CHICAGO SEWERAGE.
RE P ORT
OF THE RESULTS OF
(xiaminationm made in  dlation  to  tweqriage
IN SEVERAL
EUROPEAN CITIES, IN THE WINTER OF 1856-7.
BY THE CHIEF ENGINEER OF THE BOARD OF SEWERAGE
COMMISSIONERS.
CHICAGO, ILL.:
PUBLISHED BY THE BOARD.
1858.




CHAS. SCOTT & CO., PRINTERS,
CHICAGO, ILL.




REPORT OF CHIEF ENGINEER.
SEWERAGE COMMISSIONERS' OFFICE,
Chicago, Ii., Dec. 12, 1856. f
THE BOARD met. Present: Commissioners OGDEN,
WEBSTER and LIND. (Extract.)
Ordered, That E. S. CHESBROUGH, Chief Engineer
of this Board, proceed to Great Britain and the continent of Europe, for the purpose of examining the
various methods of Sewerage adopted there, and of
taking such notes and drawings of the same as he
may think necessary, and of examining into their
operation, and into all matters connected with them,
and which may, in his judgment, aid in the further
prosecution and perfection of the Sewerage of the
City of Chicago; and that he may have authority to
employ draftsmen, and pay for information, and purchase such books or reports as he shall deem necessary; and that such expenses, together with said
CHESBROUGH'S necessary travelling expenses while absent, be paid by this Board. * * * *
WM. GAMBLE,
Secretary.




4
SEWERAGE COMMISSIONERS' OFFICE,
Chicago, Dec. 19, 1856.
E. S. CHESBROUGH, ESQ.,
Chief Engineer,
DEAR SIR: I hand you herewith a copy of a resolution passed by this Board on the 12th inst., instructing you to proceed to Europe for purposes therein
set forth.
This duty you will please execute with all the dispatch consistent with a thorough attainment of the
objects contemplated, and render to this Board a full
account of your proceedings herein, including a detailed statement of all expenses incurred.  * *
Very respectfully,
J. D. WEBSTER,
Acting Commissioner.
SEWERAGE COMMISSIONERS' OFFICE, 1
Chicago, March 25, 1858.
To the Board of Sewerage Commissioners:
GENTLEMEN,In detailing, so far as the proper length of this
communication will permit, the information I obtained while
in Europe, in obedience to the foregoing instructions,which other engagements in your service, together with
feeble health, have prevented me from presenting earlier,I shall describe the sewerage of each city and town in the
order in which they were visited.




5
LIVERPOOL.
The site of this city is very undulating, and in some places
more than 200 feet above tide water. It consequently presents, generally, no difficulties with regard to what is considered sufficient declivity to make the sewers self-cleansing;
nevertheless, some in the lower districts are very level, and
require occasional cleansing, either by hand or machinery.
The form of sewer adopted during the last ten years, for all
sizes above 15 inches, is egg-shaped, the greatest width being
two-thirds the height, and a very little less for the smaller
ones. They are of brick, 9 inches thick, for all above 3 feet
in height, and half this thickness for those of 3 feet or less
height, where the soil is sufficiently firm. The 15, 12 and 9
inch sewers are stoneware pipes, circular in form, having
socket joints and laid in cement. These are not used to receive the washings from streets, and are consequently of but
short length.
The house or private drains are of circular pipes, 4 to 6
in. in diameter, of the same material, and constructed in the
same manner, as the larger ones used for street drains. They
are provided with syphon or bent traps, to prevent foul gases
from the main sewers entering the houses.
Surface water from the streets enters the sewers through
cast iron gratings, over trapped gullies, placed much nearer
together than the catch-basins of the large cities of this
country, forty yards being the distance apart recommended
there. Most of these have small catch-basins, which are frequently emptied.
Water closets are quite extensively, but by no means universally, used. In the better class of houses they are common, and in many of the middling; but there are still many
privies to be emptied by hand.
Although the site of Liverpool is so different, and much
more favorable than that of Chicago, with regard to drainage,
there is much in the experience of that city interesting to
this.




In 1846, the Sanitary Act for Liverpool was passed. Previous to that time much had been done towards draining the
city, and many miles of sewers, of square, round, oval and
various combinations of these forms, of different heights and
diameters, from 1 to 6 feet, were constructed. The outfalls of
many of the sewers were into the docks, which, being cut off
from the scour of the river, were liable to fill up and become
offensive, unless frequently dredged. Many of the sewers having their outlets below high water, were liable to be flooded
during heavy storms, and consequently the cellars connected
with them were very unsafe for the storage of valuable property.
Besides being used for receiving goods, many of these cellars
were permanently inhabited, so that throughout the entire
city, a population of 30,000 were accommodated in this way,
but as believed then, and as subsequent experience has proved,
it was at a great sacrifice of their health.
Shortly after the passage of the Sanitary Act of 1846, a
system of sewerage was recommended by Mr. NEWLANDS, the
present Borough Engineer, and adopted by the city council.
This system looked to the ultimate abolition of privies and
cess-pools, and not only to diverting the contents of sewers
from the dock basins, but to keeping it out of the river itself,
(except during storms,) and making use of it to fertilize
the neighboring lands. Much has been done towards abolishing privies, and keeping the sewage out of dock basins,
but the river is still the grand receptacle of the contents of
the sewers, and likely to continue so for some time to come.
The theories so popular since 1846, with regard to the
value of sewage as a manure, though apparently confirmed
by the wonderful success of a few experiments on a small
scale, have not yet been realized to any considerable extent.
Mr. NEWLANDS, in his report of 1848, considered any plan
that did not include the ultimate application of the sewage to
fertilizing lands, as imperfect. Besides having had early experience on this subject at Edinburgh, he has been a careful
observer of what has been done since relative to it throughout the kingdom, but up to the time of my visit, he had not




been able to find that the contents of the sewers of Liverpool had any commercial value-except, perhaps, for certain
localities of limited extent in the immediate vicinity, where
it could be applied by simple gravitation, as at Edinburgh.
A most useful invention for cleansing sewers has been made
by Mr. BLADE, of Liverpool. After trying it for several
years, Mr. NEWLANDS continues to use it; and in his report
of 1853, p. 39, while comparing it with the old process of
cleansing by hand, says: " Suppose a sewer is 100 yards in
length, silted up to the depth of 1 foot 6 inches. Then, by
the old process, the cleansing of it would occupy three men
ten days; and by the new process, it would occupy eleven
men one-third of a day."
" The power which the new apparatus gives of employing
many men together, and of rapidly finishing the work, is a
most material advantage; and this, with its obvious economy
when compared with the former mode of cleansing, will, I
think, ensure its general adoption."
In order to use this machine to advantage, there should be
vertical man-holes into the sewers, not more than fifty yards
apart. This requirement has caused the application of the
machine to be limited hitherto not only to Liverpool, but to
those sewers which were provided with man-holes. In the
narrow and crowded streets of most of the cities of Great
Britain, as well as of Europe generally, man-holes to the sewers are considered objectionable, and side entrances from the
foot-ways, or sidewalks, are much preferred.
The apparatus consists of a windlass and crane combined,
one placed at each man-hole over the two ends of the piece
of sewer to be cleansed. A communication between the manholes is obtained first by sending a float attached to a light
string in the direction of the current, which for this purpose
may be increased temporarily; then a cord; and afterwards
a chain is drawn through. By means of this chain, working over pullies fastened at each man-hole, and buckets or
scoops of various forms, according to the nature and depth
of the deposit, the men at the windlasses, and one in the




8
man-hole, are enabled to cleanse the sewer very rapidly.
For a detailed plan and description of the apparatus, see Mr.
BLADE'S pamphlet.
Mr. NEWLANDS furnished me with copies of the Health
Act, of his reports, from his first appointment to the office
of borough engineer to the present time, also of all the dif
ferent forms of contracts, specifications, proposals, notices,
&c., &c., issued by the health committee; and made me acquainted, as far as time would permit, with the organization
of his staff, the arrangement of the different yards necessary
for the operations of the sewer and street departments, and
the testing of gas meters, all of which are under his charge.
The full and perfect record which is kept of every transaction, and the readiness with which it can be referred to in all
its details, exceed anything of the kind I have ever seen in
this country, and, it is to be feared, will continue to do so as
long as our public officers and employees are so frequently
changed.
MANCHESTER.
The sewerage of this city differs from that of Liverpool
mostly in the far greater use of pipes, which serve not only
for conveying house, but surface drainage from streets. Mr.
FRANCIS, the surveyor of the city, commenced using them in
1845, and has continued to do so ever since. His reasons
for it, together with a brief description of the sewerage of
Manchester, will be found in the following extract from a
letter of his, dated March 29th, 1854, to F. O. WARD, Esq.,
of London.
"I have had charge of the sewerage of the township of
Manchester for 19 years, and began to use tubes in 18456 and 9 inch round tubes, from Staffordshire, being the only
kind then procurable here. I perceived there was room for a
great development of the system, and turned my attention
closely to it. It soon appeared to me that the oval shape was
better for sewer purposes than the round, and I got oval tubes
made by a fire-brick maker in this vicinity, also a syphon trap




for street grids or gully holes. By exciting the competition of
different makers, we got them in a year or two to glaze the
tubes; since then, we have laid them in upwards of 500
streets and 250 courts and passages, making an aggregate
length of about 30 miles of main drains, and 25 miles of
branch drains. Mr. PAGE, in his report, while he allowed
the use of tubes here to have been a favourable result, yet
does not give due weight to the fact that they serve as main
sewers in clusters of streets, as well as in single streets.
" The tube sewers have also to do precisely the same duty
that the brick sewers have; that is, there is no difference as
to the sewerage sent into them. They take all the surface
drainage of the streets, &c., where they are laid, and we have
a pair of gully holes in every length of about 30 yards of the
street.  Water closets are allowed a connection with the
tubes wherever they are constructed, but their use here is not
general, the great bulk of cottages being provided with privy
and ashpit; the ashpit being drained into the sewer by a
branch tube from a perforated tile grid placed at the side.
This removal of the moisture, added to the deodorizing effect
of the coal ashes, has a much better result than you would
perhaps suppose. I think the idea of requiring that the main
sewer of every street must be large enough for a man to go
through, is absurd and mischievous, because it involves, if applied throughout the country, an awful waste of money. To
what does the term street apply? Here, it means legally any
place having two or three front doors of houses therein.
Again, with reference to our tube drains joining brick sewers,
that in the greater number of cases is a mere question of
time, the brick sewers having been constructed before wo
began to use tubes.
"With regard to ventilation, I have to observe, that our
sewers have their outlets into the rivers Medlock, Irk, and
Irwell, which are not tidal, therefore the sewer mouths a::o
never closed up, except perhaps a few in heavy floods, and
there is consequently no likelihood of any pressure being
exerted on the gases that may be evolved in the sewvers.




10
We have a further aid to ventilation in the humbler streets,
by means of the downspouts which convey the roof-water
through wood or iron tubes, placed in the front of the houses,
and discharging the water at or near the ground. When we
pave and sewer a new street, we make an untrapped branch
drain to each of these downspouts, which are lengthened into
the drain, and they thereby act as ventilators to the sewer.
" The great blot and defect in our drainage is the circumstance that the rivers named are studded with dams or weirs,
for the purpose of affording water power to certain mills, and
in other cases to afford condensing water for steam engines.
As the rivers themselves are now nothing but main sewers,
and are becoming partially covered over, the damming up of
their streams into a series of stagnant pools of filthy water,
receiving the whole sewage of the town, is a monstrous
evil, against which I in vain protest, and mention frequently
to our authorities; but the difficulty of dealing with the
vested rights of the parties interested, and the expense to be
incurred, are hitherto held to be insurmountable. The removal of these dams would restore to the streams their natural
scour, and would be, I think, a greater improvement than any
intercepting tunnel to carry the sewage to a lower point on
the river Irwell, because these waters, when they reach our
city are impure from the sewage of towns and villages, and
the refuse of dye works, gas and chemical works discharged
into them above our city.
"With reference to our oval form, I have sent you a
diagram shewing the result of experiments made with sections full size, to ascertain the equivalent sectional areas in
round and oval tubes. This was done by placing a rim of
iron round the sections, and measuring the equal areas with
small shot. I think it clearly demonstrates that in the ordinary state of a sewer, that is, with only a stream of a few
inches occupying its section, the oval shape has a greater
depth of stream and a less extent of contact between the
water and the tube, and therefore less friction. With any
given amount of fall, this advantage is made greater than that




11
shewn in the diagram, because the greater depth of stream
and lesser friction, will cause an increased velocity, which
will produce a further diminution of the volume of the stream,
and therefore still further diminish the friction. The advantage to be gained in this way for the prevention of deposit,
is, I think, not to be despised, and I am surprised your engineers have not adopted it.
"I have also sent you a copy of a table which I made of
the capacities of drainage of the tubes, made from the formulae published by Mr. HAWKSLEY, and which I believe
were published by Du BUAT, ETELWEIN, and others before.
I am quite satisfied that the tubes are sufficient for larger
areas than are shown therein, and that a tube 20 x 15, with an
inclination of half an inch per yard, will be sufficient, not for
an area of 11 acres, but for 30 acres. I believe the fallacy to
arise from the formula making no allowance for the effect of
the gradual increments that are made to the stream in a sewer
by additions to its course.
"' Water is of course the motive power to keep all sewers
clean, and all deposit and stoppage occur from the deficiency
of this element. We have had no stoppage in tubes where a
large area drained into them, but only at their upper extremities where the supply of water was least; these, however,
have not been so numerous or extensive as in brick sewers; I
therefore am more disposed to approach the limits of capacity
to area of drainage in the larger than in the smaller tubes, and
would put down for a single street, a tube 16 x 12, although
the size would take the storm-water from an area of 15 or 20
acres, with an inclination of half an inch per yard. In my
letter to HUDDERSFIELD, I have shown the increase of friction
which attends the diminution of size in tubes, and hence the
reason that for small areas I do not like to use tubes correspondingly small in capacity.
" With regard to inclinations, my views are as follows:
Nature is the great guide. The large rivers have very slight
inclinations, and as we pass up to their tributaries and the
minor streamlets, the fall is found constantly increasing.




12
Sewerage should be a copy underground of nature's plan on
the surface. The great main sewers should have slight inclinations, which are made sufficient by the large volume of
stream, and thus afford more fall for the branch sewers, and
still greater for the minor drains. To a sewer for a single
street, I like to give an inclination of 1 in 72, or half an inch
per yard, and, generally speaking, can do so here. This inclination will keep the sewer without deposit. A tube sewer
laid in 1847, size 20 x 15, draining a cluster of streets with an
area of 5 or 6 acres, with an inclination of 1 in 144, or onefourth of an inch per yard, has kept perfectly clean. In the
material of tubes, I prefer glazed fire-brick to stoneware; the
former is cheaper, less brittle, will admit of being cut to suit a
required length of drain, and is less liable to failure. It is made
in a different manner from stoneware. The clay is finely pulverized by grinding and pugging (not washed as stoneware is),
moulded and squeezed by machinery to the proper form, then
burnt in kilns, and glazed with vapour of salt thrown into
the kilns when its contents are in a state of incandescence.
" For some years now we have been supplied with tubes
from the makers, by fixed contract for periods of six months,
the cheapest tender being accepted, and the whole supply
obtained from one maker. Our present scale of prices is as
follows, and shews a large advance on our previous contracts,
the result of a combination among the makers which I expect
will not hold out at the next letting:
Tubes No. 1, or 4x 2', 9Md. per yard, delivered at our wharf.
" 2,"  6 x 4, 11d.   " 
"   " 3, "  8 x 6, is. 2-d."        ".... s 4, " 12x 9, ls. 9d. "         "       "... s 5, " 16x12, 3s. 3d. "         ".."   " 6, " 20x 15, 5s.' 
"   " 7, " 25x 18, 6s.11d. "       "'2he previous prices were:NTo. i,    5-d. per yard.   No. 5, 2s.  per yard.
"( 2,    6~d.  "            " 6, 3s. 7d.  "
"' 3,    8-d.  "            " 7, 5s. 6d.'
"4, is. 2d.    "




13
I may add that for many years I have had only one brick
sewer to construct, and that was made to enclose a brook
draining an area of about 700 acres. The form was similar
to the tubes, and the dimensions 5 feet 4 inches by 4 feet;
with that exception, all the other sewers and drains have been
of tubes, and we continue to use nothing else, indeed all opposition to them here has died away.
" I would also mention, our tubes have' butt joints' in the
more horizontal parts, that is, the oval tubes have no sockets.
The round tubes placed vertically to connect surface drains
with the deeper sewers, have sockets. I find the absence of
sockets in the former a decided advantage, nor have I seen
any case where I could have wished for them. The advantages are the ease with which connections can be made with
branch drains, and the easier laying of the tubes, because
the sockets, if not carefully let into the ground by special depressions made for them, will form points or fulcra of unequal
pressure when the soil is filled in, and many tubes have given
way, I believe, from this cause. I have not laid one sewer
with sockets. Their absence also allows the tubes to be laid
with a better adjustment of their water-way at their joints,
because the tubes can not be burnt to a close accuracy of form,
and the sockets prevent that opposition of their ends which
is practicable without them."
At the time of my visit, some three years later than the
date of this letter to Mr. WARD, Mr. FRANcIs had not changed
his views.
RUGBY.
This town contains a population of about 6,000 within the
drainage district. Its centre is about one mile from the outlet of the main sewer, and 100 feet above it. The soil is
gravelly, with some clay. Before the sewers were laid, it was
very wet, but it is now much dryer.
This town has been drained since 1851, by means of circular, stoneware glazed pipes, having socket joints filled with
clay. The mains vary in size from 6 to 24 inches. They




14
receive not only ordinary house drainage, but in some cases
the surface water from the streets and the contents of water
closets. Some of the 7 and 8 inch sewers have inclinations
of only 1 in 137, and yet have never given any serious
trouble. At first no man-holes were constructed, but they find
it advisable to introduce them now, as repairs become necessary or new connections are made.
The pipes cost, per yard, delivered, as follows, viz.:
3  inches,  5d.        9 inches, Is. 1-d.
4    "    6d.          10   "    ls. 6d.
5    "    7d.         12   "    is. 10d.
6    "    8d.         15   "    3s.
7    "   10i.         18   "    4s.
8    "    is.
Mr. COLBURN, the Surveyor of the local Board of Health,
who gave the foregoing information, also informed me that
the whole length of mains laid was about 6 miles. Total
cost, about ~4,500.  Cost of repairs and cleansing in 1856,
only ~5, and the same in 1855. The number of houses connected with the sewers in January, 1857, was 1011. Average depths of sewers below the surface, 9 feet. The street
cess-pools, (catch-basins, or gully-traps), are only about one
foot square, and are cleansed once or twice a week. The
whole cost of scavenging, exclusive of surveyor's salary, is
~96 to ~100, per annum, which includes street sweeping,
and cess-pool cleansing, and carting away both. The sewage is sold for ~50 per annum, on a 20 years' lease, with a
bonus of ~300 to the Board.
They are rapidly abolishing the old privies, and substituting
water closets. In another year there will probably be no
privies within reach of the sewers. The syphon trap is used
entirely for water closets.
The streets are mostly Macadamized, a few are paved with
pebbles, and a very few with granite blocks. There were
more of these formerly, but the Board of Health prefer the
Macadam, on account of its being smoother and less noisy.
The traffic of the town is very light.




15
The few stoppages that have occurred in the pipes have
been owing to hay, shavings, stone grit, cloths and clothes
being put into the water closets.
LONDON.
This vast metropolis, no doubt, contains a greater amount
of sewerage, as well as population, than any other in the world.
According to the " Handbook to the Metropolitan and District Boards of Works," for 1856, there had been ascertained by the Survey Department, up to the end of May,
1855, to exist within the rated area of the commission the
following, viz.:
Brick sewers, explored.................... 658 miles.
t"    "  not explored, approximately...... 150  "
Pipe.."   "    "                       1...... 126  "
Total covered sewers............... 934  "
Opensewers, approximately............... 400  "
Grand total......................1,334  "
Some of these are supposed to be of Roman origin, others
are very old. As might have been expected, they present
every variety of form, size, inclination, and perfection of
workmanship, and a careful study of their excellencies and
defects has led to valuable conclusions on the subject of town
drainage. In fact, the sewers of London have furnished
nearly all the materials from which have been elaborated the
different theories which now prevail with regard to the best
mode of draining towns and cities. This diversity of opinion
has led to great diversity of practice, not only in London, but
throughout the kingdom, varying as the advocates of one
theory or the other have been in power; in this respect,
England may be said to have been an experimental school
during the last twelve or fifteen years. This experience,
though dearly purchased in some instances, is of great
importance, and has led to a greater or less modification of
the views of nearly all parties, but has not brought them to
unanimity yet.




16
The varieties of form in the London sewers have not all
arisen from differences of opinion, but have, sometimes, been
matters of necessity. In some instances, it would have been
impossible to give the sewer a sufficient sectional area, and
yet preserve either the egg-shape or circular form, without
raising the surface of the street so high as to do great
damage to existing property. The differences of size, too,
have often arisen, not so much from a difference of opinion
as to what a particular area required, as froin the impossibility of foretelling the direction and extent of subsequent
improvements. The differences of inclination were of course,
in most instances, even for sewers of the same size and form,
matters of unavoidable necessity. The details of the forms,
sizes, and inclinations of the London sewers will be found on
a copy of the plans of the same, furnished by Mr. BAZALGETTE,
Engineer of the Metropolitan Commission, and a copy of the
plan, showing the positions of the sewers in the city proper,
together with the directions of the current in them, furnished
by Mr. HAYWOOD, Engineer of the City, accompanies them.
Plate I, will give some idea of the variety existing in the
London sewers, and shows, in a striking manner, the effect of
the former independent and changing jurisdictions of about
fifty different parishes and districts, together with the city
proper, which form this immense metropolis, and which for
certain general purposes were united under "the Metropolis
Local Management Act," in 1855. They are now governed,
in regard to sewers, streets, &c., by a central body called the
Metropolitan Board of Works, which exercises jurisdiction
over about 125 square miles of territory, containing nearly
3,000,000 inhabitants. The sections of the different sewers
named on Plate I, are placed in their natural order, and are
sometimes larger at the upper end of a sewer than at its
lower.  Those of the sewer to the Metropolitan Sewage
Manure Works show not only great irregularities in form and
size, but inclinations in the bottom of the sewer the wrong
way, which is sometimes the case in other sewers. The
sections at present preferred by the Metropolitan Board of




17
Works, numbered 1 to 8, will also be found on this plate, as
well as " different sections," selected for their peculiarities,
from different sewers.
Messrs. BAZALGETTE and HAYWOOD also supplied me with4
the copies of their published reports, and printed specifications
and contracts, heretofore presented to you. To the following
questions, in writing, Mr. HAYWOOD gave the accompanying
answers:
QUESTION.'What is the commercial value of sewage as
a manure?
ANSWER. "It is a much vexed question which the agricultural world has been long at war upon. Of the value of
the undiluted dejecta, there is, of course, no doubt, but when
mixed with an enormous bulk of water, the value is much
altered, if not destroyed, for general application.
" Large crops of grass may be grown with the sewage
waters, that is certain, and if the expense of the application
is not great, it will pay; but it will be a nice point to determine in most part, whether the increased growth will pay the
requisite interest upon the outlay for the distributary system,
&c., &c.
" Upon the whole, as far as experience can be gained by
collating and arranging facts and conflicting statements, I
consider the application, in a liquid form, will only pay upon
certain soils, and that highly concentrated manures will excel
it both in actual price and result; the solid manure made by
precipitation is, I fear, next to valueless."
QUESTION. Efficiency and annual cost of flushing sewers?
ANSWER. "Flushing sewers is but a palliative of the evil.
Sewers should, by attention to shape and fall, in relation to
the duty they have to do, keep clean with the ordinary flow
and the adventitious help of storm waters.
"If flushing is had recourse to, the expense will depend
upon the fall and the rapidity and extent to which the
deposit takes place; in a flat district, kept in a large degree
clean by flushing, 4 men suffice to work 120 gates, but no
2




18
rule can apply, nor will flushing gates alone keep sewers
clean unless very close together."
QUESTION. What are the forms, dimensions, materials,
mode of making joints, and extent of pipe sewers, both as an
aggregate in the city, and the largest single lines? How
have they answered expectation, and what is the efA-mclination at which a 12 inch pipe can easily be kept clean?
ANSWER. "The number of pipe sewers is 127; the
greatest length at present in the City' of London is 2k miles;
the total length of sewer of every description is 48~ miles;
the longest single line of pipe sewer is 397 feet; the least
inclination of a pipe sewer in the city is 1 in 320. The first
pipe sewer was laid in 1848; the last during the present
year. They have answered very well. But eight or ten
entire stoppages have occurred, and where they have occurred, the difficulty of opening and rectifying has been a
serious inconvenience and expense.
1" 1 in 240 is the least inclination at which they should
be laid, but whether they will keep clean at that or greater
inclination certainly depends upon the water supply for the
houses, and care taken to prevent the intrusion of improper
substances.
" The pipe sewers I have laid are circular; none smaller
than 9 inches, nor larger than 15 inches diameter; the
joints are put together sometimes with puddled clay, sometimes with cement."
QUESTION. Side entrances; what particular advantages do
they possess over man-holes immediately over the sewers?
ANSWER. "A  great advantage; because they can be
opened and closed, and used, without inconvenience to the
traffic."
QUESTION. What improvement do statistics show, has
resulted to the city from the operations of the Commission?
ANSWER. "I have no precise figures to show the reduction, and reference to one year's mortality would only lead
* The " City of London " is but a small part of London or the Metropolis.




19
to a fallacy; but there has been an undoubted improvement
in the health of the city population."
QUESTION. Does experience show that all the advantages,
financial as well as sanitary, that were expected from the
abolition of cess-pools, and the substitution of water closets,
have been realized?
ANSWER. "' I cannot answer the question as to the sanitary
improvement resulting from the abolition of cess-pools only,
as in the city it is attributable to the improvements made in
such a large variety of ways.
" In a directly financial point of view, I don't think that
there is any advantage, as drains and water closets have never
yet been made at the fanciful prices which have been circulated; and what it will cost to keep them, upon the average
of a district, in condition, remains to be seen."
QUESTION. Are the sewers constructed with full mortar
joints, or are some of them left open for the purpose of subsoil drainage? Would not impervious sewers, and house and
cellar drains, together with well paved streets (so constructed
that water falling into them would be drained into the sewers
immediately) be as beneficial to the sub-soil, ultimately, as
sewers with open joints?
ANSWER. " The inverts are of stoneware or brick-work
in cement fully flushed up the sides and crown in mortar,
likewise full; but they drain the soil of water which works
through the bricks, and small holes in the joints.
" I do not know whether impervious sewers will drain the
soil or not; if they do, they are not impervious, and it is
absurd to call them so. I have heard cases mentioned where
they drain the soil, but in that case, either the material must
be porous or the joints open."
QUESTION. What is the greatest depth of cellars, and how
far, in any case, do they extend below the bottom of the
sewers?
ANSWER. "They are in no case below the bottom of the
sewers; they are not allowed to be constructed at such levels
as will not enable them to be properly drained; the sewers I




20
have built are rarely less than from twelve to fifteen feet
below the surface to the water bed; the cellars are rarely
more than ten feet below the level of the street-paving,
generally but nine feet."
QUESTION. If any of the kind exist, what does it cost per
annum to keep them dry? What is the nature of the soil in
which they have been excavated?
ANSWER. " The answer to question eight partly answers
this; the soil of the city is made ground over nearly the
whole area, to depths varying from nine to twenty feet, the
accumulation of ages; beneath that is gravel, or in some
parts clay. Owing to the depth of the city sewers and their
effectually draining the soil, underground rooms, the rental
of which is probably ~30,000 per annum, are now used as
store-rooms, offices, &c., &c., which could not formerly have
been kept dry."
QUESTION. What does experience show to be the best form
of water closets, for different classes of houses and persons?
ANSWER. " Syphon palls for the poor; the old-fashioned
trap water closets for the better classes; the valve closets
where expense is no object."
QUESTION. How do the brick sewers that have been built
only four and a half inches thick stand?
ANSWER. "' I never built them within the city; the closeness of the buildings, their great height, the vast mass of
goods in them, the excessive traffic in the streets, and the
bad soil, render it unwise to build any thing in J brick
over 18 inches in diameter.
" I have heard of i brick sewers falling in; I never heard
of 1 brick sewers doing so."
QUESTION. What degree of ellipticity in a sewer gives it
greater strength than a circular form?
ANSWER. " This will entirely depend upon the size of the
sewer and other conditions. I do not think there is any
advantage, generally, in making much difference between the
lengths of the conjugate and transverse axes."




21
QUESTION. If any, what kind of valves are used to prevent sewage from breaking into cellars and basements of
houses, in case of floods, during high water?
ANSWER. " Hanging valves in the sewers with ground
faces are the best, but no self-acting valves can be depended
upon.
"' I have seen valves shutting by a float made in traps in
houses, which, when the water rises, shut off the connection
with the sewer; but these require frequent attention."
QUESTION. Are there any syphon drains under your
charge? If so, how long have they been in operation, and
are they troublesome, or otherwise, to keep clean?
ANSWER. " None. They require attention in keeping out
silt, and to have a good flow through them; their certainty
of action, or rather of keeping themselves clear, depends upon
this, and their dip."
In answer to an inquiry relative to cellars in the district
below high water, south of the Thames, Mr. HAYWOOD says:
"' It may be practicable, as an engineering question, effectually to drain the vaults on the south side of the Thames, so
as to prevent the chance of the flooding of the basements or
cellars, but the expense of doing so would put it quite out
of the question, as nothing short of constructing large reservoir sewers so as to hold all the storm  waters below the
levels of the floors of the vaults could effect it.
" Cellars in such districts should, in my opinion, be prohibited by legislative enactments."
Mr. BAZALGETTE informed me that he had not been able to
determine all the circumstances and conditions with regard
to size, inclination, and quantity of water sufficient to make a
sewer self-cleansing. He would not recommend a larger sewer
than one 3 feet by 2 feet, egg-shaped, to be built less than a
whole brick, or 9 inches thick, although the sewer in Wind
Mill street, Westminster, which is 3 feet 9 inches by 2 feet
6 inches, is but 41 inches thick. It is about 30 feet below the
surface, generally, in a very wet and gravelly soil, and after




22
having been down seven years is still in excellent order. It
was laid  in  cement throughout.  He would  not, however,
recommend the repetition of such an experiment.
Mr. BAZALGETTE also informed me that there were many
cellars on the south side of the Thames, below the level of the
sewers.  They were generally intended to be water tight, but
were, nevertheless, damp, and subject to occasional floodings,
so that goods in them were frequently destroyed or damaged.
Messrs. BAZALGETTE and HAYWOOD have, for several years,
had their attention turned to the subject of intercepting the
sewage of London, diverting it from the Thames through the
metropolis, and discharging it at points on both sides of the
river, so low down as not to become offensive again to the inhabitants.   Their plan, which  is described in  the reports
herewith presented, was approved by ROBERT STEPHENSON,
Esq., and Sir WILLIAM CORBITT, but owing to the effect of public discussions, and opposition with regard to this matter on
the government, the carrying out of this plan has not been
commenced yet. When I was in London, a commission had
been appointed to examine into, and report upon, the expediency of adopting some plan of deodorizing the sewage; but
nothing had transpired to let the public know anything with
regard to the engineering works that would be recommended.*
The intercepting plan of Messrs. BAZALGETTE and HAYWOOD,
as last presented, would cost, for both sides of the Thames,
about $15,000,000, and divert from the river, through the
metropolis, the sewage of the entire population or about
3,000,000. The low lying districts, comprising an area of
twelve square miles on the south side of the Thames, and
* Since my return, the report of Capt. GOLTON, R. E., and Messrs. JAMES SIMSON, C. E.,
and THOMAS BLACKWELL, C. E., whom the first Commissioner of Public Works directed to consider the plans for the main drainage of the metropolis, has been published, and copied into
the Sept. (1857) number of the Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal, from which the following extract has been taken:" They consider it very inexpedient for the Metropolitan Board of Works to adopt any plan
which is based upon the deodorization or utilization of sewage; that if an attempt is to be
made to utilize London sewage, it should be done by private enterprise; and that, in any
case, provision must be made for the continuous discharge of the liquid residue, in case of
deodorization, or the occasional discharge of the sewage in case of irrigation, at some point
where it would be unobjectionable."




23
eleven square miles on the north side, are to be cut off by intercepting sewers from the higher districts, at all times except
during heavy storms, when the surplus waters of the high
districts are to discharge through the present outlets into the
river. The low districts are to be drained by main intercepting sewers, the contents of which are to be pumped up, and
discharged with that of the high level sewers, at or near high
water, to prevent it from being carried back by the flood tide
into the city. This plan, besides avoiding the pollution of
the Thames, would form the basis of a much more efficient
system for the street and house draining of the low lying districts, than now exists. These being mostly below the level
of high water, are dependent for freedom from overflow at
every tide, upon self-acting gates. The consequence is that
to a greater or less extent, the main sewers become filled
during high water, and keep the low cellars damp. The
pumping would enable them to obviate this ordinarily, but
during heavy storms it is not believed that it would; hence
the reason why Mr. HiAYWOOD would advise the prohibition
of such cellars by legislative enactment.
The sewers of London formerly discharged their contents
on the shores of the river, which being uncovered at low water, became exceedingly offensive in warm weather. Several
are now continued by means of pipes to low water. This,
besides diminishing the nuisance on the shores, has, when the
mouths of the sewers are trapped, the further beneficial effect
of preventing strong winds from entering them, and forcing
foul gases into the streets and houses.
The streets of London are generally very well paved, and
much pains is taken to keep them clean. The principal.source
of expense for cleansing the sewers, is the quantity of heavy
material that gets into them from the streets. Mr. HAYWOOD
complains of this in his annual reports, as the following
extracts will show.
In his report for 1852, pp. 9, 10 and 11, he says:
"5,038 cubic yards of ballast and rubbish have been
raised and removed from the sewers, but no soil or decom



24
posing refuse of any description has been lifted to the surface, nor, indeed, has it now been the custom for some years,
to raise aught to the surface excepting sand, ballast, silt, or
inorganic matter, or such as the force of water, with slight
mechanical aid, administered in the sewer, would not carry off.
"I feel it my most imperative duty again to draw your
attention to the systematic usage of gullies, as the common
receptacles of rubbish of every description, and regret to
state that there has been no alteration in or diminution of
this usage. I have already illustrated the extent of this
practice, by reference to the sewers in Middlesex street and
its vicinity, and shewn that for many years past at least an
annual opening of, and raising the debris from, those sewers
has been required. The quantity removed during the four
years, ending Christmas, 1851, was 937 cart loads, composed
of every conceivable description of rubbish, and I regret to
state, that at the present time, upwards of 220 cart loads are
in the course of removal from them.
"Indeed, I believe that in the locality named, the practice
is upon the increase rather than the decline. In past years,
when the gullies were choked up, they remained frequently
so for various periods, and the inhabitants near to whose
houses the gullies were placed, and to whose delinquency the
stoppages were most frequently attributable, suffered for a
time the inconveniences resulting from the practice; but of
late years, owing both to the change in the supervision of
public ways, &c., &c., and to an instruction since then acted
upon, which I issued to the District Inspectors of Pavements,
to report daily in the complaint book of the Inspector of
Sewers, whatever stoppages were noticed by them of the gullies in their respective districts, these stoppages have, I
believe, been for the most part so speedily removed, that the
delinquents have lost the periodical admonition of their
wrong doing; and unchecked custom has, I really imagine,
at length induced the belief among a multitude of the poorer
classes, that a gully is a perfectly legitimate dust-shoot.
"The precise nature of the resultant evils, I last year




25
explained in much detail, and will only again briefly assure
your Honorable Court that its effect upon the sewers is most
seriously injurious.
" To verify this still further, however, I may inform you
that the number of gullies which have needed cleansing
during the past year, was still greater than that of former
years, thus showing that whatever may be the causes for the
accumulations of dirt in the gully-shoots, those causes have not
diminished. The most fertile among such of the causes that
appear to be preventible, are the sweeping of the mud down
gullies by the scavengers, and the sweeping of rubbish and
dust from shops into them-habits both extensively practised,
and extensively injurious to the sewers and their appliances."
In his report for 1853, pp. 8 and 9, Mr. HAYWOOD says:
"1,098 yards of hard deposit were removed from the
sewers; this deposit being of the same description as usual,
i. e. of substances which have, for the most part, no right to
be in the sewers at all.
" It will, probably, be ever impracticable entirely to prevent the intrusion of such materials as constitute the solid
deposit in sewers, as much, through almost unavoidable
casualties, finds its way into them; but it is impossible to
consider the large quantities that have been raised from the
city sewers within the last few years, without arriving at the
conclusion that a large portion of it must have been deliberately forced into them, through the street gullies and ventilating grates, &c., &c.; this is, indeed, known to be the
case. I have repeatedly drawn-the attention of the Commission to the extent of the practice of using gullies as dustshoots, to the magnitude of the evils resulting, the cost
incurred for the remedy, and to what I conceive to be the
only means of effectual prevention, and must again state that,
under various Acts of Parliament, throwing rubbish down the
gullies is constituted an offence; that it is specially so constituted by the City Police Act, (c. xli), and, therefore, that
by the agency of the Police, the Commission have a right to




26
expect the prevention of the offence, and the removal of the
evil."
The sewers of London are, in some instances, ventilated
by openings into the streets, covered with gratings, and, in
others, by trapped connections with down spouts from the roofs
of houses. As the latter mode, owing to local objections,
especially that of causing foul gases, in certain states of the
weather, to enter the upper windows of neighboring buildings,
cannot be universally practiced, the former is considered
necessary, in order to make the sewers safe for workmen to
enter them.
The proper maintenance of public sewers depends very
much upon the condition of the public ways, hence it is the
general and almost universal custom throughout Great Britain
to place the construction, repairs and cleansing of public ways
under the same local board or committee that has charge of
the sewers.
The usual mode of paving the streets of London is with
blocks of stone, irregular in length but uniform in width, and
commonly known in England as the " square-set." Different
kinds of stone, in some cases wood and iron, have been used,
the great object being to obtain " a carriage-way paving, possessing great durability and quietness under traffic, and an
absence from slipperiness and dirt." In different parts of the
metropolis, Macadam pavings are found. These cost less in
the first instance, and, when kept in good repair, are
pleasanter to drive over than any other kind, but they are
more expensive to repair and cleanse, and cause more trouble
to the sewers, in consequence of the heavy detritus washing
from the road-ways into them, during heavy storms. The
" square-set," which are made by placing the stones lengthwise across the streets, in straight lines, on good ballast
foundations, are the most durable, less expensive to keep in
repair or cleanse, and less troublesome to the sewers than the
Macadam; but they are the most expensive in the first instance, besides being much more noisy and slippery. Wooden




27
blocks have been tried, and in quiet streets possess some advantages with regard to cleanness, and freedom from noise;
but they are slippery in wet weather, and where the traffic is
great, they have not been found very durable. In 1853, an
experiment was made at the east end of Threadneedle street,
by permitting the proprietors to lay down some compound
metallic paving. It was " formed of blocks of a hard cement,
having an iron frame bedded on the top, enclosing a certain
portion of wood." It "was taken up and relaid in January,
1854, at the end of that year it was extensively repaired, and
in the month of June, 1855, it having become very dangerous
to the traffic, was altogether removed."
The introduction of water closets into the private dwellings
and other premises of London, has become very general, but
not universal. There are still doubts and diversities of opinion wi-th regard to their advantages, both in a sanitary and
economical point of view, when applied to the lowest class of
tenements. The favor which they meet in the better class of
dwellings, however, is such, that nothing probably could
induce their occupants to go back to the old fashioned privy,
with its open cess-pool.
Mr. BEGGS, of Southampton street, Strand, one of the
earliest active advocates of sanitary reform, has been for several years an agent for the sale of various kinds of water
closets, and has consequently had many opportunities of seeing
and hearing of the excellencies and defects of each sort. He
is of opinion that the kind well known as the pan closet has
not been much improved upon by the host of recent inventions,
and that it combines economy in the use of water, and freedom from disagreeable smell, as well as any that have been
introduced into the better class of houses. For houses whose
inmates cannot be made to feel the importance of keeping
such conveniences neat and clean, and particularly for soldiers or large bodies of laborers, they find it better to have a
long deep trough, filled with water, which is flushed out once
a day. The seats used are similar to those of the old fashioned privy. (See Glasgow and Carlisle.)




28
During the severe frost of January, 1855, many water
closets, in the best houses of London, were out of order, and,
for the time, foul nuisances.
AMSTERDAM.
The houses of this city are drained into its canals, which
are very numerous. Each house appeared to have its own
drain, which, I was informed, could not lawfully be used for
conveying anything but liquids. The canals, however, contained deposits of filth that were said to be exceedingly
offensive in warm weather, especially before the custom of
changing the water in them was introduced. Since then the
evil has been less; but owing to the shallowness of the
canals, and to the difficulty of changing the water often,
offensive smells are very prevalent in summer, and are supposed to be the cause, in part, of the high rate of mortality
of this city,-four per cent. in 1856,-while that of the
entire Netherlands was only about three per cent.
Dr. SARPHATI, the contractor for removing all the solid filth
of the city, thinks a great deal is discharged into the canal that
is injurious to health, and that would be profitable for agricultural purposes if saved. He enabled me to examine the
arrangements for collecting and disposing of the various
kinds of refuse. The ashes, being of wood and turf, are collected in a very large building, and there screened and put
into bags for sale. The garbage and street scrapings are
piled up near a canal, and, during warm weather, removed
every day into the country; in winter less often, because
they do not become offensive then. The sweepings of houses,
stores, shops, &c., are collected in a separate shed, where
men are employed in picking out the old rags, bits of paper,
broken glass, &c., &c., which are sold to be re-manufactured.
The night soil, which cannot be lawfully-though it is said
to be sometimes unlawfully-conveyed into the canals, is
pumped out of the privies by means of large iron tanks or
cylinders,-from which the air is exhausted-then manufactured into poudrette, or mixed with ashes, and sold for
agricultural purposes.




29
Cellars, with their floors a few inches above the level of
the water in the canals, appear to be very common in Amsterdam. The first floors are frequently elevated several feet
above the streets, especially when these border on a canal,
which is the rule rather than the exception. Water closets
are but little used, if at all.
At Zaardam, in the vicinity of Amsterdam, about five
hundred wind-mills are in operation, performing various kinds
of service, such as pumping water, sawing lumber, and
grinding different substances. I visited that place for the
purpose of examining the wind-mills, to ascertain if anything
like them could be advantageously used in pumping water to
flush our sewers; but from what was told me there and elsewhere, I became satisfied that steam would be better for our
purposes than wind.
HAMBURGH.
The topographical features of this city are not so similar
to those of Chicago as I had supposed previous to my visit;
its sewerage, however, presents points of much interest.
After the fire of 1842, which destroyed a great part of the
city, the government employed Mr. LINDLEY, their present engineer, to lay out anew the burnt portion, and to devise a system of sewerage for the whole city. The objects sought, but
difficult to attain, were the diversion of all filth and refuse
from the canals and basins into which it had previously been
discharged, to the Elbe below the city; and the drainage of
the lowest cellars, which were 9 feet below the highest known
floods of that river. For this purpose, the city was divided
into three parts, the central and lowest of which alone, could
not be drained into the river at the highest stages of water.
The canals, and the large basin called the Binnen Alster, are
situated in this portion of the city, and like other and vastly
greater extents of surface along the shores of the German
ocean, and the banks of rivers that empty into it, are kept
from overflow by means of dykes and guard locks. They
consequently serve as reservoirs for such storm water as may
fall during the very high stages of the river.




30
To drain the central portion, Mr. LINDLEY devised a main
sewer, 6 by 7 feet, semi-circular at top and bottom, and having its outlet 2 feet above low water, in the river. The inclination of this main sewer is 2.07 feet per mile on an average,
varying from 1 in 1,200 to 1 in 4,500, and extending a distance of 3t miles, to a point on the south-east side of the
Aussen Alster, where its bottom is 3 feet below the general
level of its surface, thus affording a good head and an abundant supply of water at all times for flushing purposes. In
order to make this sewer accomplish all that was important,
and at the same time to conform as much as possible to the
peculiar circumstances, both natural and artificial, of Hamburgh, it was necessary that its length should be much greater
than that of a straight line from one end to the other; the
latter being to the former about as 5 to 8. The size with
which it commences, is reduced at different points, first to 6
by 5 feet, and finally down to 2 feet circular at the inlet.
At one point the sewer is 40 feet below the surface, and was
made by tunneling about half a mile. At two other places
it was tunneled. At two points its bottom is depressed 3~
feet below the regular grade, to pass under two canals, which
lead from the Binnen Alster to the Elbe. The principal
branch sewers have inclinations of not less than 1 in 500,
and the smaller ones not less than 1 in 150; and the house
drains not less than 1 in 100; the elevation of the surface
being sufficient generally to admit of these inclinations, and
in many instances much greater. (See Plates lI and III.)
The sewers were constructed of brick and hydraulic cement, and presented a better appearance, with regard both to
materials and workmanship, than anything of the kind I have
ever had an opportunity of examining.
The surface water from streets is let into the sewers through
grated gullies, placed about 40 yards apart. These have
neither traps nor catch-basins, and consequently serve as
ventilators to the sewers.
There was much opposition to the plan of sewerage
adopted for this city, and many pamphlets were published on




31
the subject. Its success, however, has been complete, and,
so far as I could learn, it gives almost, if not quite universal
satisfaction, and its former opponents have either became its
friends, or remain silent.  The most important feature
objected to in the plan, was the slight inclination in the main
sewer, and the insufficiency of flushing, to keep it from filling
up with deposit; but the result has so fully confirmed Mr.
LINDLEY'S calculations, that he informed me he would now
rather have a perfectly level sewer, with plenty of water, to
flush it, than one of considerable inclination, without any
means of flushing.  I had an opportunity of examining
different parts of this sewer, also of seeing the flushing
apparatus at work, and felt satisfied that the latter was sufficient to remove all substances that ought ever to be permitted
to enter a sewer. Fragments of building materials, however, are sometimes improperly thrown down the gullies, as
in London, and have to be removed from the sewer by hand.
This was foreseen, however, and shafts were provided for the
convenient removal of such substances. The flushing gates
are placed at irregular intervalsin some instances,-according to the profile herewith presented-less than 500 feet
apart, and in others, more than half a mile. They are about
three feet high, so that a head of two feet, above the
ordinary height of water in the sewer, may be obtained.
And this, Mr. LINDLEY informed me, was all that was ever
needed; in fact, that when the sewer is uniformly filled to
a depth of three feet, the velocity is sufficient to cleanse it.
The principal and smaller branch sewers —most of which are
too high to be flushed from the Alster-have such inclinations
as to render that operation unnecessary in most cases; but
whenever it is needed, the hydrants connected with the water
works of the city, afford an abundant means.
Pipes have been introduced to some extent for house
drains in Hamburgh, but, I believe, have never been used
there for public sewers in any of the streets.
The arrangement of street gullies already mentioned,
although different from any system I am acquainted with in




32
this country, had, as Mr. LINDLEY informed me, given no
serious trouble, either from the escape of foul gases into the
streets, or the introduction of heavy substances into the
sewers, although he had been exceedingly annoyed by the
improper use made of the gullies for disposing of substances
that should have been removed in the scavenger's cart.
Water closets appeared to be very generally used in the
better class of houses; and it was said that domestics
frequently refused to enter the service of families, whose
dwellings were not supplied with them.
On the easterly side of Hamburg, there is a tract of land
some three miles long and two-thirds of a mile wide, called
HIammerbrook.  Its general level is only about 41 feet
above ordinary low water in the Elbe, and 24 feet below the
level of ordinary, and 161 feet below extreme, high water.
Like many other similar tracts in Northern Europe, it was
reclaimed for agricultural purposes, and protected from overflow by dykes and sluice gates. It remained, however, subject to slight inundations, for when heavy rains, or the melting
of ice and snow occur during high stages of the Elbe, the
river does not fall low enough, even at ebb tide, to allow
the district to be relieved through the sluice gates. To
improve the cultivation still more, and to afford a site for
residences in that portion of the district which adjoins the
city, a twenty-horse steam engine was erected.
This engine was made to drive a scoop wheel, 291 feet in
diameter, and sixteen inches broad, with its bottom placed
four feet below ordinary low water. By means of this machinery, and two reservoirs-one higher than the other, or six
feet above low water-the surface of the water in this district was generally kept about one foot above the level of low
tide, or fifteen inches below the surface of the lowest meadows,
and, of course, rendered the lands much more valuable.
In the portion of this district, so near Hamburgh as to
make it desirable for residence purposes, streets were laid
out and houses erected. At first, in 1840, owing to the
scarcity of material, it was intended to raise these streets to




33
a height of but seven feet above low water; but the desirableness of having cellars, and the occurrence of the great
fire of 1842, which caused immense quantities of rubbish to
be carried out of Hainburgh, led to the raising of the streets
in some cases to twelve and thirteen feet above low water.
Mr. LINDLEY, the Engineer of the Drainage Works, recommended that the bottoms of the cellars should be not less than
seven feet above low water.
In February and March, 1850, an extraordinary occurrence of high water, both within and without this district,
showed that further precautions against flooding were necessary or advisable, such as raising and strengthening the
dykes, raising the surfaces of the streets, and keeping the
cellar floors strictly seven feet- or more above low water.
Some parties, in consequence of neglecting this, had suffered
from it. Mr. LINDLEY informed me that the streets were
to be raised to a height of ten feet above the natural surface
of the ground.
BERLIN.
This city is, in many respects, more like Chicago than any
other I visited. Its site is almost a dead level throughout,
having been originally a wet, sandy plain. The Spree flows
through it, and a few canals exist there also. Low water in
the river, is about 20 feet below the general level of the city,
high water about 13 feet below the same level, and the ordinary or average level about 18 feet; but this varies very
much in different seasons.
The streets of Berlin are generally straight, wide, and
paved with cobble stones. They were very clean when I saw
them, and there were none of the offensive smells which are
said to exist in that city in the summer season. These proceed from the house drainage being allowed to flow into the
street gutters, just as it does now in a large portion of Chicago, for the want of underground drainage. But in Berlin,
the gutters are well paved to regular inclinations, and frequently cleansed, especially since the recent introduction of a
copious supply of water.
3




34
There are scarcely any sewers in Berlin; one, however,
nearly a mile in length, and having a fall of 16.feet 3 inches
in this distance.  Its lower end is 7 feet 4 inches below
the level of high water, and its upper end so near the surface
of the street as to leave room for a covering of flag stones
only. The form of this sewer is like that of some of the older
English ones, with upright sides, curved bottom, and arched
top, where there is room. The sub-soil being a wet, running
sand, made the construction of the stone foundations, adopted
for the sewers, very expensive. The bottom and top arches
are generally of brick.
In 1841, Mr. WICKSTEED, of London, was requested to devise a system of sewerage for Berlin, and he recommended
the digging of a deep well on the outside of the city,'and
the maintenance in it, by means of a steam engine and pumps,
of a sufficiently low level to allow all parts of the city to
be drained into it. The sewage, when pumped up, was to be
used in fertilizing the arid, sandy lands of the vicinity. This
plan, principally for the want of funds, I believe, was not
adopted, nor has any other been up to this time, though there
has been much discussion on the subject. Mr. WICKSTEE1)
himself has changed his opinions somewhat with regard to the
general policy of disposing of the sewage of large cities ill
this way, although he thinks it may work well in particular
localities. He had not then looked into the cost of distributing the sewage over an extensive surface, together with the
many objections that are likely to be made to it in the vicinity of a large city, as he has since.
In his report of 1854, " upon the most'advantageous mode
of dealing with the sewage matter of the metropolis " (of
England), he says, p. 17:
" In 1845, I was called upon by the projectors of the London
Sewage Company to report to them upon the practicability of
carrying out a scheme for distributing the sewage water of
London in agricultural districts, by the application of steam
power and pipes, and was further instructed, that if I found
it could not be carried out thus, so as to prove profitable, to




35
suggest, if possible, some other mode for effecting the object;
and it was at that period that I entered into the calculations
as to the cost of such a scheme, which led me to form the
opinion that it could never be made a remunerative speculation. I then considered a scheme for arresting the fertilizing
matter held in suspension in sewer water, and found that even
had it been as valuable as the matter held in solution (which
is by no means the case), the quantity to be obtained, having
regard to its quality, was too small to be remunerative."
Water closets are exceedingly rare in Berlin. The night
soil is used for agricultural purposes in the vicinity, and its
value in this respect is said to have been one ground of objection to a system of sewerage with water closets discharging
their contents immediately into the public sewers.
PARIS.
The present system of drainage in this city, with regard
to rain, kitchen and waste water, is to let it into the gutters
on the sides of the streets, and thence along these to the
nearest gully connected with the public sewers.
The ancient sewers of Paris, as described by PARENT
DUCHATELET, and M. GERARD, in his Memoires du Canal de
l'Ourcq, together with those of a more recent date, constructed so as to empty at all times into the Seine, have been
partially, and are to be wholly, intercepted by large sewers,
one on each side of the river, so that, except in cases of
heavy storms, the sewage of the city is now partly, and
will be wholly, discharged into the Seine at points entirely
below all the important residences of Paris. In times of
heavy rains, the sewers will discharge their surplus water
into the river by means of over-falls, and through their
ancient outlets, or new ones, constructed for the purpose.
At present it is not lawful for private individuals to empty
the contents of water closets into the public sewers, though
exceptions in favor of public institutions have become numerous; but under the new system under trial, pipes parallel
with the main sewers will, in some cases, be provided for the




36
liquid portion, and all the other drainage from houses will be
discharged directly into the public sewers low down, and not
into the street gutters, as at present. This is to be in operation all over Paris in 1862.  Early in February of this year,
(1857) it was decided by the Conseil des Ponts et Chaussees
to construct an intercepting sewer sufficiently large to convey
the sewage of all that portion of the city, which is situated
on the right bank of the river, to a point between Clichy
and Neuilly, tunneling for this purpose under the high ground
north of the Faubourg St. Honord. By this means advantage
is taken of a fall of 5~- feet in the river, thus placing the
outlet sufficiently low to prevent the sewers in the central
portion of the city from being filled with back water, except
in times of the highest floods, which last, on an average, but
two days in a year, and in extreme cases only ten.
The smallest public sewer constructed under the present
or new system, in Paris, is 6-1 feet high and 41 feet wide, the
cross section being semi-circular on top, curved with arcs of
circles on the sides, and having a segment of a circle 11 feet
long, and depressed two inches for the bottom.  This size,
as well as the large ones, is built mostly of a very hard kind
of stone (such as is used for mill stones in this country), laid
without dressing of any kind, in lime, and coated over on the
inside with cement, to give them a smooth surface, which is
afterwards white-washed to make them lighter.  The thickness of the walls is generally about one foot.'In some
instances, by way of experiment, principally to save time in
construction, they have turned the upper arch with a single,
but very hard brick, laid in cement, and 4- inches thick; the
cost being about the same as that of the stone one foot thick.
They perceive no yielding, after a trial of three or four
years, with a covering of not less than 31 feet of earth, or
paving, above the top of the arch.
The house drains emptying into the sewers are to be of
such sizes as the proprietors may choose; they being obliged
to pay for them.  I noticed tubular outlets, varying from
four to eight inches in diameter, left for them in the new
sewers.




37
One reason for making the smallest class of public sewers
in Paris, so much larger than they are in every other city,
is the practice which, till within ten years, existed only
there, of placing the water mains in them. With smaller
sizes, it would be difficult and painful for workmen to introduce or repair water pipes.  The same practice has recently
been introduced into Dijon, with regard to the principal
sewers. Originally it was intended to include the gas mains
also, but experience soon showed that leakage from them was
so great as to make it dangerous for workmen to enter the
sewers, especially with lighted lamps.
Under the new system, there are eight classes of sewers;
the smallest having already been described. The largest
class is 13 feet 5 inches high, 16 feet 5 inches greatest width
across the top arch, about four feet wide across the cuvette,
or ordinary water way, which has straight sides, 18 inches
high, with a segmental bottom, depressed 5 inches in the
middle. There is, on each side of the cuvette, a horizontal
ledge about 5 feet 9 inches wide. The upper arch is semicircular, (as are the upper arches of all the sewers,) and
1 foot 8 inches thick on top, and 2 feet 7 inches on the sides.
The side walls, on a level with the ledge, are 3 feet 12
inches thick, and the segmental portion below, 1 foot thick.
The character of the masonry is the same as that in the
smallest class. There is an iron rail placed on each angle of
the cuvette and ledge. These rails are angular in shape,
fitting close to the masonry, and adapted to cars which are to
be used in the various kinds of service these large sewers are
destined for; more particularly for transporting deposits it
may be necessary to remove from the sewers to boats in the
Seine.
The following tabular statement gives the cost, in detail,
of the different sizes of Paris sewers, except for No. I:




38
Cost per running foot of Sewers, in Dolls. and Cts.
bis.
Variable Expenses: NNo.1. No2. No5. No. 3. No4. No. 5. No. 6. No. 7. No.8.
Excavation...........  2.49 3.28 2.49 1.82  1.35 1.14.83.73
Replacing pavement.      1.11  1.15  1.01.91.83.75.68.52
Foundations.............35.45.33.27.27.27.22.21
Bracing..........65......65.68.65.34.28.24.18.06
4.60 5.56 4.48 3.34 2.73 2.40  1.91 1.52
Fixed Expenses:.
cavated materials.
Stone Masonry.         9.02 12.54  7.83  7.30 4.96  3.98 3.32 2.48
Plastering top and        1.01  1.06  1.06.94.86.76.74.63'sides of interior.
sides of interior.      1.01 1.06 1.06.94.86.76.74.63
Plastering bottom.       1.07  1.18.98.70.58.58.34.22
outside...73.79.63.54.50.44.39.32
Centering..........35.35.35.35.29.23.17.17
Guard fences...........07.07.07.07.07.07.07.07
13.45 16.41 11.97 10.75  7.891 6.59 5.45 4.23
Accessories, Guilies s, Man-holes.81.81.81.81.81.81.81.81
OTAS  Open cuttunneling  30  18.8622.7817.26 14.9  11.43 9.80  8.17 6.56
Open cutting 31: 50
There were in Paris, a year ago, about 170 kilometres, or
106 miles of sewers, some of which are very old. The
inclinations of the smallest class vary from  1 in 1,000 to 1 in
400, and those of the largest class from 1 in 2,000 to 1 in
1,000.
The gutters and sewers are flushed daily with water
from  the hydrants, 21 hours in the morning, and the same
length of time in the afternoon.
The soil of this city is generally gravelly and dry down to
the level at which water stands in the wells. The cellars
have no connection with the sewers, and are sometimes much
lower.
The mode of constructing, as well as of emptying privy
vaults, is carefully regulated by law. They are laid in
cement, and  made  impervious, to  prevent  the soil from
becoming contaminated by exudations from  them.  They are
emptied by means of strong air-tight casks, which, aftel




39
being exhausted of air, are connected by pipes and hose
with the semi-fluid matter in the vaults, which, after the
simple turning of a cock in the connecting pipe, rushes into
the cask. It is done, they say, without creating any unpleasant smell; but Mr. NEWLANDS, of Liverpool, however, who
visited Paris while I was there, partly to gain information
relative to this very process, and who sat up one night to
witness it, told me that the smell was very offensive.
The night soil, except from some of the public buildings, is
still carted to the Voirie, and there manufactured into
poudrette.
WORTHING.
This is a small watering town on the southern coast of
England, a few miles west of Brighton, and contains about
5,000 inhabitants. Until quite recently it was drained at all
times directly into the sea, in front of the town, but owing to
offensive smells caused by this practice, and the consequent
injury to the reputation of the town as a watering place, upon
which its prosperity very much depends, it was determined to
dispose of the sewage in some other way, so as to get rid of
the nuisance of mingled sea weed and town filth in their
immediate vicinity.
In carrying out the new system of draining this town,
water and sewerage works have been combined, and the same
engine is made to pump both water and sewage, the former
to a height of 80 feet, and the latter 25 feet. The sewage is
now conveyed from the pumping station by a 15 inch pipe, to
a point on the sea shore, about two miles eastward, where the
prevailing winds take it still farther from the town.
The main sewer is of brick, and the branches are of stoneware pipes, varying from 15 to 6 inches in diameter.
The tide rises ordinarily 18 feet, at Worthing, and the
system of drainage is so arranged, that at present the pumps
do not work during the night; the sewage, not being very
impure then, is discharged through the old outlets by a selfacting valve. At high water they have the power of thoroughly flushing the main sewer from the sea.




40
The sub-soil of the town is somewhat varied, but generally
porous. One effect of the works has been to lower the ordinary water level in the ground some 5 or 6 feet. The deep
basements have added to the difficulties and expense of the
works.  Mr. HIDE, Surveyor of the Local Board of Health,
thinks it will be necessary, in some instances, to have screwdown valves, as a security against flooding from the sewers,
in case of accident to the engine, or excessive storm water
at high tide.
At the time of my visit, scarcely one-third of the inhabitants enjoyed the benefit of the new works, but they were
rapidly extending them everywhere. The system includes
the abolition of cess-pools or privy vaults, and the substitution of water closets for them. So far as they had been introduced, they appeared to give great satisfaction.
CROYDON.
As this town was, in the latter part of 1852, the seat of an
extensive and fatal epidemic, which was attributed to defects
in the system of drainage just then carried out, and as much
attention was directed towards it at that time, by those interested in sanitary matters, I thought it would be interesting to
know what changes had actually been made since, and what
conclusions they had arrived at with regard to their system
as a whole, and to the modifications proposed by Messrs.
ARNOTT and PAGE.
The population of Croydon is about'18,000. Previous to
1851 there were some brick sewers in the principal streets.
In that year the construction of the present system of combined water and drainage works was commenced, and it has
been in operation since 1852. For the new sewers, pipes
varying from 4 to 21 inches diameter, with grades varying
from 21 inches to 7I feet in 100 feet, have been used, to convey house drainage; but for surface water, the old brick
sewers are still used where there are any, and in some instances new ones have been built for the purpose. The introduction of water closets and abolition of privy vaults is a




41
part of the new system. The sewage of about three-fourths
of the population is collected at the filtering house described
by Mr. PAGE; and most of the remainder is discharged
into a mill pond on the Wandle.
It was the intention of the General Board of Health to
have this town sewered according to the views of the school
headed by'Mr. EDWIN CHADWICK, whose extensive and persevering efforts to ascertain and make known the sanitary state
of populous towns and districts, including their systems of
sewerage and drainage, have done so much to direct public
attention to this subject. These investigations led Mr. CHADWICK and others to adopt views differing very much from those
which had before obtained, and to recommend the use of pipe
sewers of 4 inches and upwards in diameter, but much smaller
than other sewers before used for the same kind of service.
They believed that glazed pipes were sufficient to carry. off
not only all liquid discharges from houses and water closets,
together with all substances that could be suspended in water, but that even the washings of streets should be admitted
into them; and, that the sewers thus used would not require
flushing to cleanse them from deposit, nor ventilation to free
them from foul air, provided they had proper inclinations.
For this reason, no provision appears to have been made at
Croydon for flushing, examining or ventilating the sewers.
The alarming sickness of 1852, led to the discovery that the
sewers were in some places obstructed with deposit, causing
the most offensive smells, which escaped from them  into
houses; hence the very general belief that either in the plan
or the execution, or both, the works were a complete failure.
The causes and extent of this failure were subjects of controversy and investigation.  Messrs. ARNOTT and PAGE,
already mentioned, and afterwards Mr. WICKSTEED, were
requested to examine and report upon the causes of, and to
propose remedies for, the evils complained of. They all condemned the small sizes of the sewers, their want of ventilation, and means of examination, and the mode of disposing
of the sewage; and suggested, or recommended, important




42
enlargements of the sewers, thorough ventilation, and a complete deodorization of the sewage. The discharge of the sewage into the Wandle was declared a nuisance, not only to the
town, but to the whole population below on that stream. Mr.
WICKSTEED says, (page 20 of his report): "' As regards the
sewers in town, you cannot do better than I am informed you
are doing, namely, taking up small pipes and replacing them
with larger ones, and introducing ventilating pipes; but, I
would urge you most strongly to cleanse the sewers frequently
and thoroughly, with water from the water works; it will
not only clear away the deposit which now takes place in
your sewers, but will dilute the sewage, and render it less
offensive when it is discharged at the present out-falls."
Mr. Cox, the Surveyor of the Local Board, informed me
that they had taken up 1,530 feet of 4 inch pipe, and 3,300
feet of 6 inch, or, which is equivalent, have substituted for
them 12 and 8 inch pipes in the same, or in other streets.
They have constructed several man-holes, which have been
found necessary, to avoid opening the streets and breaking
into the sewers, whenever the latter require examining or
cleansing. For the escape of foul air from the sewers, they
have also erected three inch iron pipes to the tops of houses,
in places where it would not be likely to find its way into
upper windows.
Mr. Cox would not advise the use of less than 4 and 6
inch pipes for house drains, nor less than 9 inch ones for
street sewers. Formerly they used 3 inch house drains, and
4 inch street sewers, as already mentioned, in some cases.
He would not use pipes for sewers where a greater size than
12 inches is required, but prefers brick. The system of back
drainage,-that is, of laying common sewers through private
property, in the rear of houses, to avoid the expense, and
sometimes loss of declivity, caused by laying drains under
houses to streets in front, is seldom practised now; the
front or street system of drainage being preferred.
There are in one case, certainly, as many as 16 houses
draining into one 6 inch pipe, without giving trouble or




43
requiring alteration: Mr. Cox thinks even more, in some
cases, drain into pipes of the same size.
The repairs and cleansing of sewers, including not only
labor, but a proper proportion of superintendence and tools,
does not exceed ~100 per annum.
At the time of my visit, about one-fourth of the sewage
was used for irrigating fields, at an expense of only ~26 a
year, paid by the town, to a farmer for taking it. After
being used in this way, the sewage flows off quite clear and
inodorous.  Mr. Cox likes this mode of disposing of it,
where it can be carried out, better than any other.
By a recent decision of arbitrators judicially appointed,
the town was required to change the out-fall of the sewage,
so that it should not flow into the river at all, without being
first purified in some way. The mode of doing it had not
been fully decided upon, but it was probable that it would be
by a system of irrigation.
There was much less dissatisfaction with regard to the
sewerage then, than at the date of Mr. PAGE'S report; still
there were some that complained. The bills of mortality for
the year 1856 are very favorable.
During the arbitration above mentioned, every clergyman
and every medical practitioner, but one, in the district, bore
testimony to the improvement in its health.
Jointed bamboo rods, 100 yards long, have been used in
cleansing the pipes, with success in most cases.
The two lines of 12 inch outlet sewers, with a fall of only
2 feet in 1,800, are troublesome to keep clean, and actually
take a hydraulic inclination of 3 feet generally, more sometimes. Ordinarily, the outlets are half full.
The smell of the filter house was very disagreeable to me,
although my visit was in the winter season.
After leaving Mr. Cox, I went into several houses, and
inquired about the working of the sewers. The answers in
every case were, that the public sewers were working well.
The keeper of the Crown'iotel said his house drain, which
was only 4 inches in diameter, had been stopped twenty




44
times during the last three years, and it was then being
replaced by a 6 inch one. Two gentlemen, whom I afterwards met in the cars, and who informed me they were
residents of Croydon, said the sewers were carrying off the
drainage very well; but, in their opinion, the works, as a
whole, had not improved the health of the town.
LEICESTER.
Towards the close of the last century, -the river Soar
became the common sewer for the drainage of this town. At
first the nuisance occasioned by this practice did not appear
to be very great, but about twenty years ago, in consequence
of the increase of population, and, more especially, of the dye
houses and factories, in which large quantities of soap were
used for the washing of wool, the sluggish waters of the
Soar became so corrupt that fish could not live in them, and
consequently disappeared entirely.  The river, which was
used for the navigation of canal boats drawing four feet,
became like ink almost in color, and evolved in summer so
much sulphuretted hydrogen as to tarnish silver watches. A
few years since some residents on the banks of the river,
below the town, who felt that they were seriously injured,
and, in some cases, it was thought, had lost members of their
families by fevers caused by the foul state of the stream,
commenced legal proceedings against the town corporation.
This caused the authorities to inquire what could be done to
remedy the existing evils, and they invited Mr. WICKSTEED,
of London, to aid them.
Leicester contains about 65,000 inhabitants, who reside
mostly on ground quite elevated above the river-in some
places upwards of fifty feet; but the houses of many of the
laboring classes, as well as the principal manufacturing
establishments, are situated on the meadow, which is subject to inundation, and portions of which used to be covered
with water a great part of the year. The low grounds were
frequently the seat of fatal diseases, of a kind which, in England, are considered preventible.




45
The principal details of the plan recommended by Mr.
WICKSTEED, and afterwards carried out by the town, are as
follows:
The sewage is disposed of by pumping it up, then deodorizing it by drying, and afterwards manufacturing the deposit
into solid manure. The sewage of all the town is pumped
up ordinarily about 18 feet, although a very large portion of
it might have been made to flow into the basin which now receives it, by simple gravitation; but according to Mr. WICKSTEED'S estimates, the cost of two lines of sewers, one from
the high part of the town, and the other from the low, would
have exceeded the cost of the single line, by a sum which
would have been sufficient to erect and maintain the necessary pumping power to raise that portion of the sewage which
could have been disposed of by simple gravitation. The outfall is of course ordinarily into the well of the pumping station, but during heavy rains, it is into the river, some distance
below, there being to this point from the pumping well, a continuation of the main sewer, so arranged as to discharge into
the river whatever excess of storm water the engine cannot
pump up. At such a time the main sewer in the low part of
the town must be gorged, till it attains a level above that of
the river.
The section of the sewers is circular, this form being preferred on account of superior strength, economy and efficiency
under ordinary circumstances, wherever it is not necessary to
enter the sewers for examination, cleansing or repairs. In
order to avoid this necessity as far as possible, Mr. WICKSTEED SO arranged the diameter and inclinations of the sewers, that they might frequently be half filled, and the current
through them at such times have a velocity of three feet per
second, sufficient to remove all non-concreted substances likely
to get into sewers. The material used in all the sewers is
brick, radiated for the smaller ones.  The smallest street
sewer is 1 foot in diameter, the largest main, 4- feet. For
courts and alleys requiring sewers of less than 12 inches
diameter, it was thought pipes would be preferable; and for




46
house drains, Mr. WICKSTEED had no doubt they would. The
least general depth for the main sewers is 12 feet below the
surface. A sufficient supply of water is considered essential
for the cleansing of the sewers.
The Patent Solid Sewage Manure Company made an agreemnent with the town to pump up and deodorize the sewage for
30 years, for the right to manufacture it into manure. This
contract was entered into by the Company, in the belief, supported by the estimates and experiments of Mr. WICKSTEED,
that the manure, including the cost of pumping up the sewage, could be made for 20s. a ton, and sold for twice that
sum.
The drainage works of this town had been in operation
about ti years, at the time of my visit, and the following
results had been ascertained, viz.: a marked improvement
in the health of the town, as shown by the bills of mortality,
and especially in that portion of the low grounds which were
formerly overflowed so frequently; a cessation of complaints
from the neighboring population for miles below the town, on
account of the state of the river, which was formerly so oftensive; and such a purification of the river as to restore the
water to its original clearness, and cause the reappearance, in
the summer of 1856, of fish, which had not been seen in it for
twenty years before. No case of stoppage had occurred in
any of the sewers, and no expense in cleansing them had been
necessary, except in three cases, where small sewers, near
their summits, did not have sufficient water flowing through
them. The people expressed themselves, so far as I could
learn, entirely satisfied with the system. The cost of manufacturing the sewage into manure was scarcely one-half the
original estimate; but, unfortunately for the Company, its market value was less than its actual cost, instead of four times
as much. The cost of the works for pumping and deodorizing
the sewage, and manufacturing it into manure, was originally
~30,000. New ones, capable of performing the same amount
of work, quite as efficiently, could now be constructed, it is
believed, for less than ~10,000; depending, however, upon




47
the price of land, which was included. This great reduction
was owing to improvements made in the mode of manufacturing the manure, requiring far simpler machines than those
first made, and much less space for the different processes.
From a quarter to a third of a ton of lime was commonly
required in the manufacture of each ton of manure, in order
to make the sewage water perfectly clear. In March, 1857,
they were making experiments with one-fourth the usual
quantity of lime, believing that the product would be a
stronger manure, and the sewage water deodorized, but not
so thoroughly clarified as by the larger quantity. The mode
of using the lime was first to mix it thoroughly with water,
and then to pump it up with the sewage. The cost of lime,
delivered at the works, was 13s. 6d. per ton (of 2,240 lbs.).
About 22,000,000 imperial gallons of sewage and lime water
are pumped up weekly, requiring about 121 horse power,
working night and day. From 15 to 18 tons of slack (coal),
costing 6s. to 7s. per ton, delivered at the works, are used
weekly, for pumping up the sewage and driving the machinery
for manufacturing it into manure, but not for moulding it into
the shape and size of bricks and drying it, to include which,
about 20 tons a week would be necessary. The moulding
and drying process, which costs about 2s. 6d. per ton, was
then,:oiifttedb;)and the manure sold in a damp state, for four
shillings a load, equivalent to about 15 cwt. of dry manure.
This was at a loss of about 29 per cent. on the cost of manufacturing it; but it was believed that further reductions in
the cost would be made, and all loss eventually avoided.
The whole sewage of Leicester yielded annually a quantity of
manure equivalent to about 45,000 tons in the dry state; but,
as before mentioned, it was then sold damp, that is, with as
much moisture as possible thrown off by centrifugal machines;
which are the same in principle as those used as a substitute
for the hand method of wringing clothes in the public washhouses of London and other European cities.
There are very few cellars in the low grounds, and they
are liable to be flooded during heavy storms. Not more than




48
one house in fifty had water closets; the old fashioned privy
and ash-pit being retained, it being found that when they
were properly constructed, and rain water excluded from
them, the ashes were sufficient to prevent any unpleasant
smell. The compost was carted away without direct cost to
the householders, by a town rate. The total cost of scavenging the town, including street cleaning, and removal of the
soil from ash-pits and privies, was about ~500 a year.
EDINBURGH.
The principal points of interest that caused me to visit this
city, were its experience with regard to pipe sewers -and the
use of sewage for irrigating meadows.
It was mentioned in a discussion before the members of
the Institution of Civil Engineers, held in London, November
30th, 1852, that the pipe sewers of Edinburgh had proved a
failure. Mr. MCPHERSON, the Superintendent of Streets and
Buildings, having also charge of the public sewers, informed
me, that so far from his considering pipe sewers a failure,
he was laying them at that time, and that, in August, 1856,
there were 101 miles of them in the streets and closes of this
city. In two cases, owing to unskilful workmanship and mismanagement, there had been temporary failures. In one
case, a 9 inch pipe had been laid, with two sharp angular
bends; a short distance apart, with the gradient between, either
level or sloping the wrong way. The defect was entirely
remedied by putting in curved pipes where the angles were,
and relaying the portion between them  on a proper inclination. In another case, the difficulty was owing to placing
traps ten feet under ground without any provision for cleansing them, and then allowing night soil, and other kinds of
filth, to be thrown into gullies, which were covered with
immovable grates.
About 130 acres of meadow are irrigated by the sewage
from that part of the city which is drained directly eastward.
Another meadow is irrigated from a district sloping westward. The meadows thus fertilized have become exceedingly




49
valuable, producing enormous crops of coarse grass, which
is used for feeding cows, but not horses. They rent, in some
instances, for upwards of ~30 per acre a year.
The irrigation is effected by simple gravitation, for most
of the meadows.  As, however, only a very small portion of
the sewage is used even in the summer, the surplus is
made to pump up a part, and thus the district irrigated is
somewhat enlarged beyond what it otherwise would be.
Most of the meadows are formed into ridges, with small
canals along their summits. Little or no use whatever is
made of the sewage for irrigating purposes in winter.
Both Mr. MCPHERSON, and Mr. COUSIN, City Architect,
informed me that the inhabitants of Edinburgh were much
annoyed at times by vapors from the irrigated meadows, and
would gladly have broken up the system if they could; but
prescriptive rights which would make a change exceedingly
expensive, stood in the way.
GLASGOW.
This city, which contains about 400,000 inhabitants, is
drained by means of stone and pipe sewers, into the Clyde
and its tributary, the Kelvin. All of the first and middling
class, together with many of the lowest class houses, are provided with water closets, which discharge their contents directly into the public sewers. In consequence of this, and the
house and factory drainage emptying into the rivers, they had
become so offensive three years before, in the summer, that a
scheme was proposed for constructing large intercepting
sewers along each bank of the Clyde, to a distance of
several miles below the city, and there discharging their contents into the river. After deliberate consideration, this project was rejected, because, in the first place, it would have
thrown the nuisance upon others; and in the next, would not
entirely have freed the river from pollution, on account of
the tide, the effect of which is very similar to that of the
Thames, at London.
The next plan for purifying the river was that of filtering
4




50
the sewage; but this was also rejected, because it had been
found impracticable to filter the water of the Clyde in sufficient quantities to supply the city, when that stream was
made turbid by rains.
A short time before my visit some experimental works had
been constructed near the Kelvin for the purpose of ascertaining the practicability of deodorizing the sewage.  The
first trials were made a few days before, and it was, of
course, too soon to say much about results. But one patented
process had been used, and seven others were to be tried.
They had succeeded in making the sewage ver'y clear and
inodorous, but the deposit was very offensive, and valueless as
a manure.
In Mr. CARRICK'S opinion the use of water closets was
carried too far. He was in doubt as to what extent they
should be allowed, but felt satisfied, after an experience of
several years, that for the lowest class of houses (and probably for some others), a return to the use of ash-pits, properly
constructed, would be wise, both on account of the value of
the soil mixed with ashes, for manure, and the great consumption of water thereby saved —a consumption already
alarmingly great in large cities.
There were fifteen public privies in Glasgow, made of cast
iron, and so constructed that they could easily be emptied
into carts daily, which is practiced, and their contents taken
into the country. These are kept neatly painted, and are
found to continue free from offensive odors, differing in this
respect very much from the wooden ones which throw off very
offensive gases after being used a few months.
The plying of steamboats on the Clyde, in the summer season, stirs up the foul deposit on its bottom, causing sickness
to the passengers sometimes. This is considered a very
serious inconvenience, as it is very desirable to have the
steamers come as far up into the city as possible.
The tide rises about 7 feet at Glasgow. The outlets of the
sewers are at half tide. Cellars in the lowest part of the
city are liable to be flooded during heavy storms, especially




51
if they occur at very high tides. Had the city to be laid out
anew, Mr. CARRICK would have the grades of the streets
raised in the lowest parts, at least 6 feet above their present
level, for the benefit of cellars and basements. He thinks
it very important to keep up the grades of the streets of new
towns and cities, when they are on low ground.
CARLISLE.
This city, which contains about 30,000 inhabitants, and is
one of the oldest in Great Britain, is sufficiently elevated
above the river Eden, to drain all parts of it efficiently at all
times, except the lowest portions in high stages of the river.
From Mr. RAWLINSON, Chief Engineer of the Sewerage, and
from Mr. McKIE, the Local Surveyor, the following information was obtained:
Tabular Statement concerning the Sewerage of Carlisle.
KIND OF SEWER.    Diameter. Av.Depth. Length. Av. Cost.   Total Cost.
Yards.  ~ s. d.       ~      s. d.
Brick.................. 3f9x 2f6    10fli [ 2,285    1 9 1           3326    1
do.................f.. 3f   2f3    10f 1      1,993    1 4 8       2455   6 8
do................... 3f  x2f        9f2      1,385[    1 1 6      1,491  16 2
do................    2f3 x 1f6    10fl     3,209       16 6       2,644     11
Earthenware Pipe....... 1f6      6f        646       9 7         310   2 4
do       do.......    1f3         8f6      4,352       8 511  1,842   6 4
do       do.......    If         8f1 [ 6,509  6[  82    2,167  11 9
do       do.......       9        6f       2,509       4'10       608  18
do       do......       6        8f 41     168        3 10        32   4
Cast Iron    do              2f3. (f             297    3 1 311   910   3 2
do       do lf 6                   6f4~      677    1 9            981   6 9
do       do.......      f         8f  1      48       182          4310 9
NUMBER.
MIan-holes....................................    131   14 7 4   1,882   3 3
Lamp-holes..................................      99    1 17 10        187  10 9
Flood Outlets...-..                                                    445  16 92
Flushing Valves..................................             341  146
Gullies..                            366 2 19i    4 [ 1,086 2 
Crossing Rivers, and Sundries..............                          747   31 7j
l  TorAL,  1 21,504   17 7
The inclinations of the sewers are as follows, viz.:
PIPES.
9  inch  Pipes, from           to to.
12.".
1 5.. "    ". "4
18    "       "       "    31        1.
1O                    n~~~~~~~~ T6-9




52
BRICK SEWERS.
2 feet 3  inch by 1 foot 6 inch Brick Sewers, -1  to 40.
3 "           " 2 feet." c;  4oo 
3 41.  " 2  " 3."          ".. 2 1.
3 "        9  " " 2  " 6                   I - -" "  -"1
The brick sewers 3 feet by 2 feet, and larger, were built
9 inches thick; those under that size, but 4- inches thick.
The iron sewers were intended to resist internal pressure
during high stages of the river, and have stood severe tests
since their completion.
The general character of the soil through which the excavations for the sewers were made, is locally termed " forced
ground," or the accumulated rubbish and ruins of nearly
twenty centuries. The main out-fall of the sewers is the
river Eden below the city.
The city is supplied with water by a company, and arrangements were made for a sufficient quantity to flush out the
sewers twice a week, at their summits. Advantage was also
taken of the Caldew and Petterill, tributaries of the Eden, to
obtain a copious supply for flushing the larger and lower lying
sewers.
At the time of my visit, the works had been in operation
about twenty months, and it had not been necessary, during
all that time, to cleanse a single sewer by hand. Flushing
alone proved sufficient to remove all deposits, and this was
not necessary more than once a month. An examination by
means of the lamp and man-holes a very short time before,
showed that the only portion of the sewers likely to be
obstructed by deposits, was entirely clear. Either a manhole or a lamp-hole is placed at every change of direction or
inclination in the sewers.
Surface water from the streets is received into doubletrapped gullies, placed seldom more than 150 feet apart.
These gullies are ordinarily emptied twice a week; but in
some parts of the town, where night soil is unlawfully thrown
into them, they are emptied once a day. The cast iron box




53
(see Plate III,) which contains the deposit, is easily lifted
out when full, and emptied by a man of ordinary strength.
Their cost, including grates and stone work, and labor of
putting them in, is 36s. each; this does not include the necessary drain pipes leading from them to the main sewers. They
have given such satisfaction in Carlisle, as to cause them
to be adopted in North Shields, Chorley, in Lancashire, in
South Shields, partially, and in other places not sewered
under the direction of Mr. RAWLINSON.
Not more than one-fourth of the houses have water closets
yet. It was intended, however, to introduce them, under the
"' Health Act," into every confined court or place, but not
(compulsorily) into those which were open and well ventilated. For the lowest class of cottages, and for bodies of
wvorkmen, Mr. McKIE recommended a cast iron tank, &c.,
like those adopted in Glasgow for public convenience. To
some extent, these are already used.
The streets are paved with cobble stones, laid in rows at
right angles with the direction of the street, and are kept in
good order, and well scavenged.  The weekly average cost
of scavenging the city was, in 1856, ~9 10s.; and for cartage,
~4 more. The value of the manure, nearly ~2 a week,
should be deducted.
Mr. RAWLINSON furnished me with copies of reports on
the drainage of this and other towns he has sewered; and
with plans, herewith presented, of structures carried out
under his direction.
It will be seen from the foregoing statements, that I am
greatly indebted to the gentlemen whose names have already
been mentioned. Their kindness much exceeded my expectations. The readiness with which they answered my questions, and aided me to procure information, was no doubt
prompted by their desire to contribute towards the advancement of sanitary knowledge in our country.
Syndicus MOERCK and Senator BuscH, of Hamburgh, and
M. VATTEMARE, of Paris, also assisted me much, either by




54
their personal influence or labor. Mr. VATTEMARE left other
engagements to go for and with me to the proper offices,
especially to that of M. BELGRAND, Engineer in Chief of
Sewers and Water Works, who furnished the information
already given concerning Paris.
The foregoing account of what was learned in different
cities and towns, is believed to be sufficiently full for the
objects of this report. Volumes might easily be filled with
interesting facts and descriptions of the sewerage of London
alone. It is deemed best now to speak of different subjects
connected with sewerage, without reference to particular
places, except by way of illustration. The first in natural
order and greatest in importance, is the
Disposal of Sewage.
At the foundation of all plans for the sewerage of cities
and towns, what shall be done with the contents of the sewers,
is felt to be the question, upon the answer to which depends
in a great measure the plan to be carried out.
Previous to the introduction of sewers and drains, it was
customary to remove all kinds of offal and filth, by meais of
carts or hand conveyances, either to the country or to some
water course or other general depository. This was sometimes done by the occupants of the houses, who took it
directly from their premises, or it was thrown by them into
the streets and thence removed by the public authorities,
sometimes not for days or weeks. To this latter practice was
attributed the dreadful ravages of the plague and other diseases, during the middle ages and even the last century.
Until within about fifteen years, the practice was to discharge sewage into the nearest available stream or body of
water, with but little doubt as to the propriety of such a
course, certainly with no effectual remonstrances against it.




55
Even now this practice is well nigh universal, for the reason
that all plans for avoiding it have involved very serious objections in the way of expense, and have amounted, in most
cases, to depositing the nuisance at the doors of others. This
is so, whether the sewage is conveyed by intercepting sewers
to a point below the town, as proposed for London, and being
carried out at Paris; or whether it is used in a liquid state
to irrigate neighboring lands, as frequently proposed for all
the large towns and cities of Great Britain, but not yet satisfactorily carried out for any.
Public sentiment in favor of sanitary reform has been so
thoroughly aroused, that a problem so important as this will
not be suffered to rest till a satisfactory solution is obtained.
The feeling is becoming very general, that wherever practicable, sewage should not be allowed to pollute water courses
of any kind, and the efforts to avoid it have resulted in presenting to the public three classes of projects, viz., the intercepting, the irrigating and the deodorizing.
There can be no doubt that intercepting sewers sufficiently
large and long, will effectually keep out of the streams or
harbor of a city its own sewage matter. The determination
of the size and length of such sewers involves not only their
inclination, the position of their outlets, and the amount of
mechanical power, if any, required to raise their contents,
but the cost, which so generally exercises a controlling
influence over the adoption of any plan. The intercepting
plan for London, as already mentioned, has been recommended
by the most distinguished engineers in the world. Last year,
the details, prepared with great labor, were referred to a new
Commission, consisting mostly of government engineers, who
have reported in favor of such alteration as would change its
character very much, by substituting open canals for the principal portions of the main channels nearest the river, and increase the estimated cost from  $15,000,000 to upwards of
$25,000,000; but the advocates of the first plan believe the
second not only very objectionable, wherein it differs from the
other, but that it would'prove much more expensive than the




56
estimate. It is to be feared that it will be some time before
this project will be carried out, which is to be regretted by
us as well as others; for the successful completion and satisfactorv operation of it might induce most of our large cities
to free their docks and water fronts from a great portion of
the filth which now creates so great a nuisance.
The principal, if not the only, serious objection to intercepting sewers, aside from their first cost and subsequent maintenance, is that while they remove nuisances from large communities, they inflict them upon smaller ones. This, however,
must depend entirely upon local circumstances.
With regard to irrigating schemes, they are numerous, and
vary in their character from the primitive method adopted at
Edinburgh, to the costly works proposed by some for pumping
up into reservoirs, and distributing, by means of cast iron
pipes and hose, all the sewage of a city as large even as London. These were very popular a few years ago, and have
advocates still; but the more intelligent and practical have
modified their opinions with regard to them, and no city, containing as many as 50,000 inhabitants, is yet known to convey
the whole of its sewage through pipes, and distribute it
through the surrounding country. Milan and Edinburgh are
the only large cities that are known to make a profitable use
of sewage'to a considerable extent, and they do it with open
canals and drains, and without pumping, except where the
sewage water itself furnishes the power. Some experiments
with the sewage of small towns, favorably situated, have given
very satisfactory results, but they have not been deemed sufficient to justify the application of similar plans for large towns
or cities, at least in the estimation of those who were responsible for appropriating the necessary means for carrying out
such works.
The objections to irrigating schemes are:
The expense, especially when they require pumping engines,
reservoirs and distributing pipes;
The nuisances they create, particularly on non-porous soils;
The inapplicability of liquid sewage, daily or weekly, to




57
most crops except grass, to any advantage; because it is impossible with its use to keep most soils in so friable a state as
is desirable for several of the most important crops;
And the utter uselessness of liquid sewage in cold climates
during winter, for irrigating purposes.
What has already been said concerning Leicester, shows
that deodorizing may be successfully carried out, so as to produce the most satisfactory sanitary results; but as a remunerating or self-sustaining process, it has hitherto proved a failure. The manures obtained are too weak to bear transporting any considerable distance; for the most valuable fertilizing substances in the sewage water not being precipitated
by the action of lime, are lost. The sanitary benefits obtained
by this process, however, are very encouraging, and it is
hoped that the time will soon come when it will be attended
with no pecuniary loss. Already it is no doubt cheaper than
intercepting plans would be for some places, that is, the interest on the greater cost of the latter, would more than equal
the greater annual expense of maintaining the former.
In some places, it would probably be found advisable to
combine two or all three of these methods of disposing of
sewage together.
The difficulties that present themselves in the discussion of
this question, show the importance of determining
What should be admitted into the Sewers.
It is believed that sewers were originally intended to convey surface water only, and resulted from the necessity of
covering or arching over open ditches, which would naturally be first resorted to.  Gradually the practice, at first
unlawful, of admitting liquid refuse of houses and various
substances from streets, was introduced in some cities and
towns, till at last the General Board of Health of Great
Britain recommended using them for the conveyance not only
of all kinds of refuse and filth from houses, but as the cheapest
mode of getting rid of the washings of streets, and thus
saviAg much of the expense of scavenging. Such an exten



58
sive use has never prevailed, however, nor is it now recommended by that Board, but the most recent experience shows
that the surfaces of streets should be kept clean enough to
permit nothing but water to be carried into the sewers, and
that where this is not practicable, catch-basins, or trapped
gullies, should prevent the heavy materials from road surfaces
from  entering the sewers, and retain them till they can be
carted away.
The greatest actual innovation upon the original use of
sewers is the immediate connection of water closets with
them, and the consequent abandonment of privy vaults.
This, however, has not become universal in any large city
yet, though very general throughout Great Britain, for the
upper and middling classes of houses; but the experience of
the last ten years has led many to doubt the propriety of its
adoption in all cases. The character and habits of the population, the facilities for flushing the sewers, and the nature
of the out-fall, in regard to becoming offensive, should be
carefully considered.  On the continent, water closets,
according to the English fashion, appeared to be comparatively little used, except at Hamburgh; the objection to them
being the loss of so much valuable manure, and the fear of
creating nuisances at the out-falls of the sewers.
It is very evident that no classification of substances,
proper to admit into sewers, would be equally applicable to
all cities. In some, the heaviest kinds of house refuse, and
even street sweepings, might be admitted, without causing
much trouble or expense; but from many should be excluded
everything that will not be suspended in or dissolved by
water; and where this is not practicable, it is necessary to
provide means for flushing and cleansing. Melted grease
is very objectionable, but this is an evil likely to cure itself
without public intervention, because those who permit such a
practice in their houses, very soon find that it is much
cheaper to make hot pot-liquor pass through a small catchbasin filled with cold water, where the grease is retained, and
can be removed occasionally with little trouble, than to be at




59
the expense, once or twice a year sometimes, of taking up
parts of their drain pipes to remove an obstruction formed in
them by the hardened grease. Sand, especially quicksand,
should be carefully excluded, except where the velocity
of current is very great, and even then sewers have been
known to be obstructed by it, owing, probably, to a deficiency
of water.
Form, Inclination and Materials used in the Construction
of Sewers.
Hydraulics teaches, beyond all doubt, that the greatest
velocity, and consequently scouring effect, of a stream of
water, is produced when its cross section is that of a semicircle, other things being equal. Hence the circular form
which, for a given amount of material, is the strongest and
most economical, is also the best for conveying water. However, there are several reasons for departing from the circular form, especially for sewers intermediate in size, between
1i and 6 feet in diameter. The quantity of water flowing
through them is not always the same, for it varies both with
the weather, and with the hour of the day; hence it is now
very generally thought best to adopt such a form as makes
the section of water in the ordinary greatest daily flow, semicircular. It is desirable to be able to enter sewers for'the
purpose of examining, repairing or cleansing them, whenever practicable. It is also very desirable to have them
sufficiently large to carry off storm waters. No form combines these desiderata so well as the egg-shape, with its point
downward, hence its very general adoption both in Europe
and this country. Mr. FRANCIS, of Manchester, (see his
letter to Mr. WARD, of London), has adopted the egg-shape,
for even the smallest sizes of pipe sewers, in which, however,
with but one or two exceptions, and. they only slight in
extent, he does not appear to be imitated by others.
The sizes necessary for sewers has been, and still is, a subject of more controversy than their forms.  The great
diversity of opinion is owing to different views with regard




60
to the provision necessary for receiving storm water, some
thinking they should be but a few times as large as would be
sufficient to carry off the greatest ordinary daily flow, and
others considering it necessary that they should carry off,
without being surcharged, all the water that may flow into
them during the heaviest storms. Some would provide for
ordinary storms, but not for extraordinary ones. It is very
evident, that all cellars connected with surcharged sewers
must be liable to flooding, unless carefully guarded by valves,
and if they contain valuable goods, these are liable to be
danmaged, for valves may be neglected and get out of order.
The per centage of rain fall flowing from a given district into
the main channel that drains it, depends so much upon the
season of the year, the geological and topographical features
of the district, the character and extent of improvements, and
the condition of the ground as to moisture or dryness previous to a rain fall, that it is exceedingly difficult to ascertain
correctly this element so important in determining the sizes
of sewers.  The belief which some have, that all public
sewers should be large enough for men to enter, and of others,
that large sewers are great nuisances, together with the perplexities above mentioned, account for the great diversity of
practice to be found in this respect, in different parts of the
world; leading to the construction, in Paris for instance, of
sewers 6G feet high, to drain districts no more extensive than
are sometimes, but not always satisfactorily, drained in English towns with 6 inch pipes.
The inclination of sewers is a necessary element, not only
in determining their size, but their efficiency. Mr. WICKSTEED, who has been so successful in relieving Leicester of the
nuisance it formerly suffered by the pollution of the Soar,
would give to all sewers so much fall as would be necessary
to make the greatest ordinary daily flow through them, sufficient to cleanse them, without any additional water to flush
them, even if in order to obtain this fall, he should be
obliged to pump up the sewage. Others would give them
such fall as would cause them to be cleansed by every




61
ordinary storm; while others prefer to give such inclination
as the ground will admit, and to pump water for occasional
flushing if necessary, rather than pump up the whole of the
sewage. Or if, owing to the lowness of the district, they are
compelled to pump up the sewage at all, they raise it as little
as possible, and depend upon occasional flushings to cleanse
the sewers. This diversity of opinion is not confined to
theorists merely, but exists among distinguished engineers,
who have been successful in draining cities or towns. Both
Mr. LINDLEY, of Hamburgh, and Mr. RAWLINSON, of London, told me they believed even level sewers could be kept
clean by flushing, judging from their experience with those
of very  slight grades.   Of course, they  and  all others
prefer sewers with as much inclination as properly graded
streets will allow, to very flat ones. Mr. WICKSTEED, who is
opposed to any provision for flushing, in planning for new
works, recommends the following as the least gradients for
sewers of different sizes, viz.:
For 6 inch. diameter, a gradient of 1 in 65, producing a current of 240 feet per minute.
"  9 "    "        "    1 in 98,  "          "    220  "    "
cc 12 "c  "4       "    1 in 175,  "     "    190'" 
" 15"    "         "    I in 244,  "     "    180  "    "
18"    "          "5   1 in 294,  "     "c   180  "    "
"4 24 "    cc           1 in 892,  "     "    180  "
"c 30'"    "      i'    1 in 490,  "'   "    180  "          "
" 36'   "         "    1 in 588,  "     "    180  "'    "
" 42"    "         "    1 in 686,    "  "    180  "';'" 48" cc          "    1 in 784,  "     "    180  "    " 
" 54'    "             1 in 882,  "     "    180  "    "
The recommendation is based upon the supposition that the
sewers are to be circular, and filled half full by the greatest
flow through them during the day from all sources except
storm  water.
The materials with which sewers should be constructed,
must vary according to circumstances. Stone, brick, castiron and pottery ware, are all very suitable when of good
quality. Concrete and wood are frequently used, but, except
in first cost, are objectionable. In Paris and Edinburgh stone
is generally preferred for the whole sewer; but in most cities
bricks are used, on account of being much more economical,




62
and equally suitable when\ well made. For all sizes of
sewers under fifteen inches In diameter, pottery ware pipes
are preferred in most places, especially throughout Great
Britain, when they are well made of durable material, and
can be furnished and laid at less cost than brick. Radiated
bricks for sewers of small diameters are frequently used.
For the inverts of egg-shaped sewers, hollow pottery ware is
often used, while the upper portions are made of brick. The
mortars used are of various kinds, according to the requirements of the case or the judgment of the engineer. Some
use hydraulic cement, some common lime, and some a mixture
of the two, or hydraulic lime; while some lay the lower
portions of the inverts in hydraulic cement, and the rest in
common lime mortar. For making the joints of pipes tight,
some use cement, some lime, and some clay, varying according to the nature of the soil and the judgment of those in
charge of the work.
Many of the failures of pipe sewers, when the system was
first tried, were attributed, and no doubt justly, to defective
materials and workmanship employed in the manufacture of
the pipes. This has been very much improved since, so that
failures from this cause are very rare now.  Pipes, like our
red earthen ware, are not much used for sewers or house
drains, a heavier and harder material being found necessary,
what we call stone ware, being very generally employed.
Socket joints for pipes, for all sizes up to twelve inches in
diameter, appear to be more generally preferred than any
other; but great diversities of opinion have prevailed with
regard to the best mode of making and securing the joints of
pipes, and considerable diversity of practice still exists. For
the larger sizes, butt joints or half sockets are used more
than all others. Some advocate separate chairs and saddles.
Catch-Basins and Gullies.
Apertures through which surface water is led into the
sewers, are placed much nearer together in the European
cities than in those of America. In the former they are gen



63
erally from 120 to 150 feet apart, while in this country they
are seldom placed nearer together than the corners of the
blocks, and are consequently often 400 feet or more apart.
In portions of London, and in Hamburgh, surface water passes
through grates into untrapped gullies, and thehce into the
sewers. In such cases the gullies act as ventilators to the
sewers, besides letting into them all substances, however objectionable, that can pass through the grates. This annoyance led Mr. HAYWOOD, of London, to wish the gullies of
that city were provided with catch-basins, while Mr. LINDLEY,
of Hamburgh, though much annoyed at first by the practice
of throwing improper substances down them, did not find
any serious inconvenience from it. Throughout Great Britain,
catch-basins, wherever used, are much smaller than those
built in the cities of New York, Philadelphia and Boston.
The principal reason for this, is the much greater quantity of
dirt we allow to accumulate in the streets of our cities, than
is permitted in the principal cities of the old world, at least
in those already mentioned. (For plans of different kinds
of catch-basins and gully-traps, see Plates lI and I1I11.)
Ventilation.
The best mode of ventilating sewers has been, and still is,
a matter of sonme doubt, which naturally results in diversity
of practice. In London and Hamburgh, the main sewers are
ventilated through air shafts and gratings over them in the
streets, and in some cases are connected with the rain water
spouts from houses; but it is necessary to trap these, when
they might otherwise conduct foul air to the windows of
sleeping rooms, in which case they cease to act as ventilators.
Some are very much opposed to air shafts communicating
directly with the streets; and, besides taking advantage of
rain-water spouts wherever they can, they seek to make connections with the tall chimneys of furnaces, chemical or other
kind of works. Connections with furnaces, however, should
be made with great care, as the gases of sewers sometimes
explode.




64
The cleaner sewers are kept, the less need there is of ventilating them; but it has been found utterly impossible in
practice thus far, to prevent entirely the generation of foul
gases in them, no matter what their mode of construction
may be.
House Drains.
However perfect a system of sewerage may be, if house
drainage is not properly carried out, it must fail to produce
the beneficial effects promised by its projectors. It is a very
common thing to find houses, whose owners have been assessed
for public sewers in front of them, but which nevertheless
remain without proper drains, because of the expense of putting them in.
Circular pipes are now almost universally admitted to be
the best for house drains. In England, the prevailing sizes
are 4 and 6 inches, although formerly 3 inches, and even less,
was advocated as sufficient by some, while others contended
for house drains as large as 12 inches, and such were often
built with flat bottoms and straight sides.
Unless main sewers have abundant fall, it is very important
to make the connections of the house-drains with them curved,
so that the current in the main sewer will be accelerated,
instead of retarded, by the discharges through the house
drains, as would be the case if the connections were made
square. Because this has not been necessary in many cases,
some have questioned its utility; but with one who has carefully studied the subject, no arguments are needed to convince
him that all angles or bends, that would produce eddies,
should be avoided ih artificial water-courses.  A striking
illustration of the importance of applying this to sewers has
been communicated to me by Mr. CRAVEN, the Chief Engineer
of the Croton Aqueduct Board. One of the New York sewers was complained of as being inefficient, and a petition was
made to have a larger one built in the place of it. The Engineer was satisfied that the sewer was large enough and had
sufficient inclination; but knowing that the connections of the




65
lateral drains with the sewer were square, he had them
changed to curved ones, after which all complaints with
regard to the inefficiency of the sewer ceased.
All changes of directions in house drains, as well as in
sewers, should be made with curved pipes, and branches from
them should follow the same rule as branches from main sewers, that is, care should be taken to avoid eddies, and the
consequent formation of obstructions.
To avoid the free introduction of offensive and often deleterious gases into houses, it is necessary to trap the drains leading from them.  The simplest, most economical, and generally the best mode, is by means of a bent pipe, forming what
is usually called the syphon-trap, and sinking below the general level of the drain, so that when filled with water, the
passage of air is entirely obstructed, except as it may be
absorbed on one side and given out again on the other.
Melted grease, sand, and all heavy substances should be
carefully excluded from house drains, and when this cannot
be done by means of strainers, small catch-pits should be
provided, as it is much less troublesome and expensive to
keep them clean than to be obliged occasionally to open the
drain to remove obstructions.
Cellars.
The great valu~e and convenience of sufficiently deep, dry
and well ventilated cellars, especially in cities, has led to
many attempts to obtain them, even in unfavorable situations.
Where the sub-soil is naturally dry for a sufficient depthl, as
in Paris, or where it is porous and elevated enough to be
thoroughly drained to the proper depth, it is very easy to
obtain good cellars, but they often prove very troublesome
and expensive where these requisites do not exist, and are
generally unfit for the storage of all kinds of property liable
to be injured by dampness, and of course, are very unsuitable
for families to live in.
As before stated, under the head of Paris, the cellars of
that city are not connected with the public sewers at all,
6S




66
because they would be liable to flooding if they were. Mr.
HAYWOOD'S opinion against allowing them to be made in the
lowest parts of London has already been given. (See p. 21.)
Mr. RAWLINSON, in his report on the completion of the sewers
of Carlisle, says, (page 14):  "The Board must not be
responsible for cellar-flooding in these low districts, and all
parties so situated ought to have notice, that any connection
made by them with the sewers, will be at their proper risk."
Besides carrying out this suggestion with regard to old
cellars, the digging of new ones in the low district is forbidden by law.
The Legislature of South Carolina passed a law, Dec. 21,
1839, which was recently in force, and, no doubt, is yet,
prohibiting the digging or constructing of any cellar or subterranean excavation, except for wells, cisterns, ice houses,
privies or drains, in any city, town or village, within twenty
miles of the ocean, under a penalty of not less than $500
nor more than $1,000, for each offence.  The same law
empowers the municipal authorities of such cities, towns or
villages, to fill up any cellar afterwards dug, at the expense
of the offending parties.
Double System of Sewers.
The expediency of having two sets of sewers, one for surface or rain water, and the other for house drainage, has been
much discussed. As already mentioned in a previous report
of mine to you, the article on Drainage, in the Encyclopaedia
Brittanica, contains the statement that no city could be perfectly drained without the two sets. The advocates of such
a system appear to have diminished in number, and the general opinion now appears to be that it would be exceedingly
difficult to carry it out; and that besides its great expense, it
would not result in freeing the sewers intended for surface
water from the introduction of substances that render theni
offensive, especially during protracted dry and warm weather.
No city or town that I am aware of, has carried out such a
system, as yet, and there is consequently no evidence that it
would give any more satisfaction in its actual working, than




67
the present sewers, for taking off all that can be drained in
a single set. At Croydon there is something like a double
set, the old sewers being used for street surface drainage;
but the rain water from houses and yards does not appear to
enter them. The old sewers were complained of as being
very foul during the epidemic of 1852.
Sub- Ways.
To avoid the frequent opening of streets for sewers, water
and gas pipes, it has been proposed to build large subterranean
ways, which might also be used for the transportation of
various articles or substances, and thus relieve the streets
themselves to some extent. The great expense, and practical
difficulties that are presented when such a work is considered,
have prevented sub-ways from being actually constructed, at
least systematically, in any city as yet. The largest class
of sewers in Paris may be considered as sub-ways; but they
do not, for reasons already mentioned, admit gas pipes into
them; besides, it is so short a time since they commenced
the construction of this class, that the expected advantages
to be derived from them, have not yet been so clearly demonstrated by actual results, as to induce other cities to adopt
them. It will probably be many years before this can be a
matter of practical importance to Chicago.
Flushing Sewers.
This term is technically applied to the cleansing of sewers
by means of water dammed up behind gates, which, being
suddenly opened, allow the water to flow with a velocity of'
more than three feet per second, carrying along not only
light substances, but, in some cases, bricks and stones. The
less the inclination of a sewer, the nearer together will it be
necessary to place the flushing gates. For plans of the kind
used in London and Hamburgh, see Plate 11.
Temporary wooden dams, however, may be made to answer
the same purpose, and, unless required for use very often,
may, even in the long run, be quite as economical. Some
engineers object to flushing, altogether, and say that the




68
sewers should have such inclinations and forms as to render
it unnecessary; but, after all, water must be depended upon
for keeping the sewers clean; and it is a singular, though by
no means unaccountable fact, that, even in Leicester, which
was sewered under the direction of Mr. WICKSTEED, who is
opposed to plans that require flushing, two or three of the
sewers having the greatest inclination required cleansing at
their upper ends, because the ordinary flow through them was
not sufficient. The same could be said of sewers with steep
inclination, near their summits, in many other towns.
The views of Mr. LINDLEY, of Hamburgh, and IMr. RAWLINSON, of London, in relation to the sufficiency of flushing for
perfectly level sewers, have been recently confirmed by some
works at Charleston, S. C. In the new system of sewerage
lately commenced for that city, which is very flat and slightly
elevated above tide, they have adopted perfectly level sewers,
with bottoms 20 inches above tide.  They have a line 2j
miles long, and 3 ft. 6 in. wide, by 4 ft. 6 in. high, with brick
sides and semi-circular top arch, and plank bottom, already
completed, with an outlet at each end, one of which, however,
is used as an inlet. Each end is provided with a gate,
opened or closed at will.  "The Committee on Health and
Drainage report to Council," September 1, 1857, among other
things, that
" It is true, that the force of the current is strongest at the
mouth of the drain, where the flow commences, and that it
diminishes in velocity as you recede, being always proportionate to its depth; nevertheless,'there is power enough in
it at all parts of its course to produce all the washing and
scouring effect that is needed for removing sand, mud, and
even brickbats of as large size as are likely to find their way
in.  Of this there has been ample demonstration, and the
Committee confidently announce to Council, that the calculations made in referetnce to this point have been more than
realized.  The drains are now rapidly clearing themselves,
not only of such matters as are to form the mass of the
accumulation necessarily gathering in sewers, but of the bars
made by the workmen during the process of construction, and




69
left by them; which bars are composed of brickbats, sand
and'clay, and which were built purposely to resist the water,
and keep it from them -while at work. Under the washing
process, or flushing, these bars crumble and melt, leaving
nothing behind but the solid material, and even the brickbats
are found rolling out with the torrent at the mouth of the
drain." 
According to the tide tables, published in the Coast Survey
Report for 1856, mean high water must be 3 ft. 8 in. above
the level of the sewers, and spring tides must rise one foot
higher. It was found, after repeated observations made
during spring tides, that the whole line of sewer could be
filled from one end in just two hours, and emptied in the same
length of time.
If some substances, especially detritus of stone pavements,
building materials, and certain kinds of sand, are allowed to
harden or pack closely in sewers, flushing will do but little
or nothing towards removing them. Parent DUCHATELET, in
his Hygiene Publique, said much, upwards of twenty years
ago, in favor of flushing, both on sanitary and economical
grounds; but came to the conclusion, from  what he saw of
the Paris sewers, that flushing alone would not cleanse them;
and to this day a considerable force is employed in removing,
by hand, solid substances from them.  The same is true with
regard to many of the London sewers.
An abundant supply of water is essential for the main* Dr. WM. T. WRAGG, Chairman of the Committee, in a letter received since this report
went to press, says: " Our drains work well, and are gradually commending themselves to
the favorable consideration of those who were at first opposed to them. There now seems
to be no doubt that the plan we have been inaugurating will become generally employed, not
only in the district for which it was devised, but for the old parts of the city. In this (old)
part, the drains now in existence are laid down without any plan, and are not only on different levels, and so quite unfit for passing water from one to the other, but many of the
individual drains themselves are on undulating planes, and so incapable of venting their
own water. These errors of construction have long been apparent, but no plan of remedying
the evil has been devised. There now seems to be a growing disposition to commence a
gradual system of substitution of the new for the old, by removing, from time to time,
portions of the most important of them, and rebuilding them. The washing of the tide
through the new drains has proved so conducive to cleanliness, and so convenient as a
supply of water for fires, that public opinion is settling down in favor of them." This extract
is from a private letter, and is published without the knowledge of the writer, because there
is not time for further correspondence:




70
tenance of sewers in a healthy, as well as a clean, state.
Wherever natural reservoirs or streams can be made to
supply water for flushing sewers, they are generally used;
and where these do not exist, water-works are considered
indispensable.
The Romans appear to have understood this subject upwards
of 2,000 years ago, quite as well as the moderns do. They
used the water of their aqueducts, not only for flushing out
substances from the sewers, but for purifying the air in them;
for they learned, by sad experience, that the neglect of this
was followed by outbreaks of malignant fevers.  They, too,
like the moderns, found it necessary to remove substances
from the sewers by hand occasionally, notwithstanding the
free use they made of water.
Cost of Sewers.
So much depends upon local circumstances, that it is
almost impossible to make a fair comparison of the cost of
sewers in different cities and towns; or even in the same city,
but built in different years. The prices of labor and materials,
and the extra expense caused by heavy rains, vary so much,
that the actual cost of work one year, compared with that of
another, affords no just criterion of the relative degrees of
care and economy exercised. In Europe, materials of all
kinds, for building sewers, and the requisite labor, are much
cheaper than with us; but, in their larger cities, owing to
expensive pavements, and the necessary removal of gas and
water pipes, and the great precautions requisite in their
narrow streets to avoid disturbing the foundations of buildings,
their sewers often cost more than ours of the same size. In
the smaller cities and towns of England, however, in Carlisle,
for instance (see page 51), they generally cost much less than
with us. The cost of the Paris sewers, as furnished by
M. BELGRAND, will be found, inl detail, on page 38. The
following statements relative to the cost of Liverpool sewers,
will show how impracticable it is to establish a scale of prices
for different sizes of sewers, even in the same city.




71
Average  Cost of Liverpool Sewers, constructed during  the
following periods.
1847,'48,
Size of Sewer.            1851.   1852.   1853. i 1854.   1855.
V z:'49,'50.
Ft. In. Ft. In.{ ~ s. d. ~ s. d.K ~ s. d. ~ s. d. ~ s. d. ~ s. d.
1 6 Oby4 o 2 89          1 19 4....... 3         2  4.   2 12 7
2  4    6    3   1   17  5................  1    19  11    11   6.....
3  3 6 " 2 3 1 12 41 1 6 1 1 1   3 1 6 5 1 3 U 1 9 4
4  3 0 "1 10 1 3 7    16 8!  14 11   19 7! 1 0 3   19 6
5  2  9*" 1 6i 1 1 2    15  1   15 3   16 3'  18 10   19  7
6  0  15  pipe  i  14t...........
7  0 12"          15 9~   12" 8    8 42   10....          17  5
8 0  9 "    i.......    7 6    6 1        9 8.  7 8   10 7
The depth of the Liverpool sewers below the surface, and
the character of the soil, vary very much in different localities;
but these are not the only items that prevent a uniform scale
of prices from being established. The cost of inspection,
watching, and altering gas and water pipes, alone, for six
sewers, laid in 1854, was 23 per cent. of the total cost.
Effect of Sewerage upon the Health of Towns and Cities.
Very much has been said and written upon this subject,
and a vast amount of valuable and interesting information
has been obtained, as will be seen by referring to the printed
documents of the General Board of Health of Great Britain,
procured by their Secretary, Mr. TAYLOR, for the Commissioners. The same gentleman also furnished information, in
writing, relative to the nature and effects of sanitary improvements in the following towns, viz.: Banbury, Coventry, Croydon, Darlington, Derby, Dover, Dudley, Durham, Epsom,
Leicester, Little Hampton, Macclesfield, Newark, Newport,
Ormskirk, Otley, St. Mary, Penzance, Rugby, Swanzea, Tottenham, Tunstall and Wanstead. The reports from Darlington, Macclesfield and Penzance are copied below, for the
purpose of showing not only the beneficial effects of their
* In 1855, this dimension appears to have been changed to 2 ft. 3 in., The apparent anomaly of No. 6 costing less than No. 7, this year, was owing to the
small extent of No. 6 constructed, not affording a proper average.




72
operations, but how much more extensive the jurisdiction of
the General and Local Boards of Health of Great Britain is,
than that of similar bodies in this country,. especially than
that of Sewerage Commissioners. These reports will also
show that much of the improved health of towns which have
carried out sanitary reforms, is owing to causes that could
scarcely have been set in operation by sewerage simply.
Darlington.
"Mr. PIPER, Medical Officer of Health, reports that the
public and private works of drainage and water supply, and
other sanitary improvements in this'district were begun in
1852, and completed in 1855.
" In the former year, the few sewers and drains which then
existed were, generally, worse than, useless.  There was no
water supply, except from pumps, at far distant intervals;
the paving was wretched, and two of the streets (Brunswick
and Green streets) were like ploughed fields; here, as elsewhere, open ditches of stagnant mud, flanked whole rows of
houses; uncovered ash-pits, dung-hills, and filthy pig-sties
abounded; the oozings of slaughter houses, and stables,
flowed unheeded over the pavement, and the river was the
receptacle of every abomination. Princess Square had been
for years the seat of endemic and epidemic diseases, and the
plac6, and the people, exhibited the most abject and degraded
appearance, when, in 1852, it was drained, cleansed, and
supplied with water.  Since that time endemic diseases have
entirely disappeared, and, moreover, the inhabitants havey
become much more cleanly and orderly.
"Previous to the completion of the works, typhus was
always present. In the year 1848 there were ten deaths in
Darlington from typhus; in 1849, 18; in 1850, 8, and in
1851, 21. Sanitary reform commenced in 1852, in which
year there were 7 deaths from that disease; in the following
year, 6; in 1854, 5; and last year but 2. Thus proving
that as sanitary works advance, in the like ratio do epidemic
and endemic diseases retreat.




73
" As an example of the change effected in the low lying
district of the Skeine, the death rate has fallen' from 68 to
23 per 1,000."
Macclesfield.
Extracts from the report of the Local Board of Health and
Improvement Committee, of their fourth year's proceedings.
The report states that since the powers of the Board in
prescribing regulations for the erection of new houses were
first exercised, " the necessity of providing better domestic
accommodations for the poor has been very generally urged
as one of the social requirements of the times;" and the
Committee " have devoted much attention to this duty, having
already exercised their powers in this respect upon 1,489
houses. As evidences of the value of a well appointed cottage, combining the essentials for health and domestic comfort, the Board need only point out the 287 new houses
which have been built acording to the regulations. This
year 31 plans have been approved of, comprising 56 houses
and buildings, including 2 factories and a chapel."
"As to Lodging  Houses, the Committee remind  the
Council of the difference between a four years' reign of
cleanliness, limited numbers, with a division of sexes, and
that state of things in existence previously, which degraded
human nature and shocked every sense of virtue and propriety.  The Police records and Medical reports bear
similar testimony to their comparative freedom from crime
and disease. No idea can be formed of the blessings of
such a change, and the Board sincerely believe that if all
their labors, and all their expenditures had been concentrated
and devoted to the accomplishment of this single duty, the
results in this short period would have richly compensated
for all."
*+   * * *  "There are now 30 registered Slaug/hter
Houses in this borough, and although they are principally
surrounded by dwellings, and were formerly the subject of so
much complaint by neighbours, not a single complaint has
been made during the year."




74
* * "  " Besides their experience of the benefits
of drainage which are reduced to a certainty, and daily
attested by plain facts and figures, they have the testimony
of a resident medical gentleman to this particular case, who
stated in a public lecture in February last, that'the evils of
stagnant water, and the good results of drainage were very
evident from the admirable sanitary arrangements in the
borough of Macclesfield; as an example he would say, that
Nixon's yard, Water street, and that neighbourhood, which
used to be so unhealthy, have now scarcely ever a fever in
them.  Yet Bond street, which stands higher, with  a
quicker fall, is seldom free from a low type of fever, arising,
he felt convinced, from the want of drainage; because water
on, or a little below, the surface in a stagnant condition, produces exhalation, and that again a low degree of temperature,
with other evils resulting in sickness.'
"In four years, 43 streets and 247 courts have been
sewered, paved and flagged; every privy and ash-pit
belonging to them, numbering 290, have been drained, repaired or rebuilt, and new ones have been erected where none
existed before; 1,489 houses have been drained. In the
execution of these works the Board have expended ~15,416;
and when it is stated that in the same period nearly ~36,000
has been the entire expenditure, and that the efforts of
the Board, and the means at their command, have uniformly been first directed where they could be best applied
for the removal of the most pernicious evils, and principally
amongst that class of persons whose condition, habits of
life, and tone of morals were the most miserably wretched,
the Council cannot fail to contemplate the great sanitary
change that has been accomplished, and the vast amount of'
sickness, suffering and human degradation that has been thus
prevented.
"To make these observations the more obvious, and in accordance with former practice, the Board must refer to their
Tables of Mortality, and causes and ages of death, brought
down to the present period. These tables show the rate of
mortality before the operations of the Board, to have been 33




75
deaths in a thousand, whilst the average of the last three
years has been reduced to 26 in a thousand. So with the
average age at death of all persons, which was formerly 24
years, is now 29 years.
" And a freedom from the former excess of preventable deaths
is shown in the registered' causes of deaths,' and singularly
confirmed by the nearly uniform numbers dying in the last
three years, namely,
In 1854, 775;    In 1855, 797;    In 1856, 774;
In all previous years there appeared to have been no such
uniformity, because, no doubt, those influences were in existence which rendered life more precarious, contagion more
certain, and epidemics more frequent and malignant.' Throughout England the mortality of children under I>
years of age is 39 per cent. of all the deaths; in Macclesfield
it is 40 per cent., and the reductions have successively been
from 11 to 13 per cent.
" To sum up the benefits, therefore, it will appear that 81'2
lives have been saved, the proportionate number of cases of
sickness to each death have been prevented, and the consequent expense avoided, the mean duration of life has beenl
lengthened 5 years, andl infantile mortality, one of the certain
tests of the absence or otherwise of sanitary improvement,
has been reduced 13 per cent.
" These results are the daily observation of the Medical
man, the Clergy and Ministers of religion, and other dispensers of charity and relief; but it is only through the medium
of this report that their extent and value can be made palpably evident to the public, so as to command that attention
and general cooperation which would not only.treble these
physical benefits, but would also strengthen the defences against
vice, intemperance and crime. And that sanitary measures
are a defence against the latter, is clearly shown in a former
report which exhibits a decrease in magisterial convictions of
50 per cent. in streets popular on the Police records, after the
usual constructive improvements have been perfected and
cleanliness secured. In the old haunts of fever, Wood street,




76
George street and Nixon's yard, not a single fatal case has
occurred."
The remainder of the Macclesfield report relates to the
management of the public park, and to the bowling and
cricket games practiced upon it.
Penzance.
The return made by Mr. E. 1. RODD, the Town Clerk,
states that
" The works under the Public Health Act were commenced
in 1851; the water supply in that year; and house draining
in 1854; concurrently with which, water closets were supplied
to each house, and the court yards thoroughly paved and
levelled. During the five years ending with 1856, the number of deaths were:
1852,      1853,       1854,      1855,       1856,
218.       240.        210.       176.        152.
"These figures are remarkable, as shewing the very healthy
state of the town during the last two years."
"Again, if we look at the district in which the drainage
works were first commenced, and where efficient drainage has
been in full operation for about two years, we find that the
mortality has steadily diminished. Thus in 1852, the deaths
were 31; in 1853, 33; in 1854, 25; in 1855, 21; and in
1856, 16.
" Mr. BIOASE, Union Medical Officer of the town, speaks
also of the manifest improvement in the sanitary condition of
the district."
" It may not, therefore, be too much to assume that the
healthful influences of an ample supply of water, and efficient
drainage have already been felt, and will continue to be more
manifest as the works advance."
So much is due to local circumstances, natural, industrial
and social, in deciding upon the effects of sanitary measures,
that it is very unsafe to rely upon comparisons between towns
or cities of equal population, and similar in many respects,




77
the one being sewered and the other not. It might be supposed, however, that a comparison of the bills of sickness
and mortality of a city, before it is sewered, with those of
the same city after it is sewered, ought to show the effect of
sewerage on public health; and there can be no doubt that
it ought, if everything else remained the same.  Here is the
difficulty, however. No two seasons are alike, either in
changes of temperature, or amount and distribution of rain
and consequent moisture; yet these affect public health more
than the absence or presence of sanitary works.  Observations, sufficient to form the basis of a reliable statement of
definite numerical results, must extend over a longer series
of years than we have yet had for any important city.
In this connection it is believed the following tabular statement will prove interesting:
NUMBER OF DEATHS PER 100 IN TnlE POPULATION OF
1830...............3.01 3.223.9i          1.66 2.56                4.06
1.......,......16 2.8056.61...........,...,.,I.. o....3.553.834.23. 2.082.80  2.64......              3.61....
21.......................  3.21 3.15 4.70     2.45 4.43'3.16.......  14.70.....
3,          1....(3..13........ 2.....
3.. 3 133 22i3 43... l.9l2.232.2O                                     8 62
4...................... 3.143.463.581....  1.9113.4812.461..........
5,                             2.792.77 3.07.2.312.92.67.                 615.
6......................... 3.68 2.792.96.... 12.07 2.92.18 2.33...  4.17....
I...........3.11 3.90 3. 79. 12.1612.92  2.28.2.6....   7.04.
8'...3......            2..... 2.75 3.0013.66.... 12.212.59'2.10 2.53....  3.68....
9... 3.52.......... 12.98 2913.321   2.23 2.442 2.0826....  5. 3
1840.....  3.90::....::12.802 82'3.271    2.162.52!1.7841.99....  3.91.....
12.16 2.40'3.39  1.   23!..        2.752.64'3.511   1.96 2.63 2.002.14....  2! 3.20....
2 2.172 35 3.24.... 2.43'.... 2.84 2.75 3.72....2.33 2.521.932.31....   4.15 2...
3 2 12  2.47.......12 34'.....872.5213.37.... 1.952.3011.702.08....  4.82! 3.05....
4 216 2.50....12.22.... 2.57 12.563.27... 1.892.251.632.28....  5.33 3.67 
5 2.092.32.........15..722 543.24.....2.042.1911.76 2.38.... 3.341 3.54 
6 2.312.33......... 2.35...2.942.413.3711.582.59 2.6111.702.35 2.09 4.13 3.80 2.30
71 2.47 2 69.37.16.2.41'... 161623.481.80 3.10 3.461.89 2.5811.82  8.31 4.6'2.88
8 2 312.583.79..... 2.37....3.34 2.92 4.32'1.702.84 3.2511.92 2.7612.32 6.95 3.8612.60
9 2.51'3.0115.22 2.882.76'.... 3.05  333.42 2.19 3.79 4.642.28 2.8412.75 8.05 10.6215.30
1850 2.08 2.10i2 96 2.372.171.... 2.75 2 623.171 672.64 307.962.74.856.03  5.044.66
1: 2.20 2.343. 31*2. 5412.282.622.64 2.41'2.83:1.90 2.68 4.10 1.91 2.57 2.25 5 25' 4.39
2 2.242.261..... 2.882.262.633.292.60 3.20'1.82 2.52 3.86 2.47 2.30,3.591 5.88 4.441...
3'2.29'2.433.18 2.68 2.213.1413.05 2.871....942.80 73.911.842. 02.39 10.94i 3.32 2.00
4 2.35 2.933.94 2.48.... 3.882.9 2.45.... 1.99 2.82 4.7412.1382.87 4.27  6.57  5.3 55.26
5i2.271.... I2.2!'.... 3.421....        1.90'2.51 3.691.772.66.......12.50
5                2..2                    2.16....18.
6 2.05 2.9         16...........1.85..2.54.... 2.05 2.67 2.861'.       12.50
711..,.,,.:..7 2.34 2.361...............2.342.361:: I 2.50
* From Registrar General's Report.
Dll  The ratios for Chicago in 1853, 4. 5, 6 and 7, have been estimated approximately by
Dr. N. S. DAVIS.




78
It is to be regretted that the foregoing table could not embrace more of the results that have actually been obtained
by statistical inquiries; but incomplete as it is, much more
labor has been expended in its preparation, and much more
trouble has been given to persons in other cities, than was at
first thought necessary. Had the formation of this table
been thought of earlier, far more extensive information might
have been obtained in Europe. Unfortunately, statistics of
this kind, if they exist to any extent in the public libraries
of this country, are very difficult to find.
The rates of mortality of all England and of London, are
taken from reports of the Registrar General; and those of
Liverpool and Leicester, from reports of the Health Officers
of those cities. Those of France and Paris, are obtained
from the Annuaries published by the Bureau of Longitudes,
for 1853, 4, 5, 6 and 7, by dividing the reported number of
deaths by the number of inhabitants, which of course must
be estimated  for the years occurring between the censuses; those of Prussia and Berlin, from Reports of the
Statistical Bureau, in Berlin; those of Hamburgh, from
statistical tables relative to the condition of that city from
1816 to 1852; and those of Massachusetts, New York and
Boston, from their official Annual Reports of Marriages,
Births and Deaths.  Those of Philadelphia, Baltimore,
Charleston, New Orleans, St. Louis and Chicago, from the
most authentic sources that could be reached. There is
much doubt, however, with regard to the accuracy of the
rates of mortality for most American cities, on account of
the rapidity and irregularity of their growth, and the consequent difficulty of knowing their population, between the
times of taking the census. For instance, two rates of
mortality for Baltimore have been found in medical journals,
differing from each other considerably; and an attempt on
my part to deduce the rate from official reports of deaths
and estimated population, between the censuses and since
1850, the date of the last census, has only resulted in
something different from the other two.
The most healthy region of country embraced in the table




79
is Massachusetts, England next, France next, and Prussia last.
The most healthy European city, apparently, is London; but
as the mortality of Berlin given in the table, includes the
still-born, and that of London most probably does not, the
difference between the two cities is only apparent. According to the Hamburgh statistical tables, which, though not having any mark of official sanction, appear to have been derived
from authentic sources, the average mortality of Berlin, leaving out the still-born, for the ten years ending with 1852, is
a very small fraction less than that of London. London,
Paris, Liverpool, Hamburgh, New York and Boston, are all
built mostly on elevated ground, all however having some
low and flat portions; all are comparatively well sewered;
but are more unhealthy than the countries or states in which
they are situated. Berlin, on the other hand, is entirely
flat, elevated at most but a few feet above the river Spree,
has a wet sub-soil, and is very deficient in thorough drainage,
and yet this city appears to have as small a rate of mortality
as London, and a decidedly less one than the whole of
Prussia.
Of the American cities, Philadelphia appears to be the
most healthy. This city, though much more elevated above
the level of tide than Chicago is above the lake, is very
nearly as flat. It has had sewers for a long time, but according to Mr. KNEASS, Chief Engineer and Surveyor of the City,
nothing like a system has ever been followed. Large sewers
sometimes discharge their contents into smaller ones, and
occasionally others have either slopes or steps up when they
should be down; and yet with all this imperfection, Philadelphia, according to official statistics, is the healthiest large
city in our country. If this is really so, may it not be owing
to her having so many wide and straight streets, which afford
such perfect ventilation, resembling in this respect Berlin.
Chicago, no doubt, has much that is favorable to health in its
wide and straight streets.
The next generally most healthy of the American cities,
according to the table, is Charleston, S. C. It is as flat, and
but little, if any, more elevated above tide, than Chicago is




80
above the Lake. It has had sewers for a long time, but they
are said to be laid without order or system, even more so
than those of Philadelphia.*
Baltimore appears to stand about as well as Charleston,
with regard to health; but it has no public sewers at all,
connected with house drainage, and only a very few to relieve
particular streets of storm  water. Its site is elevated and
undulating.
The experience of Boston is peculiar. It has been, and
probably is still, the best drained city in our country. Its
site is partly elevated, affording ample declivity for the
sewers, and partly very flat, being scarcely above high tide.
According to the table, Boston was the most healthy of the
American cities to the end of 1837; it then fell behind
Philadelphia; and after 1845, not only Philadelphia, but
Baltimore and Charleston surpassed it.  As constant improvements were made during this time, calculated to promote its
healthfulness, the change can only be accounted for by the
fact that the foreign population-too often a most improvident one-increased very greatly.
In order to ascertain, with as much precision as possible,
the effect of neglecting or of carrying out sanitary measures,
the English have taken great pains to separate the deaths
caused by zymotic (or what is supposed to be preventable,
such as endemic, epidemic and contagious) diseases, from all
others; and in this way they show a marked improvement
during the last few years, in some towns, especially Liverpool
and Leicester.  In the former, much is attributed to prohibiting the use of damp and unventilated cellars for
habitations, besides other sanitary measures; and in the
latter, to the draining of low and wet grounds by the new
sewers.  The high rate of mortality in Liverpool has excited
much observation, and has been clearly traced to dwelling
in cellars, over-crowding, bad ventilation, and the usual
want of cleanliness accompanying such a state of things; but
the operation of the Health Act has done much towards removing or abating these causes of disease.
* See extract from letter of Dr. W. T. WRAaG, foot of page 69.




81
Cholera.
To the dreadful ravages of this disease, are we indebted
for the awakened interest now so widely felt, especially by
the inhabitants of large cities, in all matters connected with
sanitary reform. The spread of Cholera in its first attacks,
seemed to be so generally connected with the neglect of proper
drainage, scavenging of streets, and cleansing of houses,
privies, &c., that due attention to these, it was supposed, would
prevent its future ravages, as well as the prevalence of typhus and other fevers, found so often in neglected localities.
Many reports, and a very large amount of information on the
subject, have been printed and circulated. Nothing probably
on the cholera can be found so complete as the Report of the
Royal College of Physicians, London, 1854, a copy of which
the Board now have. It is believed the following extracts
from it will be interesting. (See pp. 224 to 228.)
" The ultimate object of an inquiry into the subjects treated
of in this report is, of course, the discovery of the means by
which the onward progress of cholera may be stayed, its
increase and diffusion moderated, and individuals protected
from its attacks. The partial attainment of this object is all
that at present can be hoped for, but the principles by which
endeavours to attain it thus partially should be guided, are
for the most part free from doubt.
" From among the great features of a cholera epidemic,
three stand forth as of paramount importance: one, the undoubted influence of locality and of the sanitary condition of
towns and dwellings, on the degree of severity with which
the epidemic visits them; a second, the equally certain influence of season and temperature, together with some unknown
condition of the atmosphere on the general prevalence, and
rate of extension of the epidemic; and a third, the share
taken by human intercourse in determining not only the progress of the epidemic, and the direction of its advance
across a continent, but also its extension from continent
to continent, and most probably its communication from one
6




82
town to another in the same country, and from one locality to
another in the same town."
"But it is also true that the power of the disease through
a town is increased in proportion to the degree in which the
conditions of insalubrity referred to are present in various
parts of it; and not merely the poor, who live in the spots
where moisture and foul air feed the cause of the disease, but
all the inhabitants, are exposed by the existence of these evils
to a greater risk of becoming its victims. And further, it is
certain that the more intensely the epidemic prevails in a
large town, the more does the whole district for miles around
suffer, and the more danger is there of its being propagated
to other districts. By improving the drainage of low parts
of the town, opening close courts, thinning the buildings in
the more crowded parts, putting a stop to the burial of the
dead in large cities, keeping even the smallest streets constantly free from filth, covering drains and sewers, and abolishing cess-pools, and other sources of foulness in the air and
soil; by improving the dwellings of the poor in respect of
ventilation, giving them the means of maintaining a due
warmth in their rooms without excluding the external air,
promoting the general substitution of good water-closets for
open privies, inculcating cleanly habits among the poor, and
affording them that most important requisite, an abundant
and constant supply of good water, by means of which they
may attain cleanliness; by adopting these measures it cannot
be doubted that the public authorities would not only lessen
the ravages of the disease amongst the people dwelling in the
localities thus improved, but also greatly weaken the force of
the epidemic over a far wider space. All these things should
be done before the pestilence comes, and in the time of its
presence it would further be wise to enforce cleanliness and
ventilation even in the interior of houses, by a house-to-house
inspection.
" These principles seem now to be more generally understood, and happily are being more widely acted upon, than at
any former period. But as pulJlic functionaries are apt to




83
direct their efforts too exclusively to the removing evidences
of dirt, and to think all must be well where the eye finds
cleanliness, it may not be superfluous to call especial attention to the fact, that mere overcrowding and want of ventilation has in several instances enabled cholera to exert its worst
effects. This want of ventilation is especially common in
work-houses and other pauper establishments, and in public
lodging-houses, in which the number of inmates ought to be
strictly limited, and in a time of pestilence reduced."
That low sites and other unfavorable local conditions do
not always bring upon a city the destructive effects of this
epidemic, is singularly illustrated in the case of Amsterdam.
Situated as it is, below the mean level of the sea, with no
covered sewers, its canals, as Murray says, sending forth
noxious effiuvia in the summer, when stirred by the passage
of boats, and surrounded by a low, flat, moist country, it
escaped, almost entirely, when London, Paris, Hamburgh
and other cities, were severely visited.
On page 22, of the Report of the Royal College of Physicians, they say: " It is undoubtedly true that cholera rarely
prevailed with great intensity except in badly drained and
foul spots, or in dirty and badly ventilated houses, such as are
inhabited by the poorest classes. But it is equally certain
that in some public institutions, and even in some private
houses, where, excepting, perhaps, the want of ventilation,
the conditions of insalubrity did not exist in a marked degree, the disease caused a large mortality in proportion to the
number of persons exposed to its ravages; and further, that
in the towns visited by it, some of the localities which presented the worst features of insalubrity escaped altogether,
or suffered in the slightest degree." Same page, a quotation
from the report of Messrs. LEIGH and GARDNER, who after
describing the severe ravages of cholera in 1849, in Gaythorn,
a part of Manchester, say: " On the bank of the Medlock,
and lying on the south-east of Gaythorn, but separated from
the latter by the Manchester gas-works, some large manufactories, and a curve of the river, is the district called' Little




84
Ireland.' It is occupied almost entirely by the most squalid
and indigent Irish immigrants; has numerous pig-sties, undrained houses and cellars, a population crammed to suffocation; has the exhalations from the river rolled over it by an
opposite high bank, and has long been known to be one of the
most unhealthy localities, and in the worst sanitary condition
of any in Manchester. In a straight line it is but a few
hundred yards, scarcely more than three hundred, from Gaythorn, and yet a very few cases of cholera only have occurred
in this locality; indeed but five cases, and four of these happened when the disease was generally declining."   Mr.
SIMON, in his Second Annual Report on the Sanitary Condition of the City of London, says: " It is unquestionably true,
that many habitual seats of fever were visited by cholera;
on the other hand, many of the worst fever-nests in the whole
metropolis were unaffected by it." The late Dr. TAYLOR,
in his History of Epidemic Choleral in Huddersfield, observes
that, "One of the most remarkable singularities of the epidemic is this, that after attacking one, two or three persons
in a bad locality, it will cease there; again it will altogether
pass by other spots as bad or worse than the one visited. One
house will be invaded, whilst others, much nearer to the nuisance supposed to be concerned in the production of the disease, will escape."
Mr. HAYWOOD, in his report to the Commissioners of Sewers of the City of London, for 1849, says, page 24: "It is a
somewhat singular circumstance, that none of the men employed in the city sewers in flushing and cleansing, have been
attacked with, or have died of, cholera during the past year;
this was also the case in 1832-3. I do not state this to prove
that the atmosphere of the sewers is not unhealthy. I by no
means believe an impure atmosphere is not unhealthy; but I
state the naked fact, as it appears to me a somewhat singular
circumstance, and leave it to pathologists to argue upon."
Perhaps too large a portion of this report has already been
occupied with extracts and statements relative to the health
of cities, as connected with sanitary measures; but as the
Sewerage Law and public expectation look for a great deal to




85
be accomplished in the way of freeing Chicago from preventable diseases, by the simple construction and operation of
sewers, it is not necessary to apologize for dwelling upon the
very subject which gave birth to that law, and which lends to
public opinion the force requisite to carry it out.
It will be seen that far too much may be expected from
sewerage alone. It is indeed a very important and essential
link in the chain of sanitary improvement, but only a link.
A city may have no sewers; yet if it has a sufficiently undulating surface to drain off rain water, and all accumulations
of filth are prevented, or speedily removed, it may escape an
outbreak of cholera, as was the case in Baltimore, in 1849,
when there was most undoubted proof of the presence
of this epidemic in and about that city; and yet Baltimore
was severely visited by the same scourge in 1832. On the
other hand, places may escape cholera when unprovided with
sewerage, and suffer from it, after being sewered, as was the
case with Sandgate in England, which during the first visits
of cholera, had only surface drainage, and escaped, hut after
being provided with sewers it suffered severely. The sewers
however were found to be defective, and some think this was
the cause of the epidemic, while others believe the outbreak
would have occurred had there been no sewers.
A city may have the most complete system of sewerage
it is possible for man to devise, and it may be maintained in
the most perfect order, yet if not accompanied by the prompt
removal of all decaying substances from houses and lots, and
the frequent and faithful scavenging of streets and other
thoroughfares, it would be difficult to appreciate its beneficial
effects in a sanitary point of view. If streets are permitted
to remain filthy for weeks and months at a time, and open
ditches become the receptacles for garbage and kitchen
refuse, exposed to the action of a hot sun, equally long, it is
idle to expect sewers to avert the natural consequences of
such a state of things.
As a striking instance of the false security that may be
felt in consequence of having carried out needed and




86
undoubtedly beneficial sanitary improvements, the following
extract is made from page 226 of the third edition of Dr.
EDW. H. BARTON'S " Cause and Prevention of Yellow Fever:"
" Norfolk was once one of the sickliest cities on the
sea-board, and frequently subject to yellow  fever.  By
draining, paving, and filling up of her low lots, the collecting
reservoiir of humid filth of all kinds, she has ultimately
become entirely salubrious. From a letter from Dr. UPSHUR,
with which I have been favored, I quote freely. He says:'Many years ago, miasmatic fever was a very common
disease in Norfolk, during the autumnal months. No case,
however, originated in the paved parts of the town.
"'Within the last five years a vast amount of paving has
been done, and we now have very little intermittent or
remittent fever. Indeed, our sanitary condition has improved
pari passu with the paving of streets, filling up of lots, and
increased attention to the cleanliness of our streets, and
other sanitary regulations; so that from having been the
most unhealthy of the southern ports, our city has of late
become a proverb for its healthiness. Our mortality averages
only twenty per month, out of a population of'sixteen
thousand,' which is only one and a half per cent., or fifteen
in a thousand, which, if true, exceeds that of any town of
its size, either on the sea-board or in the interior, and confessedly wrought from being one of the sickliest, by sanitary
regulations.'"
The above extract appears to have been written in 1854.
It is well known that, the very next year the most alarming
outbreak of yellow fever ever heard of in our country occurred
in Norfolk. The committee of six physicians, appointed by
the council to investigate the cause and origin of the fever,
state, in their report, that out of a population reduced from
its ordinary number to 8,000 or 10,000, by flight, there were
about as many cases of sickness, and 2,000 deaths; that
very few deaths took place among the blacks, while, among
the whites, more than one in three became victims of the
pestilence. One of their conclusions is this:
"That the city, if not in as good sanitary condition as




87
could have been desired, was probably in as good order as
most towns of the same size, and certainly as clean as it had
been for the last twenty-nine years, during which we had the
fever but once. There had been no recent filling up, and no
excavation for gas or water pipes, etc. During the progress
of the epidemic, the cleanest, dryest and best ventilated
places enjoyed no greater exemption than the dirtiest and
most crowded; which would not have been the case, if the
disease were owing to the decomposition of'animal and
vegetable matter."
Conclusions with reference to the Chica,go Sewerage.
After having presented, without intentional bias towards
the views of any theory in matters of sewerage, such information obtained abroad as seemed necessary to give an outline of what is done and believed in Europe in regard to this
subject, it remains for me to make an application. of it to our
own city.
One of the questions that troubled me very much before
visiting the old world, was that of pipe sewers. The General
Board of Health of Great Britain, as already mentioned, had
recommended them to an extent never heard of before, completely revolutionizing the opinions relative to sewerage that
had previously obtained; while the most experienced members of the engineering profession objected strenuously to so
radical a change. As only the continued satisfactory working of any new system, after it has been carried out, can
convince the public of the correctness of the views of its
projectors, it was natural that in this case, both parties should
appeal to actual results, to sustain their theories, and as a
consequence, we have had most conflicting accounts of what
those results were. Under such circumstances it is very difficult to satisfy others, or even one's self, where the exact
truth lies; but the effect of observation and inquiry abroad,




88
and of our short experience here since laying the first pipe
sewers, shows that we have pursued a safe course, and that
it would not be advisable to change in this respect for the
future. In consequence of the slight declivity we have for
the pipe sewers-only I in 500-we took unusual precautions
to avoid failure, or the necessity for digging up streets to remove obstructions from the pipes. These precautions consisted in having the pipes laid as carefully as possible to the
required inclination, making the joints with hydraulic cement,
and placing man-holes at distances rarely exceeding one hundred feet apart. These man-holes are circular wells, 3 feet
in diameter, curbed with brick 4 inches thick, laid in cement,
and covered with wood, which, in the present state of our
streets, is not only a very economical, but suitable material.
The slight depth, seldom as yet over 8 feet, at which the pipe
sewers are placed below the surface, makes the cost of the
man-holes slight. We find upon actual trial, that where the
pipe sewers receive the rain water from all the houses on
each side, they keep clean, without ever flushing; where a
large portion of the rain water is not let into them, they can
be flushed clean with a hose from the fire hydrants; and
where there is very little or no rain water let into them, it
is necessary sometimes to stir up deposits by a hoe and jointed
rods while flushing. In no case has any matter remaining in
the public sewers caused inconvenience to private individuals,
or rendered it necessary to dig up the streets. It would be
presumptuous to say that such never will be the case; but we
have great reason to believe that it will very rarely occur.
Complaints have been made from time to time, by individuals, that not only the pipe but the brick sewers were stopped
up, and their premises flooded in consequence.  Whenever
such complaints have been made, we have always examined
the sewers and drains, and have, in every instance, found the
house drain obstructed by substances which it is unlawful or
improper to put into them, such as sand, shavings, sticks, coal,
bones, rags, garbage, or grease, which, though fluid when in
a hot state, soon cools in the drains and closes them up,
gradually, but certainly.




89
Whenever the rain spouts are all properly connected with
the pipe sewers, judging from past experience, they will cause
very little trouble or expense to keep them in order. The
greatest, in fact the only important, item of expense incurred
thus far, in keeping the pipe sewers clean, has been the removal of quicksand from them in some parts of the city,
especially near the lake. Parties digging cellars in such
localities have been very much troubled with water, and in
order to get rid of it, have sometimes let it rush into their
drains so rapidly, as to carry sand into the sewers. Though
generally done through carelessness, to a certain extent, this
is perhaps unavoidable; and in most cases; the parties who
do so are willing to pay the expense of removing the sand.
Another question that perplexed me, was the expediency
of placing the sewers generally one to two feet lower than
we were doing; which, in the estimation of some who had
lived long in Chicago, and had observed the general height of
water in the lake, should be done. Nothing which I saw or
learned abroad justifies the laying of sewers so low as to have
back water constantly in them; and the high water of the
past year, shows that our principal ones are already. full low
enough; for it has been difficult to flush or cleanse them near
their outlets, except at favorable times, that is, during the
prevalence of southerly winds.
With regard to the form, sizes, and mode of constructing
our brick sewers, which were arranged with reference to the
peculiar circumstances of Chicago, no change seems advisable. The circular form is certainly the most economical for
the same strength and capacity, and when half filled or
more, discharges more efficiently than any other. The eggshape, however, has other advantages, as already mentioned.
The English make their catch-basins and gully-traps much
smaller, and consequently less expensive, than those of this
country generally are. Ours are similar, but rather smaller,
than those of New York, Philadelphia and Boston. There




90
is a necessity for the American being larger than the English,
especially in our northern cities. We are troubled with ice
and snow much more than they; are. With such frosts and
ice as we have, moveable traps near the surface, like those of
Carlisle for instance, would be exceedingly troublesome.
With unpaved streets, and the imperfect scavenging practiced
in our cities, the amount of earth and other solid matter that
would flow into small catch-basins like the English, would
render them useless in a single heavy storm. The Carlisle
gully-trap holds less than a cubic foot, while about thirty cubic
feet have entered one of our catch-basins, during two storms
that occurred within a week of each other. See Plate 1II.
It was hoped that valuable information relative to water
closets might be obtained, but in this respect, too, owing to
the great difference of climate, our own experience is worth
more to us than that of the English. They have found that
except in well regulated families, a water closet is liable to
become a greater nuisance than an ordinary privy. The experience of Glasgow in this respect, already mentioned, probably corresponds with that of most other large cities.
With regard to flushing sewers, the provisions made in our
plan for effecting this, appear to me to be very abundant.
In fact the little trouble we have had with what comes from
house drains, including water-closets, where the rain spouts
have been generally connected with the sewers, shows that
there is a probability of our not being obliged to resort to so
expensive a system as the plan provides for, that is, one that
furnishes a constant stream through the sewers. As a matter
of necessity, owing to the want of funds, nothing has been
done yet, towards constructing the flushing engines, or laying
the pipes from them, and we have thus been obliged to ascertain what trouble there is in getting along without them; and
it has been found that by using hydrant water a few times a
year, the sewers can be kept in a very good state, sufficiently
so it is believed for all necessary purposes. The system of
pumping up a constant supply of water for flushing, separate




91
from the Water Works, was recommended, to meet the objections that would naturally, and with good reason, be made to
sewers of such little inclination as ours, and it may be necessary to resort to it yet; but the experience of the past year
justifies me in recommending that it be put off for a year or
two at least; and that in the meanwhile, so much of the interest on the estimated cost of the flushing works as may be
necessary, be paid to the Water Board.
The experience of the cities of the old world, with regard
to discharging the contents of sewers into their rivers and
harbors, attracted much of my attention, and led me to review with care and anxiety the views upon which our plan is
based.
The whole of the London sewage is emptied into the
Thames, and although this great metropolis boasts of a more
favorable rate of mortality than any other large city can
show, the condition of their river has been a subject of much
complaint for many years, and various schemes have been
devised for removing the nuisance. As these have already
been described, or alluded to, under the heads of " London "
and " disposal of sewage," no further mention will be made
of them here. The similarity and the difference of situation
between London and Chicago, should be understood, however.
The Thames averages, through the metropolis, about 1,000 feet
in width. The tide rises there about 20 feet. At low water
extensive portions of the bed of the river are exposed, and
a rapid current up and down caused by the tide, stirs up the
foul deposits necessarily found in such localities in the midst
of so large a population. In Chicago, we have a river of
only one-sixth the average width of the Thames, but with an
average depth of 13 feet, which from one year's end to
another seldom varies 2 feet from the average, and ordinarily
not one. We have no tide, and usually a very feeble current,
which, owing to the effect of winds on the lake, is quite
often reversed. This keeps up a slight, but almost constant
change in the river. This change is also assisted by the natural flow from the area drained by the river, and by the leak



92
age and waste-water from the canal, when it is not necessary
to supply the summit level by pumping from the river; so that
offensive smells from the river are rare, except when propellers stir up the bottom near the shores. During the last
two years there has been very little or no complaint from this
cause.
As yet most of the sewers of Paris empty into the Seine,
which varies very much between high and low water; but.
not being a tidal river there, its time of low water naturally
comes during the warmest months, when large portions of its
bed on either side are frequently exposed to the action of the
sun and winds. It was found that the sewage of the city,
though containing a very small amount of excrementitious
matter, compared with that of London, became exceedingly
offensive in dry, warm weather; hence the cause of commencing the system of intercepting sewers, already described under
the head of Paris.
The sewers of Glasgow discharge their contents into the
Clyde, and have produced a nuisance, which, together with
proposed schemes for removing it, will be found mentioned
under the head of Glasgow. The Clyde is a tidal river, but
was formerly much narrower there than it is now. The
present harbor of Glasgow has been obtained by widening
and deepening the river, at a cost of about $10,000,000, and
can only be maintained in its present state, by dredging and
at great expense. This expense, however, is small, compared
with the importance of a good harbor to so populous and
flourishing a city.
No one of these great cities furnishes an exact criterion by
which to judge of the effect of discharging the sewage of
Chicago into our river and branches; and yet their experience leads me to fear we may yet, like them, conclude that it
will be necessary to keep it out. Our plan is based upon the
supposition that the natural state of the river during the
summer months will require artificial aid to keep it in a
healthy state, and therefore provides for driving fresh water
into the upper portion. of the south branch from the lake.
The question then arises, what should be done in case this




93
provision should prove inadequate?  Should it prove so,
Chicago will be in as good a position, all things considered,
as either London, Paris or Glasgow, to construct intercepting
sewers, and discharge all its sewage into the lake, at some point
in the south part of the city. Nothing we have done so far, and
nothing we intend to do would interfere with a perfect system
of intercepting sewers. Such a scheme seems to me the most
feasible one within the power of the city to carry out for
freeing the river; and appears to be liable to but two objections. The first is probable cost, which, however, ought not
to be allowed to stand in the way of what might promote the
public health; the second is, the possibility of creating on
the lake shore as great a nuisance as would be taken from the
river. The experience of Wor-thing, a small watering town
on the southern coast of England, already described in this
report, and of a similar place on the coast near Liverpool,
mentioned to me by Mr. NEWLANDS, of that city, shows that
the mere discharge of filth into the sea gives no security
against its being cast back in a more offensive state than ever,
especially when the prevailing winds are toward the shore.
In such a case the intercepting sewer might be carried two or
three miles further south; but aside from the serious additional expense of such an extension, the nuisance would only
be removed from the many to the few; for no doubt the lake
shore will yet be lined with choice residences for several
miles south of the present city limits.
The various projects for utilizing the sewage of cities have
already been considered, and the reason for not recommending any steps towards using it for irrigating purposes in our
climate and present state of agriculture, need not be repeated
here. The deodorizing process, in connection with short,
intercepting or collecting sewers, may yet prove to be the
best plan for relieving the river; but it would not be advisable to attempt anything of the kind here, until there shall be
more agreement on the subject, among the English, who have
made such advances already in this direction.
Before deciding upon any course for the future, with regard
to our river, it would be well to consider its condition for a




94
few years past, and thus be able to judge of what it will probably be for a few years to come, if no special means beyond
those already in existence, should be adopted for its relief.
It is remembered by many, that the river became quite offensive about thirteen years since, in consequence of blood and
other refuse from slaughter houses being thrown into it.
Since these substances have been kept out of it, however, the
nuisance has been comparatively slight, and has not increased
perceptibly, notwithstanding the remarkable growth of population, and corresponding increase of sewage discharged into
the river. When the spring freshets scour the river well,
disagreeable smells the next summer are perceptibly less,
than whep there are no spring freshets. For instance, last
year there was little if any complaint from the state of the
river, and yet the amount of sewage discharged into it was
never so great; but the scouring it received, when the snow
and ice passed off in February, was unusually good, making
the channel an average of two feet deeper than it was fifteen
months previous, besides removing the deposit formed during
that time.
Under these circumstances it seems advisable to do nothing
with regard to relieving the river at present, nor towards
carrying out that portion of the plan which provides for
forcing water from the lake into it, during the summer months.
Should the Canal Company not be obliged to pump enough
during warm weather to keep the river from being offensive,
it is understood that they would pump as much as they could
for a reasonable compensation.  This would furnish some
criterion by which to judge of the probable effect of a still
greater quantity driven in from the lake, according to the
plan. In the estimation of some, no provision is necessary
for relieving the river, while others think that embraced by
the plan would not be sufficient. The thorough cut for a
steamboat canal, to the Illinois river, which the demands of
commerce are calling more and more loudly for, if ever constructed, would give as perfect relief to Chicago, as is proposed for London by the latest intercepting scheme; that is,
it would furnish a constant and abundant stream from the




lake, flowing westwardly throughout the season of navigation,
and consequently during the warm and sickly portion of the
year.
Another, and the only remaining point of importance it
seems desirable to mention, is that of enabling the owners of
property here, to obtain basements or cellars of a satisfactory
height without being obliged to raise the grades of the streets,
as we are now doing in many parts of the city. This was
urged very strongly, in the original planning of our system,
as a reason for laying the sewers low, and pumping up their
contents. While abroad, I neither saw nor heard of a single
city or large town, the sewers of which were placed below
the general level of the principal bodies of water near them,
for the purpose of constructing cellars below such water
level; on the contrary, even when they deemed it best to
pump up the sewage, for the purpose of obtaining greater
declivity, or of draining districts that could not be raised, I
found they were opposed to the construction of such cellars;
and, in some cases, recommended their prohibition by legislative enactments. Their reason was, the certainty of such
sewers being filled to the level of their outlets during heavy
and protracted storms, and the uncertainty of being able to
keep in order the valves, which must be relied upon at such
times, to prevent the cellars from being flooded. But if a
person is sure of being able to keep his valve, whether selfacting or not, in perfect order, it is necessary that his premises should be surrounded by a water-tight wall, otherwise
the carelessness of his neighbor might prove as injurious as
his own.
In preparing the foregoing report, it would have been easy
to extend it to a thousand pages, by drawing from the voluminous sources of information now in your possession. The
difficulty has been to select and condense what seems to have
some present or prospective bearing upon the sewerage of
this city.
Respectfully submitted.
E. S. CHESBROUGH,
Ch. Eng'r Board of Sewerage Com'rs.




52X. D     lMFv




RANELACH
TL I
LIMEKILN DOCK SE'WER
rIMI
KINGS SCH
SAVOY ST. SEWER
p
6
REGENT ST. SEW-ER
LONSDALE SQUARE BRANCH
ell,
777-7
Apple-,                                          A                                                   (o/5
6/'
CAST IRON
SECTIONS -ADOWTVAD 13Y THE AITETROPOIAIAN SElA1"E'R_..'vG'E C01111MISSIOINERS
M; 1.'N4      N') 3.
7,17'w'p
 PIP? P/,/), /J                                       SEWER TO THE MIETROP
KING'S ROAD             PARK PLACE           Ft'J L H
Z:
z
Z:
FR,,OAil SECTION'ci IFBLIS_111ED BY T11E
ME T 11 0 P 0 -L I TAN B 0A:R D OF  _(RKs
T. H'H. M,
PA. W.
_7
PA. L. W.                           2 25
Scab- J _Fttvone iitch 1r Xerfivmv








r~~lW                                PLAN                                                                                                    _
S- fEWUNG                        3W                               LA li  (
UIN-IDER THLE 
TO   THE   END   OF —-----------
------- --- -its  o —~o~ —o —-o —-a
Alrtin- V ew evs   8[3E1
(- dek Bjrp   asint  - 0                                                                                       - - -------------
------------   ------- --- -- ----- - -.  —' —;Y'T  oh"-,ago                                                       --------------               SI,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~1851.                                                                                                 us,       o~~~~~~i,7;t  r ~  P  te~1 e
~~~(CIII L ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C~~~~~reP.F~~~~~~~te
Sty- e,         -...7..
-------    ----------                                        tort,~~~~~ —---- ---—: —--— Fr.'r~~~~~~~e   dr,                                                                                           d:i~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~atdi,- 4 a
C~~~if~~Lati  o!Lr  ianS.erjad~o                                                                        Tha s —o                      I,j~F.~...i~ seii
p....  (indaZP.j.L~C                     /.           -_~  st.
-............w                                                           ia t ~.
i~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~l