Part 59
The other mode of avoiding the formation of mud is the substitution of wooden pavements; of the success of these I have little doubt, though for the present many failures have occurred, either from The foundation not having been truly and firmly laid, or from the blocks of wood not being massive enough. The greatest objection to wood pavements at present is the slipping of the horses, but this I believe might be obviated.
The question, however, at present is to get rid of the street dirt, such as it is; and for that purpose I apprehend it would only be necessary in wet weather during rains that the street-cleaner should sweep the dirt into the kennels, and aid the water by stirring the mud, to carry off the material in a state of diffusion; in dry weather, the opening of pipes with hose attached would serve the same purpose as the rains, and at the same time aid the sewerage at the time most required. After a short but heavy fall of rain, the cleansing effect of the water is fully perceived: and if any means could be devised of saving the rain-water that falls on the houses and in the streets, so as to apply it in considerable quantities at intervals, it is probable that the rain-water would be amply sufficient for all the purposes in question.
I have heard of the plan pursued by the West Middlesex Water Company for cleansing their reservoir at Kensington, at little expense, by diffusing the muddy deposit in water, and allowing it to run off in pipes.
In the city of Guanaxuato in Mexico, a similar mode of cleansing has been long practised; a splendid tank of ample dimensions contains the water used by the inhabitants; the tank is supplied by mountain torrents, which bring down a considerable quantity of mud or silt, and which makes a deposit in the bottom of the tank, which is formed by a fine dam of masonry crossing a narrow valley, and provided with sluices. The rainy season commences in the latter part of June, and a short time previous the ceremony of emptying and cleansing the tank is gone through; a kind of fair and holiday is held on the ground, to which most of the inhabitants resort; the sluices are opened, and as the water recedes, the watermen, boys, and all those who relish the fun, get into the tank and keep stirring up the silt with sticks and spades, &c., and in this manner the mud is annually carried off by the remaining water of the past season, a subsidiary tank serving for use until the principal one is replenished.
By some sort of a similar process it is alleged that much of the mud-banks of the Thames above the bridges have been removed, viz., by the action of the paddle-wheels of the numerous steam-boats running there. Some of the effect observed must be owing to the greater scour of the tides since the removal of Old London-bridge, though some part may also be due to the steam-boats.
For the purpose of giving more aid to the surface-water in cleansing the streets, and at the same time for keeping the footways and houses drier and more free from mud, I should propose (at least as an experiment) a different structure of the carriage-way, viz., to make it incline to a centre kennel, instead of to two side ones. At present, in many places, the centre of the carriage-way is elevated above the level of the shop doors, and at the same time we often find the footway but three inches higher than the kennel; and it is pretty obvious from this arrangement, in dry weather, the dust will blow from the more elevated carriage-way on to the footways, and into the shops and areas; and in wet weather the water and mud being chiefly accumulated in the side gutters, the carriage wheels and horses’ feet will distribute it plentifully on the footways, and not unfrequently on the passengers, and all tending to keep the houses damp and dirty, whereas it is obvious that, was the descent constant from the houses[52] on either side to the centre of the street, these evils would be avoided, and it will be no less evident that all the surface-water flowing to one common channel would possess more force and convenience for running the street dirt into the sewers. I am inclined to believe that the carriage-ways are getting gradually elevated above their proper level, from the contractors for paving not excavating deep enough for the foundation of the pavement.
Annexed is a sketch, showing in juxta-position the form of the street-ways as at present, and as proposed to be; the street is supposed to be a shop-street, 90 feet wide, having two areas of three feet each, two footways of 12 feet, and 60 feet of carriage-way; on the section of the proposed plan a fall of six inches, or 1 in 30, is given from the shop door to the edge of the pavement; there is then a descent by two steps of six inches each to the carriage way; and lastly, a descent of 1 in 30, or of one foot to the kennel in the centre of the carriage-way. The kennel may either be open or covered; if the latter, it must have many gratings. In the city of Mexico the kennel is chiefly in the centre of the street, and covered by large flat stones.
On the proposed plan, if we suppose a step from the foot pavement to the floor of the shop or house, the latter will be elevated about 3 feet above the gutter, whereas at present we often find it not more than six inches, and it will readily be admitted that such a difference in the disposal of the surface-water cannot but keep the houses much drier and more cleanly.
By having one gutter in the centre of the streets instead of two, (one at each side,) we remove two sluggish and inefficient kennels, which are the source of damp to the pavement and to the houses, and we create one which is at a distance and doubly effective.
The subject of street pavements having been introduced as the means of surface-drainage, it may be remarked how difficult it must ever be to keep them in good order so long as they are liable to be broken up whenever water or gas-pipes require altering or repairing, besides the extreme annoyance occasioned during that operation; and though it may not be possible to obviate the inconvenience in all cases, yet I conceive the evil may be reduced to very narrow limits by resorting to system, and I would suggest that under the foot pavements passages should be formed, lined with brick-work or masonry, as a common receptacle for all the water and gas-pipes, having the flagging over the passage so laid as to be easily lifted in case of need, and being provided at intervals with side entrances for inspection and all such repairs as could be effected without raising the flagging. The position of the gas-pipes under the foot-pavement would be convenient for the street and shop lights, and the water-pipes would be then equally so for the use of the houses. But in respect to the sewer of the street, I should propose to place it near the centre of the carriage-way, as more distant from the dwellings, but as equally convenient to both sides of the street. (See the section for new form of carriage-way.)
Having noticed the subject of diminishing the amount of street mud, and of conveying the same into the sewers, as well as that portion of the house filth which it may be practicable to discharge into them, we have next to notice the mode of further disposing of the matter thus lodged in the sewers. The practice has hitherto been (in a great degree) to accumulate the filth in cesspools, and at intervals of five to ten years to open the sewers by breaking into them, or to get access by man-holes left for that purpose, and then drawing out the semiliquid contents of the cesspool by means of a windlass and buckets; but in the Finsbury division the surveyor, Mr. Roe, has had the merit of introducing a very superior, less expensive, and less offensive mode of operation. Finding that the surface-water did not generally enter the sewer in sufficient quantity and with sufficient force to carry off the more solid contents, he contrived, by sluices or flush-gates, to dam up the water to a certain height, and then, by opening the same, to obtain a force of water sufficient for the purpose; and the working of this new plan is said to be highly satisfactory, the filth being prevented accumulating in the sewers, and, as a necessary consequence, then choaking their feeders, the house drains; and in this manner also the filth is removed at less expense, and without any annoyance and noxious effluvia which attend the old practice.
Mr. Roe has adopted also side entrances to the sewers instead of man-holes, for the inspection and repair of the flushing apparatus. The chief expense beyond the first cost of Mr. Roe’s plan is the attendance of a person to open the flush-gates; but it is probable that some contrivance may be found by which the pent-up water on reaching a certain point may be able to open its own gate. It has, however, occurred to me, in respect to this mode of flushing off the filth, that, instead of damming up the water in the sewers, and forming them into reservoirs, the purpose might be more easily and more effectually performed by accumulating the surface-water from the gutters into reservoirs before entering the street or district drains; a greater head, or force of water, might thus be obtained, while the sewers themselves would always be open and free from the obstruction of the sluices and pent-up water.
In respect to the final deposit of the filth of London and other great towns, it does seem a pity that so much valuable manure should be lost to the land, and be discharged into rivers to their contamination and obstruction, if any practicable and innocuous plan can be hit upon to avoid the alternative.
One plan has been suggested of receiving the contents of the sewers into pits, and then by means of steam-power and a sufficient supply of water, forcing the matter of the sewers in a diluted state through iron pipes into the country, and then applying it to irrigate the land in the same liquid state. It would require much calculation to form an accurate estimate of the cost and profit of such an undertaking; but there can be no doubt if the matter was so applied it would prove exceedingly valuable in enriching the land to which it was applied, as we may judge from what has occurred in the vicinity of Edinburgh from a similar kind of irrigation.
At Edinburgh, however, the liquid manure being conveyed from the town for a distance in open ditches or sewers exposed to the sun and atmosphere, it undergoes such a fœtid decomposition as to render the operation no common nuisance to the public. But such effects would not occur (at least, to the same extent) if the matter was conveyed in close pipes with a plentiful effusion of water; and it is known that animal carcases, when kept constantly exposed to fresh supplies of water, do not suffer corrupt decomposition, but are changed into a fatty matter. It seems necessary also that a certain degree of heat and exposure of surface should be present to originate and promote fœtid decomposition, as it is well known that in the pits in Paris, where so many dead bodies were thrown, the result was not a fœtid decomposition, but a change of the animal matter into adipocire, a comparatively inoffensive substance; we may therefore expect that the discharge of the contents of the sewers in pipes, excluded (as they would be) from heat, and copiously charged with water, would be comparatively free from noxious exhalations.
Another plan of reserving the contents of sewers for the purpose of manure would be to continue the sewers to some distance from the town, and then to discharge them into a series of covered catch-pits, allowing the water to filter off after depositing the solid particles; when the first series of pits were deemed sufficiently charged, the sewers might then be discharged into a subsidiary series, until the matter in the first had become sufficiently consistent for cartage. Upon the first plan of proceeding, the liquid manure could only be applied to land quite near at hand, and fit for irrigation; on the second plan the manure might be conveyed to a distance and applied to arable land.
It will be evident the great importance of applying such quantities of manure as the sewers supply to useful purposes, but it is no less evident that no system can be introduced to effect the object until preceded by satisfactory experiments of cost, profit, and efficiency. Some localities might offer facilities for one mode of action, and some for another; and it is much to be desired that parties may be induced to make experiments on both plans; and it is to be noted that though the expense of raising the liquid manure from pits or tanks would be necessary in some cases, yet in many situations no such operation would be necessary.
On the subject of purifying the air of sewers, and of preventing the escape of foul air by any crevices or chinks, I have heard of the ingenious contrivance of erecting a tall chimney and connecting it by a pipe with the crown of a sewer, for the purpose of creating such a draft up the chimney as would occasion an indraft at any leak that might occur in the ramified mass of drains of the district to which the chimney belonged. It appears to me that there are some objections to this plan; but not being acquainted with all the details, I shall avoid entering into any controversy on the subject, further than stating that I should rather propose an opposite process for purifying the air of sewers. I would recommend that they should be kept excluded as much as possible from external heat and ascending columns of air; but at the same time I would endeavour by all means to send down as copious a flow of water as practicable; and in London, though the Thames water may not be proper for domestic purposes, it would be sufficiently pure for watering the streets and cleansing the drains; and the supply being inexhaustible, its application would only be limited by the cost, of steam power and iron pipes.
In conclusion, I have to express my obligations to yourself for the useful hints you have afforded me on several of the subjects above treated of, and to say I shall be happy if any of the observations I have submitted should prove conducive to the ends in view.
I remain, dear Sir, Yours truly, JAMES VETCH.
_Edwin Chadwick, Esq., &c. &c. &c._ London, 1st March, 1842.
6.—_Evidence of_ GEORGE GUTCH, Esq., _District Surveyor, on Shifting and Building of Inferior Tenements in the Suburbs to avoid the Provisions of the Metropolis Building Act_.
Is there any distinction in the character of the buildings built out of the limits of the Metropolitan Building Act, or out of the limits of your own district as surveyor?—Yes; there is a less expensive description of buildings built out of these limits. In the adjoining parish of Kensington, there are tenements run up four stories in height with only a nine-inch wall from the top to the bottom, whereas in any parish under the Building Act the walls of the same description of houses would be required to be 18 inches thick in the basement and 14 inches upwards: this, however, is not a sized house for the occupation of the poorer classes. At the Potteries, Notting Dale, Kensington, however, there is a nest of houses huddled together without party-walls and without drainage; many of them are built of wood and four-inch work, and of such materials as would not be permitted where the Building Act is in force. This is with reference to houses which are contiguous to each other.
Have you not seen instances where sewers are made and drains in action where the state of the premises is nevertheless dangerous?—Yes; only recently the parochial officers of Paddington inspected the workhouses and buildings belonging to the Kensington union, when we found the drains formed but not trapped, and the inmates exposed to the foul air from the drains themselves. I have read Mr. Oldfield’s statement, and I think it very true and very important.
7.—_Estimate by_ MR. HOWELL, _of the Cost of Structural Arrangements of Sewerage, Drainage, Water-tank, and means of House Cleansing for Labourers’ Tenements in the Metropolis_.
FEET £ _s._ _d._
55. Drain and digging, with pantile bottom, three courses high, arched over and cemented 4 2 6 10. Small drain from water pipe 0 10 0 46. Sup. slate slab cistern, 4 ft. by 3 ft. 9, and 2 ft. deep, holding 150 gallons 4 12 0 62. Three-quarter pipe to serve cistern, including joints and fixing 3 2 0 12. Three-quarter pipe to serve yard, including joints and fixing 0 12 0 Two three-quarter cocks—10_s._; one cock-ball and boss—8_s._ 0 18 0 7. Inch standing and under waste 0 10 6 1¾ washer and waste 0 2 6 Pan closet, with basin, &c., complete 3 10 0 Strong D. trap—20_s._, service box—10_s._ 6_d._ 1 10 6 Cover to cistern 0 15 0 —— —— — 20 5 0 Deduct 7½ per cent. if done at contract prices. 1 10 0 —— —— — 18 15 0
From the above estimate the following items should be deducted, as appertaining to the present objectionable system:—
£. _s._ _d._ Cesspool 1 0 0 Root of privy and ceiling 0 15 0 Drain, say 65 ft. 3 5 0 Water butt and stand 1 5 0 Service pipe, 40 ft. 2 0 0 Cock and ball—8_s._; waste pipe—7_s._ 0 15 0 —— —— — 9 0 0 Less 7½ per cent. 0 13 6 —— —— — 8 6 6 —— —— — 13 8 6 —— —— —
8.—_Description or Specification of_ MR. LOUDON’s _Agriculturist Model Cottage_.
The plan and elevation which I have given are intended for an Agricultural labourer in the north of England or in Scotland, where it is customary to have the sleeping room on the ground floor. The walls are supposed to be 18 inches thick, and the roof thatched, as being the warmest covering in a cold bleak country. The front entrance is by a porch, which contains a step-ladder to the garrets, which, being lighted by windows in the gable ends, may be used as sleeping places for grown-up children, while the younger children may sleep below in the same room with their parents. _a_, is the kitchen; _b_, the sleeping room; _c_, the back kitchen; _d_, the pantry; _e_, the dairy, if the occupant should have a cow, which is generally the case with agricultural labourers in Scotland; and _f_, a place for fuel, for poultry, or for a furnace to heat a flue passing under the floors of the two rooms in the direction of the dotted line _g_, the smoke escaping by the upright flue _h_. The highest point of the sleeping-room floor is at _g_, and of the kitchen floor at _i_; the highest point of the pantry floor is at _d_, and of the dairy floor at _e_, and from these four points the floors gradually slope at the rate of 1 inch to 7 feet to the sill of the back kitchen door at _m_, so that no water can stand in any part of these floors; and hence, when they are being washed with a mop in the direction of the slope the water will readily flow towards the back door.
A place for wood or other fuel, or for a pig or rabbits, according to the taste or circumstances of the occupant, is shown at _n_; a privy at _o_; a tank for liquid manure, communicating with the privy, at _p_; and a pit for ashes and solid manure at _q_. Both these pits may have movable roofs.
The surface of the yard slopes from the entrance door _r_, to the liquid manure tank _s_. The back kitchen is entered by one step; the terrace in front at _t_ is entered by three steps, and the door of the porch by a half-step.
The garden is only partially shown, the portion omitted being a parallelogram of sufficient length to constitute the contents of the whole ground allotted to the cottage, one-sixth of an acre. It is surrounded by a hedge, which may be shown architecturally to give an appearance of design and taste on the part of the occupant.
The slope of the terrace may be covered with grass or flowers, strawberries or ivy. The narrow border next the hedge may be planted with flowers, and the larger compartments in front of the porch with gooseberries, raspberries, currants, and dwarf apples. The culinary crops are supposed to be grown in the back compartment, only a portion of which is shown at _w_.
_A B_, is the elevation of the front hedge.
_C D_, a part of the side hedge.
_E F_, a section on the dotted line _E F_, to a double scale.
_G H_, a section on the dotted line _G H_.
The upper part of the drawing is an isometrical view.
9.—_Statement of the Requisites of Cottage Architecture, by_ J. C. LOUDON, _Esq._
The _essential requisites_ of a comfortable labourer’s cottage may be thus summed up:—
1. The cottage should be placed alongside a public road, as being more cheerful than a solitary situation; and in order that the cottager may enjoy the applause of the public when he has his garden in good order and keeping.
2. The cottage should be so placed that the sun may shine on every side of it every day throughout the year, when he is visible. For this reason, the front of the cottage can only be parallel to the public road in the case of roads in the direction of north-east, south-west, north-west, and south-east; in all other cases the front must be placed obliquely to the road, which, as we have previously shown, is greatly preferable to having the front parallel to the road.
3. Every cottage ought to have the floor elevated, that it may be dry; the walls double or hollow, or battened, or not less than eighteen inches thick, that they may retain heat; with a course of slate or flagstone, or tiles bedded in cement, six inches above the surface, to prevent the rising of damp; the roof thick, or double, for the sake of warmth; and projecting eighteen inches or two feet at the eaves, in order to keep the walls dry, and to check the radiation of heat from their exterior surface.
4. In general, every cottage ought to be two stories high, so that the sleeping-rooms may not be on the ground floor; and the ground floor ought to be from six inches to one foot above the outer surface.
5. The minimum of accommodation ought to be a kitchen or living-room, a back kitchen or wash-house, and a pantry, on the ground floor, with three bed-rooms over; or two rooms and a wash-house on the ground floor, and two bed-rooms over.