rough usage, led to the introduction of the 
 pan-closet. 
 
 * An old pan-closet, with all iti dried excrement and corrosion 
 upon it, was placed on the table for inspection.
 
 The Science a fid Art of 
 
 Law's Pan 
 Closets. 
 
 Will 
 
 lam 
 
 Law, a founder in Soho, made certain 
 
 Pan-closet 
 extensively 
 used. 
 
 improvements in pan-closets in 1796. But the 
 pan-closet was not much used, though other im- 
 provements were made in it before the early part 
 of this century. In 1826 William Downe, senr., of 
 Exeter, also a founder, made further improvements 
 in the pan-closet, " reducing the size of the con- 
 tainer'^' etc. You see they gave this excrement- 
 holder the right name, for it is not simply a receiver, 
 it is a " container " too. The fact is, that when any 
 foul matter is sent into the " container," it retains a 
 part of it, which soon corrodes upon its sides, though 
 it allows the larger part to pass freely away. You 
 know the story of the lawyer. He had swallowed 
 half-a-sovereign by mistake, but though his medical 
 man used the pump very vigorously, all that he 
 could pump up again was three shillings and four 
 pence — the lawyer had assimilated the remainder, 
 the six shillings and eightpence. 
 
 One reason why the pan-closet has had a larger 
 sale, and been more extensively used than any 
 other closet, is that there are no valves about it — 
 apart from its supply — to get out of order. It will 
 also stand rougher usage, when well made, than 
 any other closet oi that kind having water in 
 its pan for receiving the discharge sinto it. But 
 it is the most unsanitary water-closet that I 
 know of, and ought never to be used."^ I am 
 
 * Mr. Rogers Field stated, at the close of the lecture, that the 
 use of the pan- closet was forbidden by the Local Government 
 Board.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 201 
 
 free to condemn this closet, for though nearly every 
 water-closet maker makes them, it belongs to 
 nobody in particular. We have every appliance 
 and pattern for making pan-closets, and we have 
 made thousands in our factory, and are making 
 some at this very moment for one special job, 
 for people will have them, but I never allow one to 
 be made if I can help if^ We porcelain-enamelled 
 the " container " part years ago, and have made 
 that part in white ware, but no matter what the 
 material is, it cannot be made a wholesome closet. 
 The amount of dried excrement and corroded 
 matter which can be cleaned out of an old pan- 
 closet is about 2 lbs. ; of course this varies, and may 
 be much more or a little less. The exposed surface 
 part of a pan-closet — leaving out the inner-side of 
 its basin — which can, and which in use does, get 
 foul is equal to about 5 ft., superficial measurement. 
 Now if you set this against 10 or 12-in.t in a valve- 
 closet you will see the evil of such a closet ; and 
 you have this fact in addition — namely, while this 
 10 or 12-in. of exposed surface in the valve- 
 closet is easily washed, the 5 sup. feet in the pan- 
 closet cannot be washed, for no water can be sent 
 over its sides — N, Fig. 84, top, outer-side of the 
 
 * As I have been criticised for making pan-closets at all, it is 
 only fair to say that not only do we not offer them for sale, we 
 strongly condemn their use when ordered, and only make them 
 under very special circumstances. I condemned this closet as 
 strongly as I could in my book, ''The Plumber and Sanitary 
 Houses," years ago. 
 
 t The inner surface of the " valve-box," or " conductor " of my 
 valve-closet, F, Fig;. 89. is only 9-in. ?up.
 
 TJie Science and A it of 
 
 copper pan, o, and outer-side of the basin, dipping 
 into the pan — with any cleansing force to cleanse it. 
 And yet thousands of these unsanitary closets are 
 fixed every year. I saw a large van-load of them 
 going along Farringdon Road only a few weeks 
 ago. 
 
 Section of a I'an-closet. 
 
 Other 
 Closets 
 Unsani- 
 tary. 
 
 But there are other closets besides pan-closets 
 which are totally unfit for their work, but we have 
 no time to examine them, for their name is legion 
 I will, therefore, simply say — before passing on to 
 consider the valve-closet further — that no water- 
 closet should be fixed which will not allow a flush 
 of water, of two or three gallons, to cleanse every 
 part of it which can be soiled by usage. A flower- 
 pot, with its bottom knocked out, placed over a self-
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 203 
 
 cleansing trap, fixed upon a well-ventilated soil- 
 pipe, would made a much more wholesome water- 
 closet than many closets now in use. The less ex- 
 posed surface there is in a closet and its trap, the 
 easier they can be cleansed ; and unless such places 
 
 ^^^c^^^^^^^^x^\^Vv\vN^is^^yssx^^^:^\x^^^ 
 
 Fig- 85-- Section of a Valve-closet. 
 
 are tJioroughly cleansed every time they are used, 
 they must become unwholesome, and therefore 
 sources of danorer. 
 
 Valve-Cluskts. — Where cost is not a con- VaUe 
 sideration, and in places where frost would not be
 
 204 
 
 Tlie Scence and Aj't of 
 
 Valve-box 
 Ventilated. 
 
 likely to freeze the water standing in the basin, I 
 consider a valve-closet the best water-closet to 
 fix, especially when it is perfect in all its details. 
 But good wholesome water-closets can now be 
 fixed at a very small cost — closets suited to their 
 purpose. 
 
 The ventilation of the "valve-box" of a valve- 
 closet is of greater importance than will be allowed 
 
 Fig. 86. — View of a Valve-closet, with Vent-pipe. 
 
 by many, and as the cost of this would rarely 
 exceed fifteen shillings (including the cost of the 
 vent-arm — i|-in. or 2-in. pipe, K, — to go through 
 wall to the open air, cutting hole through wall and 
 making good), it should always be done. In 
 writing of the value of this air-vent, in the enlarged 
 edition of my book, " The Plum.ber and Sanitary 
 Houses," I said, " The ventilating pipe from the
 
 Sanitary Plumbing 
 
 20: 
 
 'conductor' or 'valve-box' of a valve-closet is of 
 great importance, (a) It allows the overflowing 
 water of the basin to pass freely through the over- 
 flow-trap and the closet trap, as it gives the valve- 
 box air. (b) It prevents the overflow-trap, D, 
 Fig. 85, from being unsyphoned. (c) It provides 
 an escape for * noxious gases' which may be thrown 
 off by an offensive stool left unwashed out of the 
 closet trap,^ or which may have worked their way 
 through the water-seal of the trap through the 
 imperfect ventilation of the soil-pipe." . . . "To 
 abolish the overflow-trap . . and to fix a separated 
 overflow-pipe, unless it 
 is done with great care, 
 may prove a remedy 
 worse than the disease." t 
 The closet would often be 
 used without discharging 
 its contents, and the 
 Hquid excrement would 
 flow down the overflow- 
 pipe and pollute it, and 
 
 then, if it required a long length of piping to 
 convey it away to a proper place of disposal, the pipe 
 would want trapping, ventilating, and periodical 
 flushing to keep it wholesome. There would also 
 be danger from frost with such an arrangement, 
 
 * By a careless pull of the closet-handle. — In testing closet 
 traps (see Table, Xo. i, p. 160) we saw that it required several 
 flushes to free certain traps of foreign matters sent into them. 
 
 t I had this done as far back as 1870, but it is only rarely that 
 circumstances will fairly admit of such practice. 
 
 Fig. 87. — Valve-closet, Over- 
 flow separate. 
 
 Overflow 
 separated.
 
 206 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 Overflow 
 improved. 
 
 Overflow- 
 trap im- 
 syphoned. 
 
 for the overflowing water would dribble through 
 the overflow-pipe in a manner to freeze up the 
 pipe in frosty weather. Fig. 87 shows my valve- 
 closet with its overflow separate from the valve- 
 box. The mouth of the overflow-arm, A, is kept 
 well down under the water line, as shown at B, to 
 prevent the cold air blowing through the overflow- 
 pipe. 
 
 I have made some further improvements in 
 my valve-closets — which I consider of importance. 
 Servants will empty their slop-pails into water- 
 closets, especially when there are no slop-sinks, 
 and when this is done in a valve-closet, the basin 
 is often filled up to the brim. In discharging a 
 closet-basin so filled, the matter not only fills the 
 ''conductor," C, Fig. 85, but it flows and 
 splashes right into the overflow-trap D, 
 and fouls it ; and then, rushing out of 
 the conductor and through the closet 
 trap, it tinsypJions the overfiow-trap (d). 
 I have tested this a great many times, 
 and rarely failed to unsyphon the over- 
 flow-trap, with no ventilation of the 
 conductor. With the conductor venti- 
 lated, the overflow-trap is safe enough 
 from syphonage. Now if a trap with 
 ij-in. or 2-in, seal is easily unsyphoned, 
 how much more easily must the overflow-trap of 
 the general valve-closet be } The trap shown in 
 Fig. ZZ, for instance, and scores of valve-closets 
 are made with even less seal than shown there. 
 
 Fig. 88. 
 
 Overflow- 
 trap, ineffi- 
 cient seal.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 207 
 
 I have seen many with only -J-in seal, and some 
 with no seal at all. But though the ventilation 
 of the valve-box prevents the unsyphoning of 
 the overflow-trap, it does not prevent matter 
 flowing into it. In Fig. 89 I show the over- 
 flow-trap, c, discharging into the vent-arm of overflow 
 tJie conductor F, — which is specially lengthened JJiS.^^^*' 
 
 Fig. 89. — Section of Valve-closet, with Overflow-trap emptying 
 into Vent-arm. 
 
 to receive it ; this keeps the outlet of the over- 
 flow-trap well above the valve-box, and being 
 connected with the air-pipe, E, from the conductor 
 it cannot be unsyphoned, while, at the same time, 
 no foreign matter can wash up into it. To ensure 
 this trap being charged every time the servace- 
 valve is opened, a water-channel is formed between 
 the inlet-arm of the basin and the overflow-arm ; 
 or, in other words, a feed-pipe is formed in the
 
 2o8 The Science and Art of 
 
 basin itself, for conducting a stream of water direct 
 from the inlet-arm of the basin into the overflow- 
 trap. This small stream of water not only charges 
 the overflow-trap, but it washes out any matter 
 which, in a discharge of a full closet basin, might 
 get splashed up into the vent-pipe of the conductor. 
 Variety of It would occupy sevcral evening's to put before 
 
 Closets. ^•' ^ ° ^ 
 
 you the merits and demerits of the great variety of 
 water-closets now in use ; but I do not intend to 
 point to any man's make, nor to bring my own 
 before your notice, for when self-interest comes 
 between a man's eye and any object, it interferes 
 with its true proportions. It is like a piece of bad 
 glass in a window, through which he looks at the 
 outside prospect ; everything is marred and dis- 
 torted by it. Let me give you an illustration. I 
 was looking through a window the other day, on 
 to the new building now being erected in the 
 Inner Temple, and I said to myself, " What 
 crooked scaffold poles ! " In fact the flaw in the 
 pane of glass through which I was looking formed 
 a piece of one of the horizontal poles into a 
 syphon trap. I thought I must be getting traps 
 on the brain ; but there was no doubt about the 
 effect of the bad glass upon the object, for on 
 coming outside I found the pole to be as straight 
 as a gun-barrel. What I ask for is that no water- 
 closet shall be fixed which will not allow itself to 
 be thoroughly cleansed, and its traps well washed 
 out every time it is used, and that too by one 
 pull of the closet-handle.
 
 Sanitary Plumbitig. 209 
 
 Having said so much on water-closets, and in 
 an earlier lecture laid down the principle on which 
 traps for fixing under them should be made, I now 
 come to the question of soil-pipes from them, for 
 we have already considered the necessity of having 
 traps under all sanitary fittings. (See Fig. 93, 
 Plate VII., showing traps fixed for receiving 
 valve-closets). To give plenty of room for clothes 
 the centre of the dip or inlet of the trap should be 
 kept i6-ins. at least from the face of the back 
 wall. (See Fig. 89, showing wide margin at back 
 of hole in closet seat for clothes.) 
 
 SoiL-PlPES. — I will divide this subject into Soil-pipes, 
 five heads, namely, i, INIaterials — their sanitari- 
 ness and durability ; 2, Sizes ; 3, Positions — shall 
 they be outside or inside t 4, Disconnection from 
 drains and their ventilation ; 5, Tacks for securing 
 lead soil-pipes in their positions. 
 
 I. Of what material should soil-pipe be made .-* Material. 
 This may seem a curious question to ask of 
 plumbers — as well ask a shoemaker of what 
 material should boots and shoes be made ! 
 Everybody knows that the latter would say 
 " There's nothing like leather," as the former 
 is sure to say ** There's nothing like lead.-" 
 But I want to look at this question from a 
 higher platform than trade interest. What is 
 the best material — when you have skilled labour 
 at command, and taking everything into considera- 
 tion — for soil-pipe and '* dirty-water " waste-pipes ? 
 o
 
 2IO The Science and Art of 
 
 Lead. Allowing experience to be my schoolmaster, I 
 
 answer lead — especially for our climate. 
 
 ^.inc. I will not insult practical plumbers by com- 
 
 paring such perishable material as zinc with lead — 
 though zinc "^ soil-pipe is sometimes used in what 
 are called "jerry-buildings." 
 
 Earthen- Nor will I wastc words in comparing lead soil-pipe 
 
 with earthenware or stone-ware pipes, for though 
 the latter may be more durable, the soundness of 
 its jointings could not be relied upon for an hour. 
 And then there would be the difficulty of making 
 sound connections with the w.c. branches or water- 
 closets themselves ; and though the pipe itself 
 might be somewhat cleaner than lead, the sockets 
 would form ledges for filth to accumulate upon. 
 The bulkiness of the pipe, with its huge sockets, 
 precludes it from being fixed outside a house ; 
 and to fix such pipes as stoneware inside, or in a 
 chase in the wall of a house for soil-pipes, ought 
 to render a man actionable at law. 
 
 Cast-iron. The only material that comes into fair compe- 
 
 tition with lead for soil-pipe and waste-pipe is 
 cast-iron, and I give lead the preference, because 
 it is more durable, more compact, and more 
 wholesome. I do not say lead because of any 
 fear that if cast-iron soil-pipe got into general 
 use it would injure the trade ; for if the plumber 
 can fix lead soil-pipe, which requires the greater 
 skill — on account of its ^* purpose-made " bends, 
 
 * Professor Corfield, at the close of the last lecture, said he 
 had an old zinc w.c. D-trap, in the Parker Museum.
 
 Safiitary J^iumai/ii:^. 
 
 21 I 
 
 and wiped soldered joints — be can certainly fix 
 cast-iron soil-pipe which requires the lesser skill ; 
 for the bends and socket-branches in the latter 
 case would be cast for him and ready to hand ; 
 and as for the jointings, he would have no diffi- 
 culty whatever in making them, whether (as in 
 the case of light iron pipe) they were made with 
 spun-yarn and red lead, or in "cement," as shown 
 in Fig. 90, or whether the joints were caulked 
 
 Fig. 90. — Section of defective 
 jointing. 
 
 Fig. 91. — Section of a 
 i 1^ caulked lead joint. 
 
 with lead, as shov/n in Fig. 91, as they most cer- 
 tainly should be, when the strength of the iron 
 pipe would admit of it. No cast-iron soil or 
 waste-pipe should be fixed inside a house that 
 would not allow the joints to be made of lead and 
 well caulked, for no dependence can be placed in 
 cement joints ; the cement soon perishes or breaks 
 away from the piping, and makes an opening for 
 the soil-pipe air to escape through, as shown by 
 the arrows at A, Fig. 90. 
 
 Cast-iron soil-pipe not only deteriorates from 
 within by the corrosive action of urine upon it, 
 o 2
 
 212 The Science and Art of 
 
 &c., but it also deteriorates from without, by the 
 action of the atmosphere upon it — and this takes 
 place whether it be inside or outside a house. 
 We talk sometimes about the short life of a candle 
 when it is burnt at both ends : well, here is a 
 material which in use gets eaten away on both 
 sides — inside and out. 
 
 Cast-iron soil-pipe, therefore, cannot be so dura- 
 ble as lead which^ practically, is only acted upon on 
 one side — in soil and w^aste-pipes, viz., the inside — 
 and that to a much less extent than cast-iron pipe. 
 What the atmospheric action upon cast-iron pipes 
 is, let the London painter say. If iron pipe is 
 painted periodically, it may be made to last a 
 long time, but this involves a constant outlay of 
 money, and if not an uplifting of voices, it does 
 of ladders. But when such pipes are painted the 
 back part of them is only partially protected with 
 paint, for the painter's tool cannot reach round 
 the pipe. The action of rust is not always ar- 
 rested by painting an iron pipe, and this goes on 
 underneath the coating of paint like many other 
 evil things under the coatings of cloth."^ 
 Lead Soil- If two stacks of soil-pipc w^cre fixed side by 
 
 side on one of our London houses, one of lead 
 and one of cast-iron (and wrought-iron would be 
 worse), the iron pipe would decay and rust away 
 before the eating-tooth of time had made any 
 great impression upon the lead pipe. Lead rain- 
 
 * If cast-iron soil-pipes and waste-pipes are to be used, they 
 should be protected by the Bower-Barff rustless process. 
 
 pipes.
 
 Sanitary Phcmbitig. 213 
 
 water pipes and heads can be seen by the dozen 
 on many old mansions about the country to-day, 
 though fixed centuries ago. 
 
 These lead pipes are more wJiolesonie than iron, 
 for the corrosion being greater on iron than on 
 lead, the accumulation of filth upon them is 
 greater too. In lead pipes, where there is good 
 flushing, the corrosion is very little — except urinal 
 wastes. A film forms itself upon the sides, but 
 the friction upon it of a good scouring flush of 
 water causes this film to fall off, and a lead pipe 
 may be fixed for years without getting m.ore than 
 a slight thickness of corrosion upon it. It is also 
 cleaner at the jointings (see Fig. 90, and compare 
 it with Fig. 2). 
 
 Where plumbers are not skilled in pipe-bending Unskilled 
 
 , . . . . . , , , r 1 1 Labour 
 
 and jomt-wipmg, it would be preferable to use cast- and Cast- 
 iron soil-pipe. Cast-iron has this advantage over pipes. 
 lead that a carpenter cannot drive a nail, brad- 
 hole, or gimlet into it, and when a soil-pipe is 
 fixed inside a house it is worth something to the 
 occupant to know that. Then, again, when the 
 waste-pipes from baths and sinks are taken into 
 a soil-pipe as in the United States, it is better 
 to have cast-iron, for the action of hot water 
 upon thin lead soil-pipe is very injurious — unless 
 slip-joints are used to allow for expansion and 
 contraction, but, of course, it would not do to fix 
 soil-pipes, or waste-pipes, inside a house with slip- 
 joints. 
 
 Lead soil-pipe is more compact than iron, and
 
 214 1^^^ Science and Ai't of 
 
 it has this advantage also in that it can be bent 
 on the spot to suit circumstances. Astragals, and 
 ornamental lead tacks, can be soldered to it in a 
 way which shall help the general appearance of a 
 building rather than mar it. 
 
 ^ize. 2. The Size of Soil-Pipes. — About fifteen or 
 
 twenty years ago, it was common for plumbers to 
 fix (under the direction of a specification) a 6-inch 
 soil-pipe when it had to take the branches of four 
 or five water-closets ; and with many of the archi- 
 tects and builders, as well as the plumbers, of 
 to-day, 5 -inch and 4j-inch are the general sizes, 
 and that too for only one water-closet. 
 
 Now, as it is of the utmost importance that a 
 soil-pipe should be efficiently flushed out with 
 water every time a water-closet upon it is used, 
 it is evident that the smaller the size of the pipe 
 the more efficiently will it be flushed ; and as it 
 is not wanted for a coal-shoot, or a dust-shaft, I 
 cannot see why it should be so much larger than 
 the oiitlet-ivay of the water-closet into it. In private 
 houses, where the water-closets would be used with 
 greater care than in public buildings, I consider 
 3j-inch lead soil-pipe quite large enough to take 
 a tier of three or four water-closets — I am sup- 
 posing the soil-pipe to be ventilated at top and 
 bottom, and each trap or branch ventilated as 
 well. I consider that 4-inch soil-pipe, when of 
 lead, and made by hydraulic pressure, large 
 enough to take the branches from several more
 
 Sanitary PliDiibing. 215 
 
 w.c.'s ; and that 4-inch soil-pipe is ample to 
 take a tier of six or seven double closets, fixed 
 over each other in a seven-storied building, for 
 though many of them might be used together 
 they would not be discharged precisely at the 
 same moment of time, and one or two seconds 
 would suffice, in a vertical soil-pipe, for the dis- 
 charges to keep clear of each other ; and if they 
 did mingle it would not so much matter so long 
 as the traps, by efficient ventilation, were made 
 proof against any disturbance that could take 
 place by the simultaneous use of all the closets 
 upon the piping. I have had 3j-inch lead soil-pipe 
 fixed to the tiers of three and four water-closets, 
 but have never known the smallest inconvenience 
 from such an arrangement, while the pipes, as far 
 as I have been able to see, have kept cleaner than 
 4^-inch soil-pipes near them — i.e., under the same 
 conditions. In public buildings — as warehouses, 
 hotels, banking houses, stations, club-houses, &c. — 
 the soil-pipe ought, perhaps, to be larger, say 4-inch, 
 but I consider 4-inch (or 4i-inch) large enough 
 for any place and for any number of closets. 
 
 In many places, with efficient water service, 
 3-inch soil-pipe might be fixed for single water- 
 closets without any risk of stoppage.^ 
 
 * Some months ago I had a stack of 3-INCH lead soil-pipe fixed 
 in my factory to take the branches from three water-closets — a valve- 
 closet, a "vortex," and an "artisan" — and the size is found to be 
 quite large enough, though the closets are rarely ever idle during the 
 working-hours of the day. This arrangement is illustrated in 
 Fig. 67, Plate V., p. 168.
 
 2i6 The Science and Art of 
 
 fiSde^Sr"" 3. The Position of Soil-Pipes. Are they 
 Outside. to be outside or inside ? I give my voice in 
 favour of outside. I would not pull down a house 
 and re-build it to get the soil-pipes in it outside ; 
 but wherever it is at all practicable, and in all 
 new houses, I would insist upon the soil-pipe 
 being fixed outside, unless special circumstances 
 called them inside, and this would, no doubt, be 
 the case in some instances. But what about frost } 
 Well, there is no danger of that if you keep the 
 water out of it, any more than there is of a gas 
 explosion in the room if you keep the gas turned 
 off. Allow a faulty pipe or gas-cock to leak the 
 gas into a room, and then come into it with a 
 lighted candle, and where are you } I should say 
 in the street — i.e., all that is left of you. Allow 
 the closet-valve to leak water into an outside soil- 
 pipe, when Jack Frost is on the alert to arrest it, 
 and where is it } why, imprisoned in the pipe of 
 course. But keep the water from leaking into 
 the pipe, and there will be no risk of freezing. 
 There is also much less risk of freezing when the 
 discharging ends of such pipes are carried down 
 below the ground level, out of the way of the 
 cold sweeping winds, as shown in Fig. 93, for 
 when the ends of such pipes are more exposed, 
 the wind catches the dropping water and freezes 
 it until it has completely corked up the end of 
 the pipe, and then in time the whole of the piping 
 becomes a block of ice. 
 
 Sd'soH-^'^ It is also an evil to take rain-water into soil- 
 
 pipes.
 
 Safiitary Plumbing. 217 
 
 pipes, especially outside pipes, for it often happens 
 that the sun melts a little snow near the head of a 
 rain-water pipe, and this snow-water trickles down 
 the pipe, where it soon freezes and stops up the 
 soil-pipe. 
 
 In the sharpest frost in this country there is Outside 
 
 Soil-pipes 
 
 not the smallest fear of the legitimate use of a and Frost. 
 water-closet ever stopping up an outside soil-pipe 
 with ice. The discharges through such a piping 
 are too quick for freezing. When soil-pipes are 
 fixed outside, in bleak positions, however, I prefer 
 them to be put into chases, with iron-plates in 
 front of them to look like iron rain-water pipes, 
 for better protection. 
 
 I have had our books looked through, and find 
 that in the three years preceding the present year 
 (1881) we fixed just 130 stacks of soil-pipe outside 
 (or a total length of about 5,000 ft.) and I have 
 not heard of one of them being frozen. It is really 
 a question of good supply-valves to the w.c.'s, and 
 if these are looked after, there is no danger from 
 frost. I have a stack of soil-pipe outside my 
 own house, which faces north-east, and though the 
 closet valves upon it have not been touched for 
 four or five years, there has never been the smallest 
 inconvenience from frost, or any other thing, and 
 the pipe is open to the atmosphere both at the 
 top and bottom. 
 
 The effect of frosty weather upon outside soil- Effect of 
 
 ^ Heat upon 
 
 pipes — when no water is allowed to leak into them Pipes. 
 — is not so damaging as the action of the sun
 
 2i8 The Science and Art of 
 
 upon them when they are fixed in certain posi- 
 tions ; for they would often be exposed to the 
 direct rays of the sun for many hours together, 
 and the effect of this would be to stretch the lead 
 pipe between the " tacks," and this stretching 
 would go on from year to year bending the pipe 
 out of its true vertical line, and perhaps breaking 
 it. Where " slip-joints " can be used, such lead 
 pipes, when they are properly ventilated to prevent 
 the action of gases upon them, will last for cen- 
 turies ; but where the joints must be soldered, to 
 prevent soil-pipe air escaping through them into 
 the windows of the house, &c,, such pipes should 
 be kept in an angle, or placed where they are likely 
 to be most screened from the rays of the summer's 
 sun. 
 Heat = There is another important reason for keeping 
 
 soil-pipes out of the sun, for the air in such pipes 
 would get so rarefied that the air-currents through 
 them (where they are ventilated at top and 
 bottom) w^ould be so great that the excremental 
 discharges would partially dry upon the pipe, 
 especially when the water-closets were used with 
 little water. When soil-pipes are exposed to the 
 sun in the way we have just been considering, they 
 not only get warm, but they get quite Jiot, and 
 unless a body of water is sent through them by 
 pulling the closet-handle before using the closet (a 
 good thing always), a portion of the discharge 
 would be likely to dry upon the piping, which may 
 
 causing 
 Air-cur-
 
 Safiitaf-y Plumbing. 219 
 
 be a long length, and foul it. This argument tells 
 also against inside soil-pipes, though not with 
 equal force, for though soil-pipes fixed inside a 
 house would generally have greater currents of 
 air through them than soil-pipes fixed outside (on 
 account of the warmth of the house) they would 
 never get so hot as soil-pipes exposed to the sun. 
 But all that is wanted in outside soil-pipes is to 
 keep them out of the full power of the sun's rays ; 
 for good air-currents — with efficient ventilation — 
 can be made to pass through soil-pipes though 
 fixed in the coldest quarters — at any rate sufficient 
 to aerate them. 
 
 The risk of getting soil-pipe air into a house is Soil-pipe 
 so minimised by fixing soil-pipes outside, that it is 
 worth running the small chance oi freezing from 
 a leaky valve ; which casualty ought never to be 
 allowed to remain for a single day, winter or 
 summer ; for dribbling waters will not cleanse a 
 pipe, though they may drain a reservoir and pre- 
 vent proper flushing when needed. 
 
 When the soil-pipe is kept outside the house 
 there is no risk of the air in it leaking into the 
 house, either through a nail-hole — made in the pipe 
 by accident; a defective jointing — when fixed b}- 
 an unskilled man ; or from decay of the pipe 
 through old age. 
 
 4. Ventilation of Soil-Pipes and their Vemiiation 
 Disconnection from Drains. — I believe air- pipes!" 
 pipes were first fixed on the tops of soil-pipes
 
 2 20 The Science and Art of 
 
 about sixty or seventy years ago, except where 
 such pipes received rain-water pipes, when they 
 would probably be of one size throughout.* It is 
 quite possible to find soil-pipes fixed within the 
 last ten years without any air-pipes, but in good 
 plumbing jobs air-pipes were fixed from the top of 
 the soil-pipes at least forty years ago. The sizes 
 of such soil-pipes varied according to the dif- 
 ferent ideas of the value of such pipes. Some 
 fixed J-in. and some 2-in., but I should say the 
 average size (where such pipes were fixed) then 
 was ij-in. I know of stacks of soil-pipes 5 -in. and 
 6-in. in diameter fixed from fifteen to twenty years 
 ago with only i J-in. air-pipes on the top of them, 
 though there are half-a-dozen water-closets dis- 
 charging into each stack. The custom in all 
 good works now is to carry the soil-pipe up /?///- 
 size above the roof for ventilation ; at any rate it 
 is done in every job where a sanitarian has the 
 direction of the plumbing and sanitary work. 
 
 It is so good a rule that I am afraid to say 
 the smallest word in disparagement of it ; but it 
 sometimes happens that a water-closet is wanted 
 on the ground floor of a very high building, 
 and it does seem an expensive arrangement to 
 fix 50ft. or 60 ft. of 4-in. air-piping to ventilate a 
 7 ft. or 8 ft. length of 4-in. soil-piping. In such a 
 case I should fix 3j-in. soil-pipe, disconnect the 
 
 * I have seen a drawing of a water-closet, made in 1820, with 
 the soil-pipe from it taken into a rain-water-pipe, and the rain- 
 pipe going up to the xooi full-size^
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 221 
 
 soil-pipe from the drain, or give it " foot-ventila- 
 tion ; " and if windows would not allow me to 
 terminate the air-pipe just above the soil-pipe, I 
 should be satisfied with a 2-in. air-pipe going up 
 to the roof — ventilating the trap of the w.C. into 
 it with a branch-air-pipe and using a " V-dip " 
 trap to prevent syphonage. When the soil-pipe 
 does not exceed 6 ft. or 8 ft. in length, and is dis- 
 connected with the drain at its discharging end, 
 so that the atmosphere can pass into it, and pro- 
 vided that the water-closet fixed upon it is well 
 supplied with water, there is no necessity to fix a 
 long length of air-pipe on the top, unless windows 
 compel it ; but with such a pipe, open at both 
 ends, and well flushed with water, there will be no 
 offence "^ from it, so long as the " outlet " of the 
 air-pipe can be kept about 8 ft. or 10 ft. away from 
 any window, or opening, into the house. 
 
 All soil-pipes should be continued up full-size, Air-pipe, 
 
 ^ ^ ^ size of 
 
 except in very special cases, and the tops of such Soii-pipe. 
 pipes should be kept well above all windows and 
 openings into the house. I know of cases where 
 ventilating pipes from soil-pipes and drains have 
 terminated at such ill-considered points, that the 
 offensive air from them has been blown down the 
 chimneys into the rooms of the house. How often 
 as one rides about London can such pipes be seen 
 stopping just under a cornice, where there is no 
 wind to blow away the bad air emitted from such 
 
 * This arrangement has been tested in actual practice and it 
 answers admirably.
 
 222 llie Science and Art of 
 
 pipes ; or they are just bent up over the eaves 
 guttering where the air escaping from them can 
 easily get into the house between the slates or 
 eaves ; or they are carried up to the ridge of the 
 roof and terminated within a foot or two of some 
 skylight ; or they are taken up the face of a 
 dormer and left standing a foot above its door- 
 way or window (see Figs. 120 and 121). The ends 
 of such pipes should be kept as remote as prac- 
 ticable from all places from which the air coming 
 out of them could come into the house.* 
 Soil-pipes As a general rule soil-pipes are fixed, even in 
 
 tiiated. these enlightened days, with inefficient ventilation. 
 An air-pipe on the top of a soil-pipe — no matter 
 what may be its size — will not ventilate it any 
 more than a chimney will ventilate a room with 
 its windows and door closed. You may ride 
 hundreds of miles in a railway-carriage at times 
 with one window down without feeling much wind, 
 but open both windows — and you would not care 
 to ride a mile unless you had a bottle of Bunter's 
 Nervine in your pocket. To get a current of air 
 in pipes they must be open in some way at both 
 ends, and without a current of air in pipes — soil- 
 pipes, waste-pipes, and drains — there is no efficient 
 ventilation ; and without good ventilation such 
 pipes cannot be kept wholesome, nor are they free 
 in such cases from the action of gases upon them. 
 
 A simple experiment was given to show that 
 without foot-ventilation no pipe is properly ven- 
 
 ■"" See Figs. 70 and 93.
 
 Sanitary Flumbmg. 
 
 223 
 
 tilated. A glass tube, illustrated in Fig. 92, 
 representing a stack of soil-pipe, trapped at the 
 bottom, D, was filled with smoke, but the smoke 
 would not rise out of the tubing, though the top 
 end. A, was quite open. An opening was then 
 made near the bottom of the tubing, by pulling 
 out a cork fixed at B, and 
 the smoke instantly rose and 
 passed out of the pipe at A. 
 The removal of the cork B 
 gave it " foot-ventilation," and 
 a current of air at once passed 
 through the piping. [There 
 was a little hitch in this ex- 
 periment on the re-delivery 
 night, but this was caused in 
 filling the tubing with smoke 
 by the heat from the smoke- 
 paper on the brass connection, 
 B. This warmed the lower part 
 and drew the current down- 
 wards.] 
 
 I hope I have clearly 
 proved the necessity of exposing both the upper 
 and lower ends of a stack of soil-pipe (or waste- 
 pipe) to the atmosphere, if it is to be properly 
 ventilated. To make what I have said on the 
 ventilation of soil-pipes and traps better under-, 
 stood, I have illustrated, in Fig. 93, a perfect 
 system of ventilation. There are two tiers of 
 traps shown for receiving valve-closets, but of 
 
 Fig. 92. — View of 
 Glass Model.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 225 
 
 course any number could be added to meet the 
 wants of a six-storied building ; and instead of 
 two water-closets on each tier three could be 
 fixed, or only one, as circumstances required, by 
 adding to the length of the branches, or shortening 
 them. 
 
 The minor branches, K, from the traps L N, are 
 branched into the sides of the chief branches, H, 
 in such a way that the discharges through them 
 shall not foul any part of ^the soil-piping which 
 would not be cleansed by a fair flush of water 
 following such discharges, and the outer traps, M T, 
 are soldered direct on to the bent ends of the 
 chief branches for the same purpose. The chief 
 branches are nosed downwards at the junction 
 with the main soil-pipe to prevent any matter pass- 
 ing through them splashing and soiling any part 
 which would not be cleansed by the flush of water 
 following the discharge. 
 
 The soil-pipe, 3j-in., is carried up full-size, with 
 an extracting cowl on top, as shown at R, and it is 
 disconnected from the drain, by the soil-pipe dis- 
 connecting trap S, and its discharging end open 
 to the atmosphere for perfect ventilation of the 
 pipe. 
 
 " Small " " Anti-D-traps ''' are fixed for receiv- 
 ing valve-closets, and the cJiief branches are 
 ventilated, as shown at T v, to prevent any dis- 
 turbance of the trap '' seals " by discharges through 
 the piping from any of the closets, and, also, to
 
 2 26 The Science and Art of 
 
 prevent"^ stagnant air lodging in any part of the 
 branches. As far as syphonage is concerned, it is 
 not necessary to ventilate the short branches from 
 the traps L and N as shown by the dotted lines V. 
 
 The ventilating-pipes are fixed in such a way 
 that nothing foreign shall get into them to stop 
 them up, and they are so connected with the 
 branches from the traps, as shown in the woodcut, 
 that the air-currents through the piping shall not 
 play upon the " standing-water " of the traps to 
 disturb it, or to lick up any of its water in its 
 transit through the pipe. This is important, as a 
 current of air constantly passing over the water of 
 a trap would, under certain circumstances, absorb 
 enough water to seriously affect the seal. 
 
 Disconnec- Whether soil-pipes are fixed outside or inside a 
 
 Soil-pipe house, they should in every case empty themselves 
 Drains. into the drain outside the house ; and, if at all prac- 
 ticable, they should have their discharging-ends 
 exposed to the atmosphere, as shown at s. Fig. 93. 
 Fig. 75, p. 180, shows a "soil-pipe disconnector," 
 for receiving soil-pipes and intercepting them from 
 the drain. There need be no fear f of any offensive 
 
 ■'■ The advantage of trap-ventilation is mucli greater than many 
 people seem to know, for they are anxious to find traps which need 
 no ventilation. The ventilation of the trap not only prevents any 
 disturbance of its seal, it provides an escape for any bad air thrown 
 off from a stool left in the trap, by a careless pull of the flushing 
 (or closet) handle. It also preserves the piping and trap from the 
 injurious effects of stagnant soil-pipe air. 
 
 t I have had stacks of soil-pipes, with several water-closets 
 upon them, opened to the atmosphere at the foot, as shown in the
 
 Sanifarv Plumbim 
 
 227 
 
 smell coming through the grating of the trap, F, 
 Fig- 7^^ or S, Fig. 93, provided that the traps 
 fixed upon the soil-pipe are of a self-cleansing 
 nature, and that the closets have an efficient supply 
 of water for keeping the soil-pipes wholesome. 
 
 This soil-pipe-trap, or disconnection-trap, Fig. 
 75, should, however, be kept some little distance 
 
 Fig- 94' — "Soil-pipe Disconnector," with "Foot- ventilation" and 
 Mica-valve, J. 
 
 away from windows, doors, and openings into the 
 house, and the disconnecting-trap itself should be 
 self-cleansing. 
 
 When such traps, from force of circumstances, 
 would have to be fixed immediately under a 
 
 illustrations, Figs. 93 and 96 ; and though the drain disconnecting 
 traps have been fixed where there is great passenger traffic, and 
 thousands of people have walked on the gratings over such traps, 
 I have never heard a single complaint against them, 
 
 P 2
 
 22i 
 
 The Science and A?'l of 
 
 window, or in a small area, or close to a doorway 
 to the house, the top of the trap, F, should be sealed 
 over, by bedding" down a cover upon it, as shown 
 in Fig. 94, and a fresh-air induct-pipe should be 
 taken into the inlet side of the trap, at D or E, to 
 give the soil-pipe " foot-ventilation," as shown at 
 T and H, Fig. 94, with a grating or mica-valve — as 
 
 
 Fig. 95. — " Soil-pipe Trap," with "Foot-ventilation." 
 
 at J — over its mouth. That part of the pipe fixed 
 underground should be of stoneware. Or the 
 soil-pipe can be disconnected by a trap, as Fig. 95, 
 in places where the air, driven out of the soil-pipe 
 by the discharges through it, could not readily get 
 away (if allowed to escape out of the soil-pipe) as 
 would be the case with such oJ)e7i traps, as Figs. 75 
 and 96, when fixed in deep areas, or places en-
 
 Sanitary riumhing. 
 
 229 
 
 closed with high buildings all round. But with 
 the mouth of the induct, H, carried away to some 
 convenient place, as shown at I, Fig. 95, there 
 would be no chance of any air coming out of the 
 soil-pipe and into the house. 
 
 In places where such open traps, as Fig. 75, — 
 and as shown fixed in Fig. 93, — would be exposed 
 
 Fig. 96. — Section of Soil-pipe Disconnector, with Air-shaft. 
 
 to severe frosts, keep the trap down into the 
 ground, as shown in Fig. 96, for the water of the 
 trap to stand a foot or two below the surface, and 
 build up an air-shaft, as shown at D, with a grating 
 over the top, as shown at A, for the free admission 
 of fresh air into the soil-pipe B. 
 
 5. Lead Tacks, for securing Soil and Tacks to 
 Waste-Pipes, etc., in their Positions. — We °''P'P''''
 
 230 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 have not much time left for *' tacking," but as 
 pipes will not hold themselves in their places any 
 more than ships without anchors, I must say a 
 few words on tacks. 
 
 I suppose a man would rather have one ear 
 pulled than both, but if he had to be suspended in 
 the air by such means he would prefer both ears 
 used. Now when a soil-pipe is hung up by 
 ** single" tacks it is not so secure, nor so durable, 
 as when pairs of tacks are used. 
 
 Fig. 97 
 
 A pair of tacks, as illustrated at B and C, Fig. 
 97 (looking at the tacks as they are soldered to 
 the back of the pipe, a) have double the strength 
 of a single tack, for they have twice the surface- 
 holding on the piping that a single tack has. 
 They are also much stronger than a "double-tack," 
 D, Fig. 98 ; for they have a greater grip of the 
 pipe, as may readily be seen by comparing the 
 two arrangements (Figs. 97 and 98), the surface-
 
 Sanitary Phunbing. 
 
 231 
 
 soldering 011 the pipe being about two-thirds less 
 on the doiiblc-tack than on the pair of tacks. 
 
 Single tacks, as Fig. 99, give a one-sided look 
 to soil-pipes, when they are fixed in sight, and 
 suggest how the sailor must have looked with his 
 face shaved on one side only, and his razor at the 
 bottom of the sea. 
 
 Tacks for soil-pipes, ventilating pipes, &c., &c., 
 should be cut out of sheet-lead of a stronger 
 substance than the pipe — say 
 I lb. to the superficial foot 
 heavier. For outside soil-pipes 
 with astragal jointings,* a pair 
 of tacks, 9-inch by 8-inch, 
 should be soldered to each 
 6-feet length of piping — or two 
 pairs to a 12-feet length of 
 soil-pipe. When soil-pipes are 
 fixed inside, single tacks can 
 be soldered to the pipe, alter- 
 nately — right hand and left 
 hand. These tacks should be about 10 inches by 
 9 inches, so as to get three wall-hooks in them, 
 if fixed against brickwork — as shown at Fig. 99. 
 
 The wall-hooks for securing the tacks to the 
 wall should be driven in nearer the piping than 
 the folded edge of the tack, and the tacks should 
 always be folded back so as to fit nicely against 
 the pipe, well covering the heads of the hooks. 
 
 The whole of the tacks, for fixing on one stack of 
 * See Fig. 19, p. 55. 
 
 Fig. 99.
 
 232 The Science and Art oj 
 
 soil-pipe, should be cut out together, so as to ensure 
 their being of one size, and also for quickness ; 
 and after " feathering " one of the edges with a 
 rasp, for fitting against the side of the pipe, each 
 tack should be soiled about 3 inches in on the 
 soldering face, and an inch on the opposite face. 
 The tacks should then be shaved for soldering. 
 The shaving should be about an inch wide, and a 
 corresponding length and width should be shaved 
 on the pipe, after soiling it. The tacks should all 
 be fitted on the pipe, so that they may be soldered 
 on in one heat. In soldering on a pair of tacks, as 
 shown on Fig. 97, pour the solder on each alter- 
 nately, and then wipe them quickly one after the 
 other. Your mate should be ready with his knife 
 to cut off the ragged edges of the soldering, and 
 to square it with the edges of the tacks — or the 
 plumber can do this himself. Some plumbers 
 manage to solder on tacks very well without an 
 iron, but others prefer an iron. 
 
 A word or two to encourage the use of tacks on 
 small air and zvaste pipes. When wall-hooks, or 
 pipe-hooks, are used for securing such pipes in 
 their positions, the head of the hook is driven well 
 against the pipe to bite it, and in doing this the 
 pipe is often flattened and its bore reduced, as 
 shown at B, Fig. 100. Where this occurs, the 
 value of the piping for its work is depreciated 
 accordingly. 
 
 Face-Tacks. — When such pipes are fixed
 
 Sanitary Plu7Jibi?ig. 
 
 '^'hl 
 
 against wood-work, a narrow strip of lead, about 
 \\ inches wide and 7 inches long, soldered to the 
 pipe — with the face of the soldering in front, and 
 looking like a piece of angle soldering — looks 
 very neat, and makes a strong fixing, with, say, 
 three brass screws in it securing it to its 
 place. (See A, Fig. 100, showing such a 
 face-tack.) 
 
 I also prefer such " face-tacks," or 
 " soldered-tacks," to wall-hooks, for fixing 
 certain service-pipes, as well as to air and 
 waste-pipes, especially when such pipes 
 may want removing to get at the " fittings " 
 (as pipes from w.w. preventing cisterns to 
 w.c. basins), for the screws can be easily 
 taken out and the pipe removed without 
 any damage to the surroundings. Fig. 100. 
 
 Waste-Pipes. — In America the soil-pipe is the America. 
 general conduit for receiving the discharges from 
 baths_, sinks, lavatories, &c., as well as from water- 
 closets. But our climate is so much more favour- 
 able for the open-pipe system, that we can afford 
 to separate the various wastes without danger 
 of frost, and expose their discharging ends to 
 the atmosphere. 
 
 There is no reason, however, why waste-pipes^ Waste- 
 
 "^ _ pipes into 
 
 from slop-sinks should not be branched into the Soii-pipes. 
 soil-pipe when the hopper class of water-closet is 
 fixed on them, except where hot water is laid on to 
 
 * See Slop-sink Wastes, p. 239.
 
 234 
 
 TJie Science and Art of 
 
 Waste- 
 pipes 
 generally. 
 
 the sinks — for careless servants sometimes allow 
 the hot water-tap to run to waste — to reduce the 
 temperature of the water, &c. ; and a body of hot 
 water sent through a lead soil-pipe, followed by a 
 pailful of cold water, would soon damage the 
 piping. If the pipe could be fixed with slip socket- 
 joints, as it could on the external face of a 
 sheltered outside wall, where there were no win- 
 dows or openings into the house, for any air which 
 might leak through the jointings to come into it, 
 there would be no danger of hot water doing 
 much damage to the pipe, for expansion and con- 
 traction would then be provided against, in the 
 slip socket-jointings of the pipe. 
 
 Having said so much on soil-pipes, I must say 
 little on general waste-pipes, but I must say 
 something, or my subject will be incomplete. 
 
 To get good water flushings through such pipes 
 for receiving the waste discharges from small 
 lavatory basins, flat-bottomed sinks, and such 
 like " fittings," the pipes from such " fittings " 
 should be kept as small as practicable. But instead 
 of reducing waste-pipes to very small sizes, to get 
 good water flushes through them to cleanse them, 
 it is better to increase the entrance-way into such 
 pipes — as I hope to explain more fully later on — 
 for if waste-pipes were fixed of too small a size, as 
 |-inch or i-inch, there would not only be a risk of 
 stoppage in them, but such pipes would be of no 
 value for cleaning out its " intercepting-trap " with 
 the drain : and no flush of water could be sent
 
 SdJiitary Plumbing. 235 
 
 through such pipes for cleansing the branch-drain 
 into which they discharged themselves — though 
 this may, and would often, be the only means 
 that such pieces of drainage had of being cleansed. 
 
 There is another reason why such waste-pipes waste- 
 should not be too small — namely, the smaller they Fro?t.^ 
 are the more likely they are to get frozen in frosty 
 weather. This is also a reason for fixing waste 
 pipes from sinks, baths, and lavatories inside the 
 house, for the supply-valves to such fittings are 
 often left dropping, or leaking, and the water from 
 them, dribbling through the pipes, would soon get 
 frozen if such pipes were fixed outside the house. 
 Such pipes should be fixed in easily accessible 
 chases, inside the house. 
 
 But the general fault is not in fixincr waste- "^^'aste- 
 
 ^ ° pipes too 
 
 pipes from lavatories, &c., too small, but too large, large. 
 Wash-hand basins, with f-inch plugs-and-washers, 
 are fixed upon 2-inch syphon traps, and 6-inch 
 D-traps, having 2-inch waste-pipes from them. 
 Baths with perforations over its outlet-waste only 
 equal to the area of ij-inch pipe are fixed 
 upon 2-inch and sometimes 2j-inch waste-pipes. 
 Sinks with round-hole gratings equal to about 
 the area of an ij-inch pipe are drained by a 
 2-inch and sometimes 3-inch waste-pipe. With 
 such arrangements, how is it possible to keep such 
 waste-pipes wholesome ? And is it any wonder that 
 complaints should often be made of the stink 
 coming out of the air-pipes from such wastes 1 
 The entrance-way into waste-pipes should be
 
 236 
 
 The Science and Art oj 
 
 Entrance- 
 way into 
 pipes. 
 
 Connec- 
 tions. 
 
 Plugs and 
 Washers. 
 
 as large (I prefer it larger) as the bore ot the 
 pipe, if good cleansing water flushes are to be sent 
 through them. 
 
 Before determining the sizes that such pipes 
 should be, let us see what sized connections are 
 generally used to such fittings. 
 
 With "tip-up" basins a good passage-way to 
 the waste-pipe is provided in the " outlet " of the 
 " receiver," and there is no difficulty in sending a 
 fair flush of water through them to fill the bore 
 of a 2-inch pipe, though I consider ij-inch pipe 
 large enough^ for a single or a double "tip-up" 
 lavatory, for the earthenware round-holed gratings 
 (over the outlets of the receivers) interfere with 
 the flush. 
 
 With " plug " basins, the average hole and 
 countersinking are only equal to receiving an 
 inch plug-and-washer, but the size chiefly used, 
 I believe, is only f-inch ; ^-inch plugs-and-washers 
 are also largely used. Let us examine the larger 
 size for a minute. Fig. 10 1 shows an inch plug- 
 and-washer. As you see, at A, the " lining " has 
 reduced the way through it about fVths of an inch, 
 leaving the water-way only Hths. How is it 
 possible with such an arrangement to send a flush 
 of water out of the basin which shall cleanse a 
 2-inch waste-pipe } The lining should be made 
 the same bore as the " washer," as shown at B, 
 Fig. 102, and the plug-and-washer should be 
 increased in size to i^-inch at least; i^-inch 
 waste-pipe with such an arrangement is large
 
 Sanitary Plumbing:;. 
 
 237 
 
 enough to take the branch wastes from one or two 
 lavatory basins. I prefer lavatories with i J-inch 
 
 Fi"-. 1 01. 
 
 Fig. 102. 
 
 wastes, and waste-valves, having passage-ways 
 through them equal to filling the bore of li-inch 
 pipes. 
 
 Bath-wastes.— As baths contain from thirty Waste- 
 to fifty gallons of water— according to their bSS.^^^"^ 
 size — the waste connections from them ought to 
 be so arranged that every time a bath is 
 emptied, a good flushing should not only be 
 given to its waste-pipe but to the drain as 
 well. The "outlet" of the bath itself should 
 be equal ^to the area of a 2j-inch pipe, and 
 the pipe from it to its waste-valve, or stop-cock, 
 should be trumpet-shaped — 2% inches at the bath 
 connection and 2 inches at the valve connection — 
 and then with a 2-inch " feather-waste-valve, "" 
 2-inch trap, and 2-inch waste-pipe, a bath contain- 
 ing fifty gallons of water can be emptied in less 
 than two minutes, thus utilizing the waste water 
 for cleansing out the bath-waste and flushing out
 
 238 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 the drains. I consider a 2-inch pipe large enough 
 to take the waste from two or three baths fixed 
 on various floors as well as from several lavatory 
 basins ; but great care in such cases must be taken 
 to ventilate each trap as explained in a preceding 
 lecture, and if rou7id-pipe traps, or syphon traps, 
 are used, the air-pipe must be the same size as 
 the traps upon the waste-pipe — i.e., as the waste- 
 pipe itself. (See Fig. 70, p. 175, showing a bath 
 with its waste-pipe, &c., &c., fixed complete.) 
 
 >Vnx^xV%X\^^^^^^%% 
 
 Fig. 103. — Section of an enlarged Waste-connection with Sink. 
 
 Sink 
 Wastes. 
 
 Fig. 103 shows a 2-inch trap, with an enlarged 
 mouth, connected to a lead sink, for receiving a 
 3 -inch plug-and- washer, at A. By this arrange- 
 ment a good passage-way is made to the waste- 
 pipe. The sink can by this means be filled occa- 
 sionally with hot water, and a good flush sent 
 through the waste-pipe, for though the brass 
 waste-connection is grated (to prevent stoppage 
 of the pipe) it is of sufficient size to more than 
 fill the bore of the waste-pipe from it. A ij-inch 
 pipe is large enough for single sinks — "draw-
 
 Sa?nfarv Plumbing. 239 
 
 off" sinks — and a 2-inch pipe is large enough, with 
 the arrangement just mentioned, to take the waste 
 discharges from several sinks, fixed on various 
 floors. 
 
 Waste-pipes from Slop-sinks."^ — These -"^lop 
 
 Wastes. 
 
 pipes are often fixed too large to be kept whole- 
 some. 4|-inch pipes, and sometimes 5 -inch, are 
 fixed, though the " outlets " of the slop-sinks 
 fixed upon them may be only 2\ inches or 3 
 inches; the consequence Is that such pipes after 
 they have been in use a little while become ex- 
 tremely offensive. The air-pipes from them send 
 out stink enough to contaminate the atmosphere 
 over a large area near where they exist. If 
 sanitary inspectors want to find out whether the 
 sanitary arrangements of a house are perfect,, let 
 them put their noses over every air-pipe, from the 
 waste-pipes, soil-pipes, and drains ; and if such 
 pipes, being ventilated at top and bottom, emit 
 any great stink, the flushing arrangements are 
 imperfect ; for with self-cleansing traps, well regu- 
 lated sized waste-pipes, soil-pipes, and drains, and 
 good water flushing arrangements, no great stink 
 ought ever to come from the air-pipes. 
 
 For a single slop-sink in a private house a 
 2-inch waste-pipe is large enough ; and for two 
 or three slop-sinks, I consider that 2|-inch pipe is 
 large enough, and 3-inch is equal to take the 
 wastes from the slop-sinks of a five or six-storied 
 
 ^ See p. 233. Also see Figs. 53 and 70.
 
 240 Tlie Science and Art of 
 
 house, as well as from several " washing-up '^ sinks. 
 In hotels, club-houses, &c., it is hardly safe to fix 
 less than 3-inch pipes for such purposes. 
 
 All slop-sinks should have an efficient means 
 for flushing "^ them out with water, for the contents 
 of chamber utensils are often emptied into them 
 undiluted, and where there is not a ready and 
 efficient means at hand for washing out the sink 
 and its waste-pipe, they soon get extremely offen- 
 sive, and the larger the waste-pipe is the greater is 
 the area for such offensive matter to corrode upon. 
 When the outlet of such sinks is only 2\ or 
 3 inches, how is it possible to send a flush of water 
 through them which shall fill the bore of a 5 -inch 
 or even 4-inch pipe to cleanse it 1 Therefore, if 
 efficient flushes of water are to be made to pass 
 through a waste-pipe, to prevent it from corroding 
 and stopping up, and also to keep it wholesome, 
 its size must be reduced in proportion to the 
 outlets of the sanitary fittings fixed upon it — of 
 course care must be taken to see that the pipe is 
 not too small for its work. 
 
 Disconnec- DISCONNECTION OF WASTE-PIPES FROM 
 
 tion of 
 
 Waste- Drains and their Ventilation. — All waste- 
 pipes. 
 
 pipes should have their discharging ends open to 
 the atmosphere,t and to prevent splashings of 
 
 * A small automatic "Flush-tank" could be used in many 
 instances. 
 
 t As long ago as 1872 I had lavatory- wastes disconnected from 
 drains and their discharging ends left open to the atmosphere. In 
 1873, I had a lead "V-dip" trap made to receive the ends of sink-
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 241 
 
 filth upon the surface grating, and its surround- 
 ings, and also as a precaution against frost, to 
 prevent droppings of water from the end of the 
 pipe being frozen, such pipes should be made to 
 enter the ventilating-shaft of the trap, a little 
 below the ground level, 
 as shown at K, Fig. 70. 
 Where such traps would 
 be exposed to severe 
 frosts, the trap should 
 
 Fig. 104. 
 Section of a " Drain-inter- 
 ceptor," with brick air-shaft. 
 
 be kept down into the 
 ground, as shown at E, 
 Fig. 104, and a brick air- 
 shaft should be built over 
 it, as shown at G, for the 
 atmosphere to reach the 
 discharging end of the 
 waste-pipe, D, through the 
 grating, F. (See traps for intercepting pipes from 
 drains, pp. 178 — 181.) 
 
 The upper end of all waste-pipes receiving 
 dirty water should be exposed to the air for ven- 
 tilation, as shown in Fig. 70, and as explained 
 when speaking of soil-pipes — i.e.^ the waste-pipe 
 should be taken up full-size through the roof, or 
 through the external wall of the house, and no 
 
 wastes and bath-wastes, above the water-Hne of the trap, for the 
 atmosphere to pass into the pipes, and this trap was fixed, in the 
 same year, in the ground outside the external walls of a house at 
 Hornsey. The inlet or mouth of the trap was lengthened to reach 
 the surface level of the ground, and a moveable grating was fixed 
 over it.
 
 242 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 such pipe should terminate within 8 or lO feet 
 of a window or opening into the house. Great 
 care should be taken in determining the terminal 
 points of such ventilating-pipes, and I recommend 
 this to be always done on the spot where the 
 whole of the surroundings can be duly considered.* 
 
 'Trap Trap Ventilation. — As we have already 
 
 ventilation. ^ 
 
 seen, on a former occasion, each trap, fixed on one 
 stack of waste-piping, requires ventilating. When 
 there is only one trap and fitting branched into a 
 waste-pipe, a vent-pipe can be taken off the trap 
 at its " outgo," and branched into the waste, or air- 
 pipe of the waste, about a foot or i8 inches above 
 the level of the top of the trap. Where there are 
 several traps branched into one waste-pipe, an air- 
 pipe, the same size as the traps or branch wastes, 
 should be taken out of the lowest trap and carried 
 up to a foot or 1 8 inches above the highest, where 
 it should be branched into the air-pipe of the 
 main waste ; and the branch air-pipes from the 
 other traps should be branched into this ascending 
 air-pipe of the traps, as illustrated in Fig. 70, 
 p. 175. 
 
 I am quite sure you will agree with me that 
 it is now time that we " ventilated " ourselves 
 outside, and " branched " off homewards. 
 
 * See p. 269.
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 HOUSE DRAINAGE AND VENTILATION. 
 
 Connections of Branches with Main-pipes. Connections of Pipes 
 with Traps. Waste-pipes and Overflow-pipes from Traps to 
 Water-closets, Baths, and Cisterns. Cistern-wastes and Over- 
 flow-pipes. Disconnection of Drains from Sewers and Cess- 
 pools. Drain Ventilation. Value of good Water-flushing. 
 Water-supply to Sanitary Fittings. Grease-intercepting tanks. 
 Pipe-freezing. Storage of Water : Slate Cisterns, Galvanised 
 Iron Cisterns, Lead Cisterns. Action of Water upon Lead, 
 How to line Wood Cisterns with Lead. Metropolitan Water 
 Supply, Past and Present. Water-closet Rooms. Code of 
 Rules for House Sanitation. Conclusion. 
 
 I AM afraid what I have to say to-nic^ht will ^^^f^^^ 
 
 ■" ^ Perfect. 
 
 appear fragmentary, and that some will think it 
 too full of detail ; but if ever we are to arrive 
 at perfection in Sanitary Plumbing we must 
 pay great attention to all its details. A general 
 effect may do very well for a moving scenic paint- 
 ing, but a picture of life, as Frith's " Railway 
 Station," which is to be handed down to posterity 
 with the portraiture of an age upon it, and which 
 is to immortalise the name of its artist, must have 
 all its details perfect. And so a general sanitary 
 arrangement may do very well for temporary 
 encampments, but places which are to become 
 our homes, and the homes of our children, must 
 have every hole and corner lighted and ventilated ; 
 every water-closet, sink, bath, and lavatory con- 
 Q 2
 
 244 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 structed on sanitary principles ; every trap self- 
 cleansing ; every waste-pipe, soil-pipe, and drain 
 wholesome ; in short, if there is to be no harbour- 
 ing of filth in any part of the drainage system, it 
 must be perfect in all its details. 
 
 Branch 
 Connec- 
 tions. 
 
 Range of 
 W.C.'s. 
 Bad Con- 
 nections. 
 
 Connections of Branches with Main- 
 pipes. — I now come to that branch of my sub- 
 ject which refers to the connections of branch- 
 pipes with main-pipes. All branches, whether 
 for conveying dirty water, soil, or sewage, should 
 be connected to their main- pipes so that the dis- 
 charges through them shall pass into the main- 
 pipe in the direction of its outfall, and so as not 
 to foul any part of the pipe where it would not be 
 cleansed by the flush of water following such dis- 
 charges. 
 
 In fixing a range of water-closets on a floor, 
 the branches from them are often made to enter 
 the chief branch on its upper side, and in such a 
 manner that the discharges through any of the 
 minor branches nearest the main stack would foul 
 the chief branch, where it would not get cleansed 
 again until a water-closet more remote from the 
 main stack were used — i.e., a discharge from a 
 water-closet through the minor branch, C, Fig. 105, 
 would flow or splash up the chief branch towards W, 
 where it would have no chance of being cleansed 
 again until the water-closet branch E were used, 
 which may not be for hours, perhaps days ; at any 
 rate the excrement so splashed back into the pipe
 
 Sanitary Pluuibing. 
 
 245 
 
 would often have time to dry and corrode upon it 
 before a flush of water was sent into the pipe from 
 the adjoining closet to cleanse such filth away. 
 
 All minor branches into a main branch having 
 only a slight fall should enter at the side obliquely^ 
 as shown at K, Fig. 93, and never at right angles to 
 or on the top of a main branch (fixed "horizon- 
 tally^'), as shown at C, D, E, Fig. 105. The junction 
 should be kept well up from the bottom or bed of 
 
 Minor 
 Branches. 
 
 Fig. 105. — Diagrammatic Section of a Range of Water-closet Traps, 
 to show Errors in the Branch Connections and Bad Ventilation. 
 
 the main branch-pipe, to prevent any matter flow- 
 ing into the minor branches when travelling through 
 the pipe. 
 
 It is also an evil to continue on the chief n^^'^. 
 
 Branches. 
 
 branch-pipe for ventilation in the manner shown at 
 F in the Diagrammatic Section, Fig. 105 ; for the 
 discharges from the minor branches, C, D, E, would 
 often splash and flow up towards F, especially if 
 more than one water-closet on the chief branch 
 were discharged at one time, and as there would be 
 no water traffic through this part of the piping, the
 
 246 
 
 The Science and Art oj 
 
 Ventilating- 
 pipes. 
 
 Right 
 Angles. 
 
 Lavatory 
 Ranges. 
 Bad 
 
 Arrange- 
 ment. 
 
 matter thus deposited would not only become foul, 
 but be liable, with added matter from time to time, 
 to stop up the air-pipe, F, entirely, at any rate suf- 
 ficient to prevent efficient ventilation. 
 
 No ventilating-pipe should be taken from a 
 waste-pipe, soil-pipe, or drain at a point which can 
 be closed up by a stoppage or backflow in the 
 pipe — i.e., the ventilating-pipe should be connected 
 to the waste-pipe, soil-pipe, or drain so as to make 
 it difficult for discharges sent through such pipings 
 to reach the mouth of the ventilating-pipe to 
 choke it ; and the connection should be so made 
 that if anything splashed up into the air-pipe at 
 any time, it should readily 
 fall back or drain itself out 
 again, as would be the case 
 with pipes fixed as shown at 
 T V, Fig. 93, p. 224. 
 
 An iron girder, as shown 
 at G, Fig. 106, or other ob- 
 stacle, often prevents the 
 plumber from giving a branch 
 soil-pipe a proper fall, but he 
 can generally manage to nose 
 down the end of the pipe, as 
 shown at B, Fig. 106, to prevent the discharges 
 through the branch entering the main at right angles, 
 and fouling it beyond its line of water thoroughfare. 
 How often one sees a range of lavatory basins 
 fitted up with the branch wastes from them enter- 
 ing the top of the chief branch at right angles, as 
 
 Fig. 106. 
 
 Branch " nosed " into 
 
 ^Iain-pipe.
 
 Sanitary PliDiihing. 
 
 247 
 
 shown in diagram Fig. 107. When a basin near 
 the main waste, in such an arrangement, is 
 emptied through a minor branch, B or Q into 
 the main branch, E E', the contents of the basin 
 would flow both^ ways — i.e.^ a discharge of soapy 
 water through branches B and C would flow up the 
 main waste towards E', and its suds would hang 
 about the pipe and corrode upon it, unless basin C 
 or a basin still more remote, were immediately 
 used. 
 
 Fig. 107. ^Diagrammatic Section of a Range of Lavatory Basins, 
 to show Errors in the Branch Connections. 
 
 There is another evil attending such an arrange- 
 ment. A discharge of water through branch C 
 would drive the vitiated air in the main branch, E, 
 out through the basin, A, into the room, as shown 
 by the arrows ; in fact, there would be a constant 
 circulation of air from basin to basin, and that air, 
 passing through a pipe which would often be 
 charged with bad air, from stale soapsuds and 
 
 * An ocular demonstration was given with a small washhand- 
 basin and a glass waste-pipe, showing this. A little soapy water 
 was put into the basin (similar to the basin, b), and on pulling out 
 the plug the water flowed both ways in the pipe, and though the 
 water drained itself out of the piping, the suds remained in the 
 pipe.
 
 248 
 
 The Science mid Art of 
 
 Range of 
 Basins into 
 one Trap. 
 
 Other matter adhering to the sides of the pipe 
 would be breathed by the persons bending over 
 such basins to wash their hands ; for in the 
 " tip-up " basins the impure air would easily 
 come up between the basin and the "receiver," 
 and in plug-basins (though the plug may be in its 
 place) the air would easily escape through the over- 
 flow-arm. 
 
 Another error is often made in the arrangement 
 of lavatory wastes, where a range of basins is dis- 
 charged into one trap. The main branch is taken 
 
 Fig. 108. — Diagrammatic Section of a Range of Basins, to show the 
 Evil of Emptying into one Trap. 
 
 into the heel of the trap in such a way that 
 about two-thirds of its length always stand full 
 of water, as shown in the diagrammatic section 
 Fig. 108. When this is the case, how is it possible 
 to change the water standing in the waste-pipe, 
 GG', and trap, F, with a flush of water sent 
 through either of the basins } The body of 
 water standing in the trap and piping might be- 
 come very offensive from the use of scented 
 soap and the washings-down of the lavatory top, 
 and it would prevent the waste-pipe from being
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 249 
 
 cleansed ; for no flush of water could be sent 
 through the pipe with any cleansing force in such 
 an arrangement. 
 
 When a waste-pipe from one ''fitting" is 
 branched into the trap fixed under anotJicr fit- 
 
 Fig. 109. — Error in Branch Connection. 
 
 ting, the connection should be so made that no 
 air can travel from one to the other, as it easily 
 could in the arrangement shown in diagram, Fig. 
 109 — i.e.y the air would be circulating constantly 
 from H to K, through the foul waste-pipe, I, or vice 
 versa. 
 
 If one trap must be 
 made to receive the waste- 
 pipes from more than one 
 basin, sink, bath, or urinal, 
 when fixed adjoining each 
 other, the ends of such 
 pipes should be taken into 
 the trap under the normal 
 level of the 
 water, as shown 
 
 Connec- 
 tions with 
 Traps, 
 Evils of. 
 
 standing- 
 
 m 
 
 Fig. no. — A Tetter Mode ot 
 Connection than Fig. 109. 
 
 do not like even this arrangement. 
 
 diagram Fig. no, at L ; but I 
 It may do for
 
 250 
 
 The Scietice and Art of 
 
 certain places, but is not perfect in principle, and 
 therefore should never be carried out in fixing 
 sanitary fittings near a living-room or bedroom. 
 In dressing-rooms it is common to find the lava- 
 tory-waste connected with the bath-waste, either 
 as shown in Fig. 109 or Fig. in ; but as it is 
 impossible to keep such arrangements absolutely 
 sweet, we will just look at the evils attending 
 them. 
 
 Fig. III. — Section showing Evils of Emptying several Fittings 
 into one Trap. 
 
 One Trap 
 and several 
 Wastes, 
 Evils of. 
 
 When two or more waste-pipes discharge into 
 one trap, with their ends under the water-line, the 
 filth carried down one pipe floats up into one or 
 more of the other pipes, and collects and lodges 
 there. This will readily be seen by looking at the 
 illustration Fig. in, showing such an arrange- 
 ment. A discharge of soapy water is sent out of 
 the basin-waste, N, and the suds from it imme- 
 diately float up into the dip-pipe of the trap, M ; 
 and though the matter sent up may only be small 
 in one usage, it becomes large from many usages.
 
 Sanitary Plmnhing. 251 
 
 The lavatory would most likely be in constant use, 
 but the bath may not be used more than two or 
 three times a week, and when used the discharges 
 from it would not wash out the dried filth, for that 
 would have collected upon the sides of the dip- 
 pipe, M, and on the outer side of the bath-waste, 
 above its discharging orifice. Besides, in such 
 arrangements, a large trap is often used with only 
 small branch- wastes into it from the adjoining 
 *' fittings," so that the trap could not get properly 
 cleaned out by a flush of water sent into it through 
 such pipes. The fact is that in such cases filth 
 collects very quickly in the dip, or inlet part of the 
 trap, M, and on the outer side of the discharging 
 end of the bath-waste, standing in the mouth of 
 the large trap. 
 
 When each fitting has its own trap, the water- Each 
 
 Fitting its 
 
 flushes through it can be made to cleanse every own Trap. 
 part of it, provided that the water-way from the 
 fitting into the trap is of the same bore, and that 
 the trap is of a self-cleansing form, and only of 
 such a size ^ as can be readily flushed out. (See 
 perfect arrangement. Fig. 70, p. 175.) 
 
 Waste-pipes and Overflow-pipes from "w.c." 
 
 .,, , Wastes 
 
 Safes to Water-closets. — It is still the connected 
 practice with many country plumbers, where they Traps! 
 fix safes under water-closets, to connect the waste- 
 
 * The traps used for such purposes are generally much too 
 large : 4-mch syphon-traps, or 6-inch (and even S-inch) D-traps^ 
 that is to say, little cesspools.
 
 252 The Science and Art of 
 
 pipe of the safe with the W.C. trap, and to fix the 
 pipe of too small a size to be of any value in any 
 great overflow of the water-closet. But, supposing 
 the pipe to be large enough to take away any 
 overflow from the closet or leaky supply-valve, its 
 connection with the trap of the water-closet, where 
 the stoppage which has caused the overflow has 
 occurred, would prevent the water getting away, 
 and the safe would be of no good in preventing the 
 water from overflowing and doing damage. But 
 the chief evil in such an arrangement is that ex- 
 cremental matter would flow up into this waste- 
 pipe (and perhaps into the safe) from time to 
 time, and foul the pipe where it would have no 
 chance of being cleaned again ; and every usage 
 of the closet would cause a disturbance of the 
 water standing in this pipe, and make it smell. 
 The evil is much aggravated when the pipe is 
 connected to the cheek or heel of the water-closet 
 trap with its orifice partly above the level of the 
 standing-water; for soil-pipe air would then readily 
 escape through the waste-pipe of the safe into the 
 house. Such arrangements exist in scores of 
 houses to-day. 
 Separate Xhe System of fixing a separate trap under the 
 
 safe, and taking the waste-pipe from it into the 
 soil-pipe, is radically wrong, though, with a " weep- 
 ing "-pipe to charge it, it is an improvement on the 
 method last mentioned. But in a stack of water- 
 closets such traps often get unsyphoned, and then 
 they become inlets for bad air to the house, and
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 253 
 
 may continue for hours and even days unsealed, 
 and all the time the air from the soil-pipe would be 
 escaping into the house ; for the water-closet with 
 which they were connected may not be used for 
 days together to re-charge them with water — i.e., 
 to re-seal the traps. 
 
 The only safe way of fixing *' safe-wastes " is to Open 
 
 1 / . 1 V 1 , . ■ 1 r "^Vastes to 
 
 connect a 2-mch (or u-mch) lead pipe ^to the safe, w.c. 
 and carry it through the external wall, as shown in 
 Fig. 112, leaving its end open for ventilation, 
 
 Fig. 112. — Section of W.C. Safe and Overflow-pipe. 
 
 except where birds are likely to build in it, or the 
 frosty air can blow through it to freeze the service- 
 pipe to the water-closet, or the water-closet itself. 
 There is very little fear of this when the ends of 
 such pipes face the south, and the service-pipes are 
 protected ; but where the ends of overflow-pipes 
 are open to the north, or north-east, the air whistles 
 up the pipe and freezes the basin-water — perhaps 
 breaking the basin and bursting the pipe. It is, 
 therefore, better to solder a brass or copper-hinged 
 flap on the ends of such pipes, to shut out the frost
 
 254 The Science and Art of 
 
 and to prevent birds building in them, as shown at 
 
 B, Fig. 112. When, however, such pipes can be left 
 
 open, they help to change the air in the W.C. 
 
 room, with a few perforations in the riser of the 
 
 W.C. seat. Oi course where this is done the space 
 
 between the top of the basin and the seat must be 
 
 packed with india-rubber, to prevent any draught 
 
 coming to the occupant ; 
 
 and when there is any 
 
 frost, a floating plugy* 
 
 made of wood, as shown 
 
 Fig. I i3.-Section showing ^^ B, Fig. I 1 3, COuld be 
 "Floating Plug" over ^ ^ 
 
 mouth of Overflow-pipe. PUt HltO the mouth of 
 
 the overflow-pipe to shut 
 out the draught ; but this wants personal atten- 
 tion, for servants never think of such things. 
 
 The mouth of the overflow-pipe should be 
 enlarged, as shown at A, Fig. 1 1 2, and soldered to 
 the safe, and the '' outlet " end should be kept at 
 least a foot below the safe, as shown at B, for the 
 weight of the overflowing water to well open the 
 flap, where it exists. 
 
 altern"'^''' OVERFLOW-PIPES TO SAFES UNDER CiSTERNS — 
 
 Slate or Galvanised Iron — and Baths should 
 be treated in the same way as overflow-pipes to 
 water-closet safes — i.e.y a pipe of sufficient size to 
 take off the supply of water to such " fittings " 
 should be fixed to the safe, and carried through 
 
 * This arrangement was used in my house during the last severe 
 winter, 1880— 188 1.
 
 Sanitary Pliinihing. 
 
 OD 
 
 the external wall, to discharge with an open end 
 outside ; and to prevent such pipes becoming in- 
 lets for bad air, the ends should be kept well away 
 from all ventilating-pipes to waste-pipes, soil-pipes, 
 and drains, and from places where any bad air 
 could reach them. 
 
 Where stop-cocks are used for supplying a Safes under 
 bath with water, or where any supply-valve by 
 leaking drops its water into a safe, provision should 
 be made in the connection of the bath-waste with 
 the safe for taking off such leakage ; for if this 
 were allowed to run down the overflow-pipe in 
 frosty weather, the word '' safe " would be a mis- 
 nomer, for the dropping-water would freeze up 
 the outlet of the overflow-pipe, and then if an 
 overflow took place, it would soon flow over the 
 safe on to the ceiling, giving it a bath, and the 
 people under it a shower bath. 
 
 Waste-pipes from Cisterns should never cistern- 
 
 wastes 
 
 be connected with any other kind of pipe. As Separate. 
 just explained for overflow-pipes from cistern safes, 
 waste or overflow-pipes from cisterns should dis- 
 charge in the open air, well aiuay from all places 
 where any impure air can reach them ; for \\-hen 
 they discharge over a gully, or other drain-trap, 
 they act as air-pipes from such traps — that is, any 
 drain-air escaping through the trap (caused by the 
 water in such traps having evaporated, or by the 
 disturbing action of discharges into the trap) would 
 pass through the waste or overflow-pipe to the
 
 Fig. 114. — Section of a Cistern and its Wa.-^te-pipe. Faulty 
 Arrangement.
 
 Sanitary Fiunilnng, 257 
 
 water in the cistern and contaminate it.* It is i^^i^s in 
 
 fixing 
 
 also a great evil to discharge such pipes into a Cistern- 
 
 •11.1 1 , . ^^astes. 
 
 rain-water-pipe with which may also be connected 
 a sink or lavatory waste ; for such rain-water-pipe 
 and waste-pipe combined is sure in time to become 
 foul, and the bad air arising from it would readily 
 escape through the cistern-waste to the water in 
 the cistern. It is all very well to blame water 
 companies for not supplying pure water, but when 
 no great trouble is taken for keeping the water 
 pure — should it ever come into the cisterns pure — 
 we cannot very well be angry, nor can we dip the 
 directors of water companies in water without 
 risk of being ourselves dipped in it. The other 
 day I was called in to examine the sanitary 
 arrangement of a house which had recently been 
 overhauled and reconstructed. I found about four- 
 fifths of the work well done, but among one or 
 two things imperfectly done was a cistern-waste. 
 The pipe had been disconnected from the water- 
 closet-trap and continued and made to discharge 
 over a rain-water head (as illustrated in Fig. 114). 
 
 * It is a monstrous thing that any man, after disconnecting a 
 cistem-waste from a water-closet-trap, could connect that waste with 
 a drain-trap ! Yet this is often done. Cistern-wastes are made to 
 discharge under the grating of a gully-trap, ]Mansergh-trap, or 
 some other trap connected directly with the drain ; and if they are 
 not made to discharge into such traps, they are made to discharge 
 over them, where any air emitted from the traps could pass through 
 them to the water in the cistern. And these traps are liable to 
 send out a large amount of bad air, for they are generally so large 
 that they hold a good amount of water and filth, and though 
 "only" lavatory wastes may discharge into them, the decomposing 
 soap makes them very offensive. 
 
 R
 
 25S The Science and Art oj 
 
 The cistern itself was on the attic floor, and 
 placed in a corner of the servant's bedroom. I am 
 not now considering the position of cisterns, so I 
 say nothing about that, except that the water 
 stored in such a quarter must get contaminated. 
 Cistern- The wastc-pipc acted also as an overflow-pipe, and 
 
 wastes as 
 
 Air-pipes, being thus open at both ends, there was nothmg 
 to prevent the bad air, from the several lengths 
 of rain-water-pipe and sink-\vaste combined, over 
 w^iich the cistern-waste discharged (as shown at A 
 and C), passing to the water in the cistern. This 
 combined sink-waste and rain-water-pipe emptied 
 itself into a large gully-trap, as shown at D, in 
 the back area of the house^ and as such traps are 
 non-cleansing — as we saw in a previous lecture — 
 this trap was in a very foul state. Every time the 
 water in it was disturbed, a bad smell was emitted 
 from it, and this partly escaped through the window 
 just over the trap into the house, and found its 
 way up the several lengths of the foul waste- 
 piping, and thence through the cistern-waste, A, 
 to contaminate the water in the cistern and the 
 air in the servant's bed-room. A branch-waste 
 from a sink on the third floor was taken into this 
 combined sink-waste and rain-water-pipe, as shown 
 at B ; but this branch waste w^as trapped, proving 
 that the plumber or director of the work had an 
 idea of such piping becoming foul ; but the 
 mystery is why he carried such a pipe as a cistern- 
 waste into it. If you want to find out how far 
 the air coming out of a drain-trap will travel, fix
 
 Sanitary Plumbing, 259 
 
 half-a-dozen lengths of rain-water-pipe over the 
 trap, and carry a long length of cistern-waste into 
 the head, fixed on the top of this rain-water-pipe, 
 and then go into the house and light one or two 
 fires near the cistern ; then if you will put your 
 nose over the mouth of the trumpet-waste while 
 some one throws some essence of peppermint 
 down the drain-trap, you will soon smell the 
 peppermint — i.e., some essence of peppermint 
 thrown down into the gully D, Fig. 1 14, would be 
 smelt by any one standing in the bedroom near 
 the cistern-waste, A. Therefore cistern-wastes cistern- 
 should discharge themselves with open ends, zvell Piaces'of 
 aiuay from all drain-traps, and ventilating-pipe 
 terminals. When they cannot be made to dis- 
 charge into a roof-gutter, or on to a flat or yard, 
 and the only place that can be found is a rain- 
 water head, treat the standing-pipe in the cistern 
 as a ping, by soldering over its top or mouth, and 
 fix an ovei'flow-pipe to the cistern, as described to 
 the cistern safe, taking care that such pipe is of 
 sufficient size to take off the full supply of water 
 to the cistern (in case of failure of the ball-valve); 
 and if you err in this matter, err on the side of 
 largeness. 
 
 Before we speak of water-flushings in pipes, we 
 had better see that the drain is properly connected 
 with the sewer, or we shall run some risk of being 
 flooded. 
 
 R 2
 
 Drain- 
 Disconnec- 
 tion, 
 
 260 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 Disconnection of Drains from Sewers 
 AND Cesspools and DRAtN-VENTiEATioN. — No 
 drain is properly connected with the sewer (or 
 cesspool, as the case may be) which would allow 
 the sewer or cesspool air to get into the drain 
 unless very largely mixed with the atmosphere. 
 
 Fig. 115. — "Sewer-interceptor," with open Air-shaft. 
 
 Every drain should be trapped off from the sewer 
 by an efficient and self-cleansing trap, and this 
 trap should be fixed in every case outside the 
 house. If circumstances will admit of it, an air- 
 shaft should be built over the trap, as shown in 
 Fig. 115, for the admission of fresh air into the
 
 Safiitary Pluuibing. 
 
 261 
 
 house drain ; or a large man-hole and air-shaft 
 might be built up from the bed of the drain, close 
 to the trap, as shown in the illustration Fig. 116, 
 for the upper side of the drain at such point to be 
 well open to the air, as shown at A and B. An 
 inspection pipe to the sewer side of the drain can 
 
 
 ... :^x 
 
 Fig. 116. — Air-shaft and Man-hole. Access to Drain and " Sewer- 
 interceptor." 
 
 be formed as shown at D, D\ with a stopper over 
 the end at D. 
 
 Where the drainage of the house has been 
 carried out on the principles laid down in these 
 lectures, there is no risk in opening a well-flushed 
 and well-ventilated drain to the air, as shown in 
 Fig. 115, or at A B, Fig. 116, provided the trap, 
 C, used for such purposes is a self-cleansing one, 
 having a good v/ater-seal (to allow for evaporation).
 
 262 The Science and Art of 
 
 and provided that it is only of such a size as to 
 admit of the whole of its standing-water being 
 changed by a flush of water sent through the 
 drain. But to fix such an arrangement — e.g., in 
 the area of a London house — and to connect it to 
 an old brick drain, saturated with sewage matter, 
 and of such a size that no amount of water that 
 could be sent into it would flush it ; or to fix it 
 even to a pipe-drain too large to be flushed out, 
 and therefore too large to be kept wholesome, is to 
 run great risk of getting intolerable stinks at such 
 openings ; and if needing to pass near them, I 
 should want a neck as long as a giraffe's, or a body 
 as tall as Chang's, to keep m.y nose well up out of 
 the way of such ofl'ences to mind and body. 
 Open It requires experience in such matters to treat 
 
 Drains. 
 
 Experience Open drains successfully; but to fix a 9-in.* trap 
 where a 6-in. would be ample, or to fix a 6-in. 
 where a 4-in. would suffice, is to run a risk of 
 getting bad smells into the house, if the latter is 
 near such openings, for the contents of the trap 
 would under such circumstances only rarely be 
 entirely changed. Where the outlet end of the 
 drain into such traps as we are now considering 
 could not be left open to the atmosphere — as 
 shown in Fig. 115, or at A B, Fig. 116 — for various 
 reasons, as, for instance, being an old drain which 
 could not be properly flushed out (and might not 
 be changed, on account of the expense), or because 
 
 * There is hardly a mansion in London which requires so lar^e 
 a trap (9-in.) to take away its sewage.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 263 
 
 the opening would come directly under or near a 
 window, or close to an opening into the house, or 
 under a covered-way where any bad air emitted 
 from the trap or drain would get pent up, to enter 
 the house directly a window or door near the place 
 was opened. In such cases^ the opening over the 
 
 Fig. 117.— Air-induct, through Man-hole, to Drain, &c. 
 
 top of the air-shaft, or trap, should be sealed up, A^r-^^^^ 
 as shown at E, Fig. 117, and an <^z>-/;/^?/^^pipe 
 taken into it, as shown at A^ A% Fig. 117, for the 
 admission of fresh air into the drain from a point 
 well removed from the house. Where the end of 
 such induct-pipe could not be kept some little 
 distance away from windows, doors, or passenger 
 traffic, a mica-valve should be fixed over its mouth
 
 264 
 
 Tlie Science and Art of 
 
 Pipe-shaft 
 and Air- 
 induct. 
 
 to prevent, as much as possible, any drain-air 
 escaping through it. 
 
 Where the expense of building a brick air-shaft 
 or man-hole, as shown in Figs. 116 and 117, is 
 greater than could be afforded, a pipe-shaft^ as 
 shown at C, Fig. 1 1 8, could be formed with a small 
 
 Fig. 118, — Pipe-shaft, ■with Air-induct to Drain. 
 
 cost ; and if the top of the shaft could not be left 
 open to the air, for reasons just explained, when 
 speaking of the open air-shaft, the top of this 
 trap inspection-shaft could be sealed over as 
 shown at B, and an air-induct-pipe taken into it, 
 as shown at A A\ Fig. 1 1 8, with a mica-valve over 
 its mouth, or not, as circumstances required. I
 
 Sanitary Plumhim^. 265 
 
 have had many such pipe-shafts put in, and found 
 them to answer admirably. A plunger, attached 
 to a long rod, can easily be pushed down into the 
 trap, E, for unstopping it, should it ever get stopped 
 up — a thing never likely to occur where the 
 drainage has been properly .carried out, and is 
 periodically flushed. 
 
 Where it is not possible to make an air open- induct 
 
 ^ ^ pipe to 
 
 ing directly over the drain, as shown in Figs. 1 1 5 roof, 
 and 116, or to fix an induct-pipe, as shown in 
 Figs. 117 and 118, the induct-pipe could be con- 
 tinued up to the roof, but its mouth would have 
 to be kept well away from all windows, for length- 
 ening the pipe in such a way would cause it to 
 act at times as a flue or upcast-pipe. In other 
 words, it would become the ventilating-pipe of the 
 drain, especially if the wind had free access over 
 the top of it, by removing the atmospheric pres- 
 sure, and also during the time large discharges 
 were passing through the drain. The tLp-cast pipe 
 of a drain should be carried up as high as possible 
 above the level of the top of the induct-pipe, if 
 good results would be obtained — i.e., causing good 
 air currents through the drain. 
 
 Draix-VENTILATIOX.— Though the plumber ^^JJ^J;^^^, 
 may have nothing to do with fixing sewer-traps of Drain- 
 and drain-traps such as we have just been con- 
 sidering, he has generally to do with the ventilating- 
 pipes of the drain, for in most cases he is called 
 upon to fix them, especially when of lead ; and as
 
 266 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 House 
 Drainage 
 and \''enti- 
 lation. 
 
 no drain is properly ventilated unless the air in 
 it is changed, and as this cannot be done without 
 an inlet as well as an outlet, the plumber's know- 
 ledge of drainage matters ought to extend as far 
 as the sewer. I don't mean that he should be 
 required to plan the drainage of a house, but his 
 knowledge of sanitary matters should be such as 
 to lead him to carry out every part of his work 
 in an intelligent manner. If sewer-air is allowed 
 to pass freely into the drain, the whole atmos- 
 phere surrounding the upper portion of the house 
 — where the plumber has terminated the ventilat- 
 ing-pipes of the drain — would become contami- 
 nated, and such vitiated air would often get sucked 
 into the house. If such smells were sufficiently 
 pronounced to call special attention to them, they 
 may get set down to imperfect plumbing. At any 
 rate, there would not be great wisdom in making 
 the plumbing sanitarily perfect, and leaving the 
 drains imperfect; for if one is to be made ill by 
 breathing polluted air, it may as well come from 
 defective plumbing as defective drainage. 
 
 I suppose at the present time the larger pro- 
 portion of the house drains of the United Kingdom 
 are unventilated, and the other portion but im- 
 perfectly ventilated. I have here a scheme of 
 drainage laid down, chiefly with glass tubes, as in 
 one or two experiments which I am now about to 
 make with some smoke I want you to see that 
 with one ventllating-pipe from a drain, though as 
 large as the drain itself, and no matter where it
 
 Sanitaiy Plmnbing. 
 
 267 
 
 may be placed, there is no ventilation of the 
 drain — i.e., the air in the drain is not changed 
 unless two (or more) openings are made in it — an 
 inlet and an outlet — for a current of air to pass in 
 at one end and out at the other. 
 
 Fig. 119 shows a plan of the glass model used. Plan of 
 The lines showing the drainage and " fittings " are Model. 
 
 Fig. 119. 
 
 exaggerated. A, represents a sewer ; B, a '^ sewer- 
 interceptor " and fresh air inlet to house-drain ; 
 
 C, "grease-intercepting tank," from scullery sink ; 
 
 D, a '' drain-interceptor," taking waste-pipes from 
 sinks, lavatories, &c. ; E, " soil-pipe disconnector ; " 
 F, upcast ventilating-shaft ; G, " soil-pipe trap" 
 with mica-valve, for " foot-ventilation ; " H, upcast
 
 268 The Science and Ari of 
 
 pipe at head of drain ; K, a point more remote 
 from windows or doors than B — where the opening 
 B would be too near the house or passenger traffic ; 
 L, man-holes giving access to drain ; M, drain-inter- 
 ceptor taking waste-pipes from baths, &c. 
 
 As this glass model was fitted up chiefly to 
 show how to aerate a drain, no '^ syphon " is shown 
 for flnsJiing it. A flushing-tank fixed so as to dis- 
 charge itself into the drain, near its head, at G, 
 would perfect the system. See p. 276. 
 
 The " drain " was filled with smoke, but with 
 the ventilating-pipe, H, open, and the discharging 
 end of the drain, B, sealed over (the induct, K, 
 being sealed over as well), no smoke would come 
 out of the ventilating-pipe. The drain was then 
 opened at K, and the ventilation immediately com- 
 menced — that is, the whole of the smoke in the 
 tubing came out of the ventilating-pipe, H. The 
 ventilation could be stopped at pleasure, and this 
 was done several times by sealing either the inlet, 
 K, or the outlet, H ; for directly the one or the other 
 was sealed, the ventilation ceased — that is, the 
 smoke ceased to pass out of the tubing with one 
 pipe closed. 
 
 With another ventilating-pipe fixed in the 
 middle part of the drain at F, and both ventila- 
 ting-pipes, F and H, left open, and the inlets, B and 
 K, sealed over, smoke could readily be cleared 
 out of the upper part of the drain between the 
 two ventilating-pipes, but the smoke remained 
 stagnant in the loiver part of the drain, between B
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 269 
 
 and F, and this could only be got out of the tubing 
 by giving it air at B or K. 
 
 The ventilating-pipe at the head of the drain, 
 H, was then made the upcast, by sealing over the 
 ventilating-pipe, F, in the middle of the drain, and 
 a smoking-paper was held at K, over the mouth of 
 a glass tubing, fixed as shown by the dotted line. 
 The smoke could be seen passing (rapidly at times) 
 through the glass tubing, and out of the upcast 
 pipe, H. And this is what takes place in practice, 
 as I have proved over and over again. 
 
 I have also proved with this same model that 
 it makes only a slight difference when an indiict- 
 pipe is used, as shown in Fig. 1 18. 
 
 In this drainaq-e arrangrement, I have dis- Localising 
 
 ^ ^ , Drains. 
 
 connected each stack of soil and waste-pipe, 
 thereby localising them ; and that each pipe, as 
 well as the drain, may be perfectly ventilated, I 
 have given each its own inlet and outlet ; in fact, I 
 have treated them here as they ought to be treated 
 in practice to secure perfect ventilation throughout 
 the whole system. 
 
 It only remains to say a word or two on the ,^'^."^^" 
 ventilating-pipes themselves, before passing on to pipes, 
 consider the value of good water-flushings in 
 drains. In fixing ventilating-pipes for upcasts to 
 drains, take care to keep them well above and well 
 out of the way of all openings into the house, as 
 explained under the head of soil-pipe ventilation 
 in the previous lecture, so that the bad air coming 
 out of such pipes may not get into the house
 
 270 
 
 The Scuncc and Art of 
 
 Venti- 
 
 lating-pipe 
 
 Terminals. 
 
 through a cliimney, skylight, dormer-window, ur 
 any other opening. It would really be amusing, 
 were it not for the serious consequences likely to 
 arise, to take note as one travels about of the 
 ill-considered positions in which such pipes were 
 
 Fig. 120. — Drain Ventilatlng-pipe Terminal. Bad Position. 
 
 terminated. Sometimes they are placed where no 
 wind can reach them at all ; at other times they 
 are left so that the smallest wind may blow the 
 air emitted from them right into a window ; 
 and in other places, by crossing and re-crossing 
 the roof, they are carried up some tall chimney- 
 stack and terminated at a point so situated that
 
 Sanitary Plumbing 
 
 271 
 
 tlie slightest downward pressure of the atmosphere 
 presses the bad air from such pipes down the 
 chimney into sleeping^ or other compartments. 
 Fig. 120 shows a ventilating-pipe terminated as 
 described, and this pipe terminal can be seen by 
 any one walking down a street on the south side 
 of the British Museum, for the vcntilating-pipe (the 
 pipe only,) illustrated 
 in Fig. 120 was taken 
 from it. 
 
 Fig. 121 represents 
 a ventilating-pipe ter- 
 minating close to a 
 dormer - window, with 
 the arrows pointing out 
 the evil of such an ar- 
 rangement. Scores of 
 such pipes may be seen 
 
 almost anywhere, where the soil-pipes and drains 
 are ventilated at all. I counted a large number at 
 a sea-side place where I was staying only a short 
 time ago, and yet in the same town the Sanitary 
 
 * Since delivering these lectures, I have been staying at the 
 Royal Castle Hotel, Lynton, which is built on the crest of a hill 
 overlooking the Bristol Channel, and the valley of the East LjTin. 
 Being anxious to get a good view from my bedroom window, I 
 selected a bedroom at the top of the house, and lived to regi'et it ; 
 for though the morning's sun " tipped the hills with gold," I could 
 not see them for the dense smoke which filled my room. I was 
 not long in seeing where the smoke came from, so I jumped out of 
 bed and provided an exit for it by opening one of the windows, and 
 then returned to bed again to watch the movements of the smoke. 
 Down the chimney it came in clouds, filling the room from floor to 
 ceiling, and went out of the window in a fitful sort of way, and as 
 
 Fig. 121. — Soil-pipe Terminal. 
 Bad Position.
 
 272 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 Venti- 
 lating- 
 pipes fixed 
 Outside. 
 
 Inspector had a brass plate on his gate as large as 
 a small sign-board. Perhaps this obstructed his 
 vision. 
 
 No ventilating-pipe from a drain should be 
 fixed inside a house if it is at all practicable to fix 
 it outside. To prevent the possibility of drain-air 
 escaping into a house from a ventilating-pipe 
 through a leaky joint, broken pipe, nail hole, or 
 any other defect, such pipes should be fixed outside 
 the house. When such pipes are of lead, and are 
 wanted to stand for a century or centuries as lead 
 rain-water pipes would, they should be kept out 
 of the power of the sun as much as possible, for 
 with soldered joints the pipe would have no free- 
 dom for expansion or contraction^ as in lead rain- 
 water pipes with slip socket joints,, as explained in 
 our last lecture. 
 
 Water- 
 flushing. 
 
 .Value of good Water-flushing. — If water- 
 carriage is to be the system of removal, water 
 must be used freely. If the slops and suUiage of a 
 house are to be effectually removed, whatever else 
 may be limited in a house, water must not be. 
 Make a canal the roadway for your boats of 
 commerce, and then limit its water supply, and 
 where will the boats be ? Why, stranded, of course. 
 
 it gave every sign of continuing this course for some hours, I jumped 
 out of bed and got out of the room as quickly as possible, feeling 
 glad that it was only smoke, for if a ventilating-pipe had been near 
 the top of this chimney it might have been drain-air, instead of 
 smoke, and what a change of air that would have been, even 
 though I had come from Cologne. The arrows in Fig. 120 show 
 the danger of terminating ventilating-pipes near a chimney.
 
 Sanitary Flujiibing. 273 
 
 Make water the cleansing-power of your waste- 
 pipes, soil-pipes, and drains, and then limit its use, 
 and where will the filth be ? Why, lodging, de- 
 composing, and corroding in the pipes. Or make 
 water the drainage scavenger, and then limit its 
 supply, or cleansing force, and how is the drainage 
 to be swept out and cleaned ? How we should 
 ridicule a Vestry Board which sent a street scaven- 
 ger to clean Regent Street, say, with one sweep of 
 his broom — to begin at one end and push it right 
 through the centre of the street to the other end ; 
 and yet such a swept track as that represents the 
 treatment a soil-pipe often gets. The pipe is be- 
 fouled all over by an offensive excremental dis- 
 charge sent into it ; but the water used for washing 
 out the pipe is only sufiicient, in many cases, to 
 cleanse a channel down its sides. 
 
 Look at this matter a little more closely. A ^^°p^' 
 pailful of slops from chamber utensils is thrown 
 down a water-closet in a body sufficiently large to 
 foul the whole of the soil-pipe belonging to the 
 closet, and, at the same time, a water-waste 
 preventing-valve (fixed under the seat) is opened 
 for two gallons of water to pass into the closet to 
 cleanse it ; but this water, squirting into the water- 
 closet as if it came from a boy's syringe, is of little 
 value for cleansing the pipe, as it does not cover 
 the whole of the parts fouled, and the parts un- 
 washed become coated over with excremetal 
 matter, corroding up the pipe and making it un- 
 wholesome. The real cause of obstruction in 
 s
 
 2 74 The Science and Art of 
 
 pipes is the want of good water-flushing. It 
 would be possible to stop up a 6-inch pipe to a 
 water-closet or urinal with a poor supply of water 
 to it quicker than a 3|-inch one with a good 
 supply of water. 
 Adequate Nq wastc-pipe, soil-pipc, or drain can be kept 
 
 Water- 
 flushes, wholesome unless adequate flushes of water are 
 
 sent through them immediately after discharging 
 dirty water or excremental matter into them ; and 
 before such discharges are sent through the traps 
 and such pipings, they ought to be largely diluted 
 with water, especially in such cases as the contents 
 from chamber utensils. Measure water into slop- 
 sinks and water-closets, &c., by the tablespoonful, 
 and whatever else may be wholesome about the 
 house, such fittings, with their belongings, will not 
 be. I know that it is possible to utilise two gallons 
 of water — the quantity allowed for water-closets 
 by the London water companies, in accordance 
 with the Metropolis Water Act of 1871 — in such 
 a way that it shall pass into a closet with greater 
 cleansing power than twice that quantity badly 
 supplied ; but that is not the present question. 
 
 Two-gallon Two crallons of water are insufficient for keeping^ 
 
 Supply. ^ ^ ^ 
 
 a water-closet and its belongings wholesome ; and 
 
 speaking to a body of practical men, their opinion 
 
 in the matter I shall be glad to hear. Are there 
 
 ten men in this room who consider a two-gallon 
 
 water-flush sufficient to cleanse a water-closet, 
 
 basin, trap, soil-pipe, and drain after usage } "^ 
 
 * A hearty "No !" came from all parts of the room at each 
 delivery of the lecture.
 
 Sanitary Flii7?ilnng. 
 
 275 
 
 We must knock at the door of Parliament, and 
 send in a message stating that a large body of 
 practical plumbers find from experience that two 
 gallons of water are insufficient to keep a " house 
 of commons " wholesome, and that if more water 
 cannot be allowed, such places must be abolished. 
 
 But when plenty of water is to be had, if not Bad 
 
 Appliances. 
 
 for the asking, yet by the pulling of a handle, the 
 flush is often interfered 
 with by bad appliances. 
 The supply - valves, in- 
 stead of being equal to 
 flushing out a 4-inch or 
 4 - inch soil - pipe, are 
 often only of sufficient 
 size to cleanse a i^-inch 
 or i|-inch pipe; or per- 
 haps the boiler-screw or 
 cistern connection, A, is 
 of smaller diameter than 
 the service-pipe, as shown 
 
 in the woodcut, and the water is wire-drawn through 
 it — if I may use such an expression — or the bends 
 in the pipe may be contracted, as shown at B and 
 C, Fig. 122. When either of these evils occurs, how- 
 can the water pass into a water-closet or ''fitting" 
 with a good cleansing force^ supposing the service- 
 pipe to be only of a size sufficient for that purpose."^ 
 
 Fig. 122. — Service-pipe con- 
 tracted at the bends. 
 
 * A valve-closet with a "V-dip" trap and a short length of 
 3^-inch lead soil-pipe and about a 2-foot length oi glass soil-pipe, 
 was fitted on a stand, and several experiments were made to show 
 
 S 2
 
 276 
 
 The Science and. Art of 
 
 Field's 
 
 Annular 
 
 Syphon. 
 
 Having already explained how small con- 
 nections to bath-wastes, sinks, and lavatories in- 
 terfere with the flushes of water from them for 
 cleansing their waste-pipes, I will not occupy your 
 time further on this matter, except to call your 
 attention to Mr. Roger Field's " Syphon Flushing- 
 Tank," — Fig. 123. This apparatus may be made a 
 valuable means for flushing out the, drains of a 
 
 house automatically, as 
 well as for other pur- 
 poses. When the rain- 
 water of a house, in 
 town or country, is not 
 used for any purpose, 
 and where the soil- 
 drain is used for taking 
 it away, a good sized 
 *' flushing tank " should 
 be fixed near the head 
 the rain-water collected 
 into the drain in laree 
 
 Fig. 123. — Section of "Syphon 
 Flushine-tank." 
 
 of the soil-drain, and 
 into it so as to pass 
 
 volumes for cleansing its whole length, instead 
 of dribbling into it in many places, and being of 
 little or no value for flushing out the drain. There 
 
 by ocular demonstration that soil-pipes are readily cleansed when 
 good water-flushes are sent through them, provided that the soil- 
 pipe 5 are not too large. The piece of glass soil-pipe (which was 
 fixed at the bottom of the lead soil-pipe), was well coated over 
 on its inner side with plumbers' " soil," and though this was partly 
 dried on the tubing, by warming it with the flame from a piece of 
 burning paper, a full and quick discharge of water from the water- 
 closet washed off all the "soil." This experiment was repeated 
 several tirnes with a like result.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 277 
 
 is this additional advantage in such an arrange- 
 ment — namely, there would then be only one 
 opening into the soil-drain for the rain-water 
 instead of many. The tank for this purpose 
 can be made in brick and cement, or of galvanised 
 iron of any size, and the syphon adapted 
 accordingly. An auxiliary supply of water can 
 be laid on to the tank, for working it at certain 
 intervals — every five, ten, fifteen, or twenty-four 
 hours, or at pleasure. This arrangement can be 
 applied also for collecting'^ 6\x\.y water" from general 
 waste-pipes, &c., and passing it into a drain in 
 large bodies^ instead of allowing each sink and 
 lavatory to dribble into it at all points. The value 
 of such an arrangement is considerable when the 
 drainage is of great length, but the flushing-tank 
 should in such cases be kept well away from 
 the house, to prevent any bad air from its stagnant 
 water becoming offensive. In such cases it is 
 important to have a clean water flushing-tank "^ in 
 addition, so as to thoroughly cleanse the drain — 
 that is, to fully charge the drain with clean water — 
 or it may get fouled by the discharges from the foul- 
 water flush-tank, where it would not be cleansed 
 again : the remedy would be worse than the dis- 
 ease. This tank, or " syphon," is also very 
 
 * A flushing-tcink, as Fig. 123, holding about 1 00 gallons of 
 water, is discharged in about half a minute. This gives a 6-inch 
 drain a good scouring flush. The supply of water to the tank can 
 be so arranged by a bib-cock, or other means, that the tank shalL 
 only empty itself once in twenty-four hours. Messrs. Bowles, Scott, 
 and Read are the manufacturers.
 
 278 The Scie?ice and Art of 
 
 valuable for emptying cesspools ; but that is 
 engineering, and going beyond our subject, and if 
 I take you into such preserves we may all get 
 taken up for trespassing. 
 
 Drain- I have dwclt at lenq;th on waste-pipe, soil-pipe, 
 
 flushing ^ i:- x- ' r r ^ 
 
 Important, and drain-flushing, as the wholesomeness of such 
 drainage arrangements is of the very highest 
 importance. Without this, no house is safe to 
 live in ; with it, the humblest cottage may be 
 made a " sweet home." And I have enlarged 
 upon the means for keeping all such drainage pipes 
 wholesome, because our present method of venti- 
 lating such conduits makes it absolutely necessary 
 that they should be kept well cleansed. Every 
 waste-pipe, every soil-pipe, every drain and branch- 
 drain is, or should be, ventilated, and these ven- 
 tilating-pipes are carried up above the roofs of our 
 houses, and if the drainage is not kept well flushed 
 out with water, the stink coming out of these mul- 
 
 Bad Air tiplied pipcs wiU be enormous. No man with a 
 
 from Ven- 
 tilating- very sensitive nose could stay for five minutes on 
 
 the roofs of some of the hotels and club-houses 
 of London. 
 
 I remember some time ago putting my nose 
 over the air-pipe from a bath and lavatory- 
 waste, and the stink coming out of it was 
 awful — enough to " knock one down," as we say 
 sometimes. 
 TheAtmo- This is a very important matter; for though 
 Pdfmed. such ventilating-pipes may be carried well above
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 279 
 
 the roof, the smell coming from them where the 
 drainage-pipes are not thoroughly flushed would be 
 so great that the whole of the atmosphere sur- 
 rounding our dwellings would at times become 
 largely charged with the bad air emitted from 
 such pipes. People suffering from all kinds of 
 diseases would use the water-closets, or excre- 
 mental matter coming from them would be 
 thrown down such places, and the bad air from 
 such matter adhering to the sides of the pipe, or 
 left unwashed out of the drain, would escape 
 through the ventilating-pipes to the air passing 
 over the house ; and though such bad air would 
 no doubt get largely diluted before it was breathed, 
 in great cities — at any rate in a huge city like 
 London — it would pass at times pretty freely into 
 houses. When the drainao-e of London houses is London 
 
 •^ Drainage 
 
 properly ventilated — i.e., when every waste-pipe. Ventilated, 
 soil-pipe, and drain has its ventilating-pipe, the 
 number of such pipes wdll be enormous — hundreds 
 of thousands : I might say a million, for there are 
 nearly 600;00O private dwelling-houses in the 
 metropolis. 
 
 How important, therefore, that the stink from 
 such pipes shall be minimised ! Well, where the 
 plumbing and drainage are done on sanitary prin- 
 ciples, this is done by good arrangement and good 
 water-flushing, and where these do not exist such 
 pipes will be found shooting out their venomous 
 filth from behind chimney-stack and parapet, and 
 from all points of the ridge to which they are
 
 28o The Science and Art of 
 
 carried, to contaminate the air we have to 
 breathe. 
 
 Services WaTER SUPPLY TO SANITARY FITTINGS. — 
 
 to Sanitary 
 
 Fittings. ' As service-pipes are the means generally employed 
 for sending water through the various sanitary fit- 
 tings of a house to cleanse them^ as well as to 
 cleanse the traps, pipes, and drainage from them, I 
 ought, perhaps, to say a word on the sizes of such 
 pipes. When such fittings can be filled with water 
 (as baths, sinks, and lavatories), the size of the 
 service-pipe is not so important, except for saving 
 time ; for the fittings or vessels can be filled with 
 w^ater and the plug pulled out, or waste-arrange- 
 ment opened, and the contents of the bath, sink, or 
 lavatory, &c., sent through the waste-piping in 
 good cleansing flushes — provided that the way into 
 such pipings is equal in area to the diameter of the 
 waste-pipe.^ 
 
 Service- Water-CLOSET SUPPLY. — The scrvicc-pipes 
 
 pipes to 
 
 w.c.'s. to water-closets should be of such a size that 
 a flush of about three gallons of water can be 
 sent through them in about five seconds. Where 
 the Jicad of water is insufficient to allow an inch or 
 
 ^^ A lavatory was fitted up on a stand to prove that lavatory- 
 wastes are easily kept wholesome by good appliances. A short 
 length of glass piping, \\ inches diameter, was attached to the waste- 
 pipe of the lavatory, which had a i|-inch patent cast-lead trap under 
 it. Though the inside of this piping was well coated over with 
 plumbers' soil, the pipe was easily cleansed by //rt-^- filling the 
 basin with water and discharging it through a " feather- waste- 
 valve."
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 281 
 
 an inch-and-a-quarter pipe to do this, fix ij-inch 
 or 2-inch pipe, and see that the ''attached" supply- 
 valve of the water-closet apparatus is of sufficient 
 size to allow the full charge of the service-pipe to 
 pass through it to cleanse the closet. Water waste- 
 preventing valves are now made in large sizes, so as 
 to get the two gallons of water out of their small 
 cisterns as expeditiously as possible. I have no 
 faith in so-called water-waste-preventors for sup- 
 plying closets and urinals. 
 
 Urinal Supply. — The supply of water to f^?P};"J° 
 urinals should always be very copious,, and where 
 this cannot be given no urinal basin should be 
 fixed, at any rate inside a house ; for sooner or 
 later it would become a nuisance. Urine and 
 greasy water are the two great evils to contend 
 against in perfecting the sanitary arrangements 
 of a house. The nearer, therefore, such fittings 
 as urinals and scullery-sinks are kept to the 
 sewer or cesspool — for shortening their length of 
 drainage — the m.ore wholesome will be their 
 waste-pipes and drainage, for they will be easier 
 cleansed. 
 
 Urine is difficult to treaty as it cannot be 
 caught like grease and made to float, for it settles 
 down upon everything it touches or comes into 
 contact with. It can only be got rid of by copious 
 flushes of water, and that too before it has time to 
 settle down upon the urinal, trap, waste-pipe, or
 
 282 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 drainage. Therefore, when this corrosive matter 
 is passed into a vessel and its belongings, plenty of 
 water should go with it to carry it right away. It 
 would be very valuable if the contents of chamber- 
 utensils and urinal basins could be passed directly 
 into the running water of the sewer without having 
 to pass through any waste-piping or drainage. As 
 this cannot very well be done, an arrangement 
 should be adopted where water is plentiful for 
 
 « J 
 
 Fig. 124. — View of Treadle-Action Urinal Apparatus. 
 
 keeping a small body of water in the urinal- 
 basin or basins, with a constant supply of water 
 laid on, to largely dilute the urine before it passes 
 into the waste-pipe ; or a tread/c-action supply-valve, 
 as shown in Fig. 124, should be fixed, for a stream 
 of water to pass through the basin and piping 
 during tJie use of the tirinal. A self-acting flushing 
 apparatus'^ can be fixed, for flushing out a urinal 
 or urinals every quarter of an hour, or at a shorter 
 
 * We have one in our factory, and it answers remarkably 
 well.
 
 Sanitary Phnuhin^. 
 
 283 
 
 or longer period ; and with a Field's Annular 
 Syphon adapted to the waste-pipe of the urinal 
 basin or basins, or to the basins themselves, the 
 flush of water through the basin or urinal could 
 be made to start the syphon, for the contents of 
 the basin or basins to pass into the drainage pipes 
 simultaneously with the flush of water from the 
 self-acting apparatus. 
 
 Discharges from Scullery 
 Grease can be arrested and kept out of a drain 
 
 Sinks.— ^^""^'•y 
 
 Sinks. 
 
 Fig. 125. — View of Patent Grease-intercepting Tank. 
 
 with proper care. The discharges from a scullery 
 sink should be made to pass through a tank of 
 cold water, as shown in Figs. 125 and 126, for 
 arresting the grease in it before passing into the 
 drain. Or in large mansions, where a great deal 
 of cooking is done, and especially where there 
 are long lengths of drainage from them, the 
 waste-pipe from a scullery sink might discharge 
 into a larger tank than shown in Figs. 125 and
 
 284 
 
 The Sdefice and Art of 
 
 126, say a slate or lead-lined trough from 6 to 
 10 ft. long — according to the requirements — and 
 about 18 inches wide at top and about half that 
 width at bottom, and about 18 inches deep. 
 
 This grease-catching trough should be fixed in 
 some convenient place outside the scullery, and the 
 waste-pipe from the sink taken into it at one end 
 below the water-line — which should be about a foot 
 up from the bottom — and the outlet should be at 
 
 Fig. 126. — Section. 
 
 the other end. In a discharge from the sink the 
 grease would be arrested in its transit through this 
 cold body of water in the trough, and would float 
 to the top. The body of grease congealing from 
 day to day, and floating on the top of the water in 
 the trough, could be cleaned out and cleared away 
 weekly, and the trough well washed out ; and thus 
 the drains would be kept free from such adhesive 
 matter as grease, and rendered more wholesome.^ 
 
 * The "grease-intercepting tank," illustrated in Fig. 125, is 
 found to be very valuable for arresting grease. Layers of grease
 
 Sanitary Plu77ibing. 285 
 
 Pipe-freezing.— It will not be going out p^P^'^^g^ 
 of our way to say a few words on pipe- from Frost 
 freezing, now that we are speaking of service- 
 pipes. 
 
 No service-pipe should be fixed on the ex- 
 ternal nor on the internal face of an external 
 wall, especially a wall facing the north or east, 
 without being cased in and thoroughly protected. 
 When possible, service-pipes should be fixed on the 
 cross-walls inside the house, and never on the main 
 walls ; for the cold penetrates through the external 
 walls and, reaching any pipe fixed on its face, 
 though inside the house, freezes the water in it. 
 If a pipe vuist come down on the internal face of a 
 main wall, then an inch board should be put be- 
 tween the pipe and the wall, and the pipe cased up, 
 and the casing filled with cocoa-nut fibre. All ser- 
 vice-pipes in roofs should be boxed in, and the 
 boxes filled with this fibre. I do not like saw- 
 dust, for that decays ; nor hair-felt, for that rots ; 
 and besides, to cover pipes with such material 
 where bad air could reach it would be to har- 
 bour smells, for the effluvia coming from persons 
 using the water-closets would hang about such 
 stuff and cause it to become " stuffy." Where 
 the service-pipe could not be boxed or cased 
 in, and where the cold air could reach it — 
 
 3 and 4 ins. thick can be cut out of it after it has been in use 
 from a week to three weeks — according to the work it has" to 
 do; but as I have explained its working in " Dulce Domum," I 
 will say no more about it here.
 
 2 86 The Science and Art of 
 
 as, e.g., under water-closet seats, where the pipe 
 has to leave the casing to reach the supply- 
 valve of the water-closet — the pipe should be 
 bound round with two or three thicknesses of gas- 
 kin ,and then be covered over with canvas, to pro- 
 tect it from frost. The cold air coming in through 
 the overflow-pipe of the safe, and blowing upon an 
 unprotected pipe, would soon freeze it. 
 
 If the positions of service-pipes are carefully 
 considered, and the parts of questionable secu- 
 rity protected in the manner described, no ser- 
 vice-pipe in English houses need get frozen. 
 
 Water. STORAGE OF Water. — Scrvicc-pipcs lead me 
 
 Place of ^ ^ 
 
 Storage. to watcr and its storage. But our time is now 
 on the very verge of departure ; I will therefore 
 say but one or two words upon this. As a " con- 
 stant supply" in London means a little fickleness 
 now and then — a shutting-off for 12 or 24 hours 
 for "special repairs" or "alterations," &c., or to 
 show how empty at times all things become — it is 
 wise to have a place of storage. This place of 
 storage is of the utmost importance for storing 
 water for dietetic purposes. It should be so stored 
 that no bad air from the house, water-closet, ven- 
 tilating-pipe, dust-bin,^ or any other place where 
 vitiated air can come from, could reach it, to 
 contaminate it. Though lead-lined cisterns are 
 
 * The dust-bin is generally a plague-spot ! No house is sani- 
 tarily perfect with an offensive house-refuse collector left in or 
 near it.
 
 Sanitary Plu?nln?ig. 287 
 
 very suitable for supplying water-closets, I have 
 
 a preference for slate cisterns for storing water siate 
 
 f. ,. . . . Cisterns. 
 
 for dietetic purposes ; of course such cisterns 
 should have '^ safes '-' under them, as a pro- 
 tection against condensation, breakage, &c. I 
 don't know that galvanised iron cisterns are so Galvanised 
 much more safe* than lead ; for the galvanising Cisterns. 
 comes off, if it is not dissolved, and is consumed 
 with the water. The action of water upon lead 
 depends to a great extent upon the character 
 of the water, and when this is known it can 
 readily be determined whether it would be safe 
 or not to store it in lead cisterns for drinking 
 purposes. I have known lead cisterns eaten Lead 
 
 . Cisterns. 
 
 through in a year or two, and though the lead 
 dissolving in this way in small quantities may 
 have been mixed with large quantities of water, 
 it could not but be injurious to store water for 
 dietetic purposes in such cisterns. On the other 
 hand I have seen lead-lined cisterns after they 
 have been in use for half a century with the lead 
 in them but slightly wasted. 
 
 In executing the plumbing at Messrs. Child-'s * 
 new banking premises, just erected (opposite the 
 much-talked-of Griffin — which after all may be 
 only meant for a turtle or its nightmare effects — 
 to mark the spot where once Temple Bar stood), 
 we repaired and re fixed a /ead battened cistern, 
 belonging to Messrs. Child & Co., made in 1679, 
 and which has been in use ever since, and, I 
 
 * The oldest banking-house in London.
 
 288 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 should say, it will last for centuries more, for 
 the water has not much affected the lead. This 
 proves that lead is proof against certain waters. 
 As many plumbers have never seen a lead bat- 
 tened cistern, and as they are not made now, I 
 have had this old cistern illustrated in Fig. 127. 
 
 Fig. 127. — View of an eld Lead Battened Cistern. 
 
 In new lead-lined cisterns, with some waters 
 especially, a film is formed over the face of the 
 lead. This is very valuable, as it prevents to a very 
 great extent any further action of the water upon 
 it. In cleaning out such cisterns, a soft hair-brush 
 should be used, so as not to scratch off any part of 
 this film. 
 
 Dr. Sedg- 
 wick 
 
 Saunders' 
 Pamphlet. 
 
 On the Action of Water upon Lead 
 Pipes. — By permission of Dr. Sedgwick Saunders, 
 F.S.A., Medical Officer of Health and Public 
 Analyst for the City of London, I have made the 
 following extracts from his recent translation of 
 M. Belgrand's essay on " The Action of Water
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 289 
 
 upon Lead Pipes." In his introductory remarks, 
 Dr. Sedgwick Saunders says : — " The action of 
 waters upon lead had been long recognised by 
 chemists of all countries, and before the appear- 
 ance of ]\I. Belgrand's brochure much had been 
 written upon the subject, and the chemical con- 
 clusions enunciated by him anticipated by a 
 general consensus of scientific opinions. . . In 
 H.M. Navy the water tanks are not galvanised, 
 but the interiors are occasionally lime-washed ; it 
 having been found that with galvanised"^ pipes the 
 water becomes impregnated with zinc, which may 
 be seen as a white film floating on the surface." 
 
 "Lead has been employed in the manufacture of conduit pipes 
 ever since the distribution of water in towns was first established 
 by the Romans, the first aqueduct, the Appian, according to 
 Varro,t being constructed in the year of Rome 442. 
 
 " From that period leaden pipes have been in constant use ; all 
 the water services in the interior of ancient towns being made of 
 that metal. 
 
 " In Paris the leaden branch-pipes connecting dwelling houses 
 with the main supply number about 39,500, and their average 
 length may be put at 40 metres, J and their total length at 1,580,000 
 metres. 
 
 "In the case of houses that are occupied, the longest period 
 for the water to remain in the leaden pipes can be estimated 
 thus : — 
 
 Houses having unlimited ) 9 hours during the night. 
 
 supply , . . f from 5 to 10 min. during day. 
 
 Gauged supply . . from 3 to 6 hours at the most. 
 
 * Where the water would be likely to act upon lead, I prefer 
 slate cisterns, and wrought-iron steam-pipes, protected by the 
 Bower-Barff rustless process, for supplying water for dietetic- 
 purposes. We have used a large quantity of this piping. — S. S. H. 
 
 t Varro, Marcus Terentius, a learned writer at Rome, B.C. n6. 
 — W.S.S. 
 
 X A metre is 39*263 inches English.— W.S.S. 
 
 T
 
 290 The Sc'wice and Art oj 
 
 *'As will be seen further on, the time the water is in contact 
 with the interior surface of the pipe is too short for the lead to be 
 attacked. 
 
 " I have already stated that in the net- work of main pipes 
 there are about three kilometres* of lead piping. These are from 
 time to time removed, and on examination their interior surfaces 
 are invariably found to be perfectly smooth and without any trace 
 of corrosion. 
 
 *' I now exhibit two pieces to the Academy : one comes from 
 the service-pipe of the Faubourg Saint- Antoine, laid down in 1670, 
 at the time when the pump of the Bridge of Notre Dame was 
 erected ; it is therefore more than 200 years old, and in the 
 interior the impression of grains of sand is still to be seen. The 
 other was taken up from a side street of Saint-Germain Market \ it 
 is somewhat less old, but equally unblemished. 
 
 " It may be added that the leaden pipes become firmly and 
 rapidly coated with a thin crust f which prevents the water coming 
 in contact with the lead. 
 
 " The harmlessness of leaden pipes appears to me proved by 
 these facts, which explain why they are in use in all the towns of 
 France, and in most European cities, without ever having given 
 cause for complaint. 
 
 "M. Le Blanc has undertaken other experiments, by leaving 
 the lead in water for a much longer period (than nine or ten hours). 
 I quote his own words : — 
 
 " 'On the Action of Waters upon Lead, 
 
 *' ' Chemists have long known with what facility lead becomes 
 oxidised when immersed in distilled water in contact with air. Very 
 small white shiny crystals of the hydrated oxide of lead are very rapidly 
 formed, their quantity augmenting until a copious sediment at the 
 bottom of the vessel has formed ; the same obtains with pure rain 
 water. 
 
 "'On the contrary, water containing a given quantity of salts, 
 principally from selenitic wells, does not attack the lead under the 
 same conditions at all. 
 
 "'Such are the results of experiments made by Professors of 
 Chemistry during the last 40 years in public lectures, and M. Dumas 
 never omitted to place them before his class at the Sorbonne. 
 
 " ' Chemists have often remarked upon the harmlessness of lead with 
 regard to potable waters, circulating in pipes of this metal, because of 
 the saline matters which preserve the metal from oxidation. 
 
 " ' No doubt it would be difficult to give an explanation of these 
 facts, but they seem of the same kind as those which have been esta- 
 blished with regard to iron, which can be preserved without oxidation 
 in distilled water, even when aerated, if only a few drops of an alkali 
 be added to it, whilst it is oxidised rapidly in pure aerated water. But 
 it is curious to observe that by augmenting to a certain extent the 
 proportion of alkali, oxidation can be facilitated. 
 
 * A kilometre is 1,000 metres, — W.S,S, t Carboua:e of lime.— W.S.S.
 
 Sanitary riiaiibing. 
 
 291 
 
 "'Which sahs are the most efficacious, when present in minute 
 quantities, in preventing oxidation of lead in contact with water? Salts 
 of lime alone are unquesiionably so, even in the smallest proportions ; 
 in the absence of lime other salts are capable of protecting lead, in 
 quantities of o"! gramme per litre. Nevertheless, after from 24 to 30 
 hours the water becomes faintly coloured by sulphuretted hydrogen ; 
 but this oxidation soon ceases. The following experiments were maie 
 to ascertain the particular influence of different salts. 
 
 " 'Solutions were made with sulphate of soda, chloride of sodium, 
 chloride of potassium, sulphate of magnesia, the strength of each 
 solution being o'l gramme per htre. The lead was immersed in these 
 for 24 hours, when the water became coloured by sulphuretted hydrogen, 
 but the solvent action did not continue, and it may be said that the 
 solutions in question are without notable action upon lead, for, at the 
 end of 10 days, the re-agent did not produce any real precipitate. ' 
 
 "Upon the whole there is absolutely no danger of poisoning 
 from the use of water flowing through leaden pipes. 
 
 "Furthermore, in the Journal des Savants (October, 1871 
 p. 488), one reads : - 
 
 *' ' It may not be inopportune to draw attention to a fact not suf- 
 ficiently known to the pub.ic — namely, that rain waters alter leaden and 
 zinc vessels more than waters containing salts in solution, well waters 
 for example. The result of this is that these latter waters may remain 
 in a leaden vessel without attacking it, and without becotning poisonous, 
 while rain waters, free from saline mitters, dissolve oxide of lead and 
 thus become poisonous. This obsenation, quoted from Guyton de 
 Mon^eau, is perfectly true. I have verified it at the time of my investi- 
 gation on the waters of the Bievre.' " 
 
 CiSTERN-LIXIXG. — Before leaving the subject Strength of 
 
 ^ ^ Lead, and 
 
 of water supply, I v;ill describe the mode of lijiim^ Dimen- 
 
 sions. 
 
 wood cisterns ivitJi lead. Wood cisterns of any 
 shape or size can be Kned in their places with 
 sheet lead of any weight per superficial foot, for 
 lasting a few years or a century. The bottoms 
 should be i lb. (or 2 lbs.) per foot superficial 
 heavier than the sides ; but /-lb. bottoms and 6-lb. 
 sides make good cisterns, though I prefer stronger 
 substances — viz., 8-lb. bottoms and /-lb. sides. In 
 taking the dimensions, for cutting out the lead, 
 all the sizes wanted are the length, width, and 
 depth of the wood cistern inside. The bottom 
 should be cut out I -inch larger each way than the 
 T 3
 
 Order of 
 Liuuiir. 
 
 292 The Science and Art of 
 
 cistern, to allow for squaring, straightening, and 
 turning up at the edges, for " wedging " in at the 
 angles of the four sides ; e.g., a cistern 6 feet by 
 5 feet and 3 feet 6 inches deep would require a piece 
 of lead for the bottom 6 feet i-inch by 5 feet 
 I inch. These dimensions, added together, will give 
 the lengtJi of the first side and end (though the first 
 side and end to be put in is wanted i|-inch longer 
 than the last, to allow for the return edges on to 
 the wood, the two pieces are generally cut in equal 
 lengths, to save time and trouble) ; thus 6 feet 
 I -inch X 5 feet i-inch. = i i feet 2-inches. This allov/s 
 for squaring and straightening the ends, and for 
 returning about three-quarters of an inch at each 
 end on to the wood sides, for securing the lead in 
 its position. The width is obtained by adding 
 3 inches to the depth of the cistern, to allow for 
 straightening the edges, turning three-quarters of 
 an inch on the bottom (though many plumbers 
 use an inch for this) and 2 inches to cover the top 
 edge of the cistern. 
 
 I will follow the order of lining and speak ot 
 the sides first. Unroll the lead upon the floor 
 adjoining the cistern to be lined, or if the cistern 
 is in a roof and there is no floor, then upon some 
 boards, and dress out any irregularities in its sur- 
 face, and, before lining out the sizes, see that the 
 cistern is perfectly square ; for carpenters, like 
 other people, do not always work on the "square.'' 
 When a side and end are in one piece, as we have 
 been considering, and as is the practice, except in
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 293 
 
 very large cisterns, when a separate piece is used 
 for each side and end, Hne out the sizes upon the 
 lead, allowing a margin of about three-quarters of an 
 inch to stand on the bottom, and also for the returns 
 at the two ends. The line for turnincr up the end, Sides and 
 
 ^ ^ Ends. 
 
 for forming the upright unsoldered angle, should 
 be marked with a chalk-line, and never scratched 
 with a sharp tool. Having marked out the side 
 and end, take a piece of quartering, or " straight- 
 edge," and turn up the edge for standing on the 
 bottom. This is easily done by kneeling on the 
 piece of quartering, to keep it stiff, and turning up 
 the edge with the aid of a chipping-knife and 
 dresser. Then break up the end by placing the 
 piece of quartering upon the line for the upright 
 angle, and boss up the bottom corner a little, for 
 fitting tightly into the angle of the wood cistern. 
 Some plumbers stupidly cut this corner, and in 
 such a way as to leave a hole just where the solder 
 can run in, and so get themselves into trouble when 
 soldering the cistern. In putting this piece of 
 lead into its place [in the cistern, bulge the centre 
 part of the side and end inwards a little towards 
 you, as you stand in the cistern, so as to be able 
 to drive the angles of the lead tightly home. 
 Be very careful with the tiirned-np angle, the ?/;/- 
 soldered angle, and see that it fits tightly into the 
 angle of the cistern, before securing the lead at the 
 ends ; for if the lead is not ivell home in such 
 angles, when the side and end are fixed, and the 
 dresser is used for driving it home, as is often
 
 294 ^^^^ Science and Art of 
 
 done by unskilled men, the lead is very much 
 weakened. I have known 6-lb. lead reduced to 
 4-lb. in such angles, and even for the edge of the 
 dresser to be driven right through the lead, and 
 the angle to require soldering. A nail in the 
 return edge of the underlap, about 3 inches down 
 from the top, is all that is wanted to secure 
 the lead in its place. The edge of the lead is 
 readily turned over the top of the cistern with 
 a few sharp strokes of the dresser and fastened 
 • (the inner edge of the wood being rounded off 
 a little before lining the cistern), and the stand- 
 up part of the angle is easily bossed back. 
 When forming this angle, the part to be bossed 
 over the edge of the cistern should never be cut 
 in, with the edge of the dresser or any other 
 tool, or it will not boss over freely. The other 
 side and end are put in in a similar way. The 
 narrow pieces, or edges, returning upon the side 
 and end already lined, should be carefully cut off 
 with a chipping-knife when the lead is in its place, 
 leaving about |th of an inch for driving into the 
 angle — for zvedging the jointing and preventing the 
 solder going between the two leads. The sides 
 jhe ^^d ends being lined, the bottom follows. Before 
 
 Bottom. linincr the cistern, see that all the holes are cut in 
 it for the pipes, especially the waste-hole (allow- 
 ing sufficient size in the latter for opening the 
 end of the pipe to receive the brass washer), and 
 well counter-sink round the hole. Turn up the 
 edges of the bottom in a rounding form, so as to
 
 Sanitafy Plumbing. 295 
 
 allow the lead to stand up a little at each of the 
 four sides, and boss up the corners of the bottom, 
 so as to have a reserve of lead at such points for 
 dressing into the corners of the cistern angles ; 
 then put the bottom in its place, and dress 
 the lead well into each angle v/ith the aid 
 of the dresser and chase-wedge. Cut off the 
 edge of the lead standing up against the 
 sides, so as to leave about ;^th of an inch 
 stand-up, for well wedging the lead into the angle. 
 The cistern now being lined, soil a margin of 
 4 inches or 5 inches on each side of the angles to be 
 soldered, and, when dry, shave the angles. The shavi 
 shaving on the bottom, F, Fig. 129, should be 
 about \ inch wider than on the sides, G ; the 
 upright angles, Fig. 128, should be of equal 
 width each side. The shaving should not ex- 
 tend beyond the solder, for the lead is weakened 
 with wide shaving, especially when the solder is 
 wiped off from it again. In shaving the lead be 
 very careful not to dig the point of the shave-hook 
 into the lead and so reduce its substance ; simply 
 shave the lead to brighten it, that the solder may 
 readily tin upon it. Pull the point of the shave- 
 hook along on the edge of the lead at the joining, 
 so as to close tip any space between the two leads, 
 to prevent the solder getting in between them 
 when soldering the cistern. Having shaved the 
 angles, and greased them, to prevent tarnishing, 
 punch in the edges, about every 9 inches, with a 
 bright punch, with, say, 5-inch face, or other bright
 
 Soldering. 
 
 296 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 instrument, for securing the lead in its place, as 
 shown by the dotted line in Fig. 128, but do not 
 put a single nail into the angles, or you will have 
 some trouble in soldering over the heads, for they 
 are sure to " blow.-" The upright angles must be 
 soldered first. If you cannot pour the metal 
 upon a cloth or stick, and guide it into the 
 angle in that way, you can splash the solder into 
 
 Fig. 128. Section of Cistern Soldering. Upright Angle. 
 
 the angle from the ladle with a splash-stick. 
 Splash the solder very rapidly up and down the 
 angle, and pull it up now and then with the 
 splash-stick, and keep it in its place ; and when 
 you have a good body of solder in the angle, 
 from the bottom to the top, take a well-heated 
 and well-cleaned iron, and draw it up and down 
 the angle, " patting " the solder into its place, then 
 wipe down the angle quickly, pressing the cloth
 
 Sanitary Plunihiug. 
 
 297 
 
 liard upon each c<fgc of the soldering with the points 
 of the fingers, so as to get clean wiping. In 
 finishing off the upright angle at the bottom, pull 
 away all the fallen solder, and well under-cut the 
 angle with the shave-hook, for easy joining when 
 wiping in the bottom. Having wiped the two 
 angles, the bottom comes next, and with plenty of 
 
 FifT. 
 
 Bottom Anfrle. 
 
 solder, and two or three irons, this is soon done. 
 Chalk over a little of the bottom of the upright 
 angles first, to prevent the solder adhering to 
 them. Some men take many more irons to solder 
 a cistern than others, but a skilled man ought 
 to wipe out the cistern mentioned above with 6 
 irons — 2 for the angles, and 4 for the bottom ; 
 such a cistern ought to be lined and soldered in
 
 29S 
 
 The Science and Art oj 
 
 Cisterns 
 without 
 Water. 
 
 London 
 Water 
 Supply 
 from the 
 time of 
 William I. 
 
 about 10 hours. Some plumbers make the return 
 edges, the under-cloaks, too wide or too narrow. 
 When such is the case it is impossible to get 
 nice clean edges of soldering, for the edge of the 
 lead is sure to make the face of the lead cover- 
 ing it irregular, however much it may be feathered 
 off with the shave-hook. When the edge of the 
 lead stands as shown in Fig. 129, the shaving- 
 line is well outside the line of the edge, and is 
 therefore free from any irregularities — i.e., the 
 return edge on to the wood should be under, say, 
 f inch, or over \\ inch. Fig. 128 shows a section 
 of the upright angle (half-full-size), and Fig. 129 a 
 section through the bottom angle, to the same scale. 
 
 Cisterns are of very little use without water. 
 It may be interesting to many if I say something 
 on the supply of water to London, past and 
 present. I have culled some extracts from Stow's 
 ** Survey of London" (A.D. 1598), which are here 
 appended, and I add to that a lengthy extract 
 from an interesting article on the " Metropolitan 
 Water Supply" in Whitakers Almanack (1882), 
 by permission of Mr. Whitaker. I have also 
 appended some extracts from the London Water 
 Companies' Regulations. 
 
 " Antiently until the Conqueror's time, and 200 years after, the 
 Citie of London was watered, besides the famous river of Thames 
 on the south part, with the river of the Wells, as it was then called, 
 on the west, with a water called Wallbrooke running the midst of 
 the Citie into the river of the Thames, serving the heart thereof, 
 and with a fourth water or bourne which ran within the Citie 
 through Langboome ward, watering that part in the east. In the
 
 Saniiary Plumhmg. 299 
 
 west suburbs was al.-o another great water called Oldbome, which 
 had its fall into the river of Wells. 
 
 "Then was there three principal fountaines or wells in other 
 suburbs ; to wit, Holy Well, Clement's Well, and Clarke's Well. 
 Neare unto this last-named fountaine were divers other wells ; to wit, 
 Skinner's Well, Fag's Well, Tode Well, Loder's Well, and Rad 
 Well, all which sayde wells having the fall of their overflowing in 
 the foresayde River, much increased the streame, and in that place 
 gave it the name of Wells. 
 
 " In West Smithfield there was a poole in Recordes called Horse- 
 poole, and one other poole neare unto the parish church of Saint 
 Giles without Cripplegate. Besides all which, they had in everie 
 streete and lane of the Citie divers° favre Welles and fresh Springs. 
 And after this manner was this Citie then served with sweete and 
 fresh Waters, which being since decaid, other meanes have been 
 sought to siipplie 
 
 "The river of the Wells, the mnning water of Wallbrooke, the 
 Bournes aforenamed, and other fresh waters that were in and about 
 the Citie, being in process of time, by encroachment for buildings 
 and heightenings of ground, utterly decaid, and the number of 
 citizens mightily increased, they were forced to seeke sweete water 
 abroad. . . . 
 
 "At the request of King Henry HI., in the 21st year of his 
 raigne, one Gilbert Sandforde granted them liberty to convey water 
 from the towne of Teyboume hy pipes of lead into the Citie. 
 
 " The first cisterne of leade, castellated with stone, in the Citie 
 of London was the great conduit in West Cheape, which was 
 begunne to bee build ed in the yeare 1285, and was supplied with 
 water from these newly-acquired sources. . . . The towne upon 
 
 Cornhill was cisterned in the year 1 40 1 King Henry 
 
 VI., in 1442, granted to John Hatherley, mayor, license to take up 
 200 sodar of leade for the building of Conduits of a common gamery 
 and of a new crosse in West Cheape for the honour of the Citie." 
 
 " Notwithstanding the readier access to the well waters obtained 
 by the multiplication of pumps and the still continued use of the 
 Thames Avater carried up into the City, the Corporation found it 
 necessary to go yet further afield in search of an additional supply ; 
 and, in 1543, an Act was passed to enable them to bring water from 
 Hampstead Heath, St. Marylebone, Hackney, and Muswell Hill. 
 It was not until 1568 that Thames water was raised by machinery 
 for the supply of any part of the town ; but in that year a gin, 
 probably a horse-wheel, was constructed to supply a conduit near
 
 300 The Science and Art oj 
 
 the top of Dowgate Hill. Thus the Corporation of London, down 
 to the reign of Elizabeth, regarded it as one of their principal 
 duties to supply the town with water, and see to the erection and 
 preservation of conduits, to which the poor could freely resort. 
 Down to this period it must likewise be borne in mind that the 
 City and its immediate suburbs formed the whole of the Metro- 
 polis. 
 
 "In 1581 or 1582 Peter Maurice, a Dutchman, obtained a lease 
 from the City of the first arch of London Bridge on the north side, 
 and erected a water-wheel to be worked by the tide, and a set of 
 force-pumps to raise Thames water for the supply of the neighbour- 
 hood. The water was raised to the top of a wooden building 
 120 feet high, and passed from thence through lead pipes to supply 
 the dwelling-houses in Thames Street, New Fish Street Hill, and 
 Gracechurch vStreet as far as a standard on Cornhill, which was 
 erected in the middle of the street where the four ways meet. The 
 water which was to spare after supplying these streets, flowed from 
 the standard through four pipes branching to Bishopgate, Aldgate, 
 the Bridge and Walbrook, which supplied the dwelling-houses in 
 the neighbourhood and cleansed the gutters in the streets. The 
 site of the standard was supposed to be the highest ground in the 
 City. The quantity of water raised was equal to about 3,170,000 
 imperial barrels per annum, or an average quantity of 216 gallons 
 per minute. There were sixteen pumps worked by this wheel, each 
 of 7 inches diameter and 30 inches stroke. In 1583 or 1584 
 machinery was fixed in the second arch. 
 
 "In 1594, for the better supply of the City, Bevis Bulmar 
 erected a large horse-engine and four pumps at Broken Wharf, to 
 raise Thames water for the inhabitants of Cheapside, St. Paul's 
 Churchyard, Fleet Street, &c., which was removed previous to 1756 
 on account of other companies being able to supply water at a 
 cheaper rate. This appears to have been the latest employment of 
 animal power for the purpose. The New River,* the greatest and 
 most splendid work that was ever undertaken for the supply of a 
 modem city with water, was commenced in James I. 's reign. In 
 1605, the third year of his reign, the supply of water was found to be 
 inadequate to the wants of an increased population, and, as that at 
 timejhe discovery of the steam-engine had not been made, it was 
 necessary to seek abroad for more powerful springs of water than had 
 hitherto been discovered, and at a sufficient elevation to allow the 
 
 * The district supplied by the New River Company' (1882) Is bounded on 
 the east by the Tower, on the west by Charing Cross, on the south by the 
 Thames, and on the north by Hertford. Constant supply is given in Shoreditcb, 
 Edmonton, and various other places. — S. S. H.
 
 Sanita?'}' Plumbing. 301 
 
 water to run to London, These were met with in the neighbour- 
 hood of Hertford, above twenty miles north of London, and the 
 citizens conceived the vast plan of bringing these springs by means 
 of a channel to Islington, and for that purpose obtained an Act of 
 Parliament empowering them to bring a stream of water from the 
 springs of Chadwell and Amwell, in the county of Hertford, 
 between the towns of Hertford and Ware. Surveyors were em- 
 ployed by the City to plan the execution of the work. In the 
 following year a further Act was passed, giving additional power 
 with regard to the acquisition of land, &c. , but the work was not 
 completed until some years after. 
 
 •' In 1608 Sir Hugh Myddelton, citizen and goldsmith, offered 
 at his own charge to carry the Acts of James into execution. In 
 1610 the citizens, by an Act of Common Council, made over their 
 powers to Sir Hugh Myddelton, and in 1612 this Act was confirmed 
 by an indenture. The work was completed, and the water admitted 
 into the basins at the New River head at Michaelmas, 1613. In 
 16 19 a charter of Incorporation was granted by James I. to Sir 
 Hugh in conjunction with other wealthy citizens, and they were 
 styled ' The Governor and Company of the New River brought 
 from Chadwell and Amwell to London.' The King subscribed 
 towards the undertaking, and was thereby entitled to a moiety of 
 the profits. The work was said to have cost ^^500, 000. The 
 capital was divided into seventy-two shares, of M-hich the King had 
 thirty-six, but so poorly did the scheme at first answer that Sir 
 Hugh Myddelton, who had spent the whole of his fortune, was 
 ruined, and the proprietors did not for thirty years divide more than 
 £^ per share, or about \s. 6d. per cent. It should here be added 
 that previous to the year 1738 the supply from the springs was 
 found to be insufficient, and arrangements were made with the 
 trustees of the River Lea to enable the New River Company to 
 divert water from the said river. This was done first by pipes and 
 afterwards by a cut and trough into the New River, the dimensions 
 of which were determined by Act of Parliament passed in 1738, 
 in the 12th year of the reign of George II. In this farming out 
 of their functions by the Corporation of London to enterprising 
 individuals we see the commencement of the existing system of 
 works for the supply of water. The Municipality, however, did 
 not for some time entirely relinquish the responsibility of the proper 
 supply of its inhabitants. In 1654 the Court of Common Council 
 passed an Act for levying on the inhabitants of the City two- 
 fifteenths for sundry repairs of conduits, and for the employment of 
 the poor in bringing water into the City. In 1681 four- fifteenths 
 were raised for the like purpose. The old works at London Bridge,
 
 302 The Science and Art of 
 
 too, were still in active rivalry with the New River ; and, in 1701, 
 having been purchased for ^35,oco by one Richard Soames, he 
 procured, to secure his property in the whole, a lease of the fourth 
 arch for 381 years. Soames formed a company by 300 shares of 
 ;!^5oo each, and to this company, in 1 761, a further lease M'as 
 granted of the third arch for 321 years, and in 1767 another of the 
 fifth arch from the north end, and the second arch from the south 
 end (the latter to be used for the supply of the Borough) for 315 
 years, so that all the leases would expire simultaneously in the year 
 2082 ! But this contemplated length of days was cut short in 1822 
 by the Statute of the 3rd of Geo. IV., cap. 109, which provided 
 for the entire removal of the London Bridge Water Works, with 
 a view to the improvement of the old bridge or the erection of a 
 new one, and transferred the service of their district to the New 
 River Company. It was, however, made a condition by the latter 
 company that they should have a steam-engine to pump from the 
 Thames in case of failure in the supply by the New River, and a 
 lOO-horse engine was accordingly erected at Broken Wharf. 
 
 "The Chelsea Waterworks were established in 1722. The 
 Thames water was raised from settling ponds— in the first instance 
 by a water-wheel, afterwards, in 1782, by one of Boultonand Watt's 
 engines. 
 
 " In 1808, the East London Company purchased the Shadwell 
 Works, erected about 1600, and which were eventually given up, 
 the supply from the Company's new works being superior. This 
 Company also purchased at the same time (1808), the West Ham 
 Waterworks, which were set on foot in 1743. 
 
 "Previous to the year 1756 there was a horse machine for 
 raising Thames water through a 7-inch pipe in Southwark, called 
 the Bank End Waterworks. A company was formed in 1758 under 
 the name of the Old Borough Waterworks Company, which, 
 together with the London Bridge Works, supplied Southwark. A 
 steam-engine was afterwards erected ; and, in 1823, upon the 
 removal of the London Bridge water-wheels, the two works were 
 consolidated under the name of the Southwark Works, and became 
 the property of John Edwards, Esq. Rotherhithe and its neigh- 
 bourhood were supplied by works erected in or about 1756. 
 
 "In 1785 the Lambeth Waterworks were established, to supply 
 the district upon the south side of the Thames, exclusive of the 
 parishes of St. George and St. Saviour, Southwark. 
 
 "In 1 87 1 the Metropolis Water Act was passed, which, after 
 providing that every company shall supply water on Sundays as on 
 other days, relates principally to the conditions under which a con- 
 stant supply is to be given to the Metropolis, and various powers
 
 Sanitary Plumbitii. 
 
 303 
 
 were given to the Board of Trade by that Act. In the session of 
 1872 it was resolved to transfer the powers conferred upon the 
 Board of Trade to the Local Government Board, and, on January I, 
 1873, that Board took over the duties and responsibilities of the 
 Board of Trade. 
 
 " In his last annual report (1880) Lieutenant-Colonel Bolton, the 
 water examiner appointed under the Act, reported favourably upon 
 the efforts made by the several companies during the year to maintain 
 and extend a proper supply of water in their respective districts, 
 and he states, * It is satisfactory to learn that all the companies 
 without exception are now, to a certain extent, giving constant 
 supply.' This circumstance derives importance not only from its 
 bearing upon the convenience and sanitary requirements of the 
 consumers, but from the increased facilities thus afforded for the ex- 
 tinction of fires in the Metropolis by enabling hydrants to be fixed 
 in suitable places and at short intervals. With respect to the 
 quality of the supply, the report is less satisfactory. It represents 
 the state of the water in the Thames and Lea during the winter 
 half of 1880 as generally bad. Dr. Frankland also stated that 
 never, since he commenced, in 1868, to analyse it, had the water 
 abstracted from the Thames been so much polluted by organic 
 matters, and that, ' owing to the flooded condition of the river, even 
 in summer, much filthy matter from sewers, cesspools, and culti- 
 vated fields was swept into it.' Of the Lea he observed that its 
 pollution by organic matters, ' which has been steadily increasing 
 since 1876, and already in 1879 was unprecedented, experienced a 
 further augmentation last year, and exceeded that of the Thames 
 
 Name of Company. 
 
 
 
 o5 
 
 la 
 
 i 
 < 
 
 III 
 
 5§z 
 
 Chlorine. 
 
 Total 
 Hardnes;. 
 
 
 Thames— 
 
 Chelsea 
 
 West Middlesex .. 
 Southwark _ . . . . 
 Grand Junction 
 Lambeth 
 
 Lea- 
 
 New River . . . . 
 East London .. 
 
 Deep Wells— 
 
 Kent 
 
 28"02 
 28-36 
 29-66 
 28-70 
 30-30 
 
 29-02 
 
 31 'oo 
 4 3 '05 
 
 .212 
 ■243 
 •298 
 -248 
 -288 
 
 •177 
 •238 
 
 -079 
 
 -042 
 ■043 
 •049 
 -048 
 ■045 
 
 •035 
 040 
 
 ■015 
 
 001 
 
 -QOI 
 -000 
 •001 
 'OOD 
 
 -QOO 
 -000 
 
 •001 
 
 ■175 
 ■210 
 •196 
 •188 
 -201 
 
 ■234 
 •180 
 
 •427 
 
 ..8 
 
 ■253 
 •245 
 ■237 
 ■247 
 
 •287 
 
 -221 
 ■442 
 
 I '5 1 20-1 
 I'S 20-0 
 
 1-6 ; 20-6 
 
 1-5 1 20-0 
 
 1-6 20-5 
 
 j 
 1-6 20-5 
 
 1-8 ; 2I-0 
 
 1 
 2-5 ' 26-6 
 
 5'9 
 56 
 
 3-6 
 47 
 
 1-6 
 
 ♦ Proportional amount of organic elements, that in the Kent Company': 
 water during the nine years ending December, 1876, being taken as i.
 
 304 
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 during all the previous twelve years, excepting 1872 and 1879.' 
 His not unnatural conclusion is that ' the water both of the Thames 
 and Lea, therefore, is becoming year by year less suitable for domestic 
 use.' The filtration of river water does not seem to have had the 
 effect of depriving it of all its impurities. According to Dr. Frank- 
 land, out of 142,190,971 gallons supplied daily by the Metropolitan 
 water companies during 1S80, about one-half, or 71,897,776 gallons, 
 was sometimes ' grossly polluted by sewage matter,' and only about 
 one-sixteeenth was 'uniformly of excellent quality for drinking,' 
 whilst the residue, or 61,765,034 gallons, is pronounced to have 
 been only ' occasionally ' polluted. The water supplied by some of 
 the companies from deep wells is stated, however, to have been 
 ' uniformly pure and wholesome,' and it is evident that such wells 
 afford the best means of obtaining a proper supply for drinking 
 purposes. The preceding table shows the results of the chemical 
 examination of the water supplied to the Metropolis during 1880. 
 The numbers relate to 100,000 parts of each water. 
 
 "It will be seen from these figures that the river waters were 
 much inferior in quality to the deep well waters. 
 
 " The average daily supply during the year 1880, for all pur- 
 poses, gives a consumption of 32 "46 gallons per head of estimated 
 population, and 243 gallons per house, as will be seen from the 
 following table : — 
 
 Name of Company. 
 
 Kent 
 
 New River 
 East London 
 Southwark and Vauxhall 
 
 West Middlesex 
 
 Grand Junction ... 
 Lambeth.. 
 Chelsea ... 
 
 General Average 
 
 Average of 
 
 - THE Year. 
 
 Per Head, 
 
 Per House, 
 
 Gallons. 
 
 Gallons. 
 
 29-23 
 
 171 
 
 28-21 
 
 215 
 
 3572 
 
 267 
 
 35-65 
 
 264 
 
 2703 
 
 2G2 
 
 33-63 
 
 302 
 
 34-01 
 
 238 
 
 36-24 
 
 290 
 
 32-46 
 
 243 
 
 Estimated population, December, 1880 4,469,014 
 
 Number of houses, December, 1880 601,210 
 
 "The charges made by the different companies vary consider- 
 ably. The New River, the Chelsea, the West Middlesex, and the 
 Grand Junction companies charge £df per cent, per annum on the 
 annual value of dwelling-houses where such annual value does not
 
 Sanitary Plumb wg. 305 
 
 exceed ;!^200, and ^^3 per cent, where the value exceeds that amount. 
 This is for the supply of water for ordinary domestic purposes. 
 If there be a water-closet or water-closets, or fixed bath or baths, 
 or any high service, then each of these companies is entitled to 
 charge sums varying from 4^-. to \2s., according to the annual value 
 of the dwelling, for each single water-closet, bath, or high service, 
 and from 2J. to ds. for each additional water-closet, bath, or high 
 service. High service is taken to be lo feet above the pavement. The 
 New River Company, when owners of small house property under- 
 take the payment of rates, make an allowance of 10 per cent, in the 
 case of houses for which the rate ordinarily payable would be above 
 20J., and under 21 s. per annum. Special rates are made by all 
 the companies for certain supplies — such, for instance, as street- 
 watering, usually charged by the superficial yard, and in some cases 
 by meter, at an average charge of \s. per 1,000 gallons, the supply of 
 public baths and charitable institutions, the price in these cases varying 
 from dfd. to 6d. per 1,000 gallons. The Southwark and Vauxhall 
 Company make a charge for ordinary domestic service not exceeding 
 ;,^5 on the annual value of the property, and the Lambeth Company 
 charge £*] \os. per cent, where the value does not exceed ^{^20, and 
 ;^5 per cent, on a value of ;^ioo ; the remarks as to special rates 
 also apply to these last-named companies. The various rates and 
 charges which each company is empowered to make are fully set 
 out in pp. 253 to 302 of Appendix I. to the Select Committee's 
 Report on the East London Water Bills, Session 1867. There can 
 be no doubt that the system of charging on the annual value is one 
 of great unfairness to the ordinary consumer. It has been found 
 by admeasurement that the water consumed by the occupants of 
 houses of the 'unwealthy' classes does not exceed six-and-a-half 
 gallons a day. In the higher class of houses there is of course a 
 much larger consumption, but there is no reason to doubt that an 
 average of twenty gallons a day per head is an abundant allowance 
 for all domestic purposes, allowing even for considerable waste. 
 Now, if we take a house of the annual rental of ;^200, the charge 
 at present would be, for ordinary supply, ;^8 ; for two water-closets, 
 bath, ;and high" service it would be £\ Si-., making a total charge 
 for the year of £() %s. Allowing eight persons to the house, their 
 annual consumption of water at twenty gallons a day would ainount 
 to 7,280 gallons each in the year. It has already been sho\TO that 
 the companies can supply water at \s. per 1,000 gallons ; and at 
 this rate the cost to the occupier of the house would amount to 
 £2 \%s. Srt'. per annum, or little more than one- third oiXkv^ present 
 charge. In the City the anomaly of the system is still more glaring. 
 One case among many will suffice to illustrate it. A firm having an 
 
 U
 
 3o6 The Science and Art of 
 
 office not far from St. Paul's, use weekly but a few gallons of water, 
 and pay for it on their rental of ;^35o. At the back of this office 
 is a small house inhabited by several laundresses, and they use, at 
 the least, twenty times as much water as the firm in question, while 
 they pay on a rental of about ^30." 
 
 "Regulations Made Under the Metropolis Water 
 Act, 1 87 1. 
 Weightof "No lead pipe shall hereafter be laid or fixed in or about any 
 
 pi'emises for the conveyance of or in connexion with the water sup- 
 plied by the Company (except when and as otherwise authorised by 
 these regulations, or by the Company), unless the same shall be of 
 equal thickness througliout, and of at least the weight following, 
 that is to say : — 
 
 Internal Diameter of Pipe Weight of Pipe in lbs. per 
 
 in Inches. Lineal Yard. 
 
 Lea 1 Pif ei. 
 
 f inch diameter. 
 
 5 lbs 
 
 pel 
 
 lineal yard. 
 
 i ,, 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 t „ 
 
 ,, 
 
 7i 
 
 
 
 I ,, 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 li „ 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 Inter' ->r " Every pipe hereafter laid or fixed in the interior of any 
 
 Pip->- dwelling-house for the conveyance of, or in connexion with, the 
 
 water of the Company, must, unless with the consent of the Com- 
 pany, if in contact with the ground, be of lead, but may other- 
 wise be of lead, copper, or wrought iron, at the option of the 
 consumer. 
 Material and " Every * communication-pipe,' and every pipe external to the 
 
 Joints of house and through the external walls thereof, hereafter respectively 
 Pipes. laid or fixed, in connexion with the water of the Company, sliall be 
 
 of lead, and every joint thereof shall be of the kind called a 
 ' plumbing' or 'wiped' joint. 
 
 "Every 'communication-pipe' for the conveyance of water to 
 be supplied by the Company into any premises shall have at or near 
 its point of entrance into such premises, and if desired by the con- 
 sumer within such premises, a sound and suitable stop-valve of the 
 screw-down kind, with an area of vvaterway not less than that of a 
 half-inch pipe, and not greater than that of the ' communication- 
 pipe,' the size of the valve within these limits being at the option of 
 the consumer.
 
 Sanifa7'\> Phinihing. 307 
 
 " No overflow or waste-pipe other than a 'warning-pipe ' shall 
 be attached to any cistern supplied with water by the Company, and 
 every such overflow or waste-pipe existing at the time when these 
 regulations come into operation shall be removed, or at the option 
 of the consumer shall be converted into an efficient * warning-pipe ' 
 within two calendar months next after the Company shall have 
 given to the occupier of, or left at the premises in which such 
 cistern is situate, a notice in writing requiring such alteration to 
 be made. 
 
 "Every 'warning-pipe' shall be placed in such a situation as 
 will admit of the discharge of the water from such ' warning 
 pipe ' being readily ascertained by the officers of the Company. 
 And the position of such 'warning-pipe' shall not be changed 
 without previous notice to and approval by the Company. 
 
 "No draw-tap shall in future be fixed unless the same shall be 
 sound and suitable, and of the ' screw-down ' kind. 
 
 "Every draw-tap in connexion with any 'stand-pipe' or other 
 apparatus outside any dwelling-house in a court or other public 
 place, to supply any group or number of such dwelling-houses, 
 shall be sound and suitable, and of the ' waste-preventer ' kind, 
 and be protected as far as possible from injury by frost, theft, 
 or mischief. 
 
 " Every boiler, urinal, and water-closet, in which water supplied 
 by the Company is used (other than water-closets in which hand- 
 flushing is employed), shall, within three months after these Regu- 
 lations come into operation, be served only through a cistern or 
 service-box and without a stool-cock, and there shall be no direct 
 communication from the pipes of the Company to any boiler, urinal, 
 or water-closet. 
 
 " Every water-closet cistern or water-closet service-box hereafter Water- 
 fitted or fixed in which water supplied by the Company is to be ^pp^^\.j^^u^ 
 used, shall have an efficient ' waste-preventing ' apparatus, so con- 
 structed as not to be capable of discharging more than two gallons 
 of water at each flush. 
 
 *' Every urinal-cistern in which water supplied by the Com- Urinal- 
 pany is used other than public urinal-cisterns, or cisterns having ^pp^^^^^g 
 attached to them a self-closing apparatus, shall have an efficient 
 ' waste-preventing ' apparatus, so constructed as not to be capable 
 of discharging more than one gallon of water at each flush. 
 
 "Every 'down-pipe' hereafter fixed for the discharge of Water- 
 water into the pan or basin of any water-closet shall have an ^^°^ll^ 
 internal diameter of not less than one inch and a quarter, and 
 if of lead shall weigh not less than nine pounds to every lineal 
 yard . 
 
 U 2
 
 3o8 The Science and Art of 
 
 Kath to be "No bath supplied with water by the Company shall have 
 
 without j^tiy overflow waste-pipe, except it be so arranged as to act as a 
 
 pipe. 'warning-pipe.' 
 
 Bath "In every bath hereafter fitted or fixed the outlet shall be 
 
 Apparatus. distinct from, and unconnected with, the inlet or inlets ; and the 
 
 inlet or inlets must be placed so that the orifice or orifices shall 
 
 be above the highest water level of the bath. The outlet of every 
 
 such bath shall be provided with a perfectly water-tight plug, 
 
 valve, or cock. 
 
 Weight of "All lead 'warning-pipes' and other lead pipes of which 
 
 having Open the ends are open, so that such pipes cannot remain charged 
 
 Ends. ■v\rith water, may be of the following minimum weights ; that is to 
 
 say : — 
 
 i-inch (internal diameter) . . 3 lbs. per vard. 
 f .. do. . . 5 
 
 I >> do. . . 7 
 
 o?wc?°" Water-Closet Rooms.— One word on the 
 Rooms. rooms where water-closet apparatus are fixed. 
 If the walls of private water-closets are not covered 
 with glazed tiles or made of glazed bricks, all 
 public water-closets should be, so that they may 
 be thoroughly washed out occasionally. Every 
 water-closet should be ventilated — i.e., fresh air 
 should be brought into them, and means should 
 be provided for the exit of the vitiated air. 
 
 The door of the closet should be made as air- 
 tight as possible, and kept low, so as to prevent 
 the effluvia coming through such doorways into 
 the house. The higher the ceiling is the better, 
 and the opening into the extracting shaft should 
 be made at the highest part of the room. The 
 walls under the water-closet seat, as well as the 
 floor, should be very carefully stopped, so that not 
 a crevice, crack, or opening may be left where 
 the effluvium from a long seat-holder could es-
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 309 
 
 cape into an adjoining room."^ When there are 
 any pipe-casings passing through water-closets, 
 as often occur, where water-closets are fixed in 
 tiers, they should be sealed off so that the air 
 of one water-closet may not pass to another, or 
 a person using an upper water-closet at the same 
 time a lower one is being used may wonder what 
 is the matter with himself ; for in addition to his 
 own affair he would have the affairs of others, and 
 you will agree with me that in such matters a 
 man's own affairs are enough. 
 
 Code of Rules for House Sanitation. — various 
 
 TT' •• ^ r ^ ^' r Opinions. 
 
 Various opmions are now before the public for 
 draining a house. Several have been referred to 
 during these lectures, and without bringing 
 others before your notice, I will simply say, in 
 concluding these remarks on " The Science and 
 Art of Sanitary Plumbing," that it is time that 
 the opinions of sanitarians on such matters should 
 be consolidated. 
 
 The principles of house drainage are so far Opinions 
 
 consoli- 
 
 determined that there ought to be no great dif- dated. 
 ficulty in framing a good sanitary code as a general 
 basis to work from. Its boundary lines should be 
 marked out with silken cords rather than with iron 
 bands ; for, like all new things, sanitary knowledge 
 should have room to grow. It would be just as 
 easy for a tailor to make a suit of clothes to suit all 
 
 * Serious illnesses have occurred through such neglect. I know 
 of many,
 
 The Science and Art of 
 
 Water and 
 its Storage. 
 
 Draw-off. 
 
 Drain In- 
 tercepted. 
 
 No Drain 
 Inside. 
 
 Drains 
 Inside. 
 
 climates as it would be to lay down a code of rules 
 to suit all cases. 
 
 If I had to draw up a code of rules^ they 
 would read somewhat as follows : — 
 
 1. Pure water shall be supplied to every house 
 for dietetic purposes ; and where this water cannot 
 be drawn direct from a constant supply, it shall be 
 stored in cisterns so placed that they can be easily 
 cleaned, and that no vitiated air can reach them, 
 either from the house, water-closets, or ventilating- 
 pipes, from waste-pipes, soil-pipes, or drains. 
 
 2. No draw-off cock to any sink or '* fitting," 
 other than a water-closet, shall be supplied from 
 a cistern fixed in a water-closet, or standing in a 
 place where any contaminated air can reach it, or 
 from a cistern or service-pipe which also supplies a 
 water-closet. 
 
 3. Every drain shall be trapped off from the 
 sewer by a self-cleansing intercepting sewer-trap 
 fixed outside the house ; and where the mouths or 
 inlets of such traps cannot be left open to the 
 atmosphere, air-induct pipes should be taken into 
 the drain immediately on the house side of such 
 traps. 
 
 4. No drain shall enter the walls of a detached 
 or semi-detached house. 
 
 5. In a line of houses, as in terraces, where it is 
 impossible for the drain to reach the soil-pipes 
 without coming inside the house, such drain shall 
 be of cast-iron, heavy water-main strength, and 
 this pipe shall be protected from rusting by the
 
 Sanitary Flu tubing. 3 1 1 
 
 Bower-Barff Rustless Process, or coated with solu- 
 tion, and laid in a brick trench, or fixed on the 
 face of the basement walls, and its joints zuell 
 caulked with lead. The drain shall be so venti- 
 lated that not a foot of it shall be without a free 
 circulation of air through it. 
 
 6. Every drain from a house shall be so ven- Drains 
 
 ., 1 ^, ^ , • 1 11 . . Ventilated. 
 
 tilated that no stagnant air shall remain in any 
 part of it ; and where this cannot be done by air- 
 shafts, ventilating-pipes shall be fixed^ and the 
 drain divided into sections, and its branch- 
 drains (when of great length) localised, so as to 
 ensure ventilation in the entire system of drainage. 
 
 7. All soil-pipes, when practicable, shall be Soil-pipes, 
 fixed outside the house, with their discharging 
 
 ends exposed to the atmosphere — either directly 
 by emptying into open traps, or indirectly by foot- 
 ventilation ; and such pipes shall be carried up to 
 the highest points of the roof full size, having their 
 terminals well removed from all openings into the 
 roof or house. 
 
 8. All dirty-water wastes from sinks, baths, Dirty 
 lavatories, &c., shall discharge with open ends into wastes, 
 intercepting-traps fixed outside the house, and 
 
 such pipes shall be continued up through the 
 roof full size for ventilation. 
 
 9. All " clean-water " wastes — from cisterns, Clean 
 cistern-safes, &c., shall be kept separate from Wastes, 
 other wastes, and shall discharge with open ends 
 
 into the atmosphere away from all drain-traps 
 or places where any bad air can reach them,
 
 312 
 
 Tin Science and Art of 
 
 Overflow- 
 pipes. 
 
 "Fittings' 
 Trapped. 
 
 Traps. 
 
 Traps 
 Ventilated. 
 
 Sanitary 
 Fittings. 
 
 Flushing. 
 
 Walls of 
 W.C.'s 
 
 Air-tight. 
 
 10. All wastes, or overflow-pipes, from safes 
 under water-closets, baths, &c., shall be kept 
 separate from other waste-pipes and shall be made 
 to discharge in the open air. 
 
 11. Every sanitary "fitting" inside a house 
 where foul matter, or contaminated water, is passed 
 into it or from it, shall have its waste-pipe trapped 
 off from the house, and such trapping shall be 
 made immediately under such " fitting." 
 
 12. All traps fixed inside the house shall be 
 self-cleansing ; and no trap which fouls itself, or is 
 not easily flushed out, shall be used on the drainage 
 outside the house. 
 
 13. All traps to water-closets, slop-sinks, sinks, 
 baths, lavatories, &c., which can have their water 
 syphoned out by the use of any " fitting " upon a 
 pipe in connection with them, or by the use of 
 themselves, shall be ventilated, to prevent such 
 syphonage, and to aerate the branch-pipes. 
 
 14. No sanitary fitting shall be fixed which 
 will not allow a good flush of water to be sent 
 through it to cleanse it and its belongings, to 
 prevent any pipe from it — be it a waste-pipe, soil- 
 pipe, or drain — from getting unwholesome. 
 
 15. Every house shall be provided with efficient 
 means for flushing out the whole of its drainage. 
 
 16. The walls inside water-closet seats, the 
 floor, and the walls of water-closets, should be 
 made air-tight, to prevent any odours in them 
 passing to any room adjoining, through a crevice, 
 crack, or opening,
 
 Sanitary Fhwihing. 3 [3 
 
 17. The rooms of water-closets should be well ^'^• 
 
 Rooms. 
 
 ventilated, so that a constant change of air may 
 take place in them. 
 
 Gentlemen ! I have done — my task is ended ; Conciu- 
 
 •' ' sion. 
 
 but before taking leave of you, allow me the plea- 
 sure of thanking you for your kind indulgence, for 
 your patient hearing, and for the great interest 
 taken in these lectures. I hope your time has not 
 been wholly wasted, and though the public at 
 large may be the greatest gainers by having 
 healthier homes to live in, I trust some benefit 
 will accrue to you individually. Whatever charge 
 may be laid against journeymen plumbers, want of 
 interest in their trade cannot be ; for I question if 
 any other branch of the great building trades 
 would have come out night after night, during the 
 hot time of summer, to listen to dry lectures. 
 
 Lying there in those strong arms of yours, 
 slumbering in the hardened muscles, resting in the 
 well-trained fingers and educated hands, lies the 
 health of this leviathan city — at any rate to a 
 large extent. The plumber's part in making a 
 house, a town, a city JicaltJiy is enormous. Let the 
 plumbing be done on the principles laid down in 
 these lectures, and this huge city, teeming though 
 it be with human beings, will become the healthiest, 
 as it is now the greatest, city in the world. When 
 commercial men want to feel the pulsations of 
 business life, they come to London, for in it beats 
 the heart of the world's industry. As the heart is
 
 314 The Science and Art of 
 
 the seat of life, so let this city be the seat, the 
 home, of sanitation. 
 
 All England on Monday last mourned the loss 
 of the great and good Dean of Westminster,"^ High 
 and low, rich and poor, prince and peasant, be- 
 lievers and unbelievers, felt that in the loss of that 
 life a loss had fallen upon all classes. He has 
 gone from our midst, but his memory dwells 
 amongst us as that of one of England's noblest 
 sons. And why was he universally respected and 
 beloved } Because all felt that he nobly strove to 
 do his duty. Fearlessly and earnestly he did his 
 work. He spared no pains, he shrank from no 
 difficulty, he was dismayed by no obstacles. 
 Workers of lead, manipulators of solder, men of 
 metal, you may not occupy the same high posi- 
 tion as the late Dean Stanley, your sphere of 
 influence may not be so large ; but you may all be 
 actuated by the same noble spirit, and this will 
 in every age meet its reward. Let thoroughness, 
 thoughtfulness, and honesty, with an earnest desire 
 to do your duty, characterise you in all your works; 
 let these works testify to your clear-sighted appre- 
 ciation of the hygienic ends it is your duty to 
 have in view ; and though your names be not 
 written in lead, as are written the names of 
 military heroes, your zuorks will be in lead and 
 will live. And the plumbers coming after you in 
 the future years, when your fingers shall have lost 
 
 * According to the papers, bad drainage had a good deal to do 
 with the Dean's death.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 315 
 
 the cunning of the craft, and your hands the use 
 of tools ; these future plumbers, as they look upon 
 your workmanship — your graceful bends, your well- 
 made joints, your connections and disconnections 
 — shall say, "What splendid plumbers these 19th- 
 century plumbers were ! How well they knew Jiozv 
 to do their work, and how well they did it ! "
 
 DISCUSSION.— I5TH August, i88i. 
 
 Extracted from "The Builder,' and *' The Building 
 
 News." 
 
 "Mr. Ernest Hart presided, and in opening the proceedings 
 read the conditions which have been laid down by the National 
 Health Society for the working plumbers' competition for the prizes 
 offered by the Society for the best specimens of workmanship in 
 plumbing based on sanitary principles. Any one who desires to 
 compete must fill up a form to be obtained from the National 
 Health Society, 44, Berners Street, and all such forms must be 
 returned by the 15th of September. 
 
 *'Mr. Daniel Emptage, of Margate, led off the discussion by 
 reading a short paper, in which he expressed his opinion that Mr. 
 Hellyer's able lectures were calculated to do a vast amount of good 
 in awakening interest upon the important subject of which they 
 treated. He agreed in the main with Mr. Hellyer's remarks as to 
 countiy shops, and with the advice given to young working plum- 
 bers to come up to London to improve themselves in their trade* 
 At the same time, as a provincial man, he felt bound to say a few 
 words on behalf of the plumbers of provincial towns, in many of 
 which a very lively interest was taken in sanitary matters. In his 
 own town there were many large scholastic and other establishments 
 in which the sanitary arrangements were such as would be hardly 
 found fault with even by Mr. Hellyer. As the result of a large 
 number of practical experiments made daring the last two years, he 
 (the speaker) had arrived at the following conclusions with regard 
 to trap-waving or syphonage, viz. : — i. That the CO or P syphons 
 are, when unventilated, very unsafe, from the fact that they are 
 easily untrapped by waving-out or syphonage. 2. That the cast D, 
 the "Eclipse," and the V traps hold their seals much more tena- 
 ciously than the syphons, but are still very liable under some condi- 
 tions to become unsealed when not properly protected by ventilation. 
 3. That the old D is very much more difficult to untrap than any 
 of the preceding traps ; but even this, when without ventilation, 
 is not safe from syphonage. 4. That the seal of a P syphon, even 
 under the most favourable circumstances with respect to ventilation, 
 is not safe against a rush of water passing rapidly through it. 5.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing, 317 
 
 That a well-made CO trap, when properly ventilated, and fixed in 
 connection with a fully-ventilated soil-pipe, is very difficult to 
 unseal. 6. That the other four traps mentioned are, when properly 
 ventilated, quite secure from either waving-out or syi:)honage, and 
 they have the advantage of being so constructed that their con- 
 nection with the soil-pipe could be made at a much higher level 
 than was possible with the CO . They all have, however, the great 
 disadvantage of being more foul. Mr. Emptage went on to say 
 that, while thinking over the matter, it occurred to him that the CO 
 trap might be so altered that, while retaining its non-syphoning 
 qualities, it should at the same time allow of a connection with the 
 soil-pipe similar to the others. He had such a trap made, and was 
 very pleased to find it answer his expectations in every respect. In 
 it he still retained the dome of the *' out-go " as in the CO . He had 
 subjected this new form of trap to the most severe tests, and found 
 that when it was fully protected by ventilation it was quite safe 
 from waving or syphonage. He had since patented it. AYith 
 regard to ventilation, to properly ventilate a soil-pipe and trap, 
 careful thought was required. The kind of apparatus, length of 
 soil-pipe and vent-pipe, also the arrangements below the soil-pipe, 
 must all be taken into consideration, because the diameter of pipe 
 which would be ample for one arrangement would be quite in- 
 adequate for another. He was very much surprised to hear Mr. 
 Hellyer say that he should be satisfied with a 2 -inch vent-pipe, 
 50 feet or 60 feet long, to ventilate a soil-pipe and trap 7 feet long 
 and open at the foot. He had practically tried such an arrange- 
 ment fitted with the five traps before mentioned, alternately, and he 
 found that the only trap which would be quite safe under such condi- 
 tions was the D. The trap which required the most carefully venti- 
 lating was the plain round syphon, and that which required the least 
 was the old D. There was, however, a great difference in the effect 
 which ventilation had upon the two traps. With the syphon the 
 water still rushed through, thoroughly cleansing the trap, and 
 leaving it sealed with perfectly clear water, but the D retained more 
 filth when fitted with an air-pipe than without one. He agreed 
 with Mr. Hellyer in condemning the pan-closet, and the outcome of 
 the experience he (the speaker) had gained since abandoning the 
 pan-closet was that the direct- action closets, such as Phillips's 
 " Sanitary," the " Artisan," the " Carmichael," and the " Vortex," 
 were far superior to several of the more costly ones. Such closets, 
 fixed in a proper manner, with suitable ventilation, and with a flush 
 of two gallons delivered in five seconds, were, in his experience, un- 
 equalled for cleanliness. With regard to cowls, he had fixed several 
 on soil-pipes and drains at Margate, both in exposed and sheltered
 
 3i8 The Science and Art of 
 
 positions, and upon several he had made some careful observations. 
 In one instance he found during a slight shuffy wind that Banner's 
 cowl repeatedly stopped mouth to wind, at wliich times the smoke 
 with which he was testing it escaped at the foot-vent. In another 
 case he found that after the smoke had ceased to issue from Banner's 
 cowl, it came up again if he removed the cowl, and ceased when 
 he replaced it. He tried that three times with the same results. In 
 both these instances he found the plain open pipe quite as effective 
 as with the cowl — indeed, more so. From other observations, he 
 was convinced that in cases where the ventilation of the soil-pipes 
 and drains was so arranged that it mattered not whether the current 
 of air passed up or down them, open pipes were best. There were, 
 however, places where it was very desirable to, as far as possible, 
 prevent down-draught, and in such cases cowls were sometimes very 
 useful. In conclusion, Mr. Emptage urged upon all connected with 
 the plumbing trade the necessity of giving increased study to the 
 subject, and expressed his thanks to INIr. Ernest Turner for suggest- 
 ing, to the National Health Society for promoting, and to Mr. 
 Hellyer for delivering, the lectures. 
 
 "Mr. Robert Smith denied that Mr. Hellyer was correct in his 
 statement that non-society workmen in the plumbing trade were 
 better workmen than society men. Why should they be? Society 
 men had to rely upon themselves and upon the character of their 
 work as much as non-society men. Mr. Hellyer had advocated the 
 granting of certificates of competency to plumbers. Some years ago 
 there was a serious strike and lock-out in the building trade upon 
 the introduction of what was known at the time as the "Docu- 
 ment." Such a certificate as was advocated by Mr. Hellyer would 
 be neither more nor less than the " Document" in a new form, and 
 if the suggestion were adopted, the working plumber would be en- 
 tirely in the power and at the mercy of his employer. While there 
 was some truth in Mr. Hellyer's assertion that young plumbers did 
 not always have a proper opportunity of learning their trade when 
 they were apprenticed in small shops, it should not be forgotten 
 that in a small shop an apprentice would have a greater range and 
 variety of work in all branches, whereas in large shops the principle 
 of subdivision of labour was sure to be more or less thoroughly 
 carried out, and the apprentice would most likely be kept almost 
 entirely to that particular branch of work in which he showed most 
 proficiency. He denied that the CO -trap was superior to the D-trap, 
 and claimed for the latter that, if properly made, it was self-cleansing. 
 He thought Mr. Hellyer had been unduly severe in his strictures 
 upon the poor working plumber, while he had "let down" Mr. 
 Norman Shaw very gently — perhaps because Mr. Shaw was an
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 
 
 319 
 
 architect for whom ]Mr. llellyer might hope to do work in the 
 future. 
 
 "The Chairman here intimated that he thought Mr. Smith 
 was going a little wide of the point in imputing personal 
 motives. 
 
 "Mr. Smith thought he was justified in what he had said. 
 He did not think much of the practicability of Mr. Hellyer's 
 recommendation to use 27-inch soil-pipes. Although the lec- 
 tures had been very entertaining, he did not think that the 
 audience, had had one particle of knowledge imparted to them 
 from beginning to end. (' Oh, oh ! ' laughter, and hisses.) He 
 certainly had not gained one particle of information. The lectures 
 had been of a most rudimentary kind." — The Bttildcr. 
 
 "Mr. P. J. Davies fixed upon the platform a stand supporting 
 a glass model of a D-trap, which, he said, he would show was 
 as self-cleaning* as the cO'trap, if properly made. Placing a 
 handful of pebbles in the receiver, he demonstrated that a flush 
 of about one gallon of water from a pail v/ould instantly carry 
 them from the body of the trap into the drain. The experiment 
 was repeated with a pocket-handkerchief and a bottleful of ink 
 
 with similar results, and led to some discussion as to the size ot 
 trap between Messrs. Hellyer and Davies, which, as they stood 
 close to one another on the platform, and did not raise their 
 voices, was not distinctly audible to the majority of those present, 
 nor at the reporters' table. Mr. Davies also drew a diagram (a 
 reduction of which we give above) showing a graphical method of 
 
 -* See Table, p.
 
 320 The Science aud Art of 
 
 striking out with compasses and T-square a D-trap of good 
 form. He explained the process thus : To draw the face of a 
 9-inch trap, first describe a circle, a a a, of equal diameter, of 
 course arrived at by taking a 4|-inch radius, a b. On top of 
 circle, a^ a, a, and at a tangent to it, draw a right line, c D. 
 Let fall a second line perpendicularly from c to B, again cut- 
 ting the circle at a tangent at B. Then, placing foot of compass 
 at the right angle at c, take a radius to extreme periphery of circle 
 — i.e., from c to e — and describe an arc from e to right line C d, 
 which will give length and outline of cheek. The band of trap, 
 Mr. Davies added, must be only sufficiently wide to admit of the 
 dip, or, in other words, the diameter of dip and width of band must 
 be equal." — The Building Nrcus. 
 
 "Mr. T. H. Court, speaking as a practical foreman of plumbers, 
 criticised several of the statements made by Mr. Hellyer. They had 
 been told, in an early lecture, that the plumber should provide him- 
 self with two pots of metal — one for underhand work and the other 
 for general jobs. Would the labourer carry two heavy solder-pots 
 for his mate ? He knew that if a plumber asked him for two sorts 
 of solder he should at once offer him his ticket for payment. Mr. 
 Hellyer had recommended that the solder for underhand should be 
 diluted with lead, and the next week the speaker had a pot of metal 
 spoiled by a young man who followed this advice, and he had to 
 issue an order that the first man who put lead in his solder would 
 be discharged. A foreman worthy of the name ought to know by 
 the appearance of a bar of solder whether it was of the right pro- 
 portions. As these lectures were specially addressed to the younger 
 plumbers, they should have been taught how to make solder, and 
 how, if foul, it could be cleansed. If the time wasted during these 
 lectures upon extraneous matters not pertaining to the subject had been 
 devoted to practical or scientific points, the course would have been 
 been of greater value. He was surprised to hear Mr. Hellyer 
 recommend the making of very long joints. They were no stronger 
 than short ones ; if both were properly made, the appearance was 
 no better, and the shorter one was more likely to be quickly, and 
 therefore cleanly, wiped, and so had less chance of sweating. Mr. 
 Hellyer condemned journeymen plumbers for much of the improper 
 workmanship and the bad systems of ventilation ; but in this he 
 was hardly fair, as the men generally worked under orders. The 
 speaker recently carried out a job in the City at an hotel, where the 
 architect's specification left out all mention of ventilation to soil- 
 pipes or cisterns. As a foreman, although he knew such a mode of 
 fitting would lead to illness in the house, he would not have been 
 justified in putting his employer to considerable expense to rectify
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 321 
 
 the omission ; but he did what he could— viz., he made representa- 
 tions on the subject, and was told to put the work in without venti- 
 lating-pipes. There was in the job a f -inch pipe, which, as a work- 
 man now in the room could testify, had to supply four urinals, four 
 closets, three lavatories, two sinks, and a bath. Within a year or 
 two he had to go to the same hotel, and was asked his opinion of 
 the plumbing arrangements, when he pronounced them bad to the 
 lowest degree, adding that he was condemning work carried out 
 under his own supervision, but under protest. Would Mr. Hellyer 
 blame the working plumber in cases like this ? He didn't consider 
 Mr. Hellyer justified in standing before them as a sanitary engineer 
 offering instruction to plumbers, yet at the same time admitting that 
 he made and sold the very pan-closets he condemned. If Mr. 
 Hellyer had been the master of a small jobbing shop, in a struggling 
 position, there might have been some excuse ; but, as it was, he saw 
 no justification." — The Building A'nus. 
 
 "Mr. W. P. Buchan (of Glasgow) said he had not had the privi- 
 lege of hearing Mr. Hellyer's lectures, but he was happy to have 
 had the opportunity of reading the reports of them, and he thought 
 very highly of them, notwithstanding the criticisms which he had 
 heard from previous speakers. So far as he could judge from the 
 lectures, as published, he approved of almost everj-thing that Mr. 
 Hellyer had said. He (Mr. Buchan) was at a loss to understand 
 the favour in which the D-trap seemed to be held by some of the 
 speakers, and their prejudice against the syphon-trap. Glasgow 
 was no inconsiderable city, and a great deal of good plumbing work 
 was to be found there ; yet, as a Glasgow-bred plumber of thirty 
 years' experience, he never remembered seeing a D-trap used there. 
 All the Glasgow plumbing was done with syphon-traps, and syphon- 
 age w^as easily preventable by means of ventilation. It seemed to be 
 forgotten that the ventilating-pipe to a trap, if properly made and 
 fixed, killed two birds with one stone, so to speak, for it prevented 
 syphonage, and at the same time prevented the accumulation of foul 
 gases, which would eat away the lead unless carried off. Mr. 
 Davies's experiments with his D-trap were not to his (the 
 speaker's) mind altogether conclusive, for pebbles and pocket- 
 handkerchiefs could be more easily cleared out of a trap than 
 urinary matter and flocculent particles offices. Much as was to be 
 said against the D-trap, however, it was far safer to use it than to 
 use a trapless closet. Where illness resulting in death arose from 
 the use of trapless closets, the fixers of them ought to be found 
 guilty of manslaughter. He thought that no one could defend the 
 use of trapless closets upon any scientific or hygienic ground. Pan- 
 closets were bad enough, but where they could not be removed 
 
 V
 
 32 2 The Science and Art of 
 
 their evils could be mitigated by ventilating the containers, but 
 with two pipes. \Miile some architects were not blameless for 
 bad plumbing, there were others who had done a great deal to 
 promote good work. There were, he knew, many workmen in the 
 trade who were only partially competent ; but Mr. Hellyer's lec- 
 tures were part of a movement designed to help every working 
 plumber to become a first-class workman. He considered that 
 plumbing was the leading trade connected with building, and 
 that plumbers ought to be the best-paid workmen in the building 
 trade. Upon the working plumber largely depended the health 
 of many a household, and as he was often sent to do work 
 without being supervised by a foreman, he should, when of 
 proved competency and reliability, be remunerated for his work 
 with some regard to the responsibility of his position." — The 
 Builder. 
 
 " Mr. J. Vance said that sometimes when a working plumber 
 who understood his business ventured to point out a defect or a 
 bad arrangement in plumbing work proposed to be done, he 
 was told, by architect or proprietor, as the case might be, 
 ' Do as you are told ; you are not paid for knowing anything 
 about it, you are paid for doing the work according to instruc- 
 tions ! ' Personally he felt very much indebted to Mr, Hellyer 
 for his lectures. He had only to say, in conclusion, that when 
 architects or sanitary engineers came on a job to give instmctions as 
 to plumbing, they should see the plumber himself, and not give 
 their instructions to the general foreman of works, who most likely 
 knew nothing of plumbing work, and would therefore be unable to 
 clearly explain their wishes. Instead of allowing their instructions 
 about plumbing to be conveyed second-hand, architects and sani- 
 tary engineers would do well to see the plumber himself."— 7)^^ 
 Builder. 
 
 "Mr. H. H. Collins, F.R.I.B.A., said some mention had been 
 made of the trapless closet, and having used it in his own house, 
 with a large family, he must say it answered admirably. If placed 
 in proximity to a sewer, it would no doubt be objectionable ; but 
 properly ventilated it was infinitely superior to other closets. It 
 had no container, no D-trap, no apparatus to get out of order, and 
 little brasswork to become corroded. There was, certainly, a ten- 
 dency to accumulate a little filth beneath the pan ; but he gave the 
 housemaid some spirits of salt, with directions to cleanse it about 
 once a week, and that kept it quite sweet. There was one objec- 
 tion about this closet to plumbers — he had never had it repaired. 
 He feared architects, as a body, through carelessness, but not 
 through ignorance, had neglected some practical matters in favour
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 323 
 
 of the artistic side of their profession, till there was some danger 
 that specialists would take this engineering and sanitary work from 
 their heads. In criticising their plans and specifications, however, 
 it should be remembered that architects were not always their own 
 masters, any more than was Mr. Hellyer. Mr. Norman Shaw, and 
 other leading architects, and such plumbers as Mr. Hellyer, might 
 be able to refuse to carry out work unless their ideas were followed, 
 but the young and struggling architect or plumber couldn't take 
 such high ground. The way in which the crassly-ignorant or 
 obstinate client could best be convinced of his errors was by the 
 delivery of such lectures as those of Mr. Hellyer, and the wide- 
 spread discussion they gave rise to. When the public was fully 
 educated, pan-closets and similar abominations would pass into 
 limbo, and be only known as matters of history. He had re- 
 gretted to hear a speaker early that evening say, in very ill- 
 taste, that from all the lectures delivered by Mr. Hellyer he had 
 not gained one particle of information. He was very sorry for 
 that individual. (Loud applause.) He scorned to bestow that 
 false praise which was but satire in disguise ; but he must say 
 that the efforts of a gentleman closely engaged in business who had 
 given up so much of his time gratuitously to instruct others in the 
 details of his and their trade, and to impart the benefit of his ex- 
 perience, deserved grateful recognition at the hands of plumbers. 
 (Loud applause.) If Dr. Johnson's dictum were true, that we 
 could learn something even from a fool, the gentleman who had 
 complained of Mr. Hellyer's rudimentary instruction could not be 
 said to have displayed a large amount either of wisdom, intuition, 
 or experience." — The Building N'ews. 
 
 "Mr. Lammas urged the formation of an institution for the 
 encouragement, protection, and advancement of the plumbing 
 trade — a place where the members could meet to read, think, and 
 discuss methods and principles of work, and including, if possible, 
 a small workshop, where the members could put their ideas into 
 execution and to the test of practical experiment. He felt very 
 much indebted to Mr. Hellyer for his lectures." — The Builder. 
 
 " Mr. Wise supported the suggestion made by the last speaker." 
 — The Builder. 
 
 " Mr. Savory said that although, perhaps, all that had been said 
 by Mr. Hellyer was not to be taken without question, he had laid 
 down many principles which could not be controverted. It was 
 desirable that the lectures should be published m extenso in a cheap 
 form, together with a report of the discussion." — The Bulder. 
 
 " The Chairman, in closing the discussion, said that when Mr. 
 Ernest Turner suggested that the National Health Society should 
 
 V2
 
 324 The Science and Art of 
 
 arrange for a course of lectures to working plumbers upon the 
 principles and practice of sanitary plumbing, the initial difficulty 
 was to get a competent lecturer. He, knowing the name of Mr. 
 Hellyer as that of the writer of the best practical work on 
 plumbing, invited him to give the lectures, and after consideration 
 he consented to do so, although very much occupied with business 
 and not in the best of health. The lectures had been undertaken by 
 Mr. Hellyer without any remuneration beyond that which was 
 afforded him by the knowledge that they have aroused considerable 
 thought and directed much attention to the subject. The laborious 
 and complete way in .which the lectures had been illustrated by 
 diagrams was worthy of all praise. The lectures had been delivered 
 not only in the presence of working plumbers, but in the presence 
 of some of the most skilled and experienced judges of sanitary 
 work in the country, and including Mr. Rogers Field, Mr. Ernest 
 Turner, Mr. H. H. Collins, and Mr. Eassie, and he had the 
 authority for saying that those gentlemen regarded Mr. Hellyer's 
 lectures as being of very great value." — The Builder. 
 
 "Mr. Hellyer, in replying on the discussion, said that he was 
 gratified to find that the remarks made by those who had 
 spoken in the discussion were so largely in favour of the ob- 
 servations he had made in his lectures. With reference to Mr. 
 Emptage's remarks on cowls, he would only say that his ex- 
 perience was that cowls were of advantage in hundreds of cases, 
 as they helped to increase the up-current. He had tested * 
 this at the cost of ;[^200 or;^300, and therefore was certain of what 
 he advanced. With regard to non-society men versus society men, 
 considered as workmen, he simply stated his conviction, based on 
 experience, when he said that as a rule non-society men were the 
 best Morkmen. He wanted the trade societies to be more careful 
 in excluding incompetent men than they had been. He had no 
 more feeling against society men than against non-society men, and 
 had good workmen belonging to both classes in his employ. He 
 was very glad if, as a result of his lectures, Mr. Davies had been 
 able to improve the D-trap, but he (Mr. Hellyer) like a previous 
 speaker, could not see the conclusiveness of the experiments which 
 had been made with Mr. Davies's trap. He challenged the accuracy 
 of Mr. Court's statement that anything said by him in the course of 
 these lectures was calculated to do harm to young plumbers. With 
 regard to using two pots of solder, he simply recommended that in 
 large buildings or jobs two pots of solder should be in use : one for 
 underhand joints — as coarser solder worked better for this kind 
 
 * See " The Plumber and Sanitary Houses," Chap. XXIII., on the merits o 
 
 various cowls.
 
 Sanitary Plumbing. 325 
 
 of joint — and one supplied with richer solder, for upright joints, 
 tacks, and cistem-soldering, &c., the object being to save time, 
 Time was an important element in work, and as an employer of 
 labour he valued time. It frequently hinged upon time whether a 
 master plumber made profit or no profit on a job. As to pan- 
 closets, he had previously explained that he only supplied them 
 under protest, when there was no help but to use them, as in the 
 circumstances he had mentioned. As a matter of fact, irrespective 
 of the job to which he had referred, his firm had almost entirely 
 discarded their manufacture and use, and had not supplied more 
 than thirty during the last three years. On all their circulars it was 
 expressly stated beneath the illustration of the pan-closet that it 
 was not an appliance to be recommended. He was gratified that 
 Mr. Buchan should have supported by the weight of his experience 
 what he (the lecturer) had said, for Mr. Buchan was well knovvTi 
 throughout the country. Notwithstanding what Mr. Collins had 
 said as to trapless closets, he (the lecturer) still stood by his con- 
 demnation of them. In conclusion, Mr. Hellyer said he looked 
 upon sanitary plumbing as an important branch of Preventive 
 Medicine, and, therefore, he regarded the efforts which were being 
 made by members of the medical profession to render it more 
 common as most disinterested and praiseworthy. 
 
 "The meeting closed with thanks to Mr. Hellyer and the chair- 
 man. " — The Builder,
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Access to drain, 261, 263. 
 Air currents in pipes, 94. 
 ,, stagnant in pipes, &c., 105, 2l8, 
 
 222. 
 Air-barrier (trap), 106, 1 26. 
 Air-inducts, illns.^ 227, 228, 263, 
 
 264. 
 Air-pipe, 22, 221. 
 Air-shaft, illus., 229, 241, 260, 261, 
 
 264. 
 Airo-hydrogen blow-pipe, 76, 79. 
 Ajaxes, 190. 
 Alloys and their melting-heats, 72, 
 
 73. 
 
 Annular syphon. Field's, 276. 
 "Anti-D-trap," no, 156, 169, 225 
 
 (see Traps). 
 Anti-trap men, 86, 89. 
 Apprentices, 24, 25. 
 Architects, 19, 21, 23, 28. 
 Art, in bending pipes, 58, 68, 69. 
 
 ,, of plumbing, 9, 24, 25. 
 Arts, ** master " of, 8. 
 "Artisan" water-closet, 165, 166. 
 Astragal, jointing, 54 — 56. 
 
 ,, ,, ilhis., 55. 
 
 Astronomer, story of, 67. 
 Atmosphere, polluted, 278. 
 Autogenous soldering, 77. 
 
 Basin, lavatory, model for experi- 
 menting, 113. 
 Basin, lavatory, with untrapped 
 
 waste, 90. 
 Basin, range of, illus., 247, 248, 249. 
 Bath, 20, 148, 175, 250, 308. 
 
 ,, apparatus, outlet, 237. 
 
 „ waste, 237, 238, 250, 311. 
 
 ,, ,, tests for syphonage, 
 147, 150. 
 
 ,, ,, tests for syphonage, 
 illus., 148, 151. 
 
 ,, ,, with perfect ventilation, 
 illus. (Fig. 70), 175. 
 Bell-traps, illus., 120 (see Traps). 
 Bell-metal, 73. 
 
 Bending-pipes, 56 — 69. 
 
 ,, illus., 62, 64, 65. 
 
 Bends, pipe contracted, 59, 60, 66,67. 
 
 „ ,, ,, z7/«x., 59, 275. 
 
 ,, service-pipe ^contracted, il- 
 
 IUS.,2'JS' 
 
 ,, in small pipes, 65, 66. 
 Block-joint, 47, section, 48 (see 
 
 Joints). 
 Blowing lamp, 75, illus., 'j6, 77. 
 Blow-pipe, 54. 
 
 „ joints, 54 (see Joints). 
 
 "Bobbins," 63, 64, 65, illus., 64. 
 Bolts for bending, illus., 66. 
 Book, Old, on plumbing, 190 — 192. 
 Bramah's closet, 197 — 199, illus., 
 
 198. 
 
 Branch joint, 44, 45, 76 (see Joints). 
 
 , , connections, 44, 45, 244, 245. 
 
 ,, ,, illus., 45, 46, 
 
 224, 245, 246. 
 
 ,, ,, error in, illus., 
 
 245, 247, 248. 
 
 Branches, at right angles, 46, 245, 
 
 247. 248. 
 Brass connections for cisterns, illus., 
 
 275- 
 Brass connections for lavatories, 237. 
 Buchan's trap, illus., 181. 
 
 Cast of solder, illus., 72. 
 
 ,, iron soil-pipe, 210 — 213. 
 Caulked lead-joints, illus., 21 1. 
 Cement joint, defective, illus., 21 1. 
 Certificate of merit, 17. 
 Cesspool, intercepted, 85, 122. 
 Cistern, battened, illus., 288. 
 
 ,, how to line, 291 — 298. 
 
 ,, safe under, 244, 245. 
 
 ,, galvanised iron, 287. 
 
 „ lead, 286, 287, 288, 291— 
 298. 
 
 ,, slate, 286, 287, 289. 
 
 ,, in proper places, 286. 
 
 ,, evils in fixing wastes, 257, 
 258, 259.
 
 328 
 
 Index. 
 
 Cistern, evils in fixing wastes, illus,, 
 256 
 ,, wastes, separate, 254, 255, 
 256-259, 311. 
 City and Guilds of London Institute, 
 18, 19. 
 ,, ,, Plumbers, 17. 
 
 Close-stool, 185, 186, 190. 
 Code of rules for house sanitation, 
 
 309—313- 
 
 Collars, tllus., 41, 42. 
 
 Connections, service-pipes with cis- 
 terns, illus., 275. 
 
 Container, pan-closet, internal ser- 
 vice, 201. 
 
 Copper-bit, 52. 
 
 ,, joints, 51 — 53 (see Joints). 
 
 Cowl, 21, 104, 105, 324. 
 
 Croydon Board of Health, 94. 
 
 Cumming's closet, 194 — 196, illus., 
 195. 
 
 Danger to health, 10, ii, 84, 142. 
 Devil, plumbers', 74. 
 Dirty water wastes, 311. 
 "Disconnector," soil-pipe, illus., 
 
 180. 
 Disconnection, drain from sewer, 
 
 260—264; ill^is., 261, 263, 264. 
 Disconnection, soil-pipe from drain, 
 
 180, 219 — 229 ; illus., 180, 224, 
 227, 228, 229. 
 
 Disconnection, waste-pipe, 175, 240, 
 
 242, 278; illus., PI. VI., face 
 
 175, 241. 
 Displacement of water in traps, 133, 
 
 169. 
 Drain, aerated, 268. 
 
 ,, ,-, plan of model, 267. 
 
 Drain disconnected from sewer, 260 
 
 — 264 ; illus., 261, 263, 264, 267. 
 Drain, flushing, 262, 268, 276, 278, 
 
 312. 
 Drain "interceptors," illus., 178, 
 
 241 (see Traps). 
 Drain outside house, 310. 
 
 ,, traps, 122 — 128 (see Traps). 
 
 ,, syphon, illus., 127 ,, 
 
 ,, ,, ''ventilating," illus,, 
 
 181, 260 (see Traps), 
 
 Drain, ventilating into house, 9, 
 
 269—272. 
 Drain ventilation, 184, 265, 269, 
 
 267, 272, 279, 311, 312. 
 
 Drainage, 13, 28, 309—311. 
 
 ,, plumbers' knowledge of, 
 
 265. 
 Drinking-water cisterns, 4, 8, 10, 
 
 298—300, 310. 
 " Dummy," 45, 62 — 6$; illus, 62, 63. 
 
 Education, 14, 68. 
 
 Effect of heat on pipes, 217, 219. 
 
 Elbow-joint, 57, 60 (see Joints). 
 
 Ends, pipe, 33, 34. 
 
 English water-closet, 189 — 193 : 
 
 illus., 193. 
 Errors in branch connections, 245 — 
 
 249. 
 Experiments with untrapped pipes, 
 
 89—95- 
 ,, traps, 113— 150. 
 ,, ,, tables of, 160, 161. 
 
 Field's Flushing-tank, illus., 276. 
 
 Fine solder, 72. 
 
 Filth -collecting boxes (traps), 122 — 
 
 128. 
 Fire-places for plumbers, 74. 
 "Fittings," all trapped, 312. 
 Flange-joint, illus., 49 (see Traps). 
 Flushing water, value of, 272 — 283, 
 
 312. 
 Foot-ventilation, 141, 222 — 229; 
 
 illus., 223, 227, 228. 
 Frost, 99, 285, 286. 
 Funnel-pipe, 71. 
 
 Galvanised iron cisterns, 287. 
 Gastra, 186. 
 Genius of man, 30. 
 Gentleman's Lavatory, 94. 
 Government license for plumbers, 12. 
 ,, training - school for 
 
 soldiers, 27. 
 "Grease-intercepting tank," illus,, 
 
 283, 284. 
 Gully traps, 87, 126 (see Traps). 
 
 Health of London, 313. 
 
 ,, towns, 12. 
 Heat, effect on pipes, 217, 218. 
 Hotels, water-closets in, 12, 13. 
 House drainage, 184, 266, 267, 272, 
 
 311- 
 
 ,, sanitation, 9, 28, 309. 
 ,, unfit for occupation, 10.
 
 Index. 
 
 329 
 
 How to make bends, 60, 61 — 66 ; 
 
 illus., 59, 62, 64, 65. 
 How to line a cistern, 291 — 298. 
 
 Induct, fresh air, to drain, 104, 222, 
 
 260—266, 310 ; illus., 263, 264. 
 Induct, fresh air, to soil-pipe, 104, 
 
 131, 221, 222, 227, 228, 241, 311 ; 
 
 illus.^ 227, 229. 
 Interceptor, "drain," illus., 178, 
 
 241 (see Traps). 
 
 Jack of all trades, 7, 8. 
 Jerry buildings, 91, 210. 
 Joints, wiped branch, illiis., 45, 46. 
 
 ,, block, section, 48. 
 
 ,, elbow, illus., 57, 58. 
 
 ,, flange, section, 49. 
 
 ,, overcast, illus., 39. 
 
 ,, taft, section, 50. 
 
 ,, Scotch, illus., 40. 
 
 ,, underhand, illus., 38. 
 
 ,, ,, section, 33. 
 
 ,, upright (unmade), 43. 
 copper-bit, illus., 52, 53. 
 astragal, idus., 55. 
 made with blowing-lamp, 
 
 74—77- 
 making, 31 — 76. 
 wiping, 10, 44, 51. 
 cement, illus., 211. 
 caulked lead, illus., 21 1. 
 
 Knowledge of house sanitation, 26. 
 ,, of plumbing, 24 — 28, 
 
 57, 69. 
 ,, practical, 16, 26. 
 
 ,, theoretical, 16. 26. 
 
 Lamp, for making joints, illus., 
 
 75, 76, 79. 
 Lavatory, connections, illus., 247, 
 
 248, 249, 250. 
 Lavatory, waste, ««trapped, ilhis., 
 
 22, 90, 86 — 94. 
 Lavatory, waste, badly trapped, 
 
 illus., 247—50. 
 Lavatory, waste, as ventilators, 94. 
 Lavatory, and glass d -traps, model, 
 
 113- 
 
 Lavatory, plugs and washers, illtis., 
 
 237. 
 Lavatory, ranges of, illus. , 247 — 250. 
 Lead, action of water on, 288 — 291. 
 
 Lead, battened cistern, illus., 288. 
 
 ,, burning, 77—81. 
 
 ,, ,, machine, illzts., 79, 
 
 ,, cast sheet, 70. 
 
 ,, cistern, 287, 28S. 
 
 ), ,, how to line, 291 — 8. 
 
 ,, milled (sheets), 70. 
 
 )) ,, plated with tin, 70. 
 
 »» pig> 69, 70. 
 
 „ pipe, 71. 
 
 ,, ,, action of water on, 
 288—291. 
 
 ,, ,, barrel, 71. 
 
 ,, ,, encased with tin, 71. 
 
 ,, ,, funnel, 71. 
 
 ,, ,, soil-pipe, 209 — 214. 
 
 ,, ,, Water Companies 
 weights, 306. 
 
 ,, tacks, illus., 229—233. 
 Lectures on plumbing, 2, 16. 
 Legacy, to found a school, 17. 
 Licensed plumbers, 26 — 51. 
 London plumbers, 26 — 51. 
 
 , , water supply, from William 
 L, 298—306. 
 
 Malicious spirits, 85. 
 
 Man-hole, in drains, illus., 261, 263. 
 
 " Mansergh " trap, z7/z^j., 123 (see 
 
 Traps). 
 "Mansion" trap, illus., 156 (see 
 
 Traps). 
 Man-trap and poachers, 84. 
 " Master " of arts, 8. 
 Mica-valve, illus., 227. 
 Milled lead, 70. 
 Model of drain in glass (see plan), 
 
 267. 
 Model of bath and lavatory, illus., 
 
 148. 
 Model of lavatory and trap, illus., 
 
 135- 
 
 National Health Society, 2, 27. 
 Necessity of trapping, 82, 86, 106. 
 Need of school of plumbing, 15 — 17. 
 Non-cleansing traps, 107 — 127. 
 
 Object of these lectures, 26. 
 Open drains, 262. 
 Osterley House, 193. 
 Outside soil-pipes, 216 — 219. 
 Overflow-pipe, cistern, 255 — 259, 
 3"-
 
 33^ 
 
 Index. 
 
 Overflow-pipe, bath safe, 254, 255. 
 ,, ,, cistern safe, 254, 
 
 255- 
 
 ,, ,, w. c. safe, 251 — 254. 
 ,, ///z/j-.,253, 254. 
 
 ,, to valve-closet, separate, 
 205, 206. 
 
 ,, to valve-closet, badly 
 sealed, illus., 206. 
 
 ,, to valve-closet into vent- 
 arm, illus.^ 207. 
 
 ,, (trap) unsyphoned, 206. 
 
 Pan-closet, 4, 200 -202 (see Water- 
 closets). 
 Paris, disposal of slops, 187. 
 
 ,, „ laws for, 188. 
 
 Pig lead, 69, 70. 
 Pipe bending, 56 — 68. 
 
 ,, bends, ilh{s., 59, 60, 62, 64, 65. 
 
 ,, freezing, 285, 286, 
 
 ,, lead, action of water on, 
 288—291. 
 
 ,, lead, encased with tin, 71. 
 
 ,, ,, endsrightly fitted, 32,33. 
 
 ,, ,, overflow, cistern, 255 — 
 
 259, 311- 
 ,, „ overflow, " safes," 251 — 
 
 255- 
 „ soil 185, 209— 231, 311. 
 ,, ,, service, 275, 280, 306 — 
 
 308. 
 ,, ,, Water Companies' 
 weights, 306. 
 Plugs and washers, illtcs., 236, 237. 
 Plumbers and architects, 21, 22, 28. 
 ,, ,, tinkers. 
 ,, certificated, 17. 
 ,, City Guild, 17. 
 „ country, 25. 
 ,, London, 26. 
 ,, societies, 18. 
 ,, solder, 35, 72. 
 ,, and specifications, 21, 22. 
 Plumbing, an old book on, 190 — 
 
 192. 
 Plumbing, and women, 20. 
 ,, lectures on, 16. 
 
 ,, out of sight, 20. 
 
 ,, sanitary, 28. 
 
 ,, schools of, 16. 
 
 Pompeii, water-closets in, 186. 
 Privies, 185, 186, 188. 
 Public and plumber, 12. 
 
 Pumps, 172. 
 
 Plate I. — Stacks of soil-pipe with 
 
 trapless water-closets, y^r^ p. 102. 
 Plate II. — Stack of waste-pipe, with 
 
 slop-sinks, for testing traps, _/ar^ 
 
 p. 144. 
 Plate III. — Stack of waste-pipe 
 
 for testing trap-syphonage, face 
 
 p. 150. 
 Plate IV. — Stack of soil-pipe for 
 
 testing trap-syphonage, face p. 
 
 164. 
 Plate V. — Stack of 3-inch soil-pipe, 
 
 with three water-closets, face p. 
 
 168. 
 Plate VI. — Stack of waste-pipe, 
 
 showing perfect ventilation, &c. , 
 
 face^^. 175. 
 Plate VII. — Stack of soil-pipe, 
 
 showing perfect ventilation, &c., 
 face p. 225. 
 
 " Rain-water shoe," illus., 179. 
 
 ,, trap, ilhis., l'j(). 
 
 Range of lavatory basin>, idus., 
 
 247—249. 
 Round-pipe traps (see Traps). 
 Rules, code of, 309 — 912. 
 
 Safes, baths, and cisterns, 254, 255. 
 ,, water-closet, 251 — 253, zY/wj-., 
 
 253- 
 Sanatarians, 4, 5, loi. 
 Sanitary arrangements, Continent, 
 
 13. H- 
 ,, engineer, 7, 9, 10, 21. 
 
 fittings,67, 312. 
 ,, plumber, 9, 10, 14. 
 
 ,, science hall, 15, 17. 
 
 ,, work, newest principles, 
 
 7, 8, 26, 28. 
 Sanitation, house, code of rules for, 
 
 309—312. 
 School of Plumbing, I, 3, 16, 17, 27. 
 Self-cleansing traps, 121 — 183 (see 
 
 Traps). 
 Service-box in cistern, 4, 8, 10. 
 Service-pipe to fittings, 66, 280, 
 
 ill us., 275. 
 Sewer-interceptor, 121, 181, 260 — 
 
 264. 
 Sewer-interceptor, illus., 18 r, 182, 
 260, 261 — 264
 
 Index. 
 
 331 
 
 Shaw's, Mr. Norman, principle, 
 
 illus., 96. 
 Sheet lead, 70. 
 Signboards, 7, lo, 272. 
 Sink, illus., 238. 
 
 ,, slop, ill us., 145, 175. 
 
 ,, „ waste, 233, 239, 240, 
 
 illus., 145, 175. 
 ,, without trap, 22, ^^j, illus., 87. 
 ,, scullery, 283. 
 Slops, 273. • 
 
 " disposal of, Edinburgh, 187. 
 ., _ ,, Paris, 187. 
 
 Soil-pipe, earthenware, 210. 
 ,, iron, 210 — 214. 
 ,, lead, 210 — 212. 
 ,, zinc, 210. 
 „ air stagnant in, 105. 
 ,, badly ventilated, 4, 5, 9, 
 
 222. 
 „ disconnected, 180, 226 — 
 
 229. 
 ,, disconnected, illus., 224, 
 
 227, 228, 229. 
 ,, full size for ventilation, 
 
 221 ; illus., 224. 
 ,, long lengths, 99. 
 ,, outside, 216 — 219, 
 ,, sizes of, 214, 215. 
 ,, ventilation of, 219 — 226 ; 
 
 illus., 223, 224. 
 ,, without traps, bad, 22, 
 95 — 106 ; illus., 96, 
 103. 
 ,, and rain-water pipe, 2 16. 
 Solder, blow-pipe, 73. 
 ,, copper-bit, 72. 
 „ plumbers', 35, 72, 76. 
 ,, heating. 36. 
 Soldering, 70. 77, 78. 
 Specifications, plumbers', 21, 22. 
 Splash-stick, illus., 43, 
 Storage of water, 286, 288, 310. 
 Store cisterns, 9. 
 Syphonage, 108, 145, 176, 226. 
 
 „ testings, illus., 135 — 
 
 167,. 173- 
 Syphon, on Egyptian tombs, 196. 
 ,, Field's, illus., 276. 
 ,, trap (see Traps). 
 
 Tacks, illus., 55, 230, 231, 233. 
 Taft joint, section, 50 (see Joints). 
 Technical knowledge, plumbing, 18. 
 
 Terminals, ventilating, 242, 269 ; 
 
 illus., 224, 270. 271. 
 Three-branch hands, 9. 
 ,, shops, 25. 
 
 Tin, 1Z. 
 
 Tin-lined lead pipe, 71. 
 ,, sheet lead, 70. 
 Tools, for bending, illus,, 62, 63, 
 
 64, 66. 
 Trapless closets, 22, 23, 95 — 106. 
 „ ,, ilhis., 36, 103. 
 ,, wastes, 87 — 94. 
 ,, ,, illus., 87, 90. 
 Trap, air-barrier, 106, 126. 
 
 ,, ** Anti-D," illus., 157, 158, 
 
 224. 
 ,, Bell, illus., 120. 
 ,, Beard and Dent's, /////J-., 130, 
 
 153. 154- 
 „ "Bower," ^137, 149; illus., 
 
 138. 
 ,, Buchan's, illus., 181. 
 ,, D, 107 — 118, 160, 161 — 169. 
 ,, ,, illus., 108, 109, no, 113, 
 
 115- 
 
 ,, ,, glass ;;/^^<?/, for testing, 113. 
 „ tests with, 112. 113, 133, 
 160, 161— 169. 
 ,, ,, internal view, 115. 
 ,, ,, ,, surface, /////i-., no. 
 ,, ,, "Narrow-band," illus., 
 116, 117 ; tests with, 
 160, 161 — 169. 
 ,, " Drain-intercepting," illus. , 
 
 178, 179, 180, 181, 241. 
 ,, Drain-syphon, tllus., 127. 
 ,, " Croydon," z/Z/^i-., 182. 
 
 "Eclipse," 118, 119, 137, 
 
 160, 161 — 169. 
 ,, "Helmet," 117, 160, 161, 
 
 167 ; illus., 117. 
 ,, " Mansergh," 122 — 124, sec- 
 tion, 123. 
 ,, *' Mansion," ///«^., 156. 
 ,, " Round-pipe," 132, 153, 
 
 177 ; badly shaped, 154 ; 
 
 U-shaped, 153, 154. 
 ,, "soil-pipe disconnector," 
 
 illus., 180, 227, 228, 229. 
 ,, "sewer-interceptor,'" 107, 
 
 134, 176 ; ilhcs., 181, 182, 
 
 260, 261 — 264. 
 „ "S" and"Half-S," 177 ; 
 
 illus., 130, 153.
 
 iJCSB LIBRARY YCc&'yl^ 
 
 332 
 
 Index. 
 
 Trap, "Triple-dip," 125, 126; 
 
 section, 115. 
 . ,, "V-dip," z7/z/j., 157, 158. 
 "Weaver's," illus., 182. 
 ,, as cesspools, 107, 114. 
 
 legion, 85, 123. 
 ,, self-cleansing, principles of, 
 
 128-133. 
 ,, syphonage, 133—156, 161— 
 
 175- 
 
 ,, tables of tests, 160. 161. 
 
 ,, tests, for cleansing, 113, 
 114, 132, 133. 
 
 ,, tests, syphonage, 133 — 156, 
 161 — 174. 
 
 ,, ventilation, 134, 139, 140 — 
 146, 149, 150, 174, 175. 
 
 ,5 ventilation, bad arrange- 
 ment, illus., 174. 
 
 ,, ventilation, perfect, illus., 
 Plate VI., /«t-^ p. 175, and 
 Plate \l\.,face p. 225. 
 Treadle action (urinal), illus., 282. 
 
 Underhand joints, 36 (see Joints). 
 Upright joints, 40 (see Joints). 
 Unsanitary closets, 12, 13. 
 
 ,, plumbing, I, 4, 12, 26, 
 
 27. 
 Untrapped baths, 22. 
 
 ,, lavatories, 22, 86 — 94 ; 
 
 illus., 90. 
 ,, sinks, 22, 86 — 88 ; illus., 
 
 87. 
 ,, water-closets, 22, 86, 
 
 95—99 ; illus., 96, 
 102. 
 Urine, difficult to treat vi^ith, 281. 
 Urinal, water supply, 281 — 283. 
 
 Valve-closet, 197, 198, 203—208 ; 
 
 ilhis., 198, 203, 206, 207. 
 Ventilating pipes, 219 — 225. 240 — 
 
 242, 246, 269 — 272. 
 Ventilating pipes, terminals, 224, 
 
 242, 269, 270, 271. 
 Ventilating pipes, badly placed, 
 
 illus., 270, 271. 
 Ventilation, drain, 260 — 272, 311. 
 ,, " Foot, illus,, 223, 227, 
 
 228. 
 ,, soil-pipe, 219 — 226, 
 
 246, 311 ; //«J, 223, 
 224. 
 
 Ventilation, trap, 134, 139, 140 — 
 146, 149, 150, 174, 
 242, 312; illus., 135, 
 145, 148, 175, 225. 
 ,j waste-pipe, 240 — 242, 
 
 246 ; illus., Plate 
 VI., face 1^. 175. 
 
 Vortex closet, 165. 
 
 "Washing-up" sink, 175. 
 Waste-pipes, 233—242, 247, 251. 
 ,, and frost, 235. 
 
 ,, as ventilators, 22, ^J, 
 
 223. 
 cistern, 254, 255, 256 
 — 269, 311. 
 ,, from safes, 4, 251 — 
 
 253- 
 „ fouled, 88—97. 
 
 ,, untrapp.d, 87 — 94. 
 
 Water, action on lead, 288 — 291. 
 ,, flushing, 272, 274. 
 ,, storage, 286, 288,310. 
 , , supply to London , 298 — 308. 
 ,, ,, sanitary fittings. 
 
 280—283. 
 ,, „ water-closets, 272 
 
 283. 
 ,, seal in traps, 106, 118, 120, 
 206. 
 Water-closet, 11, 12, 13, 14, 186 — 
 209 
 Bramah, illus., 199. 
 Cumming's, illus., 
 
 195- 
 
 in Edinburgh, 187. 
 
 in England, 189, 190. 
 
 in Germany, 188. 
 
 in Hotels, 12, 13. 
 
 in Paris, 187. 
 
 in Pompeii, 186. 
 
 in Spain, 188. 
 
 Vi\2s\i\t,sccUojicA, 193 
 
 pan, 4, 200 — 202. 
 „ section of, 202. 
 
 valve, section of, 203. 
 
 ,, overflow separate, 
 206. 
 
 ,, overflow into vent- 
 arm, 207 ; vieiv of, 204. 
 Water-closet rooms, 308, 313. 
 "Water-shoot" slop-sink, 175. 
 Wiped Joints, 32 — 50 (see Joints). 
 Women and plumbing, 20.
 
 /■