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  THE
  MUNICIPAL AND SANITARY
  ENGINEER’S HANDBOOK.




  THE
  MUNICIPAL AND SANITARY
  ENGINEER’S HANDBOOK.

  BY

  H. PERCY BOULNOIS, M. INST. C.E.,
  M. SAN. INST. GT. BRITAIN;

  BOROUGH ENGINEER, PORTSMOUTH; LATE CITY SURVEYOR, EXETER;
  AUTHOR OF “DIRTY DUST-BINS AND SLOPPY STREETS,” “ANNIHILATION OF SEWER
  GASES,” ETC.

  “_SALUS POPULI SUPREMA LEX._”

  [Illustration]

  LONDON:
  E. & F. N. SPON, 16, CHARING CROSS.

  NEW YORK:
  35, MURRAY STREET.

  1883.




PREFACE.


In carrying out the many duties devolving upon a Borough Surveyor, it
has so often been my wish to turn to a practical book of reference upon
the many subjects connected with these duties, that I have written the
following pages; and I trust that they will form a useful Handbook.

  H. PERCY BOULNOIS.

  PORTSMOUTH,
  _May, 1883_.




TABLE OF CONTENTS.


  CHAPTER I.
  THE TOWN SURVEYOR.

  Office of surveyor first legalised -- Clause of Public Health Act
  1875, making appointment -- Division of England into districts --
  Surveyor to Rural Authority -- Clauses of Act referring to surveyor --
  Title of “Surveyor” is an erroneous one -- List of subjects on which
  he has often to advise -- Want of Government protection for surveyor
  -- Mr. Lewis Angell on protection -- Reasons for Government refusal --
  Time will effect a change                                       page 1

  CHAPTER II.
  THE APPOINTMENT OF SURVEYOR.

  Sub-committee to fix salary and duties -- Specimen report and list of
  duties -- Test of merit necessary -- Examination by Sanitary Institute
  of Great Britain -- Particulars of these examinations -- Syllabus of
  subjects -- Specimens of examination papers -- Authoritative
  examination, however, still necessary -- Methods to be adopted to
  obtain appointment of surveyor -- Canvassing                        10

  CHAPTER III.
  THE SURVEYOR’S DUTIES.

  Public Health Act and surveyors of highways -- List of duties
  devolving upon surveyor in consequence -- Meetings of boards and
  committees -- List of suitable names for committees -- Punctuality --
  Reports -- Methodical habits                                        20

  CHAPTER IV.
  TRAFFIC.

  Interests involved in construction and maintenance of streets --
  Requirements of a good roadway -- Wearing effect of traffic -- Mr.
  Deacon’s standard -- Effect of horses’ hoofs on roadways -- Remarks on
  shoeing -- Traction on roads -- Tables of resistance -- Forces tending
  to destroy momentum -- Table of tractive force, etc. -- Another table
  giving inclinations -- Proper gradients of roadways -- Table of
  resistance by Crompton -- Wheel resistance -- Mr. Haywood and safety
  of traffic -- Stopping and starting vehicles -- Safe width of roadways
  -- Vehicles and pedestrians passing each other -- Sanctuaries --
  Danger of crossings                                                 25

  CHAPTER V.
  MACADAMISED ROADWAYS.

  Laying out new roads -- Macadamised roads a luxury -- Telford and
  Macadam -- Specification of roadway, fifty years ago -- Modern
  specification of roadway -- Advantages of Telford’s system -- Hard
  core -- Concrete -- Table of depths of materials -- Ellice Clarke’s
  tables of comparative cost -- Further particulars of comparative cost
  -- Streets of Paris -- Cross section of roadway -- Objections to
  macadamised roadways -- Notes on maintenance -- Bituminous roadways 34

  CHAPTER VI.
  ROAD METAL AND BREAKING.

  Test of fitness of stone -- Primary investigations -- Qualities
  necessary -- List of stones used as road metal -- Variety of materials
  used -- Table of comparative efficiency of road metal in France --
  Hand-broken stone -- Gauging the size -- Quantity broken per diem --
  Machines for breaking stones -- Price of machines -- Work effected by
  machinery -- Precautions necessary -- Objections to machinery --
  Weight of broken stone -- Specification for supply of road metal    48

  CHAPTER VII.
  ROAD ROLLING.

  First introduction of rollers -- Mr. Parry on steam rolling -- Cost
  for repairs -- Number of men necessary -- Fuel used -- Other uses for
  engine power -- Spikes for chequering -- Binding material -- Gradients
  -- Work effected -- Description of manner in which roller should be
  applied -- Method adopted in the United States -- Use of roller for
  repairs of roads -- Method adopted at Gloucester -- Effect of weight
  of roller on roads -- Advantages of steam rolling -- Mr. Paget on
  rolling -- Disadvantages of steam rolling -- Horse rollers          60

  CHAPTER VIII.
  PITCHED PAVEMENTS.

  Economy under heavy traffic -- Noise and slipperiness -- Improvements
  effected -- Size of setts -- Description of best class of stones --
  Mr. Walker and wear of stones -- The Euston pavement -- The Guidet
  paving -- Manchester pavement -- Concrete foundations -- Grouting --
  Bituminous mixture -- Stone tram-tracks                             73

  CHAPTER IX.
  WOOD PAVING.

  First introduced into metropolis -- Improvements since -- List and
  description of many various modern methods -- Sanitary objections to
  wood pavement -- Power of absorption of wood -- Preserving processes
  -- Wear of wood paving -- Different estimates of life -- Woods
  employed -- Advantages of this description of paving -- Objections to
  it -- Cost of wood pavement -- Tables of cost and life --
  Specification of wood pavement                                      81

  CHAPTER X.
  COMPRESSED ASPHALTE ROADWAYS.

  Description of asphalte -- Mr. Deland’s test -- Percentage of bitumen
  necessary -- Method of construction of compressed asphalte roadway --
  Advantages of this description of pavement -- Objections to it on
  account of slipperiness -- Gradient -- Cost of asphalte pavement --
  Tables on the subject -- Specifications for a compressed asphalte
  roadway -- Other descriptions of asphalte roadways -- Hints on the
  success or the reverse of asphalte roadways                         96

  CHAPTER XI.
  FOOTPATHS.

  Foundation -- List of materials for footpaths -- Mastic asphalte --
  Description of manner of laying -- Proportions of asphalte, bitumen,
  and grit -- Yorkshire flagging -- Specification for York flagging --
  Caithness flagging -- Its advantages -- Blue lias flagging -- Concrete
  footpaths -- Description of American concrete path -- Artificial stone
  pavements -- Brick footpaths -- Granite slabs -- Artificial asphalte
  paths -- Specification of tar pavement -- American tar pavement --
  Gravel footpaths -- Sections of paths -- Tarred paths              106

  CHAPTER XII.
  KERBING AND CHANNELLING, ETC.

  Necessity for kerb -- Section of granite kerb and channel -- Setting
  kerb -- Cost of kerb and channelling -- Necessity for gutter or
  channel crossings -- Gully gratings -- Objects to be attained --
  Drawing of a gully-pit -- Drawing of a buddle-hole -- Mr. Baldwin
  Latham on the subject                                              123

  CHAPTER XIII.
  LIGHTING STREETS.

  Gas v. Electricity -- Public Health Act on lighting -- Different hours
  at which public gas lamps are lighted -- Hints for a contract with a
  gas company -- Supply by meter -- Objections to meters -- Regulators
  -- Lamp-posts -- Lanterns -- Burners -- Numbering lamps -- Formula for
  determining distance of lamps -- M. Servier on spreading light
  uniformly -- Tables of different lights -- Points to be considered in
  public lighting by electricity -- Motive power required -- Machinery
  necessary -- Regulations as regards fire risks -- Lamps -- Value of
  electric light -- Difficulty of photometrical measurement -- Cost of
  electric light -- Mr. Shoolbred’s tables -- Comparative cost on Thames
  embankment -- Value of these investigations -- Acme of all lighting
                                                                     129

  CHAPTER XIV.
  STREET NAMING AND NUMBERING.

  Necessity of naming and numbering streets -- Public Health Act on the
  subject -- Different methods of naming -- Minton’s china letters --
  Cast iron plates -- Painted names -- Enamelled iron -- Wooden figures
  -- Enamelled glass tablets -- Size of letters -- Association of names
  -- Methods of numbering -- Forms of notice to number               149

  CHAPTER XV.
  BREAKING-UP STREETS.

  The law on the subject -- Water Works Clauses Act, 1847 --
  Consideration of the clauses -- What is meant by “plan” -- Specimen of
  specification or plan -- Damage caused to roads by opening them --
  Private individuals breaking-up streets -- Clauses of the Public
  Health Act -- Telegraphs Act, 1863 -- Clauses of this Act --
  Advantages and disadvantages of subways -- Power of individuals to
  open streets for drains -- Clauses of the Public Health Act on the
  subject -- Uncertainty on the subject -- Forms of notices necessary --
  Customs prevailing in different towns                              157

  CHAPTER XVI.
  OBSTRUCTIONS IN STREETS.

  List of subjects discussed -- Improving line of frontages -- Assessing
  value of compensation -- Removing projections of buildings -- What are
  legal projections? -- Doors or gates opening outwards -- Forms of
  notice necessary -- Vaults or cellar coverings -- Forms of notice
  necessary -- Advantages of an “Easement book” -- Rain water from
  shutes or down pipes -- Form of notice necessary -- Blinds or awnings
  over paths -- Trees overhanging roadways -- Form of notice necessary
  -- Surface water from premises -- Hoardings and scaffolds -- Dangerous
  Buildings -- Tall chimney shafts -- Dangerous rock -- Forms of notice
  necessary -- Temporary obstructions                                174

  CHAPTER XVII.
  IMPROVEMENT OF PRIVATE STREETS.

  The 150th section of the Public Health Act -- Criticisms of this
  section -- Duties of the surveyor in connection with it -- Specimen
  forms of notices -- Carrying out the work -- Taking over private
  streets -- Agreement to take over a road -- What is a “road”? -- Legal
  definition of the term street                                      193

  CHAPTER XVIII.
  NEW STREETS AND BUILDINGS.

  Important duty of surveyor -- Clauses of the Public Health Act --
  Model bye-laws -- What is a new building? -- The term “ground floor”
  -- Alteration of existing buildings -- Deposit of plans -- Clauses of
  the Public Health Act -- Clauses necessary in the bye-laws with regard
  to deposit -- Form of notice in respect of deposit of plans --
  Suggestions for town surveyor in connection with this duty and
  examination of plans -- Supervision of buildings in course of erection
  -- Stringency of bye-laws -- Protection of life from fire necessary --
  Party walls through roofs -- Space at back -- Fee for inspection   206

  CHAPTER XIX.
  SCAVENGING.

  The Public Health Act on the subject -- List of duties involved by the
  clauses of the Act -- What is house refuse? -- Removal of trade or
  garden refuse -- Position of dust bin -- Objections to fixed bin --
  Different methods of collection of refuse -- Public dust bins -- House
  to house call -- Receptacles brought out into streets -- Carts
  employed for scavenging -- Life and cost of wooden carts -- Improved
  sanitary carts -- Disposal of refuse -- Methods adopted in various
  towns -- Destruction by fire -- Cleansing of streets -- Machinery v.
  hand labour -- Durability of brooms -- Scavenging at Liverpool --
  Quantity of material removed from roads -- Cleansing private courts
  and alleys -- Removal of snow -- Mr. Hayward on the subject --
  Clarke’s apparatus -- Hints on removal of snow -- Street watering --
  Several methods described -- Brown’s system -- Mr. Parry on hand-
  watering -- Headley’s machine -- Street watering in Paris -- Bayley’s
  Hydrostatic Van -- Mr. Scott on watering and stand-pipes -- Advantage
  of using disinfectant with water -- Cost of scavenging, &c. -- Heads
  for a contract -- Administration of work without intervention of
  contractor the best                                                221

  CHAPTER XX.
  SEWERAGE.

  Public Health Act on the subject -- Definition of sewer -- Definitions
  of sewerage and sewage -- Requirements of good system of sewerage --
  Position of sewers should be at back of houses -- Form of notice to
  carry sewer through private lands -- Hints for carrying out sewerage
  -- Stamford’s joint -- Pipe sewers -- Drawing of various pipes --
  Causes of breakage -- Causes of chokage -- Separate system --
  Advantages of partial separation -- List of different methods of
  sewerage -- Dry systems                                            251

  CHAPTER XXI.
  SEWAGE DISPOSAL.

  Magnitude of question -- Interception -- List of methods of disposal
  -- Tidal outfalls -- Broad irrigation -- Crops for sewage --
  Intermittent filtration -- Action of earth on sewage -- Mechanical
  subsidence -- Artificial filters -- Screening -- Precipitation -- List
  of chemical processes -- List of chemical ingredients -- Disposal of
  sludge -- Effect of plants on sewage                               263

  CHAPTER XXII.
  VENTILATION OF SEWERS.

  Duty of dealing with noxious sewer vapours -- Germ theory and open
  ventilation -- Open shafts and objections to them -- Shafts against
  dwellings -- Use of rainwater pipes -- Use of lamp posts -- Charcoal
  trays -- Use of chimney shafts -- Lofty shafts -- Failure of furnaces
  -- List of methods tried -- Annihilation of sewer gas -- Composition
  of sewer gas -- Direction of flow -- Importance of disconnecting house
  drains                                                             271

  CHAPTER XXIII.
  PUBLIC CONVENIENCES.

  Clause of Public Health Act empowering their erection -- Selection of
  site -- Construction of Urinals -- Why iron is preferable --
  Description of urinals -- Public w. c. accommodation -- Description of
  a simple w. c. -- Jennings and Macfarlane for urinals              280

  CHAPTER XXIV.
  ARTIZANS AND LABOURERS’ DWELLINGS.

  The Act of 1868 -- Mode of procedure under it -- Amendment of Act in
  1879 -- Further amendment in 1882 -- Importance of this amendment --
  Act of 1875 for improvement of dwellings of working classes -- Mode
  of procedure under it -- Amended by Act of 1879 -- Further amended,
  1882 -- Duties of surveyor under these acts -- Health of model
  dwellings -- Description of industrial dwellings -- Labouring classes’
  Lodging Houses Acts -- Copy of bye-laws under them -- Table of sizes
  of rooms                                                           284

  CHAPTER XXV.
  DEFECTS IN DWELLING-HOUSES, ETC.

  Cellar dwellings -- Clauses of the Public Health Act on the subject --
  Insufficient w. c. accommodation -- Clauses on the subject -- Forms of
  notice to be served -- W. C. accommodation for factories -- Houses
  without a proper supply of water -- Clauses on the subject -- Mode of
  procedure -- Disadvantages of cistern storage                      295

  CHAPTER XXVI.
  HOUSE DRAINAGE.

  Definition of drain -- Difficulty of always deciding what is a drain
  -- Duties of surveyor in connection with house drainage -- Inspection
  of new drains -- Form of “regulations” necessary by a local authority
  -- Difficulty of efficient inspection -- Drains of new buildings --
  Inspection of defective drains -- Several clauses of the Public Health
  Act on the subject -- Procedure necessary to carry them out -- List of
  a few requirements of good house drainage -- Necessity of register of
  all house drains                                                   303

  CHAPTER XXVII.
  PUBLIC PLEASURE GROUNDS AND STREET TREES.

  Law empowering acquisition and maintenance of parks, &c. -- Duties of
  surveyor in connection therewith -- Public playgrounds -- A few hints
  -- List of a few useful shrubs -- Trees in gales -- Planting trees at
  sides of streets -- Qualities necessary in trees for this purpose --
  List of suitable trees -- Precautions necessary -- Grating and grill
  -- Description of Paris planting -- Cost of trees in Paris -- Damage
  to street trees                                                    318

  CHAPTER XXVIII.
  PUBLIC ABATTOIRS.

  Necessity and law for their establishment -- Defects of private
  slaughter-houses -- Legal powers to close private slaughter-houses --
  Particulars of London private slaughter-houses -- Site of public
  abattoir -- The Manchester abattoir -- Accommodation necessary --
  Lairs and pens -- The killing-house -- Floor, drainage, rings, pole-
  axe, lighting, &c. -- Machinery for hoisting -- Plans of public
  abattoir -- Condemned meat department -- Pig-killing department --
  Blood-house -- Tripery -- Tallow market -- Other accommodation -- Dr.
  Chancellor on slaughter-houses -- Difference between public and
  private slaughter-houses                                           328

  CHAPTER XXIX.
  MARKETS.

  Law authorizing their establishment -- Site for a cattle market --
  Accommodation necessary -- Paving -- Cattle enclosures -- Sheep pens
  -- Dimensions of pens and lairs -- Weighing machine -- Markets for
  general merchandise -- List of requirements -- A few hints on their
  accommodation                                                      344

  CHAPTER XXX.
  CEMETERIES.

  The surveyor’s duties in connection with these -- Some legal points to
  be remembered -- Selection of site on sanitary grounds -- Mr. Eassie
  on soils -- Dr. Parsons on requirements of cemeteries -- Unsuitability
  of clay soil -- Amount of land necessary -- Points to be considered in
  laying out a cemetery -- Division of cemetery -- Description of
  sections -- Cemetery rules and regulations -- Suitable trees for
  cemeteries -- Regulations by Secretary of State, 1863 -- Cremation --
  Its great advantages over burial -- Area of some existing cemeteries
  -- Necessity for reliable information as to causes of death        350

  CHAPTER XXXI.
  MORTUARIES.

  Evils arising from keeping corpses -- Some clauses of the Public
  Health Act on the subject -- List of different descriptions of
  mortuaries -- A German Leichenhaus -- Requirements of a mortuary --
  The chapel -- The dead-house -- The post-mortem room -- The coroner’s
  court -- Other accommodation necessary -- Plan of a model mortuary --
  Disinfection -- Apparatus necessary -- Dr. Ransom’s machine --
  Fetching infected clothing                                         365

  CHAPTER XXXII.
  BORROWING UNDER THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD.

  Clauses of the Public Health Act -- Stimulus to public works -- List
  of time for which money can be borrowed -- Mr. Rawlinson on procedure
  and plans, &c., necessary -- Responsibility of Local Government Board
  -- Captain Galton on Government responsibility                     375

  CHAPTER XXXIII.
  CONTRACTS.

  Clauses of Public Health Act -- Public contracts different from
  private ones -- Specifications necessary -- Conclusion -- A list of
  useful books                                                       381




  MUNICIPAL
  AND
  SANITARY ENGINEERS’
  HANDBOOK.




CHAPTER I.

THE TOWN SURVEYOR.


The office of town surveyor was first legalised by the Towns Improvement
Clauses Act 1847 (10 & 11 Vic. c. 34, s. 7),[1] although for some
considerable period prior to this date similar appointments had been
made in several of the more important English towns, notably in the case
of Liverpool. In the following year the legal office of surveyor was
confirmed by the Public Health Act 1848 (11 & 12 Vic. c. 63, s. 37), and
it is now law under the Public Health Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55):
that comprehensive statute, under which all Sanitary Acts are now
included, and which Act will be frequently alluded to in the course of
this book.

The clause which specially refers to the appointment of the surveyor is
as follows:--

“Every urban authority shall from time to time appoint fit and proper
persons to be medical officer of health, surveyor, inspector of
nuisances, clerk, and treasurer: Provided that if any such authority is
empowered by any other Act in force within their district to appoint
any such officer, this enactment shall be deemed to be satisfied by the
employment under this Act of the officer so appointed, with such
additional remuneration as they think fit, and no second appointment
shall be made under this Act. Every urban authority shall also appoint
or employ such assistants, collectors, and other officers and servants
as may be necessary and proper for the efficient execution of this Act,
and may make regulations with respect to the duties and conduct of the
officers and servants so appointed or employed . . .” (38 & 39 Vic. c.
55, s. 189), and these officers (except the medical officer of health
and the inspector of nuisances, when any portion of their salary is paid
out of moneys voted by Parliament _to the powers of the Local Government
Board_), may be removed by the urban authority at their pleasure, which
was not the case when the appointment was first made in 1847.

Here it is necessary to state that for sanitary purposes England and
Wales are divided into two divisions--viz. urban sanitary districts and
rural sanitary districts, the former of these divisions being further
subdivided into boroughs, where the urban sanitary authority is the
mayor, aldermen, and burgesses acting by the council, and districts,
which are under the authority of improvement commissioners or local
boards; the rural sanitary districts are the areas of unions not
included in urban districts, and they are under the authority of the
guardians of the union.

It is my intention to deal more particularly with the duties of a
surveyor acting under an urban authority, but the following section of
the Public Health Act 1875 relates apparently to the appointment of a
surveyor to a rural authority, although no mention is made in this or
any other clause of the Act directly of such an officer by name, except
that amongst the definitions of the Public Health Act the following
appears:--

“‘Surveyor’ includes any person appointed by a rural authority to
perform any of the duties of surveyor under this Act” (38 & 39 Vic. c.
55, s. 4).

The clause I have above referred to is as follows:--

“Every rural authority shall from time to time appoint fit and proper
persons to be medical officer or officers of health and inspector or
inspectors of nuisances; they shall also appoint such assistants and
other officers and servants as may be necessary and proper for the
efficient execution of this Act . . .” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 190).

The following clauses apply to officers of rural as well as urban
authorities:--

“The same person may be both surveyor and inspector of nuisances . . .”
(38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 192).

“Officers or servants appointed or employed under this Act by the local
authority shall not in any wise be concerned or interested in any
bargain or contract made with such authority for any of the purposes of
this Act . . .” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 193).

“Before any officer or servant of a local authority enters on any office
or employment under this Act by reason whereof he will or may be
entrusted with the custody or control of money, the local authority by
whom he is appointed shall take from him sufficient security for the
faithful execution of such office or employment and for duly accounting
for all moneys which may be entrusted to him by reason thereof” (38 & 39
Vic. c. 55, s. 194).

In addition to these clauses there are several regulating the receipt of
money by officers, but these should not affect the town surveyor.
Although in many places he has the onerous duty of paying workmen,
certifying tradesmen’s accounts, and other financial transactions, he
ought under no circumstances to have anything to do with the receipt of
money. Unfortunately, in some of the smaller towns the surveyor is also
employed as rate collector; but as this is evidently a very improper
proceeding, I shall not further allude to it in any manner.

It will be observed that in the foregoing clauses of the Public Health
Act the word “surveyor” is always used, and thus this is the legal title
of those holding such appointments. It is obvious, however, that,
although this title may have well suited the office up to the year 1847,
when it was made the legal title, the prodigious growth of municipal
work during the last 35 years has made it necessary that some change
should be made, and the title altered to that of “engineer,” or some
other similar suitable name. At the present time several different
meanings and occupations are attached to the word “surveyor,” as the
following list will show:--“land surveyor,” “district surveyor,” “county
surveyor,” “road surveyor,” “surveyor of taxes,” “surveyor of customs,”
“quantity surveyor,” “fire insurance surveyor,” “Lloyd’s surveyor,” and
a still more curious instance where an urban authority is itself dubbed
“surveyor of highways” by the 144th section of the Public Health Act
1875; and the title of town surveyor as now applied cannot but lead to
confusion and to perfectly erroneous impressions as to his work and
duties.

Dr. Ackland, in a paper read before the Association of Municipal and
Sanitary Engineers and Surveyors, at a district meeting held at Oxford,
makes the following remarks on this point:--“In the Public Health Act
1875 (the summary of all health enactments) the name of ‘engineer’ does
not once occur in the 343 clauses. He is still the old ‘surveyor’ we all
remember, the plodding, energetic man of highways and byeways . . . but
then the surveyor of the present day may be called on to advise on
anything, from the form and cost of an earthen syphon trap to the
calculation of work to be done by engines which are to supply half a
million of persons with water; to be responsible for the construction of
sanitary mechanisms, from a housemaid’s sink to an intermittent downward
filtration farm.”

There can be but little doubt that it is absolutely necessary for the
town surveyor of the present day to be a competent civil engineer of
great knowledge and varied experience, for he may at any moment be
called upon to advise his corporation upon any of the following
subjects, or to act in any one of the following capacities, in addition
to the multifarious ordinary duties legally devolving upon him as
surveyor under the Sanitary Acts:--

(1.) As engineer for sewerage and sewage works.

(2.) As engineer for water and gas works.

(3.) As engineer for canals, docks, harbour improvements, and river
navigation, or for the protection of coasts against the encroachments of
the sea, and the prevention of floods by rivers.

(4.) As engineer for the construction and maintenance of roads and
bridges.

(5.) As engineer for the construction and maintenance of lines of
tramways.

(6.) As architect for the construction of lunatic asylums, municipal
offices, hospitals, abattoirs, mortuaries, baths and wash-houses,
cemetery chapels, stables, police stations, and other similar works.

(7.) As landscape gardener for the laying out of public recreation
grounds, parks, and cemeteries.

(8.) As quantity surveyor to make estimates of all works, and often
(very improperly) to furnish bills of quantities to intending
contractors.

(9.) As surveyor and valuer to advise his employers on the values, &c.,
of corporate or other property.

(10.) As land surveyor to make surveys of any size that may be required.

(11.) As accountant to examine and rectify the workmen’s wages sheets,
and all tradesmen’s accounts for work performed or goods supplied.

The foregoing list is no exaggeration of the onerous duties of the town
surveyor, and it seems to be a grievous mistake that this officer, whose
importance in all practical sanitary work cannot be over-stated (as
without him no useful municipal work could go on) has been left
unprotected by the Public Health Act of 1875.

In that Act both the medical officer of health and the inspector of
nuisances have received Government protection, whereas the surveyor, the
very officer of all others who necessarily is more likely to come into
collision and to be unpopular with his employers in the faithful
discharge of his duties, has been afforded no protection whatever, but
has been left to the tender mercies of an annually changing body of
municipal governors, “to be removable at their pleasure” (38 & 39 Vic.,
c. 55, s. 189).

On this highly important point I cannot do better than quote several
passages from Mr. Lewis Angell’s interesting address to the Association
of Municipal and Sanitary Engineers and Surveyors on the occasion of
their inauguration in the year 1873:[2]

“The ‘town surveyor,’ according to his opportunities, has done the
country good service, but, surrounded as we have been with obstructions
and difficulties, cramped and restricted by popular prejudices and
private interest, subject to clamour and attack, without protection and
without appeal, it is indeed surprising that we have accomplished so
much. Had such officers been from the first judiciously selected,
adequately remunerated, properly supported, and duly protected, our
influence upon sanitary progress would have been more conspicuous and
our office better appreciated.

“As engineers we do not pretend to a knowledge of medical science, but
it is equally within the knowledge of the average sanitary engineer as
of a medical officer of health that pure air, pure water, properly
constructed houses, and an unpolluted soil are the cardinal conditions
of health. These are mere sanitary axioms. The means by which such
conditions are attained are drainage, ventilation, water-supply, and
other matters entirely within the functions of the engineer. It is the
function of the sanitary engineer to prevent that which the medical
officer of health is called upon to detect. . . .

“In many cases the unprotected surveyor may be required to report to a
protected medical officer the negligence of his own employers. No local
surveyor or engineer can be expected to give cordial and active
assistance in compulsory sanitary work when he is conscious that his
action would be opposed to the views or the interests of his employers,
the public upon whom he is dependent. The existence of such a
distinction between the medical officer and surveyor under the same
board will produce a want of harmony in interest, and must lead to a
divergence of action between the two departments. . . .”

And speaking of the multifarious duties of the town surveyor, Mr. Angell
says: “Any one section of his duties would, under commercial
circumstances, command fair pay according to its importance; but where
cumulative duties are included in the same office, they demand constant
attention, special knowledge, professional experience, and
administrative ability; to which is added the anxiety which the
responsibilities of public office always involve. Such a position in a
commercial concern would receive high remuneration in proportion to the
extent of the undertaking, but unfortunately, our work does not pay a
dividend: it is all expenditure from which the town derives no return
excepting in health and comfort, matters which are neither fairly
assessed, nor duly appreciated; consequently, the municipal engineer is
paid less for his professional knowledge than the contractor’s agent
whose work he directs.”

Speaking further on the subject of Government protection, Mr. Angell
says: “Surveyors appointed under the Towns Improvement Clauses Act were
protected during the existence of the General Board of Health. Sir C.
Adderley’s Public Health and Local Government Bill of 1872 proposed
similar protection. Officers employed under the Poor Laws are fully
protected as to position, emoluments, and superannuation. The
administration of the Poor Laws and the Public Health Acts is now united
in one department under the newly established Local Government Board: it
is therefore in my opinion equally due to Local Board officers, that
they also should be recognised and protected. Without such protection,
sanitary legislation cannot, in the words of the Royal Sanitary
Commission, be ‘active and effective,’ because local officers are too
dependent on their immediate employers to be thoroughly efficient.

“In advocating protection let me not be misunderstood. I do not mean
centralisation or the removal of that proper control which every local
authority should maintain over its own officers. I would maintain intact
the great principle of local government, which has been the bulwark of
our social and political freedom. But local government may degenerate,
and in small towns deteriorate into littleness: local affairs are too
frequently avoided by those who are most fitted by intelligence and
social standing to take part therein. I would simply control in the most
constitutional manner the short-comings or excesses of local government
as is already done in various other departments. I would require that
local officers should be properly qualified and adequately remunerated;
that in the honest discharge of their duties and during good behaviour
they should be protected from the effects of ignorance, narrow
prejudices, and interested clamour, and that they should have an appeal
to a disinterested and judicial body, superior to local feeling. The
demand is reasonable--I ask no more. . . . .”

To these admirable remarks by Mr. Angell on the present position of the
town surveyor I can add but little.

I believe that the sole reason which is given why Government protection
is not granted to the surveyor is the argument used by those in
authority, that if a surveyor disagrees with the corporation he serves,
it is considered better that he should resign his appointment rather
than be protected by the Local Government Board or other central office;
but if this argument is sound, why does it not also apply in a similar
manner to the medical officer of health or the inspector of nuisances?
The real fact no doubt is, that in framing the Public Health Act of
1875, medical men were consulted and not engineers, and this is very
apparent in many of the clauses, which will be fully considered in their
proper places in this book.

The time will no doubt come when the necessity for some change in the
position of the town surveyor will be apparent, and adequate protection
will be afforded him; in the meantime let him strive, by attention to
work, and by daily advancement in scientific knowledge, and in courtesy
to those with whom he is associated, to make the position and power of
the town surveyor felt and honoured as it should be throughout the
kingdom.

  [1] The section is as follows:--“The Commissioners shall appoint,
  subject to the prescribed approval, or where no approval is
  prescribed, subject to approval by one of Her Majesty’s principal
  Secretaries of State, a person duly qualified to act as a local
  surveyor of the paving, drainage, and other works authorized under the
  provisions of this and the special Act . . . . . . and the
  Commissioners with the like approval may remove any such surveyor.”

  [2] _Vide_ ‘Minutes of Proceedings of the Association of Municipal and
  Sanitary Engineers and Surveyors,’ vol. i. p. 18.




CHAPTER II.

THE APPOINTMENT OF SURVEYOR.


Whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of surveyor to a town, or upon a
sanitary authority determining to make such an appointment, the question
is usually relegated to a committee or sub-committee to report upon the
subject, to fix the amount of salary proposed to be given, and frame the
duties of the office.

The following report is one that has lately emanated from an important
English borough, and is given in full as a specimen of such reports, and
as a guide on which a report could be framed; altered, of course, to
such requirements as may be locally necessary:--

_Report of the Special Sub-Committee as to the Surveyor._

(1.) Your sub-committee report that they have, in compliance with the
resolution of the      day of     , carefully considered the steps to be
taken with reference to the vacancy caused by Mr. ------’s resignation,
and they have come to the unanimous conclusion that it is desirable that
the office of surveyor should be continued.

(2.) Your sub-committee have also considered the duties which were
assigned to the office of Mr. ------’s appointment, and they beg now to
submit them, revised in accordance with the present circumstances of the
department, and with the recommendations contained in this report.

(3.) Your sub-committee further recommend that the salary of the
surveyor be fixed at £ . . per annum, and that advertisements be issued
for candidates.

_Duties of the Surveyor._

(1.) To have charge of the repairs of all highways, and to perform all
duties devolving on the council as surveyors of highways.

(2.) To report from time to time to the committee superintending the
same, the state of the several highways and lines of tramway, and as to
the materials wanted or works necessary.

(3.) To prepare all plans, specifications, or instructions necessary in
relation thereto, and as to the materials to be used therein, and to see
that all works are completed according to contracts entered into.

(4.) To engage and dismiss under sanction of the committee all workmen
employed at daily and weekly wages.[3]

(5.) To certify all accounts for work done, materials supplied, and
wages due.

(6.) To have charge of all materials and implements.

(7.) To purchase or contract for, or hire all horses, carts, tumbrils,
stones, flags, gravel, draining pipes, and proper implements and
materials, and all other matters and things, at such prices and in such
manner as the committee shall judge reasonable and expedient, and to
sell or otherwise dispose of the same as he may be directed.

(8.) To have the entire charge and superintendence of the breaking up
and repairing of all streets, for the purpose of laying or replacing gas
and water pipes.

(9.) To inspect and report, in conjunction with the medical officer of
health, upon slaughter-houses preliminary to licences being granted, and
to make the plans and superintend the construction of any
slaughter-houses which the council may hereafter erect.

(10.) To take all levels and surveys which may be necessary for the
purpose of deciding on the best mode of draining the several districts,
or any part thereof, or for the purpose of fixing the levels and
inclinations of any streets or roads, or in anywise relating thereto.

(11.) To carry out the scheme now in course of construction for the
interception of the sewage of the borough, and any future scheme, for
its precipitation, filtration, deodorization, or any other process which
the council may adopt, either within or without the borough.

(12.) To superintend the construction and completion of all tramway
lines and sidings which may be required.

(13.) To prepare, from time to time, schemes for the drainage of the
several districts or any part thereof.

(14.) To prepare all such plans, sections, and specifications as may be
necessary for the due execution of any flagging, paving, sewering, or
other works required to be done, or for entering into any contracts in
relation thereto, and to see that all works are executed in accordance
therewith.

(15.) To measure up and duly certify the execution of all works, and
apportion the cost to the parties chargeable therewith.

(16.) To see that all house drains, which may from time to time be
carried into any public sewer, are made and connected in accordance with
the regulations.

(17.) To give to the several contractors performing any works, orders
for the same in writing only, keeping duplicates thereof, duly entered
in a book to be kept by him for that purpose.

(18.) To prepare all plans, drawings, and estimates required, and to
superintend the execution of all improvements.

(19.) To see that no encroachments be made on any highway or public
place.

(20.) To advise on, and execute, all engineering works, and prepare all
such plans, specifications, and estimates of, and take out quantities
for, such sewers, buildings, bridges, and works as may be required, and
to superintend the erection and execution thereof.

(21.) To have in his charge, and be responsible for, the proper
management of all buildings and properties belonging to the corporation,
or for the repair and maintenance of which the corporation is liable,
except otherwise directed by the council.

(22.) To examine and report upon all plans and elevations of buildings
proposed to be erected or altered upon land sold or leased by the
corporation.

(23.) To inspect and report on plans of new streets to be laid out, of
houses to be built, and of buildings to be erected or altered.

(24) To see that all streets are properly named, and that the name
plates are kept in good order.

(25.) To act as building surveyor in all matters relating to the
execution of the Sanitary and Local Acts, and to examine and certify new
houses as fit for habitation.

(26.) To examine all buildings in a condition dangerous to the public,
to report thereon, and to take such steps as may be necessary to prevent
accidents arising therefrom.

(27.) To prepare all plans and sections for deposit, pursuant to
Standing Orders, with respect to all street improvements, tramways,
gasworks, waterworks, or other works, unless otherwise ordered by the
council, and to prepare all other surveys, plans, and sections required.

(28.) To attend the meetings of the several committees when required.

(29.) To prepare all returns relating to his office that may be required
by the Government.

(30.) To attend in London or elsewhere when required, without extra
charge, excepting only his travelling and hotel expenses.

(31.) To keep accurate permanent records and plans relating to all
properties purchased, leased, or sold, or in possession.

(32.) To devote the whole of his time to the duties of his office, and
not to be engaged in any other office, business, or employment
whatever.

(33.) To report from time to time all and every matter connected with
any branch of his office which, in his opinion, may require the
attention of any committee, and take their instructions thereon.

       *       *       *       *       *

Clauses 18 and 20 in the above list of duties are very comprehensive,
and as a rule a town surveyor’s duties may be summed up in a very few
words--“to do anything that he is requested.” It is, however, better
that some definite instructions should be laid down, and those which I
have given may be taken as a fair specimen of what such duties may be.

Unlike the medical officer of health, who by Act of Parliament is
required to hold a diploma of competency,[4] it is open to anyone to
apply for and obtain the appointment of a town surveyor. This is no
doubt unfortunate, as some test of merit is desirable, and of late years
the necessity of some examination as to competency has been much
discussed.

In order to meet this requirement, the Sanitary Institute of Great
Britain has instituted examinations and granted certificates of
competency for both town surveyors and inspectors of nuisances. The
following particulars of these examinations, and the reasons given for
their necessity, may be of interest, and are given in full.[5]


_Examination of Local Surveyors and Inspectors of Nuisances._

The great and increasing importance of the duties devolving upon local
surveyors and inspectors of nuisances in connection with the various
statutes relating to Public Health and the Sale of Food and Drugs Act,
has led the council of the Institute to establish voluntary examinations
for local surveyors and inspectors of nuisances, and for persons
desirous of becoming such, or of obtaining the certificate of the
Institute.

Each examination occupies a portion of two days. On the first day the
examination of surveyors is continued for four hours, viz. from 2 to 4
and 6 to 8 P.M. and consists of written papers only. Inspectors of
nuisances have two hours’ written examination on the first day, viz.
from 4 to 6 P.M. On the second day the examination for both classes
commences at 11 A.M., and is _vivâ voce_; with one or more questions to
be answered in writing if deemed necessary. A certificate of competence
signed by the examiners is granted to successful candidates.

As rural sanitary authorities are able under the Public Health Act 1875
to obtain almost all the powers of urban sanitary authorities, it is not
considered advisable to make any distinction in the examination of the
two classes of surveyors.

As one person may, under the Public Health Act 1875, be both local
surveyor and inspector of nuisances, candidates wishing to obtain the
double qualification may enter for both examinations on the same
occasion.

Candidates are required to furnish to the council of the Institute
satisfactory testimonials as to personal character, and to give two
weeks’ notice to the secretary previous to presenting themselves for
examination, stating whether they wish to be examined as surveyors or
inspectors of nuisances, or as both.

The fee for the examination must be paid to the secretary, by
post-office order or otherwise, at least six days before the the day of
examination. On receipt of the fee a ticket will be forwarded admitting
to the examination.

The fees payable for the examination are as follows:--

  For Surveyors                £5 5 0
  For Inspectors of Nuisances   2 2 0

Unsuccessful candidates are allowed to present themselves a second time
for one fee.


_Syllabus of Subjects for Examination for Local Surveyors._


_Laws and Bye-Laws._--A thorough knowledge of the Acts affecting
sanitary authorities, so far as they relate to the duties of local
surveyors; also of the model bye-laws issued by the Local Government
Board.


_Sewerage and Drainage._--The sanitary principles which should be
observed in the preparation of schemes for, and the construction of
sewerage works; the ventilating and flushing of sewers and drains; the
internal drainage and other sanitary arrangements of houses, privies,
water-closets, dry-closets, and the removal of refuse; the sanitary
details of builders’ and plumbers’ work.


_Water Supply of Towns and Houses._--The sanitary principles which
should be observed in the preparation of schemes for, and the
construction of water-works; the various ways in which water is likely
to become polluted and the best means of ensuring its purity.


_Regulations of Cellar Dwellings and Lodging Houses._--General
principles of ventilation; the amount of air and space necessary for men
and animals; the means of supplying air, and of ensuring its purity.


_Highways and Streets._--The sanitary principles which should be
observed in the construction and cleansing of streets and roads.


EXAMINATION PAPERS, NOVEMBER 6, 1879.

_Questions for Surveyors, November 6, 1879, 2 to 4 o’clock._

1. Define street; state the law applicable to every description of
street in an urban sanitary authority district, and the rights and
obligations and duties of sanitary authorities, owners and occupiers
therein.

2. What are the relative advantages of circular and egg-shaped sewers;
in what case are they respectively preferred?

3. Give a specification of a water-tight sewer. Describe and give a
sketch of the form of man-hole which you consider best adapted for
ordinary town sewers, and state the rule which you adopt for determining
the amount of ventilation to be afforded in a main street sewer.

4. In what way does the size and shape of the sewer affect the velocity
of sewage flowing through it? If a nine-inch pipe sewer, laid at an
inclination of 1 in 200, gives a velocity of 3 feet per second, what
velocity will it give when laid at an inclination of 1 in 800, the pipe
running full in each case? Will this velocity suffice to keep it clear
from deposits? Describe the various modes which may be resorted to for
flushing sewers.

5. Give a description of the process termed intermittent downward
filtration. State what area of land you would require, with a gravelly
soil, for applying this method of purifying sewage to a town with a
population of 1000 inhabitants, and state the arrangements you would
adopt for dealing with the rain-water falling on the roofs, yards, and
streets.

_November 6, 1879, 6 to 8 o’clock._

1. In reporting upon the source of water supply for a town, what are the
points to which you would direct your attention?

2. Give a sketch of a ~D~ trap, an ~S~ trap, a ~P~ trap, and a pan water
closet (plan of a dwelling-house annexed).

3. Criticise the arrangements of this residence as to position of rooms,
walls, doors, fire places, windows, &c., from a sanitary point of view.

4. Describe the drainage arrangements shown on the plan. Say whether
they are satisfactory; if not, in what way are they faulty?

5. Sketch on the plan any other system of drains which you would think
preferable.

6. Describe in detail the arrangements necessary for the water supply
of the residence, a bath being fixed in the room over the serving room,
a W.C. on the first floor over that on the ground floor, and a
housemaid’s sink near.

       *       *       *       *       *

It is, of course, open to consideration whether the Sanitary Institute
of Great Britain is the proper authority to hold these examinations or
not; but there is no doubt that some such examination is necessary, and
would be welcomed by nearly all town surveyors in order to more firmly
secure their positions; and the Sanitary Institute is entitled to every
credit for having taken the initiative step in the matter.

Under the present system of appointment to the office of town surveyor
those seeking that office must be prepared to work hard to obtain it,
and to give up some considerable time to its acquisition. Tact,
patience, and perseverance are indispensable qualities when seeking such
appointments, and the following suggestions on this matter may be of
use.

The appointment usually rests finally with the whole body of the town
council or corporation, even if a sub-committee or committee has been
appointed in the first case to make some selection of candidates. The
candidates thus selected by the committee are usually requested to
appear before the whole body of the town council, who then make the
appointment from amongst them.

The first thing a candidate should do when he hears of a vacancy
occurring in the office of a town surveyor, or sees an advertisement
requiring a surveyor’s services, is to obtain fresh testimonials from
those persons of position and influence for whom he has worked or who
know him professionally. These testimonials, with any very good old ones
(but not too many of either), should be sent by post to the town clerk
or person mentioned in the advertisement, with a formal,
carefully-worded application for the appointment.

If canvassing is not prohibited, a list of the members of the town
council, with their addresses, should then be procured, to whom printed
copies of the application and testimonials should be sent, accompanied
by an autograph letter asking that the application and testimonials
should be read.

This should be followed up (if possible, immediately), by a journey to
the town and a personal visit to each member of the council or
corporation, not necessarily for the purpose of soliciting a vote, but
with a view to making the acquaintance of the members of the corporation
and to identify the applicant with his testimonials; and in these visits
great tact and patience are necessary. It is also of importance to seek
and obtain all the outside influence that is possible, in order to bear
upon the members of the corporation, by means of letters of
introduction, and informal testimonials as to eligibility for the
appointment, and personal character and position, &c.

Canvassing on behalf of oneself is extremely unpleasant and harrassing
work; but wrong as the system may appear to be, it is not easy to see
how, in municipal government, any other method can be adopted, and the
visit of the candidate to each member gives the latter an opportunity of
asking him questions and satisfying himself as to his qualifications,
and thus he will not feel he is acting blindly when he gives his vote in
favour of that candidate whom he thinks, after a personal interview, the
most suitable for the appointment.

  [3] This seems to be an undue interference with the control which a
  surveyor should always have over his men.

  [4] “A person shall not be appointed Medical Officer of Health under
  this Act unless he is a legally qualified medical practitioner” (38 &
  39 Vic. c. 55, sec. 191).

  [5] _Vide_ ‘Calendar of the Sanitary Institution of Great Britain for
  the year 1880.’




CHAPTER III.

THE SURVEYOR’S DUTIES.


It will be observed on reference to the list of the duties of the
surveyor, given in the preceding chapter, that the first on the list is
as follows:--

“To have charge of the repairs of all highways, and to perform all
duties devolving on the council as surveyors of highways.”

The necessity for these duties are obvious when we turn to the Public
Health Act 1875, and read the following sections:--[6]

“Every urban authority shall within their district, exclusively of any
other person, execute the office of and be surveyor of highways, and
have, exercise, and be subject to all the powers, authorities, duties,
and liabilities of surveyors of highways under the law for the time
being in force, save so far as such powers, authorities, or duties are
or may be inconsistent with the provisions of this Act; every urban
authority shall also have, exercise, and be subject to all the powers,
authorities, duties, and liabilities which by the Highway Act 1835, or
any Act amending the same, are vested in and given to the inhabitants in
vestry assembled of any parish within their district.

“All ministerial acts required by any Act of Parliament to be done by or
to the surveyor of highways may be done by or to the surveyor of the
urban authority, or by or to such other person as they may appoint” (38
& 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 144).

“All streets being or which at any time become highways repairable by
the inhabitants at large within any urban district, and the pavements,
stones, and other materials thereof, and all buildings, implements, and
other things provided for the purposes thereof, shall vest in and be
under the control of the urban authority. The urban authority shall from
time to time cause all such streets to be levelled, paved, metalled,
flagged, channelled, altered, and repaired as occasion may require; they
may from time to time cause the soil of any such street to be raised,
lowered, or altered as they may think fit, and may place and may keep in
repair fences and posts for the safety of foot-passengers. Any person
who without the consent of the urban authority wilfully displaces, or
takes up, or who injures the pavement, stones, material, fences, or
posts of, or the trees in, any such street shall be liable to a penalty
not exceeding five pounds, and to a further penalty not exceeding five
shillings for every square foot of pavement, stones, or other materials
so displaced, taken up, or injured; he shall also be liable, in the case
of any injury to trees, to pay to the local authority such amount of
compensation as the court may award” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 149).

The duties thus devolving upon the town surveyor by reason of these
sections and the orders of the council are very considerable. The
following table gives a list of the principal subjects which will
require his attention; all of which will be considered in due course in
this book.


_List of Duties devolving upon a Town Surveyor as “Surveyor of
Highways.”_

(1.) The construction and maintenance of highways or streets,
including--

  (_a._) Roads formed of broken stones or “metal,” commonly called
  macadamised roadways;

  (_b._) Streets paved with granite cubes or setts;

  (_c._) Streets paved with wood;

  (_d._) Streets paved with asphalte.

(2.) The construction and maintenance of footwalks or footpaths,
including the different materials of which these are formed.

(3.) The breaking of stone for road metal.

(4.) Steam rolling.

(5.) The necessary notices and specifications under the 150th Section of
the Public Health Act 1875, for the purpose of compelling private
streets to be properly sewered, levelled, paved, metalled, flagged,
channelled, lighted, and made good.

(6.) The lighting, cleansing, and watering of streets.

(7.) The naming and numbering of streets.

(8.) The planting of trees along the sides of footwalks.

(9.) Obstructions caused by builders’ rubbish or by hoardings and
scaffold poles; and also by dangerous or defective cellar coverings.

(10.) The damage caused to footpaths by allowing water from private
premises to flow over them, and the nuisance caused by defective
rain-water gutters or shutes.

(11.) The damage caused to roadways by the laying or removal of gas and
water mains and services, and the surveyor’s powers and duties in
connection therewith.

(12.) The importance, especially in old towns, of laying down improved
building lines of frontage in the narrower or crooked streets.

(13.) The examination of all plans of proposed new streets or buildings.

(14.) The supervision of all new streets and buildings whilst their
construction is in progress.

(15.) Dealing with all buildings in a condition dangerous to the public.

Each of the foregoing list of duties will be dealt with in separate
chapters in addition to other matters which will be treated, but before
closing this chapter a few words upon the subject of “meetings” may be
of use.

It will be observed upon reference to the list which I have given of
the duties of the surveyor, that there is one which says, “To attend all
meetings of the board, and committee meetings, except where his
attendance has been previously dispensed with; to attend upon the
chairman when so required.”

The result of this order is that a very large percentage of the
surveyor’s time has to be devoted to attendances at long meetings of the
Board or town council, and at the numerous committee and sub-committee
meetings which are appointed under it.

This work is doubled where, as in some towns, the corporation and their
committees sit in a dual capacity, viz. as the council proper, and the
council as the urban sanitary authority; this generally involves two
ordinary meetings of the whole body each month, and probably at least
six committee meetings a week, leaving the surveyor but scanty time to
look properly after his works.

With regard to these committee meetings it is necessary that each should
have some distinguishing title descriptive of the class of work over
which it has jurisdiction, and in selecting names for them the following
list may be of some service:--Finance Committee, General Purposes
Committee, Law and Parliamentary Committee, Surveyor’s Committee, Land
and Estates Committee, Rates and Taxes Committee, Streets Committee,
Lighting and Cleansing Committee, Navigation of Port Committee, Public
Grounds Committee, Sanitary Committee, Drainage and Sewerage Committee,
Markets Committee, Properties for Sale Committee, Works Committee, Water
Committee, Gas Committee, Watch Committee, Health Committee, Library
Museum and Arts Committee, Baths Committee, Parks, Gardens, and
Improvement Committee, Streets Improvement Committee, etc. etc.

The surveyor should always endeavour to be punctual in his attendance at
the council meetings and those of the committees, as to be late is
always looked upon with disfavour. His reports should as much as
possible be in writing, so that there should be no misunderstanding as
to what his advice is on any subject. To save trouble and expense it is
well that all drawings of new schemes should be first submitted to a
committee in pencil, as they are frequently much altered; this is very
vexing if they have been neatly and highly finished. It must not be
forgotten that the gentlemen who form municipal bodies give their time
gratuitously, and everything should be done to save it as much as
possible. It is an excellent plan and a great convenience, if a surveyor
will have a series of named and numbered pigeon holes in his office
corresponding to his committees, in which to place all papers, drawings,
correspondence etc., which he intends to bring up to the next meeting of
a committee; thus saving himself flurry at the last moment before the
meeting, in endeavouring to find the papers he wants. With his varied
duties, correspondence, interviews, meetings, inspections,
investigations, reports, drawings, and calculations, the motto of a
surveyor’s office should be “method.”

  [6] For full particulars and explanations of the various Highway Acts
  see ‘The Powers and Duties of Surveyors of Highways and of other
  Authorities with regard to the Management of the Public Highways,’ by
  Alex. Glen, M.A., etc.




CHAPTER IV.

TRAFFIC.


Before a surveyor can decide upon the best material with which the
streets of his town shall be paved, it will be well to consider the
question of the class of traffic they will have to bear.

It must be remembered that three distinct interests have to be
considered in dealing with this question, viz. (1.) The rate-payers,
upon whom the cost of construction and maintenance of streets falls.
(2.) The owners and employers of horses and vehicles who principally use
the streets; and (3.) The inhabitants of the adjoining premises, who
would be annoyed if the material selected were unduly noisy or dirty. In
addition to these considerations, much depends upon local circumstances;
the class of trade upon which the welfare of a town is dependent must
not be lost sight of. A pavement suitable for a busy, pushing
manufacturing city may not be suitable for a quiet agricultural or
cathedral town, or for a town which is used as a health resort. Again,
the question of the most adaptable materials must be considered, and the
climate and physical character of a town should enter largely also into
this question.

To condense the requirements of a good roadway into as small a compass
as possible, the following may be given as some of its principal
requisites:--

(1.) It must not be extravagantly costly in its first construction.

(2.) It must be durable and require the least possible amount of repairs
at the least cost.

(3.) It must be safe, firm and hard, with an even face and yet giving
sufficient foothold to horses.

(4.) It must be as noiseless as possible.

(5.) It must be so constructed as to be quickly laid down and repaired
when broken up for water, gas, drains, or other purposes.

(6.) It must be of strong foundation, so as to carry the heaviest weight
without subsidence.

(7.) It must be of such a shape as will throw off all surface water at
once.

(8.) It must be of such materials as will make a minimum of dust or mud.

(9.) It must be easily cleansed.

(10.) It must be non-absorbent of impurities or moisture of any kind.

(11.) It must give easy traction upon its surface.

(12.) It must not cause jolting to the traffic.

(13.) It must not injure horses’ legs or hoofs.

Of the above requirements No. 1 affects the ratepayers alone; Nos. 3,
11, 12, 13, affect the traffic only, except that the occupiers of shops
are indirectly affected by them; No. 4 affects both traffic and
occupiers, and No. 10 affects the occupiers principally. The remainder
of the requirements affect all three interests.

With reference to the wearing effect of traffic upon the surface of the
roadway, no standard has yet been arrived at by which this can be
determined with accuracy. In France a great number of observations and
experiments have been made from time to time by the engineers of the
Ponts et Chaussées, but their practice has been to count the number of
“collars” passing a given section of a roadway in a given time,
irrespective of the weights, speeds, or number of wheels such collars
may be drawing. Mr. Deacon, the former Borough Engineer of Liverpool,
has, however, reduced traffic to a standard of tons per yard width of
roadway per annum. This he effected by having the traffic in any street
carefully watched for a certain definite time, the number of vehicles,
their character and approximate weight being noted as well as the number
of horses by which they were drawn, and their number of wheels.

The effect of the traffic thus tabulated, arranged, and reduced to ton
yards per annum, can be ascertained upon any roadway, and Mr. Deacon has
given the results of his observations in a valuable paper on the subject
of street carriage pavements which he read before the Institution of
Civil Engineers.[7]

Sir John MacNeill has estimated that 80 per cent. of the total wear of a
road is due to traffic, the remaining 20 per cent. being due to
atmospheric causes. Of this 80 per cent. 60 per cent. he considers is
due to the action of horses’ hoofs where the traffic is fast, and 44·5
per cent. where the traffic is slow. General Morin estimates the wear of
a road due to horses’ feet to be two-thirds of all causes. There can be
no doubt that the action of horses’ feet, shod as they are with heavy
iron shoes with long toe pieces and heels, must have a destructive
effect upon the surface of a carriage-way, and this may be easily
observed when watching the ruts formed by any continuous line of traffic
in a roadway.

The following remarks from a report of the Society of Arts on this
subject may here be of interest. “It may be mentioned that as respects
the horses’ shoes, attention has long been called to its defects by Sir
Francis Head and others, but Sir Joseph Whitworth now points out the
achievement of a decided and important improvement, which will have a
large effect in road conservancy, as well as the reduction of noise. The
improvement consists in the fastening of a rim of hardened steel, of
about half-an-inch square, to the horses’ feet, and letting the frog
grow to its natural size. One effect is to reduce by five-sixths the
weight of the old shoe, or in other words to reduce by five-sixths the
weight of the iron hammers constituted by the common horses’ shoes,
pounding the road surface, and creating road dust and dirt, and
distributing it about. The saving in this respect, as well as the
reduction of noise by the reduction of the weight of rim, and also the
saving of road wear, would warrant the imposition of the stimulus of a
tax, or a toll upon heavy horses’ shoes to hasten this removal.”[8]

Up to the present date, however (1883), no general change has been
effected in the manner of shoeing horses, notwithstanding these
admirable remarks of Sir Joseph Whitworth upon the subject.

With reference to the question of traction upon roads General Morin, in
his ‘Expériences sur le Tirage des Voitures,’ states that the resistance
to the rolling of vehicles upon solid metalled roads and pavements is
proportional to the weight and inversely proportional to the diameter of
the wheels. On solid roads he states that the resistance is nearly
independent of the width of the tires when they exceed 3 or 4 inches,
but on a compressible face it decreases in proportion to the width of
the tire; the resistance further increases with the velocity on hard
roads, but does not do so when they are soft.

The following table is almost universally now adopted as showing the
traction upon level roads formed of different materials, asphalte being
taken as the standard of excellence in this respect.

  Asphalted roadway                            1·0
  Paved roadway, dry and in good order         1·5 to 2·0
    „      „     in fair order                 2·0  „ 2·5
    „      „     but covered with mud          2·0  „ 2·7
  Macadamised roadway, dry and in good order   2·5  „ 3·0
       „         „     in a wet state          3·3
       „         „     in fair order           4·5
       „         „     but covered with mud    5·5
       „         „     with the stones loose   5·0  „ 8·2

There are four forces constantly at work tending to destroy the momentum
of vehicles passing along a roadway: they are gravity, collision,
friction, and the resistance of the air.

The first of these is lessened by easy gradients in a road, the second
can be overcome to a great extent by evenness of surface, the third by
hardness, and the fourth, as well as all the others, by giving
sufficient foothold to the animal drawing the vehicle.

Another excellent table[9] prepared from experiments made by Mr. Amos on
different descriptions of pavement in the City of London may be useful,
and is here given:--

  -------------------+---------+-------+--------+--------------
                     | Speed   |       |        |Tractive Force
     Road Material.  |in Miles |Draught|Fraction| in Decimals
                     |per hour.|in lbs.|of Load.| of the Load.
  -------------------+---------+-------+--------+--------------
  Gravelly Macadam in|  6·945  |126·6  | 1/45·3 |    ·0219
  a side street      |  3·45   |114·322| 1/50·3 |    ·0197
                     |         |       |        |
                     |  5·15   | 70·963| 1/81·1 |    ·0123
  Granite pitching by|  3·196  | 41·932| 1/137·3|    ·0072
  side of tramway    |  2·557  | 47·572| 1/121  |    ·0082
                     |         |       |        |
  Granite Macadam    |  4·239  |262·886| 1/21·9 |    ·0456
  “freshly laid”     |  2·775  |242·726| 1/23·7 |    ·0421
                     |         |       |        |
                     |  5·025  | 91·525| 1/64·9 |    ·0158
  Asphalte Pavement  |  3·56   | 69·753| 1/82·5 |    ·0121
                     |  5·687  | 84·268| 1/68·3 |    ·0111
                     |         |       |        |
                     |  3·932  |118·163| 1/48·7 |    ·0205
  Wood Pavement      |  3·278  |102·412| 1/56·2 |    ·0177
                     |  3·827  |100·066| 1/57·5 |    ·0173
                     |         |       |        |
  Macadam road, very |         |       |        |
  good on Victoria   |  6·65   |109·06 | 1/52·7 |    ·0181
  Embankment         |         |       |        |
  -------------------+---------+-------+--------+--------------

The following table from Law’s ‘Rudimentary Treatise on Civil
Engineering’ shows the force required to move a load of a ton weight on
different descriptions of roadway, the limiting angle of resistance, and
the greatest inclination which should be given to the road being also
stated.

  --------------------------------+--------+-----------+------------
                                  |  Force |           |  Greatest
                                  | in lbs.| Limiting  |inclination
      Description of the Road.    |required|  angle    |which should
                                  | to move|    of     |  be given
                                  | a ton. |resistance.|to the road.
  --------------------------------+--------+-----------+------------
                                  |        |   °   ′   |
  Well laid pavement              |    33  |   0  50   |   1 in 68
                                  |        |           |
  Broken stone surface on a bottom|    46  |   1  11   |   1  „ 49
  of rough pavement or concrete   |        |           |
                                  |        |           |
  Broken stone surface laid on an |    65  |   1  40   |   1  „ 34
  old flint road                  |        |           |
                                  |        |           |
  Gravel road                     |   147  |   3  45   |   1  „ 15
  --------------------------------+--------+-----------+------------

As a matter of fact, however, the gradient of a macadamised road should
not, if possible, exceed 1 in 20,[10] experience having shown that a
horse, unless the hill is a very long one, is able to draw his ordinary
load for a level up such an inclination, whereas, if it is steeper he is
sometimes stopped altogether, even though the carter tries the zigzag
route so as to obtain an artificial ease of gradient.

The table given in ‘Molesworth’ upon the same subject is too well known
to be repeated, and another table may be found in Sir Henry Parnell’s
work on roads, which gives a comparison between the draught necessary on
a well-paved road at 2, on a well-made, clean macadamised road at 5,
whereas on a wet and muddy gravel or flint road it rises to 32!

Mr. T. D. Hope, of Liverpool, assuming the power of traction at 100,
gives the following table:--

                          Weight drawn.
  Level macadamised road    27   cwt.
    „   granite pavement    30·5   „
    „   wood       „        54·75  „

And Lieut. Crompton has given the resistance of wheels in lbs. per ton
on different surfaces as follows:--

  Very good pavement    35 lbs.
  Good macadam          60   „
  Ordinary ditto        90   „
  Newly-laid gravel    200   „
  Soft grass land      300   „
  Newly-laid metal     440   „

Here “newly-laid metal” comes out very badly, and points to the
necessity of rolling, of which I shall speak in a future chapter.

Whilst on the question of wheel resistance, it may be well to note that
the small front wheels of a waggon cause considerably more harm to a
macadamised road than the larger hind wheels. In the smaller diameter
any loose stone or obstruction is pushed along in front for a
considerable distance, often tearing up the surface of the road, whereas
in the other case the stone is forced into its place or crushed as under
a roller.

On the question of “safety” to traffic, Mr. Haywood, the eminent
Surveyor of the City of London, has caused several most complete
observations to be made from time to time, the results of such
observations being detailed by him in various reports. Amongst other
useful information compiled by him, he has ascertained that a horse will
travel 446 miles upon a roadway paved with blocks of wood without a
fall, 191 miles upon asphalte, and 132 miles upon granite setts. I
cannot do better than give verbatim his remarks upon this point:--

“Slight rain makes both asphalte and wood more slippery than they are at
other times. On asphalte the slipperiness begins almost immediately the
rain commences, wood requires more rain before its worst condition
ensues. The slipperiness lasts longer upon wood, on account of its
absorbent nature, than it does upon the asphalte; when dry weather comes
after the rain, when asphalte is in its most slippery state, and the
horses fall on it very suddenly, _on wood their efforts to save
themselves are more effectual_; wood also is frequently in that peculiar
condition of surface in which horses slip or glide along it without
falling. A small quantity of dirt upon asphalte makes it very slippery,
wood requires a large quantity. Slipperiness can be temporarily cured on
both pavements; on the asphalte by sprinkling it with sand, on the wood
by sprinkling it with gravel. The result in both cases is dirt. _The
sand thrown on asphalte helps to wear it out, the gravel thrown on wood
tends to preserve it._ When a horse falls on asphalte it has difficulty
in getting up; on wood it rises more readily.”[11]

In streets crowded with traffic, the constant stopping and starting,
especially on any surface that is slippery, is very trying to horses.
Attention has lately been directed to this point with a view to the
storage of some power in a vehicle, either by the compression of a
spring in stopping or by some other mechanical means, in order that in
starting the driver may at will liberate this power so as to assist the
horse in overcoming the inertia of his load. These trials, however, have
not at present met with much success.

Before closing this chapter on traffic, it will be well to point out
that nearly all vehicles travelling rapidly can pass each other safely
if allowed a clear space of eight feet; hence all roadways should, if
possible, be made of a width between the kerbs of some multiple of
eight: a convenient width for the footpaths, so far as foot-passenger
traffic is concerned, is found to be one-fifth of the entire width of
street. It is scarcely necessary to add that vehicles pass each other
on the left side, pedestrians on the right. It is not easy to assign a
cause for the former beyond custom, except that the whip is held in the
right hand, and in consequence free play is given for its use as the
driver sits on that side and can watch his wheels in passing. In France
and other countries the right side is the “rule of the road.” In the
case of pedestrians it is perhaps more convenient for many reasons to
pass on the right side, one being that the umbrella or parasol is always
carried in the right hand, which is also used to remove the hat when
bowing, and another because one’s tendency in passing any obstacle is to
give way with the left shoulder. For regulating the traffic and for the
protection of foot passengers, “sanctuaries,” as they are termed, have
often to be constructed by surveyors in broad streets or awkward centres
of traffic, and it is well to place a lamp-post on these sanctuaries, on
which may be advantageously fixed a notice, “Keep to the Left,” so as to
regulate vehicular traffic. On the lamp-posts at the edge of the
footpaths it is also sometimes customary to fix small enamelled iron
plates bearing the inscription on both sides, “Keep to the Right,” so as
to regulate the pedestrian traffic.

Of the danger to life and limb to pedestrians in London much has
frequently been said, and no wonder, when we consider the number of
persons who are daily injured and sometimes killed according to the
Registrar-General’s returns. Some years ago it was proposed to erect
light iron bridges over the most dangerous crossings approached by
winding stairs, but “time is money” in the mighty metropolis, and the
scheme was abandoned because it was felt that most persons would prefer
the risk of being run over rather than spend the time in ascending and
descending the necessary steps for this purpose.

  [7] _Vide_ ‘Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil
  Engineers,’ vol. lviii.

  [8] _Vide_ Report of the Society of Arts on the application of Science
  and Art to street paving and street cleansing of the metropolis, 1875.

  [9] Ibid.

  [10] Experiments made by the direction of the French Government on the
  tramway between Sèvres and Versailles, showed that a horse on a level
  tramway draws three-and-a-half times the weight, at the same speed and
  with the same expenditure of power, that he can do on an ordinary
  road. Up a gradient of 1 to 100, he is capable of drawing 2·25 times
  the weight he can do up the same gradient on an ordinary road, and up
  a gradient of 1 to 25 he can draw one-and-a-half times the load he can
  do under similar circumstances on the ordinary road.

  [11] ‘Report on accidents to Horses on Carriageway Pavements,’ by
  William Haywood (1874).




CHAPTER V.

MACADAMISED ROADWAYS.


I do not propose in this work to speak of any of the engineering
operations necessary to lay out or construct long lines of connecting
roadways, as that is a duty which seldom falls to a town surveyor to
perform, and there are a great number of treatises and books upon the
subject already published. The object of this chapter will be to give
some information and hints upon the construction and maintenance of what
are known as macadamised roads, suitable for urban and suburban traffic.

There can be little doubt that roadways of this description are
expensive luxuries where the cost of their maintenance, owing to
excessive traffic or other causes, exceeds 2_s._ per square yard per
annum, but they are often necessary luxuries when the requirements of
the locality are considered, a point to which I drew attention in the
preceding chapter upon “Traffic.” For purposes of what may be styled
“pleasure traffic,” macadamised roadways are unequalled when well
constructed and maintained, but there are many objections to them which
will be considered in their place in this chapter.

The word macadamised is, as is well known, derived from one John Loudon
Macadam, who in the year 1816 first took up the question of putting
broken metal upon a road instead of the boulders previously used.[12]
His name, being rather a peculiar one, has been attached to this
description of road ever since.

As a matter of fact, the “macadamised” roadways of the present day are
constructed after a method introduced by Thomas Telford as an
improvement upon Macadam’s principles, and a perusal of the two
following specifications will, I think, show that there is not very much
difference between the method introduced by Telford and that followed at
the present time.


_Specification of a Roadway as designed by Thomas Telford more than
fifty years ago._[13]

“Upon the level bed prepared for the road materials, a bottom course or
layer of stones is to be set by hand in form of a close, firm pavement;
the stones set in the middle of the road are to be seven inches in
depth; at nine feet from the centre five inches; at twelve feet from the
centre four inches; and at fifteen feet three inches. They are to be set
on their broadest edges lengthwise across the road, and the breadth of
the upper edge is not to exceed four inches in any case. All the
irregularities of the upper part of the said pavement are to be broken
off by the hammer, and all the interstices to be filled with stone chips
firmly wedged or packed by hand with a light hammer, so that when the
whole pavement is finished there shall be a convexity of four inches in
the breadth of fifteen feet from the centre.[14]

“The middle eighteen feet of pavement is to be coated with hard stones
to the depth of six inches. Four of these six inches to be first put on
and worked in by carriages and horses; care being taken to rake in the
ruts until the surface becomes firm and consolidated, after which the
remaining two inches are to be put on.

“The whole of this stone is to be broken into pieces, as nearly cubical
as possible, so that the largest piece in its longest dimensions may
pass through a ring of two and a half inches inside diameter.

“The paved spaces on each side of the eighteen middle feet are to be
coated with broken stones or well-cleaned stony gravel up to the foot
path or other boundary of the road, so as to make the whole convexity of
the road six inches from the centre to the sides of it, and the whole of
the materials are to be covered with a binding of an inch and a half of
good gravel free from clay or earth.”

If the above specification, written more than fifty years ago, is
compared with one of the present date, it will be seen that there is a
strong resemblance between them.


_Specification of a Roadway as now executed._

The cross section of the roadway _when finished_ is to be an arc of a
circle, with a rise of 1 in 27 from kerb to the centre of the roadway
each way.[15] The roadway, when consolidated and finished, to be 12
inches in depth at the gutters and 15 inches at the centre, diminishing
gradually from this point right and left to the depth named. The gutters
to be 2 feet in width, formed of stone setts 6 inches by 6 inches, and
laid in sand, on a firmly consolidated surface of small broken stone or
gravel.

The earth road-bed on which the surface formation is to rest is to be
excavated to the required depth, and when graded and shaped to its
proper form, it is to be thoroughly and repeatedly rolled with a steam
roller, and all depressions which then appear are to be filled with the
same material as the road-bed, and rolled until the whole be uniformly
compact and firm.

On the road-bed thus formed and compacted, a bottom layer of stone of a
depth of 8 inches at the centre of the road, and gradually diminishing
to 6 inches at the kerb, is to be set by hand, to form a close, firm
pavement. The stones are to be laid, with their largest side down, in
parallel lines across the street, breaking joint as much as
practicable.[16] The width of the upper part of the stone not to be more
than 8 inches, nor less than 6 inches. The stone not to exceed 15 inches
in length. After being set closely together, the stones are to be firmly
wedged by inserting a bar in all possible places, and placing between
them stones as nearly as possible of the depth of the pavement, until
the whole is bound in position. Projections of the upper part of this
course are to be broken off, care being taken not to loosen the
pavement; and no wedging is to be done within 20 feet of the face of the
work being laid. The small interstices are to be filled in with stone
chips firmly wedged with hammers. The whole is to be thoroughly rammed
and settled to place, and all undue irregularities of surface broken
off.

On the foundation course must be laid an intermediate layer of broken
stones, varying in size from 3 inches in their greatest diameters to 1
inch in their smallest diameters. These irregular-sized stones may be
either the “tailings” of the screened stones, or may be raked from the
quarry, and placed on the roadway without being machine-broken; but they
must nevertheless be so laid as to compact solidly, and must be clean
broken stone, free from dust and dirt, and within the dimensions given
above. This intermediate course must be 4 inches in depth at the centre
of the roadway, gradually decreasing to 3 inches in depth at the
gutters; it is to be thoroughly rolled with the steam roller until it be
firm, compact, and solid. On its upper surface it must be identical in
rise and form to the cross-section of the finished pavement, as
specified above. In the laying of this course of stone a small quantity
of binding material is to be used, sufficient only to fill up the
crevices, and render this portion of the pavement solid. Preferably the
binding is to be of fine screened gravel or sand, which is to be
sufficiently watered during the process of rolling, so that the “licking
up” of the road material, and its adherence to the rolling-wheels may be
prevented.

On the intermediate course is to be laid the surface layer of broken
stone.[17] It must be 2¹⁄₂ inches in depth, and the stones must be
practically uniform in quality, and as near an approach to a cube in
form as possible. Each stone used in this layer must have passed through
a 2¹⁄₂-inch circular hole, and all stones that are wedge-shaped, and do
not approach uniformity of measurement on their sides, are to be taken
from the road with properly shaped rakes, and no stones allowed to
remain which are not sound, strong, and equable in size and quality of
material. The stones are to be raked into an even layer, and the steam
roller passed over them twice or thrice. After this a quantity of fine
screened gravel or sand is to be thrown on and sufficiently sprinkled to
moisten the mass without “licking up.” The rolling is then to be
continued (working the roller backwards and forwards, gradually from the
gutter to the crown), with an occasional light watering of the pavement,
until the cross-section be exact according to specification, the
interstices filled in, the roadway firmly compacted and solid, and all
excess of binding removed from the surface of the finished pavement.[18]

Telford’s object was the complete separation of the road metal from the
subsoil by a firm and regular foundation, and this system has ever since
held its ground. The advantages to be gained in constructing a roadway
in this manner may be summed up as follows:--

(1.) Economy of construction, as a considerable quantity of metalling is
saved; only 3 inches of properly broken stone and a little binding
material being necessary, the foundation of the roadway (which really
carries the traffic) may be made of a quality of stone unsuitable for
road metal, or even of bricks or stones from old buildings that are
being pulled down.

(2.) The prevention of the rising up or “spewing” of the clay or other
soft material on which the roadway rests.

(3.) A solid foundation is secured which will successfully resist the
weight and percussion of the traffic.

(4.) The increased facility for the drainage of the roadway water being
ruinous to it.[19]

Instead of forming a paved or “pinned” foundation for macadamised
roadways, sometimes what is called “hard core” is placed at the bottom
of the road upon the surface formation.

This “hard core” is made of very heterogenous materials, often the waste
products of the house refuse depôt, and consists of ashes, old pots and
pans, meat tins, old bottles, shells, and a variety of similar articles;
sometimes the core is made of burnt ballast, but in no case does it make
so good a foundation as stones set by hand.

Concrete has also been employed as a foundation with great success, but
it is very expensive, and is seldom used except under streets paved with
either granite, wood, or asphalte, of which I shall speak hereafter; for
if the traffic was so great as to necessitate the use of concrete for a
foundation it would surely be better to give the roadway a more durable
surface than macadam.

The following tables, showing the thickness of the foundation and
metalling of broken stone roads, is from a paper on roadways, read to
the Association of Municipal and Sanitary Engineers, by Mr. James Hall,
Borough Surveyor of Stockton, and may be of use to those who would like
to know what proportions to use.

  -------------+-------------------------+---------------+------------
               |   Pinned Foundations.   | Broken Stones.| Concrete.
               +--------+---------+------+-------+-------+-----+------
               |Pinning.|Covering.|Metal.| Under.| Upper.| Con-|Metal.
               |        |         |      |       |       |crete|
  -------------+--------+---------+------+-------+-------+-----+------
               |   in.  |   in.   |  in. |  in.  |  in.  | in. |  in.
  Country roads|    6   |    3    |   4  |   9   |   4   |  4  |   3
  Suburban  „  |    9   |    3    |   5  |   9   |   6   |  6  |   5
  Town streets |    9   |    6    |   5  |  15   |   6   | 10  |   5
  -------------+--------+---------+------+-------+-------+-----+------

Chalk has sometimes been used for the bottom of a roadway, but where
this is likely to be affected by frost it is the worst material that can
be used, as it is likely to blow up the roadway.

With regard to the annual outlay upon macadamised roadways, the
following comparative tables[20] prepared by Mr. Ellice Clark, the then
Surveyor of Derby, may be of interest.

  ---------------+-------+--------------------------------------------
                 |       |               Annual Outlay.
                 +-------+----+------+--------+-------+-------+-------
                 |       |    | Sink-|        |       |       |
                 |       |    | ing  |        |       |       |
                 |       |    |fund 3|        |       |       |
                 |  Ori- |    |  per |        |       |       |
                 | ginal |    | cent.|        |       |       |
                 |  cost |    | com- |        |       |       |
                 |  per  | In-| pound|        |       |       |
   Description of| square|ter-|inter-|  Main- | Scav- |       |
      Pavement.  | yard. |est.| est. |tenance.|enging.|Gravel.|Total.
  ---------------+-------+----+------+--------+-------+-------+-------
                 |_s. d._|_d._| _d._ |_s.  d._|_s. d._|  _d._ |_s. d._
  Wood pavement  |15  1·5| 7·5| 10·1 | 0   1·0| 0  2·7|   5·0 | 2  2·3
                 |       |    |      |        |       |       |
  Val de Travers |       |    |      |        |       |       |
    compressed   |18  0·0| 9·7|  ..  | 0   3·6| 0  0·4|   ..  | 1  1·7
    asphalte     |       |    |      |        |       |       |
                 |       |    |      |        |       |       |
  Granite setts  |       |    |      |        |       |       |
    7 inches by  |       |    |      |        |       |       |
    3 inches laid|       |    |      |        |       |       |
    over a layer |17  9·0| 9·6|  0·5 | 0   1·3| 0  2·5|   ..  | 1  1·9
    of 12 inches |       |    |      |        |       |       |
    of cement    |       |    |      |        |       |       |
    concrete     |       |    |      |        |       |       |
                 |       |    |      |        |       |       |
  Macadam in     |       |    |      |        |       |       |
    south of     | 4  9·0| 2·1|  ..  | 3   6·0| 1  0·0|   ..  | 4  8·1
    England      |       |    |      |        |       |       |
  ---------------+-------+----+------+--------+-------+-------+-------

  -------------+------------------+------------------
               |   Load of Mud    |Traffic per Annum
    Material.  |    per area.     |per yard of width.
  -------------+------------------+------------------
               |superficial yards.|       tons.
               |                  |
  Macadam      |        344       |       25,000
  Granite setts|        500       |       50,000
  Wood         |       1666       |       25,000
  Asphalte     |       4000       |      500,000
  -------------+------------------+------------------

The following is a table of the cost of streets in Paris per square yard
per annum.[21]

  ------------------------+------------+----------+---------
  Description of Pavement.|Maintenance.|Cleansing.| Total.
  ------------------------+------------+----------+---------
                          |  _s._ _d._ | _s._ _d._|_s._ _d._
  Stone Pavement          |   0   4·50 |  0   3·37| 0   7·87
  Macadam                 |   0   9·25 |  0   7·31| 1   5·26
  Asphalte                |   0  10·20 |  0   4·17| 1   2·37
  ------------------------+------------+----------+---------

The cost of maintaining macadamised roadways as compared with that of
granite setts has been said to be as high as 5 to 1 and that this cost
if capitalised for 12 or 13 years will equal the first expense, interest
on money, and the necessary repairs for a granite paved roadway.

The following table gives the cost per annum per square yard for the
maintenance of macadamised roadways in different places, so far as I
have been able to collect them:

                             _s._ _d._       _s._ _d._
  Bristol                          4     to   1    0
  Charing Cross (London)                      5    0     (now paved)
  Exeter                           6      „   2    6     including
                                                         cleansing
  Glasgow                                          8¹⁄₂
  Leeds                           10      „   1    2
  Liverpool                        2      „   2    6
  Manchester                       6      „   1    8
  Merthyr Tydfil                                   4¹⁄₂
  Newcastle                   1    3                     including
                                                         watering
  Paris                            9¹⁄₄   „  10    9
  Parliament Street (London)                  3    6     repairs only
  Regent Street (ditto)                       3    7     (now paved with
                                                         wood)
  Stockton                         9      „   1    6
  Sheffield                   1    8      „   2    0
  Wakefield                                   1    0     all paved
                                                         streets now.

In Birmingham the macadamised streets have worn down 6 inches in one
year, with a traffic of 2484 vehicles passing in 10 hours.

With reference to the great cost of maintenance in Paris, the following
particulars[22] may here be given;

“The surface of the street is picked by gangs of men, metal from 2¹⁄₂ to
9 inches in thickness is then laid on, a coating of sand is then spread
upon it, it is watered and rolled at per kilometre ton, that is, at per
ton weight of roller per kilometre travelled, at a cost of about
15·33_d._ per ton mile for the first 250,000 ton miles, and at reduced
rates for additional service. The materials used for the roads are
flints costing 4_s._ 6¹⁄₂_d._ per cubic yard for light traffic roads;
for medium traffic, hard millstone at 11_s._ 4_d._; and for the heaviest
and greatest traffic, porphyry at 15_s._ 9_d._ The average total cost of
maintenance of the streets is 1_s._ 8¹⁄₂_d._ per square yard per annum
for the first-class roads, and 1_s._ 1¹⁄₂_d._ for the lighter traffic;
the highest cost for maintenance is as high as 10_s._ 9_d._ per square
yard, the lowest 9¹⁄₄_d._ per annum.”

It may be well to mention that 73 per cent. of the streets in Paris are
paved, 5 per cent. are coated with asphalte, and 22 per cent. are
macadamised.

The contour, or best form of cross section that should be given to a
roadway, has often exercised the minds of engineers, but for all
practical purposes evenness of surface and regularity of section in a
macadamised roadway are of more importance than the slight difference
between straight lines and curves, which might only tend to confuse the
workmen. Formerly it was the practice to employ a complicated gauge in
the form of a straight-edge fitted with plummet or level and sliding
bars, but a good eye, assisted by a long straight-edge and spirit-level
and three boning rods, is generally found to be sufficient, and if the
centre of the roadway is kept level with the heel of the footpath, a
sightly cross-section is generally the result; or say 6 inches to 9
inches higher in centre of a roadway 30 feet in width between the kerbs,
3 inches to 4 inches where it is from 18 to 20 feet in width.

The following detailed section of a macadamised roadway is one which I
am in the habit of specifying for suburban districts, as it is easily
set out and constructed, and answers all purposes most admirably.

[Illustration]

The total width of street is 36 feet, of which the roadway takes 24,
leaving a footpath 6 feet in width on each side.

The surface of the finished roadway is a segment of a circle, the crown
being level with the heels of the footpaths on each side; the formation
surface is parallel with it, and of course the depth of this and the
thickness of foundations and metal must depend upon local circumstances.
It will be seen that the haunches are drained with 3-inch common
drain-pipes. This may be omitted if the ground is thoroughly dry, but it
is often a great help to a road.

The paths, kerbing, and channelling will be described in their
respective chapters.

It must be borne in mind that on a perfectly level road a more convex
section is necessary than on a gradient.

It is wrong to make the sides of a roadway weaker than the centre,
especially in streets with shops on each side, or on hills where drags
are likely to be used. On hills, too, be it remembered, the channels
should take the surface water; any ruts from wheel tracks acting as
watercourses are disastrous. Hauling timber on a macadamised roadway is
also very damaging.

The great objections to macadamised roadways are as follows:--

(1.) They manufacture too much mud and dust.[23]

(2.) They are too absorbent.

(3.) They are very noisy and damaging to vehicles and horses when fresh
metalled.

(4.) They constantly require mending, but never seem quite sound.

(5.) They are frequently encumbered by men and carts engaged in either
repairs, cleansing, or watering.

(6.) They are very expensive to maintain and cleanse.

(7.) They are bad for a horse to fall upon, as such falls generally
damage the knees.

The following notes upon the maintenance of macadamised roadways may
here be of service:--

(1.) Roads should be inspected in wet weather, as hollows and other
imperfections are then easily detected; a hollow place extends very
rapidly if neglected.

(2.) All ruts should be filled in at once. If there are three parallel,
the centre rut should be first filled in; the traffic is thus slightly
diverted, as a horse will avoid new metal.

(3.) Ruts should not be allowed to form; the surface of the road ought
never to lose its regular section.

(4.) A road should be thoroughly repaired directly it shows the least
sign of being fairly worn all over.

(5.) The right season of the year for repairs is the autumn, although
where a steam roller can be used almost any time will do. If the surface
of the road is very hard it should be “lifted”[24] previous to repairs.

(6.) All loose stones should be picked off at once or put together in
hollow places upon the roadway, as, if allowed to remain, they are not
only dangerous to horses, but are liable to be crushed, or to be forced
through the skin of the roadway, thus causing it damage.

(7.) Water lodging upon a road does great mischief, but it should not be
let off by digging a trench with a pickaxe to the side of roadway, as is
sometimes done.

(8.) A roadway when very dry sometimes suffers through disintegration of
the surface.

(9.) Scraping the mud off a roadway may damage it by loosening stones;
sweeping the surface when wet is best.

(10.) A heavy shower does a road good by washing it; a continuous
drizzle, especially after frost, is very ruinous to a roadway.

(11.) A good cleansing is sometimes worth a coat of metal.[25]


_Bituminous Roadways._

In some towns in England bituminous or asphalte macadamised roadways are
made. This consists in mixing ordinary coal tar with the road metal
ordinarily employed for macadamised roads, only it must be borne in mind
that the metal employed must be limestone or some other soft material,
otherwise it will not wear down evenly with the tar, and thus a lumpy
surface will be produced in course of time.

The method of mixing is by heating the stone, which has of course been
previously broken to the required size, and then thoroughly mixing and
incorporating it with the tar. This is then carried to the roadway, is
spread in the ordinary manner and well rolled to the proper contour, a
surface being afterwards given to it by a coating of about 2 inches
thick, composed of a similar mixture, the stones of which are of much
smaller size.

Another method is to place about 6 inches of the broken metal described
above upon the necessary foundation. Upon this a boiling mixture
composed of about 50 gallons of creosote oil and 1 ton of pitch is
poured until every interstice is filled with the mixture. Whilst this is
still warm, a thin layer of small broken stone is spread upon the
surface and well rolled; more small stones or chippings are added, and
the whole is rolled until the surface of the roadway has attained its
proper contour and presents a perfectly smooth and clean appearance,
little inferior to that of real asphalte.

Dry weather is essential whilst this class of roadway is in course of
construction, and they require careful watching, as, upon the skin
becoming broken, the whole roadway soon breaks up. They have, however,
many advantages over ordinary macadamised roadways when finished, not
the least of them being their imperviousness to moisture, and the ease
with which they are cleansed.

  [12] The first road “engineer” in this country was John Metcalf of
  Knaresborough, who was born in 1717, and who, although totally blind,
  was the first person to introduce a methodical system of road repairs.
  _Vide_ ‘Roads and Road Makers,’ by Henry Alexander Glass.

  [13] _Vide_ ‘A Treatise on Roads,’ by Sir H. Parnell (1833).

  [14] The total width of roadway being thirty feet.

  [15] It is necessary to give a new roadway more convexity than it will
  have when finished, for however carefully it is raked or attended to
  when being rolled, the top is sure to flatten and spread towards the
  haunches.

  [16] Instead of parallel lines it is sometimes well to place these
  stones diagonally from centre to kerb or “herring-bone” fashion, thus
  greatly facilitating the under drainage.

  [17] In metalling a road it is better to put on the coats gradually,
  than to give the whole thickness of metal at once.

  [18] The method adopted in Chicago, U.S.A., for forming their roadways
  is as follows:--The road bed is prepared of the proper contour and
  well-rolled with a 15-ton steam roller until it is even, firm, and
  compact; on this bed rubble stone is carefully placed by hand with its
  broadest surface downwards, then 12 inches of metal are added 6 inches
  at a time, thoroughly rolled to bond it well, it is then topped with 4
  inches of crushed trap rock or some other equally hard stone, which
  will not disintegrate through the action of the weather, nor pulverise
  under the pressure and wear of vehicles upon it; this is again,
  thoroughly well rolled so as to compact and bind it together.

  [19] “If roads be kept dry they will be maintained in a good state
  with proportionally less expense. It has been well observed that the
  statuary cannot saw his marble, nor the lapidary cut his jewels
  without the assistance of the powder of the specific materials on
  which he is acting; this, when combined with water, produces
  sufficient attrition to accomplish his purpose. A similar effect is
  produced on roads, since the reduced particles of the materials, when
  wet, assist the wheels in rapidly grinding down the surface.”
  Parnell’s ‘Treatise on Roads,’ 1883. More modern writers have likened
  macadamised roadways to “stone mills on which the stones are ground
  into dust when dry, or mud when wet.”

  [20] _Vide_ ‘Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil
  Engineers,’ vol. lx.

  [21] _Vide_ ‘Annales industrielles de Paris,’ Oct. 21st and Nov. 4th,
  1877.

  [22] _Vide_ ‘Annales industrielles de Paris.’

  [23] A report of the Paddington Vestry on “wood and other pavements,”
  (1878) states macadam as a mud producing material is twelve times
  worse than wood, and six times worse than granite cubes.

  [24] This is also sometimes called “stocking” or “chequering,” and
  consists of making furrows across a roadway with a sharp pickaxe,
  about a couple of inches in depth, thus removing any irregularities,
  and also allowing the new metal to bed properly.

  [25] In Birmingham, good cleansing is said to have reduced the amount
  of metal necessary for the maintenance of the roadways from 20,000
  tons per annum to 13,000 tons.




CHAPTER VI.

ROAD METAL AND BREAKING.


The only true test of the fitness of any stone for use as a road metal
is by an experimental trial upon a certain length of roadway; but in
making the first selection for such trials it is well to make the
following investigations:--

(1.) Ascertain from local persons, such as masons, quarrymen, and
others, their opinion of the qualities of the stones in the
neighbourhood.

(2.) Make a trial of the stone for toughness. This can be done by
setting a good stone-breaker to work upon a heap of the stone as
quarried and carefully watching how much he can break in an hour.[26]

(3.) Ascertain what power the stone has to resist abrasion. This is done
in France by putting the broken metal into a revolving cylinder and then
carefully noting by weight what the cubes lose by contact with each
other. Another plan may be adopted by pressing the stone against a
grindstone with a uniform pressure, and noting the loss caused by such
contact.

(4.) The power to resist compression may be easily ascertained by
placing small cubes in an hydraulic press and noting under what
pressures each cube will crush.

(5.) The effect of weather is not easily ascertained artificially,
although it is suggested that a good test may be made by soaking the
stone in a saturated solution of sulphate of soda; and then on exposure
to the air, if soft, it is said the stone will disintegrate as if under
the action of thaw succeeding frost.[27]

The specific gravity of a stone is no criterion whatever as to its
fitness. Clay-slate has a higher specific gravity than a tough flint,
and yet the former is almost useless as a road metal; the latter, on the
contrary, often making excellent roadways.

The qualities necessary for a really good road metal are hardness,
toughness, not easily decomposed or affected by the weather, and at the
same time the stone when broken ought to have some power of cohesion
without the necessity of much binding material. The question of cost I
put aside at once, as it is well known that the best road metal is
always the cheapest where there is much or heavy traffic.

Local circumstances must to a great extent determine what stone to use
upon a roadway, but the following list may be of use:--


_Syenite._--This is a granite in which hornblende takes the place of
mica, and is an excellent road material; the darker the colour the more
durable it is found to be.


_Granite._--This should have more felspar than quartz, and have as
little mica as possible; the closer the grain the better. Coarse-grained
granites soon decompose.


_Trappean Rocks._--Some of these are excellent for road metal. Basalts
of dark colour and close grain should be selected. Greenstones with
similar characteristics are good; as is also Whinstone.


_Gneiss._--Is inferior to granite; it has mica in layers and is not a
good road metal.


_Clay Slates._--These are useless, as they crumble on exposure or
degenerate into mud.


_Limestone._--The Metamorphic, Silurian, and Carboniferous limestones
may be used if crystalline in appearance, but the Lias and Oolitic are
of little use.[28]


_Sandstones._--Some of these, if cherty or containing a large percentage
of iron, may be used; but as a rule they are quite unfitted for use as a
road metal.


_Flints._--These, if tough, make excellent roadways; but unfortunately
they are sometimes too brittle for heavy traffic. Surface-picked flints
are better than those from a quarry.[29]


_Pebbles._--These are found on sea shores and river beds. They are
composed of very various rocks, and are much water-worn and rounded;
when broken they sometimes answer very well if mixed with gravel to bind
them.


_Gravel._--This, if of a flinty character, and not too much mixed with
earthy matter, makes good roads for light traffic, if carefully watched
or well rolled during formation. Pit gravel should always be screened
through wire screens of 1¹⁄₂ to 1³⁄₄ gauge, and the small can be used
for footpaths.

In some places it is difficult to obtain any natural stone for the
purposes of road metal; in these cases slag from blast furnaces or
ordinary clinkers from furnaces are sometimes used. Oyster shells are
used on the roadways near the Gulf coasts[30] and charcoal in Michigan,
United States.[31] I have myself made a most excellent roadway with
coral on the coast of Jamaica, and no doubt many strange materials have
been, and still are, used for this purpose.

“I never mix” is an adage that should be followed by surveyors as
regards road metal. Do not mix a soft material with one that is harder
for either construction or maintenance of a roadway; the effect is what
is known as a “bumpy” road, arising from the fact of the soft stone
wearing faster than the hard. The hardest metal should be kept for the
top or surface layer of the roadway.

As an instance of the extreme difficulty besetting the question of the
best material for road metal, I will here give a table showing the
comparative coefficients of quality assigned to them by the engineers of
the French Department of the Ponts et Chaussées.[32]

COEFFICIENTS OF QUALITY OF ROAD MATERIALS.

  Granitic gravel                23·8
  Quartz gravel                  21·4
  Trap                           20·0
  Quartz                         10·0 to 25·0 (in one instance 4·8)
  Basalt                         12·0  „ 20·0
  Porphyry                       10·0  „ 20·0 (in one instance 5·0)
  Quartzite                      11·0  „ 18·0
  Devonian schist                16·0
  Schist                          4·0 to 12·0
  Sandstone                      12·0  „ 16·0
  Granite                         6·0  „ 20·0 (generally 10·0 to 12·0)
  Syenite                        12·0
  Gneiss                          9·0 to 12·0
  Silicious pebbles and gravel    8·0  „ 19·0 (in one instance 6·0)
  Silex                           8·0  „ 16·0
  Chalk flints                    7·0  „ 11·6
  Silicious limestone             6·0  „ 18·0 (generally about 10·0 to
                                              12·0)
  Compact limestone              14·0
  Magnesian limestone            16·0
  Carboniferous limestone         9·0
  Oolitic limestone               5·0 to 12·0
  Lias limestone                  5·0  „ 10·0
  Juranic limestone               5·0  „  8·0
  Limestone                       5·0  „ 12·0
  Mean of all France                          10·63

It will be seen by the above table how different are the results
obtained from materials of the same character.

Breaking stone for the purpose of using it as a road metal was, until
comparatively recent years, always effected by hand; now, as in other
cases, machinery has stept in and somewhat supplanted manual labour.
Hand-broken road metal, however, still finds favour with road surveyors;
it is better broken, and in some districts, the occupation finds
employment for persons who otherwise would be thrown on the rates for
support.

In breaking stone by hand the breaker sits and strikes the stone with a
small cast-steel chisel-faced hammer, weighing about one pound, at the
end of a long, straight-grained but flexible ash stick.[33] The breaker
also has another hammer, weighing about five pounds, with which he
reduces the size of the large stones before breaking them into the
proper size for road metal. This latter size is often a matter of
choice, some engineers preferring it to be broken so small as will pass
through a ring of only 1¹⁄₂ inch in diameter; others are content with 3
inches, especially where the roads are steam rolled. An old method of
gauging used to be “such a size as the stone breaker could put in his
mouth,” but this was unsatisfactory to all persons concerned, and “to
pass all ways through a ring of 2¹⁄₂ inches internal diameter” is now
the size most generally adopted.

Mr. Codrington says[34] “a good stone breaker will break 2 cubic yards
of hard limestone to the ordinary gauge in a day, and some men will
break more. Hard silicious stones and igneous rocks can only be broken
at the rate of 1¹⁄₂ or of 1 cube yard per day; of some of the toughest,
such as Guernsey granite, a man can only break on an average half a cube
yard per day. River gravel, field stones, or flints, which are already
of a small size, can be broken at the rate of 3 or 4 cube yards per
day.”

This may be taken as fairly representing a day’s work, the price for
breaking however must vary considerably in different localities on
account of the variety of the stones to be broken and the value of
labour; in some districts the road metal does not cost more than 1_s._
per cube yard, in others 2_s._ 6_d._ and 2_s._ 8_d._ is not considered
too high, and it was to meet and reduce this great expense that steam
stone-breaking machines have been introduced. These machines are known
as “Ellison’s,” “Newall and Archer’s,” “Hope’s,” and “Blake’s,” the
latter being that which is best known and most generally used in this
country.

[Illustration: “ARCHER’S” STONE BREAKER.]

[Illustration: “BLAKE’S” STONE BREAKER.]

[Illustration: “NEWALL AND ARCHER’S” STONE BREAKER.]

The foregoing illustrations will give a general idea of the manner in
which the stone is broken or crushed between strong iron jaws; in all
cases a revolving perforated screen is necessary (not shown in the
drawings) to separate the stone broken to proper gauge from that which
is too large, and also from the spalls or chippings.

The Blake’s or “Blake Marsden’s” machines are of various sizes and
weights; the following particulars with respect to them, as advertised,
may be of use.[35]

  ------------+----------+---------+---------------+-------------
     Size of  |          |         |               |
   machine at | Approxi- |         |  Total weight |
     mouth,   |   mate   |         |  of machine   |
  showing what| quanti-  |         |  with wheels, |
    size of   |  ty of   | Nominal |  axles, horse |
   stone each |road metal| horse-  | shafts, auto- | Price of[36]
  machine will|  broken  | power   |matic screening|   machine
      take.   | per hour.|required.|apparatus, etc.|  complete.
  ------------+----------+---------+---------------+-------------
     inches.  |   cube   |   H.P.  | tons cwt. qrs.| £  _s._ _d._
              |  yards.  |         |               |
     10 ×  8  |    3¹⁄₃  |     3   |   5    6   0  |157  0    0
     12 ×  8  |    4     |     3   |   5   11   0  |167  0    0
     15 ×  8  |    5     |     5   |   6   19   0  |200  0    0
     15 × 10  |    6     |     6   |   8    5   0  |220  0    0
     20 × 10  |    8     |     8   |  10    2   0  |265  0    0
     24 × 13  |   12     |    10   |  15    5   0  |390  0    0
     24 × 17  |   13     |    14   |  16    2   0  |415  0    0
     24 × 19  |   14     |    16   |  19   17   0  |440  0    0
     30 × 13  |   14     |    16   |  16    2   0  |440  0    0
  ------------+----------+---------+---------------+-------------

Mr. Till, the Borough Engineer of Birmingham, speaking of the work done
by one of Blake’s machines in 1874, says:[37] “The stone-breaking
machine at Holliday Street will break on an average 40 tons of ragstone
per day, at a cost, exclusive of wear and tear of machine, of 10¹⁄₂_d._
per ton, but it produces 16 per cent. of dust or fine stone; of the
remainder one-fifth has to be rebroken by hand, the whole is very
irregular in size and very flaky in comparison with hand-broken stone.
The machine is much more efficient in breaking granites or pebbles. It
has, however, been found very useful during the last two years, in
consequence of the difficulty of obtaining labour.”

Mr. Jacob, the Borough Engineer of Barrow in Furness, read an excellent
paper on the subject of stone-breaking machinery to the members of the
Association of Municipal and Sanitary Engineers, at their meeting in
Manchester in 1875,[38] giving a full description of one of Blake’s
machines, to which I will refer my readers.

Mr. Codrington[39] gives the result of breaking whinstone in a 16-inch
by 9-inch Hope machine, from which it appears that the total cost,
including wages, coal, oil, cottonwaste, etc., wear and tear of
machinery, and, I presume, interest on first cost of machine, was about
1_s._ per cube yard. This effected a saving of 10_d._ per cube yard as
compared with the same stone broken by hand, and the machine broke 40
tons of stone per diem.

To make a stone-breaking machine pay, it is necessary:

(1.) To give it nearly constant work.

(2.) That the stone to be broken shall be too tough to break
economically by hand.

(3.) That the machine shall be at the quarry, so as to save the expense
of much handling.

(4.) To exercise care in feeding, to give it a sufficient supply without
allowing an undue quantity of stone to pass in at one time.

(5.) As about 20 per cent. of grit or dust is produced, this must be
used for foot-paths, or as a binding material for roads, or in asphalte
or tar paving.

In addition to the grit which is produced, a great many long and thin
pieces of stone pass through the machine, which have to be again broken
by it before they could be used as road metal; and having once taken
this form, they will frequently pass several times through the machine
before they get properly broken.

The wear and tear of a stone-breaking machine is very considerable, as
can be easily imagined; it has been known to reach as high as 62·5 per
cent.[40] of the first cost of the machine in one year. The objections
to stone-breaking by machinery are principally:

(1.) In some districts labour can be successfully employed in this
manner.

(2.) Hand-broken stone is sharper in fracture, as it is done by a blow
and not by gradual pressure, whereas machine-broken stone is often flaky
or with rounded edges, and frequently each stone may be cracked and
shaken by the pressure.

(3.) Want of uniformity in the size of the stones.

The smaller the stone is broken the heavier a cubic yard of it will
weigh, as the percentage of vacant space between each stone will be
less. It has been found by experiment, however, that 55 per cent. of
ordinary road metal is solid, so that the weight of a cubic yard of it
can easily be ascertained in the following manner.[41]

Multiply the weight of a cubic foot of any stone by 27 to bring it to a
cubic yard, and then multiply this by 0·55: the result will be the
weight of a cubic yard of the same stone when broken for metalling.

A cubic yard of Guernsey granite broken to pass through a 2¹⁄₂ inch ring
has been weighed, and gives an average of 1 ton 3 cwt. 2 qrs.

                                      tons cwt. qrs.
  A cube yard of flint weighed          1   1    3
     „       „   pit gravel weighed     1   4    3
     „       „   limestone weighed      1   3    0

A cubic yard of ordinary broken road metal will, when properly spread,
cover an area of about 30 square yards of surface of a roadway.

The following specimen specification for the supply of stone either
unbroken or broken may be of use.


_Specification for the Supply of Road Metal._

(1.) The road metal must at all times be clean and free from clay or
other dirt, and fully equal to the sample; if required to be broken,
each cube must have a square face and sharp edges, and pass all ways
through a 2¹⁄₂ inch ring.

(2.) The metal must be delivered in (_name of town_) free of all charge
to the corporation, either at a railway station or at one of the depôts
of the corporation, at the option of the contractor, such option to be
declared in the tender.

(3.) The metal must be supplied on the order of the borough engineer in
such quantities as he may specify, and must be delivered within the time
specified in the order. The contractor shall not be required to supply
and deliver more than    tons in any one week; but the corporation will
be at all times ready to take the metal in larger quantities.

(4.) The bill of lading or railway invoice shall be taken as _primâ
facie_ evidence of the weight of metal supplied; but the corporation
retain the right to test the accuracy of such bill of lading or railway
invoice, by passing the metal over a weighbridge as it is received.

(5.) Metal delivered at a depôt by carts shall be measured when broken
and paid for at the rate of    cwt. per cubic yard.

(6.) The corporation retain the right to reject all metal which shall
not be equal to the sample, or at their option to pay a reduced price
according to its value.

(7.) Quarterly payments will be made by the corporation on the
certificate of the borough engineer, and within one month from the date
of such certificate.

(8.) The borough engineer shall be the sole judge as to the fitness of
the metal supplied, and his certificate, in writing, shall be conclusive
evidence upon the point as between the corporation and the contractor.

(9.) If the contractor shall make default in the supply and delivery of
road metal in accordance with the terms of this specification, and
within the time specified for the purpose in the order of the borough
engineer, the corporation shall be at liberty to obtain such road metal
as they may deem fit and necessary from another source, and any excess
in price or other loss they may consequently incur, shall be recoverable
by them from the contractor as liquidated and ascertained damages.

(10.) Tenders must be sent in only on the prescribed form, and the
person tendering must insert in his tender the name of two persons who
will join him in a joint and several bond to the corporation in the sum
of   _l._ for the due performance of the contract.

(11.) Each person tendering must send to the office of the borough
engineer a sample of the road metal he offers, accompanied by a full
description, and the name and position of the quarry from which it is
produced; such sample to be not less that one cwt. in weight, and to be
retained by the corporation in the event of the tender being accepted.

(12.) The corporation do not bind themselves to accept the lowest or any
tender; and they further retain the right to reject a contractor in the
event of his failing to find sureties to their satisfaction in
compliance with the 10th condition.

(13.) The word “corporation” shall mean the mayor, aldermen and
burgesses, of        in their capacity as the urban sanitary authority
for       . The word “contractor” shall mean the person whose tender is
accepted, and who has signed these conditions; and the words “borough
engineer” shall mean the engineer to the said corporation for the time
being.

Since writing this chapter my attention has been directed to a
stone-breaking machine which is said to substitute a “knapping” for that
of the usual crushing motion which is so generally the great defect in
these machines: I allude to that known as “Baxter’s patent
knapping-motion stone breaker,” by which a rapid jerk or blow is given
instead of the slow crushing movement, thus (it is contended) causing
less waste from dust and chippings, and also less strain of the
machinery and less power to drive it.

  [26] Toughness is not all that is required. Leather would be very
  difficult to break with a hammer, but it would not make a good road
  metal.

  [27] I have tried this experiment, but without success, except on such
  soft stones as were evidently unfitted for use as a road metal.

  [28] Many hundreds of miles of roadways in this country are made with
  limestones; they often make an excellent surface, as they possess a
  considerable power of binding together, but weather and very heavy
  traffic affect them considerably: as they all have a strong affinity
  for water, their very power of thus cementing themselves together
  causes a quantity of dust in dry, and mud in wet weather.

  [29] A flinty or quartzose stone seems to harden with exposure. This
  is notably the case in pebbles; old pebble paving taken up and broken
  makes a most hard and durable road metal.

  [30] ‘Roads, Streets and Pavements,’ by Q. A. Gillmore, p. 10.

  [31] _Ibid._

  [32] _Vide_ ‘The Maintenance of Macadamised Roadways,’ by Thomas
  Codrington, p. 33, a most excellent work upon this subject.

  [33] Mr. W. Bold considered a hammer weighing 1¹⁄₄ lb. of an
  elliptical form, pointed at the ends, the area of each end being about
  ¹⁄₁₀₀th of a square inch, to be the most suitable to break hard
  stones. _Vide_ ‘Minutes of Proceedings, Institution of Civil
  Engineers,’ vol. i. (1840) p. 50.

  [34] ‘The Maintenance of Macadamised Roads,’ by Thomas Codrington, p.
  38.

  [35, 36] No doubt the price of the machine varies with the price of
  iron, etc.

  [37] _Vide_ ‘Report of the Borough Surveyor of Birmingham to the
  Paving and Street Improvement Sub-Committee,’ p. 11.

  [38] _Vide_ ‘Proceedings of the Association of Municipal and Sanitary
  Engineers,’ vol. ii. p. 76.

  [39] _Vide_ ‘The Maintenance of Macadamised Roadways,’ by Thomas
  Codrington, p. 41.

  [40] _Vide_ ‘Proceedings of the Association of Municipal and Sanitary
  Engineers,’ vol. ii. p. 82.

  [41] _Vide_ ‘The Maintenance of Macadamised Roadways,’ by Thomas
  Codrington, p. 45.




CHAPTER VII.

ROAD ROLLING.


The march of civilisation has decided that road rolling is a necessity
for macadamised roads, instead of allowing the stones of which they are
composed to be worn in by the traffic, as was formerly the custom. In
Calcutta bullock rollers were used so long ago as the year 1855, and it
was the cruelty of this operation that suggested to Mr. W. Clark the
necessity for a steam roller,[42] the outcome of which was the
well-known roller as manufactured and supplied by Messrs. Aveling and
Porter of Rochester, and now so generally used throughout this country,
as well as in American and other foreign towns.[43]

Steam rolling saves money as well as suffering, and the legislature have
recognised the importance of a sanitary authority becoming possessed of
a steam roller by permitting money to be borrowed for the purchase of a
roller as for a permanent work. (Sect. 234 Glenn’s Public Health Act
1875, footnote to Sub. Sect. (1).)

Mr. Albert W. Parry, the Borough Surveyor of Reading, has prepared some
tables on the subject of steam road rollers, from information he
received on this subject, in answer to some questions he addressed to
the surveyors of a number of towns a few years ago. It appears from this
tabulated statement that thirty-three 15-ton steam rollers were in use,
six 10-ton rollers, one 21-ton roller, one 8-ton roller, one 9¹⁄₂ ton
roller, one 14¹⁄₂-ton roller, one 17-ton roller, and one 25-ton roller;
this latter not being much used, as it was found to be too heavy.

The average gross cost per annum of necessary repairs to the rollers,
other than those which could be effected by the men in charge of it,
amounted to 35_l._ 12_s._ The number of men employed to attend to the
roller and cost of labour per day varied considerably, from one case
(South Shields) where “one engine-man at 26_s._ per week, and an old
scavenger with the flag” were found to be sufficient; to another
(Gloucester) where the cost per day is stated as follows: “one man works
the engine at 5_s._ per day, one boy with signal flag, 1_s._ 8_d._, two
men spreading gravel or sand at 3_s._, two men watering and sweeping to
keep water from running off in channels.”

Some of the older rollers require a steersman as well as a driver, and
the Locomotives Amendment Act requires two men with flags, but this is
seldom really necessary. The sweepers, spreaders and sprinklers should
be taken as irrespective of the actual cost of the roller, which may
therefore be assumed to be the wages of the engine-man, say 5_s._ per
diem, and a boy or old man with a flag at 2_s._, thus making a total for
labour of 7_s._ per diem.

The fuel that is consumed by a 15-ton roller seems to be from 3 to 5
cwt. of coke per diem, common gas coke being generally used, though
steam coal would no doubt answer equally well, some of the smokeless
Welsh descriptions being of course necessary.

With regard to the question “When not used for rolling roads, to what
other use (if any) do you put the engine power?” there are not many
towns that use the machine for any other purpose than rolling, but the
following uses may be enumerated to which the machines have been
applied:--Driving a stone-breaker, a mortar-mill, a saw-bench, a
chaff-cutting machine, a bean-crusher, etc. It has also been used in
connection with pumping, and to produce the necessary power for the
electric light, and it is frequently employed as a traction engine.

The driving rollers usually have provision by which spikes may be fitted
into holes in their faces, in order that they may be used for lifting or
chequering roads. These, however, apparently do not answer; the working
of a machine in this manner is said to shake and strain it considerably,
and the holes in the rollers, which are plugged with wood when not in
use, are objectionable, as these plugs wear out and the road metal gets
into the holes, and the surface of the road is picked up as the rolling
proceeds; besides this, the spikes seem to have no effect unless the
surface of the roadway being operated upon is soft.

With reference to the use of binding material, the most commonly used
and that which receives most favour is road grit or scrapings,[44] sharp
sand is also employed, as well as gravel if clean, and also stone
chippings and screenings; these should be of the same material of which
the road is made, if possible, and no doubt _newly_ constructed roads
require more care in the binding material than simple repairs. The
steepest gradient upon which a roller will act appears to be 1 in 9 in
Blackburn, with a 15-ton roller, but this must require a very heavy
pressure of steam, and 1 in 14 seems to be a gradient that gives no
trouble to roll either up or down; in going down hill, of course it is a
mere question of sufficient break power.

The number of superficial yards rolled per day must vary extremely with
circumstances: the class of material, the amount of binding and water
used, the gradient and pressure of steam maintained, and the amount of
rolling considered necessary,[45] being amongst the various influences.
From the above returns I find that the number of square yards rolled
varies from 500 to 3000 per diem, the average for 42 towns being 1105
square yards per diem.

The cost per square yard rolled, including all charges, may be assumed
to be between ¹⁄₂_d._ and 1_d._, and the cost of binding material about
3_d._ per square yard. With reference to the necessity of binding
material, the following, facts are interesting.

Mr. Wm. H. Grant, Superintending Engineer of the New York Central Park,
in his report upon the park roads, says:[46] “At the commencement of the
macadam roads, the experiment was tried of rolling and compacting the
stone by a strict adherence to Macadam’s theory, that of carefully
excluding all dirt and foreign material from the stones, and trusting to
the action of the roller and the travel of teams to accomplish the work
of consolidation. The bottom layer of stone was sufficiently compacted
in this way to form and retain, under the action of the rollers (after
the compression had reached about its practical limit) an even and
regular surface; but the top layer, with the use of the heavy roller
loaded to its greatest capacity, it was found impracticable to solidify
and reduce to such a surface as would prevent the stones from loosening
and being displaced by the action of waggon-wheels and horses’ feet. No
amount of rolling was sufficient to produce a thorough binding effect
upon the stones or to cause such a mechanical union and adjustment of
their sides and angles together, as to enable them mutually to assist
each other in resisting displacement. The rolling was persisted in with
the roller adjusted to different weights up to the maximum load (12
tons) until it was apparent that the opposite effect from that intended
was being produced. The stones became rounded by the excessive attrition
they were subjected to, their more angular parts wearing away, and the
weaker and smaller ones being crushed.”

“The experiment was not pushed beyond this point. It was conclusively
shown, that broken stones of the ordinary sizes, and of the very best
quality for wear and durability, with the greatest care and attention to
all the necessary conditions of rolling and compression, would not
consolidate in the effectual manner required for the surface of a road
while entirely isolated from and independent of other substances. The
utmost efforts to compress and solidify them while in this condition
after a certain limit had been reached, were unavailing.”

From the foregoing it is very evident that some description of binding
material is essential in making a road under a roller. Where traffic is
allowed to consolidate a road it is different, as then the stones are
knocked about and are sufficiently abraded against each other to form a
binding material for themselves. Too much binding material or too much
water should not be used in forming a road with a steam roller. It is
unfortunately frequently the case that a road is made quickly only to go
to pieces with the traffic in a few weeks. The surface of a
well-constructed macadamised roadway should after being rolled look
almost like an encaustic pavement. If there is too much binding material
in the joints of the stones, the first heavy rain washes it out and the
surface of the roadway quickly goes to pieces.

The following description of the manner in which it is recommended that
the roller should be applied is taken from an excellent little pamphlet
on Steam Road Rolling, by Messrs. Aveling and Porter, the well-known
makers of steam-rollers, and although local circumstances must guide the
surveyor in all his works, the particulars may be of use:--

“In the best practice the roadway is excavated, graded, and properly
formed to a depth of 14 inches from the level of the gutters, with a
cross section conforming to the cross section of the road when finished;
it is then thoroughly and repeatedly rolled with the steam roller, all
depressions being carefully filled and rolled before the stone is put
on. On the bed thus formed and consolidated a layer of stones 8 inches
thick is set by hand, and rammed or settled to place by sledge hammers,
all irregularities of surface being broken off and the interstices
wedged with pieces of stone. The intermediate layer of broken stone, of
a size not exceeding 3 inches in diameter, is then evenly spread to a
depth of 4 inches and thoroughly rolled, and this is followed by rolling
in half-an-inch of sand. The surface layer of stone, broken to a size
not larger than 2 inches diameter, and to a form as nearly cubical as
possible, is then put on to a depth of 3 inches, thoroughly rolled, and
followed as before by sand, also rolled. Finally, a binding composed of
clean, sharp sand is then applied, well watered and most thoroughly
rolled with the steam roller, until the surface becomes firm, compact
and smooth, the superfluous binding material being swept off and
removed.”

And the following account of the method adopted in the United States at
Hartford may also be of interest.[47]

“The surface of the road is excavated to a suitable depth--say, 18
inches; preparing the form for the pavement with the precautions as for
a common pavement; 4 inches of gravel and proper drainage where
required, provided blocks of stone of any irregular shape are selected
for the pavement, of about 7 inches in thickness. The blocks are set by
hand with great care, as closely in contact at their base as
practicable. The surface between the blocks is filled with chippings of
stone carefully laid in. A layer of broken stone, 4 inches thick, is
laid over this pavement. The road-covering thus prepared should be
rolled with the steam roller until the upper layer has become perfectly
compact and consolidated. The second layer, about 3 inches in depth, is
then laid on; a coating of clean coarse gravel, 1¹⁄₂ inch thick, termed
‘binding,’ is spread over the surface, and the whole well rolled as
before, and you have the requisites of a good road--viz., clean, hard,
and even at all seasons. No road should be considered made until it is
completely rolled. A road made in the manner above described, and kept
perfectly clean, hard, and even, with materials of a good tough quality,
would show extremely little wear on the surface; indeed, it has been
found in France to be less than ¹⁄₂ an inch in a year, on a road of
great traffic.”

In the neighbourhood of New York the steam roller is used as follows:--

Two and a half inches of trap rock is laid and lightly rolled until the
stones have become a little compacted, then coarse screenings are added,
and it is again rolled; after this a layer of about 2 inches of stones
are added and rolled with coarse screenings as before. Fine screenings
or stone dust is then applied, and the roadway is then rolled until
every interstice is filled up; it is then well watered and again rolled.

With reference to the employment of the steam roller in repairs of
roads, the following description is given of the method adopted by the
Surveyor to the Tottenham Local Board, near London.[48]

“When a road becomes so full of holes or so worn as to require coating
throughout its entire length and width, it should be hacked completely
over and raked into a segmental form in its transverse section to remove
irregularities, and so that the road may have a fall from the crown to
the channel of not less than one inch to a yard. It should then be
coated with stone broken as nearly cubical as possible and to an uniform
gauge. When spread it should be slightly coated with gravel screenings,
or the grit sweepings from the roads, which are equally suitable for the
purpose when in proper condition. The road should then be watered and
rolled, beginning with the road at the channels, and ending at the crown
of the road, until a smooth surface is obtained, more stones being added
to fill up any inequalities that may exist, until the whole is
consolidated. By constantly sweeping the grit from the sides to the
crown of the road as the roller passes over, every stone is thoroughly
grouted into its bed.”

Mr. R. Read, the Surveyor of Gloucester, says:[49] “The road should be
thoroughly well lifted and the metalling spread in three-inch layers
evenly, and rolled once or twice before the gravel or other binding
material is spread; then spread gravel or sand evenly and well watered
with fine distributor until the stone is entirely covered, and the sand
does not adhere to the roller. Dam up the road channels to prevent water
and sand running off into sewers and let men scoop up the water, and
throw it back on the road, as it collects in the gutters.”

In all cases the sides should be rolled first to such a degree of
firmness that when the roller passes over the centre or crown of road,
its weight, which tends to spread the metal or make it work off towards
the sides, may be resisted by their consolidation.

With reference to the effect of the weight of steam road rollers upon
roadways, it may be well here to compare that of a 15-ton roller with
other burdens that a road has to bear, taking each case at per inch of
width of tire.

An ordinary loaded two-wheeled cart presses with a weight of about 9
cwt. per inch width of tire, a loaded wagon about 7¹⁄₂ cwt., a 9-ton
traction engine about 3³⁄₄ cwt., and a 15-ton steam road roller about
3¹⁄₂ cwt. So that as far as the surface of the roadway is concerned, a
roller affects it the least of any of the above loads.

It has, however, been found that where rollers of more weight than 15
tons are used,[50] not only are they unwieldy, but, from their great
weight, the solidity of the foundation of the roadway may be interfered
with, and also there is great danger of damaging gas or water mains and
services, besides any cellars that may be constructed under the roadway.

The steam rollers which are principally used in this country, are those
manufactured by Messrs. Aveling and Porter, and those by Messrs. Green
and Sons, drawings of both of which are here represented.

[Illustration: MESSRS. AVELING AND PORTER’S 15-TON STEAM ROAD ROLLER.]

[Illustration: MESSRS. GREEN AND SON’S 15-TON STEAM ROAD ROLLER AND
TRACTION ENGINE COMBINED.]

In Paris the Gellerat steam roller is used, and another is also known,
which is manufactured by Messrs. Morland and Sons.

A 15-ton steam roller costs about 650_l._ in the first place, the cost
of working it &c., has been given in the early pages of this chapter.

The advantages of steam road rolling may be summed up as follows:--

(1.) The saving of wear and tear to vehicles and horses. Roads should be
made _for_ the traffic, and not _by_ it.[51]

(2.) Economy; as it is said that a saving of from 30 to 50 per cent. is
effected by reason of the roads being better made thus obviating the
necessity for such frequent sweeping and scraping.

(3.) The roads can be made or repaired at any season of the year.

(4.) The avoidance of cruelty to horses, cattle, and sheep, as in the
case of newly metalled unrolled roads.

(5.) A saving of road metal. (_a_) Because it need not be broken so
small. (_b_) Because there are no loose stones to be kicked about and
lost. (_c_) Because there is no abrasion of the stones, only one surface
of the stone being exposed. (_d_) Because no ruts can be formed in which
water can lie to rot the stone. (_e_) Because a thinner coating of metal
can be employed.

(6.) The roller can be advantageously used for other purposes.

(7.) Rolled streets have a better appearance, they are easier of traffic
as having more evenness of surface and superior hardness, and it is
contended that if steam rollers were more general there would not be
such an outcry for other descriptions of pavement for roadways.

(8.) The steam roller soon finds out the good from the bad metal for
roads, it is also contended that it also does this with respect to the
gas and water mains, the latter, however may be looked upon as a rather
doubtful advantage.

(9.) The avoidance of the necessity of the continued employment of men
raking the metal into the ruts.

In Mr. Paget’s valuable little pamphlet upon the subject of steam
rolling[52] may be found the following remarks:--

“One of the main advantages attending the rolling of roads by
steam-power, consists in the diminished proportion of mud or soluble
matter which is then incorporated in the structure of the road surface.
If the surface of an ordinary road that has not been rolled is broken up
and the material washed, it is found that as much as half of it is
soluble matter, mud, dirt, and very fine sand; the stones, having only
been thrown loosely upon the road, have lain so long before becoming
consolidated by the traffic, and have undergone in the meantime such
extensive abrasion that the proportion of mud, dirt, and pulverised
material in the metalling is increased to that extent, and the stones
are really only stuck together by the mud. This accounts for the fact
that although an unrolled macadamised road may indeed, after long use,
have a surface that is pretty good and hard in dry weather, and may
offer then a very slight resistance to traction, yet it will quickly
become soft and muddy when there is any rain. By the employment,
however, of a steam roller upon the newly-laid metalling of a
macadamised road the stones are rolled in and well bedded at once, and
the surface is thus consolidated into a sort of stone felt, capable of
resisting most effectually the action of ordinary traffic, and
containing the smallest quantity of soluble matter to form mud in wet
weather.”

Having given the advantages of steam road rolling, I will now proceed to
give the disadvantages.

(1.) The first cost; this to a small borough or town is often the great
stumbling block. It is a pity that two or three of them could not join,
and procure one between them at joint cost, thus avoiding the
individually heavy burden.

(2.) The risk of damage to gas and water mains and services; or even of
cellars under the streets in some of the older towns.

(3.) The interference to traffic whilst the roller is at work; the
result is generally unsatisfactory if, to avoid this, the machine is
worked during the night.

(4.) The noise and smoke.

(5.) The risk of frightening horses.

(6.) If too heavy a roller is used, the foundation of the roadway may be
injured or the metal may be crushed instead of bedded.

(7.) The necessity of using so much binding material and water.

Before closing this chapter it will be necessary to say a few words upon
rollers drawn by horses.

These are always unsatisfactory: they are expensive to use, as a large
team of horses and a number of attendants are necessary; they are
difficult to turn, and the horses’ feet displace almost as many stones
as the roller compresses into their beds.

They cannot be of greater weight than 10 tons, even when on the
hydrostatic principle, and they are clumsy and difficult of
manipulation.

If a roller is to be used at all, let it be a steam road roller of the
most modern description, and of the best manufacture.

  [42] _Vide_ ‘Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil
  Engineers,’ vol. lviii. p. 95. (The first steam roller was made in the
  year 1864.)

  [43] The first steam roller used in England was, I believe, in the
  year 1872; in Paris about 1864.

  [44] This should be collected and “weathered” so as to get rid of mud
  and any organic matter in it.

  [45] In Paris 3 to 3·75 ton miles of roller are applied to every cubic
  yard of metal; in America 5 ton miles are thought necessary.

  [46] _Vide_ ‘Roads, Streets, and Pavements,’ by Q. A. Gillmore, p. 89.

  [47] _Vide_ Aveling and Porter’s pamphlet on ‘Steam Road Rolling,’ p.
  32.

  [48] _Vide_ Aveling and Porter’s pamphlet on ‘Steam Road Rolling,’ p.
  33.

  [49] _Vide_ ‘The Use of Steam Rollers,’ by A. W. Parry, Reading.

  [50] Some road surveyors contend that for gravelled roads 6-ton
  rollers are heavy enough, for macadam roads 12-ton rollers.

  [51] Traffic in making a roadway is apt to grind off the sharp edges
  and spoil the metal before it is set.

  [52] ‘Report on the Economy of Road Maintenance and Horse Draught
  through Steam Rolling, with special reference to the Metropolis,’ by
  Frederick A. Paget, C.E., etc. etc., London 1870, to which I refer my
  readers for many scientific and useful facts upon this subject.




CHAPTER VIII.

PITCHED PAVEMENTS.


It has been asserted that where a roadway has a traffic exceeding 1000
vehicles per diem, that to maintain it as a macadamised roadway is not
economical.[53] However that may be, it is unquestionable that for very
heavy traffic blocks of hammer-dressed stone, laid upon a concrete or
hard gravel bed, have been in use for a great number of years, and
indeed the Romans, who were great road makers, introduced the system
(the Archaic, as it is sometimes called) into this country more than
2000 years ago; the size of the paving stones was, however, much larger
than modern science finds necessary.

There is no doubt that a roadway paved with granite or whinstone setts,
upon a hard concrete foundation, presents a most enduring pavement,
costing but a few pence per annum in repairs[54] and cleansing, and in
other respects it answers nearly all the requirements of traffic except
in two very important particulars--it becomes very greasy and slippery
under certain conditions of the weather after having been laid any time,
and it is an intolerable nuisance in any great thoroughfare, from the
incessant din and clatter arising from the wheels of vehicles and the
iron shoes of the horses striking upon it; so great is the noise in some
thoroughfares thus paved, that tradesmen are compelled to keep their
doors and windows tightly closed in order that they may be able to
conduct their business, and it is known to injuriously affect the nerves
and health of persons who are obliged to live in the vicinity of such
streets. It is a bad pavement too for horses to travel upon, the jar
upon the legs of the unfortunate animals soon telling upon them.

Great improvements, however, have in recent years been introduced to
correct these faults. The setts are now made very narrow, about 3 inches
in width, or 4 setts to 14 inches including the joints: this gives a
better foothold for the horse, the hoof having but a little way to slip
before being arrested by a joint; it also lessens the noise, and helps
besides to prevent the edges of the stones becoming worn or the pavement
wearing unevenly.

Running the joints with an asphaltic composition instead of ordinary
grouting has also materially conduced to deaden the noise.

Taking the question of cost into account--and cost of this description
of paving, be it remembered, is considerably affected by weight, when
carriage of the stone has to be considered--the following sizes of
stones may be taken as satisfactory.[55]

  Depth       6     to 8 inches
  Width       2¹⁄₂   „ 3   „
  Length      5      „ 9   „

The following table,[56] showing the number of square yards that 1 ton
in weight of different sizes of granite setts will cover, may be of
use, but this must vary with the specific gravity of the stone employed.

  Depth.      Width.         Square yards.
    5  inches × 3 inches covers 4¹⁄₃
    6    „    × 3   „      „    3²⁄₅
    4    „    × 4   „      „    5¹⁄₃
    7    „    × 3   „      „    3

The question of the best class of stones to employ as a paving material
must to a great measure depend upon local circumstances, but it is
important to select such stones as are very hard and durable, but which
will not wear smooth and slippery nor round by reason of the chipping
off of their edges.

Nearly all granites are suitable for this work, but Carnarvonshire
syenite[57] is said to be the best material that can be used, although,
being denser than granite, it is heavier and consequently more
expensive.

At one time large quantities of paving stones were used in London and
Liverpool which were brought from Bombay and China, as ballast for ships
trading between those ports.

Mount Sorrel from Leicestershire and the Welsh stones are said to wear
slippery[58] as well as porphyry, whereas the presence of felspar in the
granite always keeps it rough under traffic.

Of the granites, that from Dalbeattie in Scotland is said to be the
best.

The table on the next page, prepared by Mr. Walker in 1831, showing the
wear of different stones, may be of interest.

TABLE SHOWING THE RESULT OF EXPERIMENTS MADE BY MR. WALKER ON THE WEAR
OF STONES IN 1830-31, A PERIOD OF 17 MONTHS.

  ----------------+-------+---------------+-------+-----------+--------
                  | Super-|               |Loss of|           |
                  | ficial|               | weight| Loss per  |
                  |area in|    Original   |   by  |superficial|Relative
   Name of stone. | feet. |     weight.   |  wear.|   foot.   | losses.
  ----------------+-------+---------------+-------+-----------+--------
                  |       |cwt. qrs.  lbs.|       |           |
  Guernsey        | 4·734 | 7    1   12·75|  4·50 |   0·951   |  1·000
  Herm            | 5·250 | 7    3   24·25|  5·50 |   1·048   |  1·102
  Budle           | 6·336 | 9    0   15·75|  7·75 |   1·223   |  1·286
  Peterhead (blue)| 3·484 | 4    1    7·50|  6·25 |   1·795   |  1·887
  Heytor          | 4·313 | 6    0   15·25|  8·25 |   1·915   |  2·014
  Aberdeen (red)  | 5·375 | 7    2   11·50| 11·50 |   2·139   |  2·249
  Dartmoor        | 4·500 | 6    2   25·0 | 12·50 |   2·778   |  2·921
  Aberdeen (blue) | 4·823 | 6    2   16·0 | 14·75 |   3·058   |  3·216
  ----------------+-------+---------------+-------+-----------+--------

The Aberdeen granite as at present laid in the City of London, 3 inches
wide by 9 inches in depth, has a life of about 15 years.[59] In the City
of Durham whinstone setts of the same width last 17 or 18 years, in
Manchester similar granite setts last 15 to 20 years. On this subject
Mr. Deacon, the then Borough Engineer of Liverpool, has collected some
most valuable information, and I refer my readers to a paper read by him
before the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1879,[60] for a great deal
of useful information on this and other subjects connected with
roadways.

Various methods have been adopted for constructing granite paved
streets, some of which I will proceed to describe.

One of the first really good granite pavements introduced into London
was that known as the “Euston Pavement,” and it was constructed in the
following manner: The foundation was shaped to the intended surface of
the finished roadway; upon this a layer of coarse gravel was spread 4
inches in thickness, this was well rammed,[61] and upon it was spread 4
inches of gravel mixed with a small quantity of chalk to bind it; this
again being well rammed, upon it was placed a similar layer only
composed of finer gravel, and upon this foundation the stones were
placed, being bedded upon about an inch of fine sand. The stones used
were Mount Sorrel granite, which were hammer-dressed and squared, 3
inches in width by 4 inches in depth; they were set close together at
right angles with the lines of the kerb, they were then thoroughly
rammed by the pavior. The whole surface was afterwards covered with
screened gravel which was allowed to find its way into the joints and
thus steady the entire pavement.

The following section will explain this.

[Illustration]

In many cases the foundation is simply formed by shaping the soil to the
required contour, and covering this with 3 or 4 inches of gravel or
cinders, which is afterwards either rammed or consolidated by the
traffic; upon this the setts are placed as closely as possible, the
joints are then filled with fine gravel well worked in with a “cramming
iron,” the whole surface being then covered with a grouting of lime and
sand, which is brushed into the joints with a stumpy broom.[62]

In Leeds, Manchester, Salford, and many other important cities, I
believe the foundations are formed in the manner just described, but of
greater depth, the grouting also is a bituminous mixture, which I will
presently describe, instead of the ordinary lime grouting.

The paved streets of Manchester are proverbial for their excellence,
which is attributable to the manner in which the foundations of the
streets are consolidated by the traffic before any setts are placed on
them; in many cases the old macadamised surface of a street being
utilised as a foundation, this process being almost identical with that
recommended by Sir Henry Parnell fifty years ago.[63]

Where the traffic is heavy, however, a firmer foundation even than this
is necessary, and up to the present time no better foundation has been
introduced than that of good Portland cement concrete. This should be at
least 9 inches in thickness, and be composed of one part of Portland
cement, two parts of clean sharp river sand, and four parts of clean
river ballast, or broken stones, or other suitable material. The surface
of the concrete, after having been placed in position, should be
smoothed over with the shovel, so as to present the proper convexity and
have an even surface for the granite setts to be bedded upon.

Another description of foundation now very extensively used where the
traffic is heavy, is that known as “Bituminous Concrete,” which is made
as follows:

The ground being excavated to the proper depth and contour, broken stone
as for macadam is spread for a depth of 6 or 9 inches; this is then
levelled and thoroughly rolled with a light roller, a boiling mixture of
pitch and tar, or creosote oil is then poured over the whole surface
until every interstice is filled, when a thin layer of small broken
stone is spread upon it, and then well rolled until it consolidates.

It may be well to observe here that in all works involving concrete
foundations and paving in streets, the traffic should be entirely
stopped if at all possible. Streets paved half at a time are never quite
satisfactory, and the concrete should have at least a week to set before
the pavement is placed upon it.

Upon a foundation of either Portland cement or bituminous concrete, the
granite setts themselves should be grouted with a bituminous mixture
instead of cement or lime grouting. This renders the pavement more
impervious to moisture, makes it less noisy, and adds considerably to
its strength; the mode of applying it is nearly similar to that of
ordinary grouting. The setts are placed on about an inch of sand and
well rammed, the boiling mixture is then poured over the whole surface,
which is then covered with a thin coating of small, sharp gravel.

The following table of the proportions necessary for the bituminous
mixture may here be of use.

PROPORTIONS FOR BITUMINOUS MIXTURE.[64]

                                                                Creosote
                                 Pitch.     Tar.      Pitch.      oil.
  For grouting in pavements        1     to  1     or   3     to   1

  For foundations or lower layer   3     to  1     or   3¹⁄₂  to    ¹⁄₂
  of asphalte macadam

  For upper layer of asphalte      2¹⁄₂  to  1¹⁄₂  or   3¹⁄₄  to    ³⁄₄
  macadam and for foot paths

The objections to this method of paving are only temporary: the nuisance
arising from the fumes of the boiling mixture whilst it is being
applied, and the necessity for dry weather to make the operation
successful. Healey’s Patent Pitch Boilers[65] are said to moderate, if
not entirely to do away with the former, and the latter can be arranged
by only doing the work at favourable seasons, or if the worst come to
the worst, to cover the work with tarpaulins raised on trestles.

Before closing this chapter I should like to draw attention to the
question of provision for wheel tracks, or tramways paved with stone,
asphalte, or other hard material, and a track for horses giving a firmer
foot-hold, similar to those so highly spoken of in Milan and other
Italian cities. An excellent description is given of them by Mr. P. le
Neve Foster, Jun., in an appendix to a report on the Application of
Science and Art to Street Paving and Street Cleansing of the Metropolis
(1872).

The roadway where stone tramways are employed cannot be of convex
section; on the contrary, it should be concave, with the channel,
gutter, or water table in the centre. This is in itself an obvious
advantage, and I trust that the question of these tramways may at some
future date receive more attention from English engineers; the great
objection to them in this country being that the smooth tram-track would
be very slippery and apt to throw horses down when passing on and off,
but they have many advantages which should not be passed over without
consideration.[66]

  [53] Birmingham in 1854 had not, I believe, a single mile of paved
  streets; the principal ones are now nearly all paved with granite
  setts, and over 20,000 square yards were so paved in 1880.

  [54] It is said that the cost per annum per square yard of granite
  paved roadways is but 3_d._, whereas the same cost for macadamised
  roadways under the same circumstances is 1_s._ 6_d._

  [55] In Paris after considerable research into the question, the
  engineers of the Ponts et Chausseés, decided that the size of the
  paving stones, which used formerly to be 9 inches square should be 4
  inches wide by 6¹⁄₄ inches long by 6¹⁄₄ inches deep, the stone that is
  used being a grit sandstone, from the forest of Fontainebleu.

  [56] _Vide_ ‘Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil
  Engineers,’ vol. lviii. p. 66.

  [57] Syenite is a hard, greenish-grey metamorphic rock, composed
  principally of silica, alumina, and lime, in conjunction with
  magnesia, iron, etc. Its specific gravity is 2·96.

  [58] Mr. Boyle, District Surveyor of Manchester, says: “I would
  caution you against the use of the old blue Penmaenmawr stone as being
  an extremely slippery stone, and one which makes a dangerous
  pavement.” _Vide_ ‘Proceedings of the Association of Municipal and
  Sanitary Engineers,’ vol. iii. p. 58.

  [59] The old granite paving of London used only to last eight years.
  _Vide_ ‘Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers,’
  vol. ix. p. 222.

  [60] _Vide_ ‘Street Carriageway Pavements,’ by George Frederick
  Deacon, M. Inst. C.E., ‘Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of
  Civil Engineers,’ vol. lviii. p. 1 _et seq._

  [61] The pavior’s rammer is about 55 lb. in weight, with an iron ring
  at its foot; this is swung with some dexterity between the legs, and
  is allowed to fall with great force upon the earth or stones it is in
  use upon.

  [62] The usual specifications for the Guidet paving blocks (in New
  York) require that they shall be of granite, equal in hardness to the
  Quincy granite, of durable and uniform quality, each measuring not
  less than 3¹⁄₂ nor more than 4¹⁄₂ inches in width on the upper surface
  or face, and not less than 10 nor more than 15 inches in length, and
  not less than 8 nor more than 9 inches in depth. Blocks of 3¹⁄₂ inches
  in width on the face to be not less than 3 inches in width at the
  base; all other blocks to measure on the base not more than 1 inch
  less in width or in length than on the face. The blocks are set
  upright in close contact on their edges in courses, with the longest
  dimensions and the continuous joints running across the street,
  breaking joints lengthwise of the street.

  The ends of the blocks are dressed off so as to give close joints in
  the direction of the draught, while the broad vertical sides of the
  blocks are left rugged or uneven, or with the split rock-face so that
  the continuous joints running across the street are somewhat open.
  _Vide_ ‘Roads, Streets, and Pavements’ by Q. A. Gillmore, p. 157.

  [63] _Vide_ ‘A Treatise on Roads,’ by Sir Henry Parnell, p. 130.

  [64] As these ingredients often vary very much in their constitution,
  the surveyor must use his judgment to a great extent as to these
  proportions.

  [65] These boilers are now much used for such purposes, they hold from
  60 to 500 gallons and are light and portable; the temper of the
  bituminous mixture also remains uniform whilst being drawn off, and
  there is very little evaporation or waste arising from them.

  [66] Since writing the above, the Liverpool and Manchester tram-road
  was designed I believe on this principle.




CHAPTER IX.

WOOD PAVING.


In the year 1843 Mr. Charles Cochrane, the President of the ‘Association
for the promotion of Improved Street Paving, etc.,’ in a paper which he
read before the Institution of Civil Engineers, on the State of the
Streets of the Metropolis, said that there existed at that date 100,000
yards of wood pavement.[67] He further states that it is said to be
slippery, but that he approves of it as the best material hitherto used,
“both as regards its general economy and durability as well as its
facility of traction, and more especially its extreme cleanliness.”

Two years previous to this date, Mr. Edward Lomas condemned wood
pavement as slippery, and recommended granite pavement for horses with
wood tram-tracks for the wheels of vehicles.[68]

Since these dates the question of wood paving has made giant strides,
many companies and private firms having started business as wood
paviors, with many various methods, which they strongly advocate as
being superior to the others; amongst them I will enumerate and describe
the following:


_The Improved Wood Pavement Company._--The ground being consolidated, a
layer of sand is made the basis of the pavement, and assumes the shape
the surface of the street is intended to take. Red-wood boards 1-inch in
thickness are then laid across the roadway, from kerb to kerb, placed
together so as to break joint; boards of the same material and
thickness are then laid longitudinally, and breaking joint in the same
manner.[69] On this foundation red-wood blocks are placed in rows,
taking the same direction as the under flooring.

Between each row of blocks, a strip of wood ³⁄₄ × ³⁄₄ inch is nailed to
the block and flooring, the blocks in all cases breaking joint; the
spaces thus formed between the rows of blocks are then run with a thick
composition which fills all vacant spaces there may be between the strip
and the block, covering the strip about ¹⁄₈ of an inch. Gravel, dried
and sifted through ³⁄₄-inch mesh, is then put in, solidly rammed, and
composition poured in; the pavement is then covered to a depth of ¹⁄₂ an
inch with dried gravel and composition for the purpose of indurating the
surface, and filling the spaces flush with the top of the block, a
slight covering of sand is then spread, when the traffic may immediately
pass over.


_The Asphaltic Wood Pavement Company._--After the ground is properly
prepared, 6 or 9 inches of concrete is laid, on this is laid a bed of
asphalte not less than ¹⁄₂-inch in thickness; then wood blocks 3 by 8 by
5 inches or 3 by 9 by 5 inches, of good, sound, yellow Baltic timber are
laid with joints ¹⁄₂-inch in width, these joints are filled from 2
inches up with heated asphalte, the remaining 3 inches being filled with
a grouting of hydraulic lime, and clean, sharp, fine river grit or sand,
the whole being covered with a top dressing of fine, sharp sand, which
wears in with the traffic.


_Croskey’s Wood Pavement._--Upon a bed of concrete, cross grained planks
were to be placed side by side and be forced together by pressure so as
to form a compact homogeneous surface of wood.[70]


_Lloyd’s Patent Keyed Wood Pavement._--The special feature of this
system is that _Pitch Pine_ blocks are used laid _direct_ upon the
concrete foundation, the blocks being grooved on each side so that the
grouting (composed of Portland cement) shall run in and form a key.


_Harrison’s Wood Pavement._--This system consists of a concrete
foundation, upon which strips of wood 2 inches wide by ¹⁄₂ an inch in
thickness are laid. Upon these, wood blocks 3 inches in breadth are
placed, and then hot asphalte is poured into the joints, which
conglomerates the whole.


_Henson’s Wood Pavement._--The main feature of this patent consists in
placing common felt on the concrete bed, and between the joints of the
wood blocks; thus, it is contended, giving elasticity and allowing for
the expansion and contraction of the blocks. The blocks are also
bevelled on the top and grooved in a particular manner.


_Carey’s Wood Pavement._--In this case the blocks are cut 4 inches wide
by 9 inches long, and 5 or 6 inches deep, according to the traffic;
these blocks are shaped with alternate convex and concave ends, and are
laid on a bed of sand about 2 inches thick, the joints between the
blocks, which have been left about ³⁄₈ inch wide, being filled with a
grouting of lime and sand.


_Messrs. Mowlem and Company’s_ method of laying wood paving is to form a
foundation of concrete, varying in thickness according to the nature of
the subsoil and the traffic; then to pave with blocks of yellow deal, 3
inches wide and 6 or 7 inches deep; the joints, which vary from ³⁄₈ to
¹⁄₂ inch, are filled in with sand and lias lime, and the surface is
afterwards indurated by strewing it with shingle.


_Patent Ligno-Mineral Paving Company._--This company lays claim to the
speciality of using hard woods as well as pine, and that the pine blocks
they employ are preserved or mineralised so as to be more durable than
the wood in its natural state.[71]


_Nicholson’s Wood Pavement._--This is principally in use in the United
States, and consists of rectangular blocks of pine laid upon a close
flooring of pine boards, 1 inch thick, laid lengthwise with the line of
street, their ends resting on similar boards laid transversely from kerb
to kerb, the boards being thoroughly tarred and laid upon a bed of sand.
The joints of the wood blocks are run with an asphaltic mixture, and the
whole surface is finally covered with hot coal tar and sprinkled with
fine sand and gravel.


_Stowe’s Wood Pavement._--This is also American, the blocks resting
directly upon sand or gravel about 6 inches in thickness.[72] “The
blocks are set in courses transversely across the street, so as to break
joint lengthwise of the street, the courses being separated from each
other 1 inch by a continuous course of wooden wedges placed close
together edge to edge, and extending from kerb to kerb. These wedges are
set in the first instance with their tops flush with the top surface of
the blocks. After the whole pavement shall have been well rammed, so as
to give each block a firm bed, the wedges are driven down about 3
inches, and the open joints thus formed above them between the courses
are filled in with a concrete composed of hot coal tar and fine roofing
sand and gravel. The surface of the pavement may then be coated with
coal tar prepared by boiling with pitch, and finished off with a thin
layer of sand.”


_Wood Paving in Norwich._--Mr. P. Marshall, the City Surveyor of
Norwich, states[73] that the wood pavement in that city is “simply laid
on the road formation levelled up with shingle. The blocks are grouted
in with blue lias lime and well rammed down. This makes a splendid road,
and is superior to any portion of the road that has been laid with
concrete. This wood paving, 5 inches deep, laid as described, costs
7_s._ per yard super. We have had some down here now for 2 years, and
have had no settlement whatever. It is a very important matter, for it
makes wood paving possible for country towns.”


_Shiel’s Composite Block Paving._--This pavement consists of composite
blocks 12 inches by 15 inches, cast in iron moulds with two rows of wood
placed at an equal distance from either side and each other, the vacant
spaces being filled with granite broken as for macadam; over all is
poured a boiling composition of pitch, chalk, and sand. The blocks are
thus treated at the works, and are, when cool, taken to the street, laid
on a concrete foundation, and grouted with cement grouting.


_Prosser’s Wood Pavement._--This is composed of blocks sawn at an angle
of 60°, the grain of the wood running in the same direction. Each end of
the block rests on the other, transversely to line of street. Between
the rows of blocks a plank, the same depth as the blocks, but with the
grain of the wood horizontal, is placed. The blocks, which on one side
of the plank lean in an opposite direction to those on the other, are
secured or dowelled together by wooden pins running through the plank
and piercing the blocks about an inch.

In Chicago, U.S.A., cedar blocks 6 inches square, set on a composition
of tar and gravel, are used, and are said to make a very durable
pavement.

The following sanitary objections to wood as a material for pavements
are made in the Report on the Application of Science and Art to Street
Paving and Street Cleansing of the Metropolis (1872) page 17.

“The General Board of Health set aside wood as an ineligible material
for this amongst other reasons, that street surfaces ought to be
impermeable; and for roads of light traffic and cheap construction, they
looked to modifications of macadam, with bituminous binders of mineral
tar. Since then wood has been reproduced for the purpose, and strongly
pressed in improved forms for trial. It certainly offers the advantage
of a great gain in noiselessness over granite, more especially from the
horses’ feet, though with some disadvantage from a dead rumble and
vibration; and further it has the advantage of being more available than
smooth pavements for inclines. But hygienists object to its use on
grounds which, in the absence of sanitary science, are overlooked, but
which it is important to particularise as showing the dangerous state of
ignorance and incompetency of the authorities by whom they are not
entertained or are disregarded.”

The sum total of these charges against wood as a pavement consists in
the following: “Wood is porous, it is composed of bundles of fibres, it
absorbs and retains wet, foul wet especially.” Why _foul_ wet should be
absorbed more than ordinary wet does not transpire.

There is no doubt that wood in its natural state does absorb a large
quantity of water,[74] but this can be avoided in wood paving by
preserving the wood of which it is composed by one of the following
processes.

  (1) Burnetising   Chloride of zinc is used in this process.
  (2) Kyanising     Corrosive sublimate is used.
  (3) Renwickising  Boiling in coal tar.
  (4) Boucherising  Sulphate of copper is used.
  (5) Bethelising   Creosote heated to 200° F. is used.
  (6) Seelyising    Creosote is also used, the wood being first boiled.
  (7) Hayfordising  Creosote is also used, wood being unseasoned.

The fibres of the wood are also compressed, and no open joints between
the blocks are permitted, by paving the blocks transversely, with butt
joints closely packed together, and by filling the cross joints with an
asphaltic or other impervious grouting.

Wood paving should, however, be laid in streets with moderate traffic,
and plenty of sun and air. In confined spaces such as courts, it soon
rots and becomes a source of much unhealthiness.[75]

Many reports have been from time to time made on the advantages and
disadvantages of wood paving, and much has been said and written upon
the subject, so that I will only touch upon some of the principal
questions at issue.

The first of importance is that of durability, and although the life of
a hard wood constantly exposed to attrition is amazing, as may be seen
on the stairs of the Metropolitan Railway Stations, and in many cog
wheels of old machinery, still some diversity of opinion exists as to
what may be fairly put down as the wear per annum of the surface of a
street paved with wood blocks.

It must be remembered that to arrive at any fixed ratio of wear, a
standard of traffic should be fixed; but this unfortunately has not
hitherto been done, so that the results of observations are bound to
differ considerably. It must also not be lost sight of that the reason
of excessive wear in a wood pavement generally arises from wide joints
being the means of causing the edges of the blocks to abrade and become
worn.

Mr. D. T. Hope, in a paper he laid before the Scottish Society of Arts,
upon some most careful investigations he had made on this subject, gives
the wear as ¹⁄₈ of an inch in 18 months on blocks laid with vertical
fibre, which he proved was the best manner of laying them to ensure the
longest life.

Mr. Deacon estimated the wear at from 1³⁄₈ inch to 2⁵⁄₁₆ inches per
annum.[76]

Mr. Copland estimated the wear at ³⁄₁₆ of an inch per annum.[77]

Mr. Howorth estimates the life of wood paving at 25 years per inch of
wood, if an absolutely uniform quality of wood fibre could be
assumed.[78]

Mr. Haywood says,[79] “Wood pavements with repairs have in this City
(London) had a life varying from 6 to 19 years, and that with repairs,
an average life of about 10 years may be obtained.”

The life of wood is no doubt extended by being preserved by one of the
processes I have enumerated, but as its life may be taken as an average
of 8 to 10 years, and as the blocks are bound to wear unevenly, they
should be made as shallow as is consistent with stability; as it is an
undisputed fact that the foundation of a roadway is the important
carrier of the traffic, the surface material, of whatever it may be
constructed, only acting as a skin to preserve it. If the blocks are too
thick, unnecessary capital is locked up.

Wood pavement was laid in Sunderland[80] in 1859 with strips of
creosoted red pine, creosoted beech wood, and unpreserved oak, the bulk
of the paving being unpreserved red deal, and this was replaced in 1867.

In 1877, on renewing the pavement, it was found that the creosoted wood
suffered less from wear and tear than the unpreserved, so the whole was
done with creosoted red pine, the original strip of creosoted red pine
was left untouched, the strip of oak was turned, and the beech was
merely raised; and there is no doubt that the best wood pavement is that
which can be constructed in the simplest manner, as for instance deal
blocks 4 or 5 inches deep, laid with a close joint upon a Portland
cement concrete bed, the blocks being well grouted in with Portland
cement grouting, their surface being afterwards sprinkled or strewn with
sand or sharp gravel.

The woods employed for paving are beech and oak, both of which are said
to be too slippery, elm, which is not durable, pitch pine and Baltic
fir. Memel and Dantzic timber is better than Riga, the best wood for the
purpose being said to be Wyborg or St. Petersburgh red deals.

All sappy wood must be at once rejected as unsuitable. This is a great
objection to creosoting or other preserving processes, as it hides
defects in the wood.

The advantages of wood paving may be summed up as follows:--

(1.) It is the quietest of all known pavements, wheels make scarcely any
noise upon it and there is no clatter of horses’ hoofs.

(2.) It is much safer than either asphalte or granite pavements for
horses travelling upon it and if a horse falls he can rise more easily.

(3.) The traction necessary upon it, though slightly greater than upon
asphalte, is compensated for by the better foothold given to horses.

(4.) It is clean. If well constructed there should be no mud made upon
it; all that appears upon its surface should arise either from its being
imported upon it, or from the gravel with which it is sometimes
necessary to dress the surface.

(5.) It presents a uniform and slight elasticity, which is of great
benefit to vehicles passing over it.

(6.) It may be laid on a gradient of 1 in 20 with safety to the traffic.

The principal objections to wood as a paving are:--

(1.) It is said to absorb moisture and to smell offensively, but this
has often been refuted.[81] (2.) It is said to be difficult to cleanse
without the aid of water, as dirt adheres to the wood, and lingers in
the joints.

(3.) It is not easy to open it or repair it, for the purposes of gas and
water pipes, etc., and rather a large surface has to be removed for this
purpose, and it has to be left a little time after repairs before
traffic is again allowed on it.

(4.) The wood swells if wet, and cases are on record of the side kerbs
of streets being raised, and lamp posts thrown down, by the pressure of
the wood thus swelling.[82]

With regard to the cost of wood paving. This must vary in different
localities, according to the value of labour, of materials, and in the
manner in which the work is done.

The practice of most of the companies engaged in this class of work is
to make a fixed charge per square yard for the pavement, including the
concrete but excluding the excavation, and they also guarantee to keep
the pavement in repair free of charge for one or two years, and then
for so many years after, at so much per yard per annum.

About 14_s._ per square yard is generally the first charge for
constructing, and 1_s._ per square yard is the annual charge for
maintenance.

Upon the subject of cost the following tables[83] may be useful.

TABLE SHOWING THE ACTUAL DURATION AND COST OF CERTAIN WOOD PAVEMENTS IN
THE CITY OF LONDON.

  -----------+----------+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------
             |          |          |           | Total Cost|  Average
             |          |          | First Cost| of Repairs|   Cost
             |          |          |     per   | per Square| per Square
             |Date when |          |   Square  |Yard during|  Yard per
   Situation.|laid New. |   Life.  |    Yard.  |   Life.   |   Annum.
  -----------+----------+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------
             |          |Yrs. Mths.|£ _s._ _d._|£ _s._ _d._|£ _s._ _d._
  Cornhill   |May, 1855 | 10    2  |0  12   2  |0  17  4¹⁄₂|0  2  11
             |July, 1865|  6    8  |0  11   6  |0   8  9³⁄₄|0  3   0¹⁄₂
             |          |          |           |           |
  Gracechurch|Nov. 1853 | 11    7  |0  12   8  |0  17  1¹⁄₂|0  2   6³⁄₄
  Street     |June, 1865|  6    0  |0  11   6  |0   6 11   |0  3   0³⁄₄
             |          |          |           |           |
  Lombard    |May, 1851 |  9    4  |0   9   6  |0   6  0   |0  1   7³⁄₄
  Street     |Sept. 1860| 10    7  |0   9   2  |1   0  2   |0  2   9
             |          |          |           |           |
  Lothbury   |May, 1854 | 12    3  |0  12   6  |1   8  4³⁄₄|0  3   4
             |Aug. 1866 |  6    1  |0  12   6  |0   3  5³⁄₄|0  2   7¹⁄₂
             |          |          |           |           |
  Mincing    |July, 1841| 19    1  |0  14   4  |0  13  4   |0  1   5¹⁄₄
  Lane       |Aug. 1860 | 13    0  |0   9   2  |1   2  6³⁄₄|0  2   5¹⁄₄
             |          |          |           |           |
  Bartholomew|May, 1854 | 12    3  |0  12   6  |0  17  5³⁄₄|0  2   5¹⁄₄
  Lane       |Aug. 1866 |  5    5  |0  12   6  |0   3 11¹⁄₄|0  3   0¹⁄₄
  -----------+----------+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------
  Foundations are included, but no excavation.

TABLE SHOWING FIRST COST, AND TENDERED COST PER ANNUM FOR MAINTAINING
CERTAIN WOOD CARRIAGEWAY PAVEMENTS IN THE CITY OF LONDON.

  -----------------+----------+-------------+------------+------------+
                   |          |             |            |            |
                   |          |             |            |            |
                   |          |             |            |            |
                   |          |             |Years to be |            |
                   |          |             | maintained | First Cost |
                   | Date when|   Name of   |     by     |    per     |
      Situation.   |   Laid.  | Contractor. |Contractor. |Square Yard.|
  -----------------+----------+-------------+------------+------------+
                   |          |             |            | £ _s._ _d._|
  King William     |Feb. 1873 |Improved Wood|     16     | 0  18   0  |
  Street           |          | Paving Co.  |            |            |
                   |          |             |            |            |
                   |          |             |            |            |
  Ludgate Hill     |Nov. 1873 |    Ditto    |     16     | 0  18   0  |
                   |          |             |            |            |
                   |          |             |            |            |
                   |          |             |            |            |
  Portions of Great|          |             |            |            |
  Tower Street and |Sept. 1873|    Ditto    |     16     | 0  16   0  |
                   |          |             |            |            |
  Seething Lane    |          |             |            |            |
                   |          |             |            |            |
  Bartholomew Lane |Jan. 1872 |    Carey    |No agreement| 0  12   6  |
                   |          |             |            |            |
      Ditto        |Dec. 1871 |Improved Wood|      3     | 0  16   0  |
                   |          | Paving Co.  |            |            |
                   |          |             |            |            |
  Duke Street      |May, 1873 |  Mowlem and |   [84]5    | 0  15   0  |
                   |          |     Co.     |            |            |
                   |          |             |            |            |
                   |          |             |            |            |
  Houndsditch      |  Not yet |    Ditto    |   [84]7    | 0  17   0  |
                   |   laid   |             |            |            |
                   |          |             |            |            |
                   |          |             |            |            |
      Ditto        |  Ditto   |    Carey    |   [84]7    | 0  13   6  |
                   |          |             |            |            |
                   |          |             |            |            |
  -----------------+----------+-------------+------------+------------+

  -----------------+------------------------+------------+------------
                   |                        | Total Cost |
                   |                        |of Pavements|
                   |                        |   during   |
                   |    Agreed Cost of      |  Contract  |Average Cost
                   |    maintenance per     |   Term,    | per Square
                   |  Square Yard for the   | per Square |  Yard per
      Situation.   |     Contract Term.     |    Yard.   |   Annum.
  -----------------+------------------------+------------+------------
                   |                        | £ _s._ _d._| £ _s._ _d._
  King William     | 1 year free            | 2   0   6  | 0  2  6¹⁄₄
  Street           |15 years at 1_s._ 6_d._ |            |
                   |   = 1_l._ 2_s._ 6_d._  |            |
                   |                        |            |
  Ludgate Hill     | 1 year free            | 2   0   6  | 0  2  6¹⁄₄
                   |15 years at 1_s._ 6_d._ |            |
                   |   = 1_l._ 2_s._ 6_d._  |            |
                   |                        |            |
  Portions of Great| 1 year free            | 1  14   9  | 0  2  2
  Tower Street and |15 years at 1_s._ 3_d._ |            |
                   |   = 18_s._ 9_d._       |            |
  Seething Lane    |                        |            |
                   |                        |            |
  Bartholomew Lane |          ----          |    ----    |    ----
                   |                        |            |
      Ditto        |  3 years free          | 0  16   0  |    ----
                   |                        |            |
                   |                        |            |
  Duke Street      | 2 years free           |{
                   | 3 years at 1_s._       |{
                   |   = 3_s._              |{
                   |                        |{These pavements
  Houndsditch      | 2 years free           |{will no doubt last
                   | 5 years at 9_d._       |{some years longer
                   |   = 3_s._ 9_d._        |{than the contract
                   |                        |{term of maintenance.
      Ditto        | 2 years free           |{
                   | 5 years at 1_s._       |{
                   |   = 5_s._              |{
  -----------------+------------------------+-------------------------
  In the wood pavements the cost of the foundation is included, but no
  excavation.
  The pavements at the end of each financial year are to be in a good
  sound condition.

The following table[85] is also given as showing the comparative cost
of wood paving with macadam and bituminous concrete paving in
Liverpool.

  ----------+--------+----------------------------+-----------+---------
            |        |      Deductions from       |           | Sinking
            |        |  First Cost to determine   |Interest on|  Fund
            |Original|      Cost of Renewal.      | Original  |invested
            |Cost per+-------------+--------------+  Cost at  |at 3
     Des-   | Square |   Cost of   |Allowances for| 4¹⁄₂ per  |per
   cription | Yard at| Foundation  |old Materials | cent. per |cent.
      of    | present|not requiring|   at date    |Square Yard|Compound
   Pavement.| prices.|  renewal.   |  of renewal. |per Annum. |Interest.
  ----------+--------+-------------+--------------+-----------+---------
            | _s. d._|  _s.   d._  |   _s.  d._   |    _d._   |   _d._
    No. 6.  |        |             |              |           |
  Bituminous|        |             |              |           |
  Concrete  | 3   9  |     Nil     |      Nil     |    2·0    |   Nil
  Pavement  |        |             |              |           |
            |        |             |              |           |
    No. 7.  |        |             |              |           |
  Wood      |15   1·5|   2    0    |      Nil     |    7·5    |   4·3
  Pavement  |        |             |              |           |
            |        |             |              |           |
    No. 8.  |        |             |              |           |
  Macadam   | 6   9  |     Nil     |      Nil     |    3·4    |   Nil
  Pavement  |        |             |              |           |
  ----------+--------+-------------+--------------+-----------+---------

  ----------+-----------+----------+----------+---------
            |           |          |          |
            |           |          |          |
            |           |          |          |
            |           |          |          | Total
     Des-   |Maintenance|Scavenging|Gravelling| Annual
   cription |per Square |per Square|per Square|Cost per
      of    | Yard per  | Yard per | Yard per | Square
   Pavement.|  Annum.   |  Annum.  |  Annum.  |  Yard.
  ----------+-----------+----------+----------+---------
            | _s._ _d._ |    _d._  |    _d._  |_s._ _d._
    No. 6.  |           |          |          |
  Bituminous|           |          |          |
  Concrete  |  0    9   |    2·4   |    ..    | 1    1·4
  Pavement  |           |          |          |
            |           |          |          |
    No. 7.  |           |          |          |
  Wood      |  0    1·0 |    2·7   |    5·0   | 1    8·5
  Pavement  |           |          |          |
            |           |          |          |
    No. 8.  |           |          |          |
  Macadam   |  1    0   |    8·0   |    Nil   | 1   11·4
  Pavement  |           |          |          |
  ----------+-----------+----------+----------+---------

In concluding this chapter upon wood paving, I will give a specimen
specification for work of this description.


_Excavation._--Excavate the ground to a depth of -- inches below the
level of the proposed finished surface of the roadway.[86] The formation
surface thus excavated must be well watered and rolled or punned if
found necessary, and any soft or made earth removed to such a depth as
may be found to be sufficient.[87]


_Foundation._--Upon the excavated formation surface a bed -- inches
thick of concrete is to be laid, composed of one part of good approved
Portland cement to two of fine, sharp river sand, and three of clean
river ballast or broken stone. The concrete to be finished off with an
even and smooth top surface conforming with the contour line of proposed
finished roadway.


_Wood Blocks._--Upon the concrete thus laid, and after it has
sufficiently set, wood blocks are to be laid.[88] These blocks must be
of the best description of Baltic red timber[89] (or such other timber
as shall be specified), sound and thoroughly well seasoned, free from
all sap, shakes, large and loose knots or other defects, and any that
may be rejected by the surveyor as unfitted for the work shall be at
once removed from the works or broken up. The blocks must not be less
than 6 inches or more than 12 inches in length by 3 inches in width and
6 inches in depth, they are to be carefully laid with the fibre of the
wood placed vertically, their ends must butt with close joints to each
other, and each course must be kept ³⁄₈ of an inch apart by means of
wooden laths, which are afterwards removed.


_Joints._--The joints are then to be carefully run with a grouting
composed of one part of best approved Portland cement to two parts of
fine, sharp, clean river sand. (In some cases a hot bituminous mixture
or asphalte is run between the joints as a grouting.)


_Top Dressing._--The whole surface of the pavement is then to be spread
with a coating, at least ¹⁄₂-inch in thickness, of fine sharp gravel or
chippings.

The following heads of general conditions under such a contract may also
be useful.

Alteration of gullies, sewer man-holes etc., will be done at the expense
of the sanitary authority.

Contractor must make good at once any damage caused to gas or water
mains or services--time penalty for delay.

Maintenance of work after completion for a specified time.

Power must be reserved to surveyor to suspend work during bad weather or
from other causes.

Heavy time penalties for non-completion of contract by a certain date.

Payments to be made to contractor on surveyor’s certificate, up to 80
per cent. of whole contract, remaining 20 per cent. to be paid at end of
(say) 2 years after completion.

With the above specimen specification I conclude the chapter on Wood
Paving.

  [67] The first wood pavement laid in London was in front of the Old
  Bailey, in 1839.

  [68] _Vide_ ‘Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil
  Engineers,’ vol. i. p. 131.

  [69] This specification is the company’s own, as advertised when they
  first began business; for many reasons the boards have since been
  discontinued, and other alterations introduced into the system.

  [70] I am unable to ascertain if this plan has ever been tried
  anywhere.

  [71] It is also affirmed by the Borough Surveyor of Sunderland that
  this process dispenses with watering. _Vide_ ‘Proceedings of the
  Association of Municipal and Sanitary Engineers and Surveyors,’ vol.
  iii. p. 72.

  [72] _Vide_ ‘A Practical Treatise on Roads, Streets, and Pavements,’
  by Q. A. Gillmore, p. 166, which see also for a good account of wood
  pavements in the United States.

  [73] _Vide_ ‘Wood Pavements,’ by Henry Allnutt, 1880, p. 22.

  [74] The power of absorbing water by wood varies from 9·37 to 174·86
  per cent. in dry wood. In its ordinary state the power varies from
  4·36 to 150·64 per cent. The quantity of water contained in wood in
  its natural state varies from 4·61 to 13·56 per cent. _Vide_ ‘Minutes
  of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers,’ vol. lvi. p.
  300.

  [75] _Vide_ ‘Roads and Roadways,’ by George Waller Wilcocks, 1879, p.
  34.

  [76] _Vide_ ‘Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil
  Engineers,’ vol. lviii. p. 82.

  [77] _Ibid_, vol. lx. p. 293.

  [78] _Ibid_, vol. lviii. p. 45.

  [79] ‘Report upon Asphalte and Wood Pavements,’ by William Haywood,
  (1874) p. 44.

  [80] See ‘Paper on Wood Pavements,’ by R. S. Rounthwaite, Boro’
  Surveyor, Sunderland, ‘Proceedings of the Association of Municipal and
  Sanitary Engineers and Surveyors,’ vol. vii. p. 48.

  [81] The surveyor of the parish of St. George’s Hanover Square,
  London, says, “My experience of wood, and I have laid down 25,000
  yards, is that it is perfectly free from smells, even on a cab rank.”
  Report of a Committee of the Paddington Vestry on Wood and other
  Pavements (1878) p. 30.

  [82] Mr. Allnutt says on this: “As to the swelling of the wood, it has
  been remarked that even brick walls have been forced out. We do not
  see what provision can be made for this; but leaving the channel by
  the kerb stone for the last work may relieve the lateral pressure, and
  perhaps it would be as well for the blocks not to be so dry when being
  laid down.” _Vide_ ‘Wood Pavement as carried out on Kensington High
  Road, Chelsea, etc.’ by Henry Allnutt (1880) p. 15.

  [83] _Vide_ ‘Report on Asphalte and Wood Pavements,’ by William
  Haywood, 1874, pp. 38 and 41.

  [84] The Ligno-Mineral Paving Company and the Improved Wood Paving
  Company offered to maintain their pavements, if laid, for terms of ten
  years and fourteen years respectively; their tenders were not
  accepted.

  [85] _Vide_ ‘Paper on Street Carriageway Pavements,’ by G. F. Deacon,
  ‘Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers,’ vol.
  lviii. p. 23.

  [86] If the road material thus excavated is macadam, it may be
  screened and used as concrete in the foundation, if approved by the
  surveyor. The granite pitching of crossings, channel gutters, etc.,
  must remain the property of the sanitary authority, as well as the
  surplus macadam.

  [87] It is important to give sufficient notice to gas and water
  companies in order that they may attend to their mains and services
  before the foundations are put in.

  [88] Sometimes about half an inch of fine sand is spread upon the
  surface of the concrete upon which the wood blocks are bedded.

  [89] If the blocks are to be creosoted, the number of pounds of
  creosote that should be absorbed in a cubic foot of the wood should be
  specified; this is generally about 10 lb. of creosote to 1 cubic foot
  of wood.




CHAPTER X.

COMPRESSED ASPHALTE ROADWAYS.


The word asphalte in its generally accepted sense implies a natural rock
consisting of pure carbonate of lime, intimately combined and
impregnated with mineral bitumen in very variable proportions; that used
for roads or footpaths should not contain less than 7 or more than 12
per cent. of bitumen.

The rock when broken takes an irregular fracture without definite
cleavage; it is principally derived from Val de Travers, Seyssel,
Sicily, Chieti, Auvergne, Lobsann, and Limmer. Its grain should be
regular and homogeneous, the finer the grain the better.[90]

When exposed to the atmosphere asphalte gradually assumes a grey tint,
by reason of the bitumen evaporating from the surface leaving a thin
film of limestone behind. The stone is usually taken from open quarries,
but at Val de Travers shafts are sunk and the general treatment is
similar to a coal mine.

Bitumen, it must be borne in mind, is itself a mineral product found in
Trinidad and some other places; it is composed of carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen.

The weight of a cubic yard of natural asphalte is about 3874 lbs., its
specific gravity is 2·114, but this of course varies with its percentage
of bitumen.

The following is a test for asphalte given by Mr. Deland in a paper he
read before the Institution of Civil Engineers in the year 1880.[91]

“A specimen of the rock freed from all extraneous matter, having been
pulverised as finely as possible, should be dissolved in sulphurate of
carbon, turpentine, ether or benzine, placed in a glass vessel and
stirred with a glass rod. A dark solution will result, from which will
be precipitated the pulverised limestone. The solution of bitumen should
then be poured off. The dissolvent speedily evaporates, leaving the
constituent parts of the asphalte, each of which should be weighed so as
to determine the exact proportion. The bitumen should be heated in a
lead bath and tested with a porcelain or Baumé thermometer to 428° Fahr.
There will be little loss by evaporation if the bitumen is good, but if
bituminous oil is present the loss will be considerable--gritted mastic
should be heated to 450° Fahr. The limestone should next be examined. If
the powder is white and soft to the touch it is a good component part of
asphalte, but if rough and dirty on being tested with reagents it will
be found to contain iron pyrites, silicates, clay, etc. Some asphaltes
also are of a spongy or hygrometrical nature. Thus, as an analysis which
merely gives so much bitumen and so much limestone may mislead, it is
necessary to know the quality of the limestone and of the bitumen.

“For a good compressed roadway an asphalte composed of pure limestone
and 9 to 10 per cent. of bitumen, non-evaporative at 428° Fahr., is the
most suitable. Asphaltes containing much more than 10 per cent. of
bitumen get soft in summer and wavy, those containing much less have not
sufficient bind for heavy traffic, although asphalte containing 7 per
cent. of bitumen properly heated does well for court yards, as it sets
hard when cold.”

For roadways “compressed” asphalte should be used and not “mastic,”
which is only fitted for footpaths, court-yards, etc. Compressed
asphalte roadways are constructed as follows:

The asphalte rock is first crushed in a “Blake’s” or other suitable
crusher, then pulverised in what is known as a “Carr’s disintegrator,”
until it is reduced to a powder; this powder is then heated up to
between 212° and 250° Fahr. in revolving cylinders and is laid about
2¹⁄₂ inches in thickness upon a concrete foundation previously prepared
for its reception, the powder is carefully raked to the required contour
and then either rolled or punned with iron punners previously heated to
prevent the adhesion of the powder to them.

A roadway thus prepared presents many advantages over macadam, granite
setts or wood, the following passage amply describing one of them:[92]

“An indispensable feature of a weight-carrying pavement must be the
absolute exclusion of water at the surface as nearly as it can be
insured, and in this one respect it cannot be questioned that a surface
like asphalte has no equal, the absorption being so gradual as to be
inappreciable during any possible continuance of moisture.”

In addition to this indisputable fact the advantage of durability is
claimed for asphalte, but this must vary considerably with the quality
of the material and of the work. Mr. Hayward estimates the life of an
asphaltic Val de Travers compressed roadway at 17 years, and it is
claimed for it that it will wear until it becomes quite thin, very heavy
traffic breaking it up when it is worn to about ³⁄₄ of an inch thick.
Another advantage claimed for asphalte is cleanliness, and this is
evidently indisputable, as, being impervious, none but imported mud or
dust can be formed upon it.

In addition to the foregoing the following advantages are also claimed:

Pedestrians can walk on asphaltic roadways as well as on the footways.

It is comparatively noiseless under traffic, though in this case wood
is better, as the clatter of the iron-shod horses’ feet upon asphalte is
very apparent.

It is expeditiously laid, and when repairs are necessary they can easily
be effected; no pavement shows less signs of openings being made in it
for gas and water-pipe repairs than asphalte.

The rapid laying causes less inconvenience to traffic in the streets.

Ease of traction; but here steps in the one great objection to asphalte
as a roadway paving, viz. danger to horses by slipping and falling, of
which I shall say more hereafter.

Cellars and vaults under the streets are kept dry, by reason of its
impermeability to moisture.

Easily cleansed, especially by mechanical sweeping, and snow is easily
removed.

It is very pleasing to the eye, being so uniformly regular and of good
colour.

There is no vibration or concussion in travelling over it, and apart
from the question of safety it is delightful to drive over it.

It is a cool pavement at night; it does not absorb heat during the day,
and consequently none radiates from it after the sun has gone down.[93]

The great objection to asphalte as a material for roadways arises from
the fact that it is extremely slippery when damp,[94] irrespective of
temperature, and this in the climate of England is frequently the case.
The result of this slipperiness is, that not only do horses frequently
fall upon it, but it is also difficult to stop a horse when drawing a
load, thus causing more risk to foot-passengers of being run over, and
straining the horse considerably in its efforts. Again, in thoroughfares
crowded with vehicular traffic, constant stoppages occur, and in
starting again it is painful to witness the struggles of the horses to
keep their footing and overcome the inertia of their load. When a horse
falls he has very great difficulty in rising, but on the other hand,
although he may be strained, a horse never breaks his knees upon this
class of pavement. How far this might be altered if _all_ the streets of
a town were paved with asphalte, is a fair matter for argument, as it is
asserted that horses are very nervous on going from one pavement to
another, and accidents frequently happen in consequence.

The strewing of sand upon asphalte renders it less slippery, but in
addition to the interference of the traffic whilst this is being done,
there are the further objections, of the possible injury of the sand
cutting into the asphalte, the expense of labour and materials, and the
mud caused thereby which has afterwards to be removed. Another plan is
to frequently wash the asphalte with water, but this is expensive and
only of temporary benefit.

Another objection to asphaltic roadways is that they cannot with safety
be constructed of greater gradient than 1 in 60, and it must also be
borne in mind that fine weather is necessary both for the construction
and repairs of a roadway of this description.

Very little smell, and that not of an unpleasant character, arises from
the work when compressed asphalte is being used, the mastic is however
temporarily unpleasant to those who dislike the odour.

With reference to the question of the cost of compressed asphalte for
roadways: it is of course a matter depending upon local circumstances as
to the first cost, but it must be remembered that the compressed
asphalte hitherto laid has been nearly all that of the Val de Travers
Company, who charge a fixed price per square yard for laying according
to thickness required, the distance of the locality from London, and
other local circumstances. With reference to maintenance, this is a
question dependent mainly upon traffic, but here again the company will
undertake to keep in repair at so much per square yard per annum for a
certain number of years.

It would, however, perhaps be a better plan not to enter into such an
agreement, but to arrange for repairs under a schedule of prices, but
this must greatly depend upon the character of the work in the first
place, and other local considerations.

Mr. Ellice Clarke gives the following as the cost of Val de Travers
compressed asphalte.[95]

The cost is reduced to 100,000 tons per annum per yard of width.

  ----+-------------+-----------+-----------+----------+---------+----
      |Original Cost| Interest  |Maintenance|Scavenging|         |
      | per Square  |on original|per Square |per Square|         |
      |    Yard.    |   Cost.   |   Yard.   |  Yard.   |  Total. |
      +-------------+-----------+-----------+----------+---------+
      |  _s._ _d._  |    _d._   |    _d._   |   _d._   |_s._ _d._|
      |   18   0    |     9·7   |     3·6   |    0·4   | 1    1·7|
  ----+-------------+-----------+-----------+----------+---------+----

Nothing is charged for renewal, as the annual sum for maintenance
provides the asphalte in perpetuity.[96]

The following table[97] may here be of use:

TABLE SHOWING THE AGREED COST PER ANNUM OF CERTAIN ASPHALTE CARRIAGEWAY
PAVEMENTS IN THE CITY OF LONDON.

  -----------+------------+--------+----------+-----------------------+
             |            |Years to|  First   |    Agreed Cost of     |
             |            |be main-|   Cost   |     maintenance       |
             |            | tained |   per    |      per Square       |
             |Description | by Con-|  Square  |     Yard for the      |
   Situation.|of Asphalte.|tractor.|   Yard.  |     Contract Term.    |
  -----------+------------+--------+----------+-----------------------+
             |            |        |£ _s.  d._|                       |
  Cheapside  |   Val de   |   17   |0  18  0  | 2 years free          |
  and Poultry|  Travers   |        |          |15 years at 1_s._ 6_d._|
             |(Compressed)|        |          |   = £1 2_s._ 6_d._    |
             |            |        |          |                       |
  Gracechurch|    Ditto   |   17   |0  17  0  | 2 years free          |
  Street     |            |        |          |15 years at 1_s._      |
             |            |        |          |   = 15_s._ 0_d._      |
             |            |        |          |                       |
  Finsbury   |    Ditto   |   17   |0  16  0  | 2 years free          |
  Pavement   |            |        |          |15 years at 9_d._      |
             |            |        |          |   = 11_s._ 3_d._      |
             |            |        |          |                       |
  Moorgate   |    Ditto   |   17   |0  16  0  | 2 years free          |
  Street     |            |        |          |15 years at 9_d._      |
             |            |        |          |   = 11_s._ 3_d._      |
             |            |        |          |                       |
    Ditto    |   Limmer   |   17   |0  16  0  | 2 years free          |
             |  (Mastic)  |        |          |15 years at 9_d._      |
             |            |        |          |   = 11_s._ 3_d._      |
             |            |        |          |                       |
  Lombard    |    Ditto   |   17   |0  16  0  | 2 years free          |
  Street     |            |        |          |15 years at 9_d._      |
             |            |        |          |   = 11_s._ 3_d._      |
             |            |        |          |                       |
  Cornhill   |    Ditto   |   17   |0  15  0  | 2 years free          |
             |            |        |          |15 years at 9_d._      |
             |            |        |          |   = 11_s._ 3_d._      |
             |            |        |          |                       |
  Mincing    |    Ditto   |   17   |0  12  0  | 2 years free          |
  Lane       |            |        |          |15 years at 9_d._      |
             |            |        |          |   = 11_s._ 3_d._      |
  -----------+------------+--------+----------+-----------------------+

  -----------+---------------+------------
             | Total Cost of |
             |   Pavements   |Average Cost
             |during Contract| per Square
             |   Term per    |  Yard per
   Situation.|  Square Yard. |   Annum.
  -----------+---------------+------------
             |  £ _s._ _d._  | £ _s._ _d._
  Cheapside  |  2   0   6    | 0  2  4¹⁄₂
  and Poultry|               |
             |               |
             |               |
  Gracechurch|  1  12   0    | 0 10  1¹⁄₂
  Street     |               |
             |               |
             |               |
  Finsbury   |  1   7   3    | 0  1  7¹⁄₄
  Pavement   |               |
             |               |
             |               |
  Moorgate   |  1   7   3    | 0  1  7¹⁄₄
  Street     |               |
             |               |
             |               |
    Ditto    |  1   7   3    | 0  1  7¹⁄₄
             |               |
             |               |
             |               |
  Lombard    |  1   7   3    | 0  1  7¹⁄₄
  Street     |               |
             |               |
             |               |
  Cornhill   |  1   6   3    | 0  1  6¹⁄₂
             |               |
             |               |
             |               |
  Mincing    |  1   3   3    | 0  1  4¹⁄₂
  Lane       |               |
             |               |
  -----------+---------------+------------

The cost of foundations is included in this table, but their thickness
is not mentioned; the excavation was done for the contractors.

With the one serious objection of slipperiness, compressed asphalte
seems a most suitable material for the surface of a roadway, but that
objection is of considerable weight when we reflect that the great
object of roadways is that of “traffic,” and it is for that purpose they
are constructed; still, in cities where a heavy _business_ traffic is
going on, this class of roadway has so many advantages that where cheap
horses are driven it might be used; where, however, valuable horses are
used for pleasure driving, as in the west end of London and the
corresponding better parts of cities, some other description of roadway
should be maintained.

Mastic asphalte will be described in the chapter on footpaths.


_Specimen Specification for a Compressed Asphalte Roadway._


_Excavation and Concrete._--The excavation and concrete[98] foundation
may be specified to be executed in a manner similar to that contained in
the specimen specification for wood paving,[99] except of course that
the excavation will be shallower in this case.


_Asphalte._--The asphalte to be used shall be the pure unadulterated
natural rock known as the Val de Travers, and be unmixed with any
foreign or other matter whatever. The rock after being properly broken,
shall be ground in a Carr’s disintegrator to a powder of such fineness,
that not more than      per cent. shall be left on a sieve containing
     meshes to the square inch and decrepitation by heat will not be
accepted. This powder shall be heated to 240° F. or such other
temperature as shall be found desirable, so as to eliminate all
moisture, and carefully transported to the street in covered iron carts,
in order that not more than 20° F. of heat shall be lost in transit. The
powder must be spread upon the concrete    inches in thickness[100] and
carefully raked so as to have regularity of depth and surface.


_Ramming._--The powder must then be rammed with iron punners of not less
weight than 10 lb. heated so as to prevent the adhesion of the asphalte.
The ramming must be done lightly at first, so as to ensure equality of
thickness, and afterwards augmented to heavy blows. Where the rammers
are not available a T tool must be employed.

To meet some of the objections to compressed asphalte as a material for
roadways the “Imperishable Stone Paving Blocks” have been introduced in
America; they consist of asphalte formed into rectangular blocks under
pressure of about one ton to the square inch, these are laid close
together without any grouting, and a pavement of this description is
said to combine all the advantages of wood and asphalte, though
sufficient time has not yet elapsed to prove this.

In Salford, Manchester, etc., I believe “Woodward’s Patent Molten
Ironstone Blocks” are used with some success where there is not any very
exceptionally heavy traffic.

One of the principal reasons of durability in asphalte pavement is its
elasticity, and it should be remembered that compressed asphalte does
not begin to “wear” until all compression has ceased; this is the case
with no other system of pavement--stone and wood both begin “wearing”
from the day the traffic commences. Under ordinarily heavy traffic it
may be estimated that it will take two years to complete the compression
of asphalte, and the weight of a square foot of this pavement will at
the expiration of that time be nearly the same as on the day it was
laid, though the thickness is reduced during the first two years as
much as it will be in the following eight.

Much is said about the advisability of _good_ and _dry_ concrete, but it
may be as well to explain the reasons that necessitate so much care in
the foundation. First, it should be always borne in mind that asphalte
pavement is nothing more than a tough “carpet,” and has no power of
itself of offering resistance to heavy traffic; consequently, if the
substratum or concrete is not thoroughly solid and resisting, the weight
of traffic will crush it, and the asphalte will at once give way in all
directions. The concrete should be made strong enough to resist the
traffic, and the asphalte is a simple covering to protect the concrete
from direct contact with the wear and friction caused by the traffic. So
much for the strength, but the dryness is of even still greater
importance; for the best asphalte, laid by skilled workmen, on
thoroughly first-rate but damp concrete, will rapidly go to pieces--a
phenomenon takes place, which, although quite natural, is little
realised by most engineers. When the hot asphalte is laid, the water is
immediately sucked up and turned into steam, which tries to escape
through the heated powder, and the result is that although the surface
of the asphalte is smooth, the mass is really disintegrated from
underneath by its bitter enemy “water,” and as soon as the surface
begins to wear, the fissures formed by the passing of the steam appear
on the surface and the whole pavement falls to pieces: thus accounting
for some of the failures this description of roadway has met with under
unskilled treatment.

This completes the subject of roadways; I will turn to that of footpaths
in the next chapter.

  [90] In this respect the Seyssel is the best, being of a very fine
  grain.

  [91] _Vide_ ‘Minutes of Proceedings of Institution of Civil
  Engineers,’ vol. lx.

  [92] _Vide_ Mr. Howarth’s paper on ‘Wood as a Paving Material under
  Heavy Traffic,’ ‘Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil
  Engineers, vol. lviii. p. 35.

  [93] In Paris and other cities liable to civil war or internal
  commotions, it is contended as an advantage of asphalte that it cannot
  be used for the construction of barricades, breastworks, or rifle
  pits.

  [94] _Vide_ Mr. Haywood’s Report upon Asphalte and Wood Pavements,
  also Report on the Application of Science and Art to Street Paving and
  Cleansing of the Metropolis,’ and numerous other pamphlets and reports
  by eminent authorities upon the subject.

  [95] _Vide_ ‘Asphalte and its Application to Street Paving,’ by E. B.
  Ellice Clarke, ‘Proceedings of the Association of Municipal and
  Sanitary Engineers,’ vol. vi. p. 52.

  [96] The asphaltic roadways of Paris, of which there were 290,000
  square yards in the year 1878, cost from 10_s._ to 12_s._ per square
  yard to lay, and about 8·83 pence per square yard per annum to
  maintain, including the charge for renewing ¹⁄₁₅th part of the surface
  every year, which is the method adopted there. _Vide_ ‘Annales
  Industrielles,’ 1878.

  [97] _Vide_ Mr. Haywood’s report on asphalte and wood pavements, 1874.

  [98] “Lime concrete ruins compressed work.” _Vide_ ‘Asphalte and its
  Application to Street Paving,’ by B. Ellice Clarke. ‘Proceedings of
  the Association of Municipal and Sanitary Engineers and Surveyors,’
  vol. vi. p. 46.

  [99] See p. 94 _ante_.

  [100] It must be ²⁄₅ths more in thickness than that specified as
  finished.




CHAPTER XI.

FOOTPATHS.


As in the case of roadways, so with footpaths: the foundation is of
primary importance, whatever material may be used for the surface. Where
this material may be classed under the head of “Paving,” concrete[101]
makes the best foundation. For gravel, tar paving, or other similar
surface, a hard core bottom well drained is sufficient. The materials of
which a footpath can be formed are almost innumerable, but the following
may be given as embodying most of them:

(1.) Natural asphalte, compressed and mastic.

(2.) Yorkshire flagging--Caithness flagging.

(3.) Blue lias, and Devonian limestone flagging.

(4.) Concrete.

(5.) Bricks.

(6.) Granite slabs.

(7.) Artificial asphaltes, including tar pavement.

(8.) Gravel.

First on the list stands natural asphalte, compressed and mastic.

The compressed has been thoroughly described in the preceding chapter;
it is sometimes used for footpaths where there is a very heavy traffic,
and answers admirably.

I will, however, now deal solely with mastic asphalte, which means the
rock ground to powder, mixed with a certain proportion of bitumen to act
as a flux, and then subjected to heat; this is sometimes used in
conjunction with fine sharp clean river sand, but more often with finely
crushed stone about the size of peppercorns, and is styled “gritted
asphalte.”

As long ago as the year 1838, Mr. F. W. Simms speaks of asphalte mastic
from Pyrimont, near Seyssel, and says “it may be considered a species of
mineral leather”[102]--a very good description of its surprisingly
tough, hard, durable and pliant properties.

The usual method of the preparation of the mastic is as follows:--

According to the amount of bitumen contained in the natural stone, from
5 to 8 per cent. of refined Trinidad bitumen[103] is placed in a large
caldron which is usually provided with agitators driven by steam power;
when this is thoroughly melted, the powdered asphalte is added little by
little, the heat being raised to between 390° and 480° F., the mixture
kept well stirred and “cooked” for about five hours. It is then turned
out into iron moulds, most companies having a special pattern with a
trade mark for this purpose.

The caldrons generally used contain from 1¹⁄₂ to 2 tons of mastic.

Some companies in large towns are provided with caldrons on wheels,
commonly called “Locomobiles,” in which case the grit is mixed with the
mastic in the fixed caldrons, and the whole mass run out into the
locomobiles (which are also provided with agitators worked by an endless
chain attached to the axle of the wheels), and transported direct to
where the work has to be done. This system, though undoubtedly the best,
is not practicable except in large towns; the more usual method of
laying mastic footpaths is to send the asphalte cakes to the works,
where they are remelted in small round street caldrons, containing from
8 to 12 cakes each, weighing from 40 to 50 lbs., the grit being
sometimes added in the fixed caldrons, sometimes in the street caldrons,
this amount of grit varying from 20 to 60 per cent. according to the
nature of the work.

The grit makes the asphalte more difficult to spread, but it lessens the
cost and makes a very durable path. The affinity between the asphalte
and grit is so great that, in breaking a sample, the actual pieces of
grit will be found broken in half.

The asphalte should be spread from ¹⁄₂ to ⁷⁄₈ of an inch in thickness
(if compressed 1 inch is the minimum), and should be brought hot on to
the works in covered caldrons on wheels, the test of its being ready and
fit to lay being made by plunging a wooden spatula into it, which should
come out without any of the asphalte adhering to it, and also by jets of
light smoke darting out of the mixture.

The mastic should be taken from the caldron with a warmed ladle, and put
into buckets previously heated, then thrown out on the concrete (which
should be perfectly dry) near the spreader, who spreads it skilfully
with a wooden stave, spreader, or spatula. The surface should then be
floated and dusted over with fine sand, portland cement, or stone dust.

Dishonest contractors sometimes substitute inferior materials for
natural asphalte, such imitations being made of ground chalk, fire-clay,
and pitch or gas tar, or ground limestone mixed with bitumen.

A sample of the footpath after it is laid should be cut out (this is
easily effected by heating the surface with a piece of hot mastic), in
order to see that the proper thickness is given, and by applying a light
to the sample, the smell will readily tell if real asphalte or any
inferior material has been used. Stockholm tar or common pitch should
not be allowed to be substituted for Trinidad bitumen, or it will spoil
the mastic.

Asphalte mastic footpaths are excellent in every way, the only
objections to them being the necessity for the grit, and the temporary
unpleasant smoke and smell whilst being laid. It is also necessary to
put stone sills round the cellar openings and coal shutes, etc., for it
to butt against, but it makes an invaluable pavement, especially for
courts, alleys, back yards, etc., for sanitary and other reasons.

The proportions of asphalte, bitumen and grit are given as follows by
Mr. Delano in his translation of a paper by M. Ernest Chabrier, on the
applications of asphalte.[104]

“One ton of sanded mastic requires 13 cwt. of pure block mastic, 2 qrs.
12 lb. of bitumen, 7 cwt. of grit or sand washed and dried,” and it
takes 2 cwt. of coal to heat it. He further says that one workman can
easily prepare 3 tons of material in 12 hours.

The following table gives the number of square yards that a ton of
prepared Sicilian rock asphalte will spread.

  ----+--------------+---------------------+----------+----
      |              |     With about      |          |
      |Without grit. |25 per cent. of grit.|Thickness.|
      +--------------+---------------------+----------+
      |square yards. |    square yards.    | inches.  |
      |     63       |          80         |    ³⁄₈   |
      |     51       |          65         |    ¹⁄₂   |
      |     32       |          40         |    ³⁄₄   |
      |     26       |          33         |   1      |
      |     16       |          20         |   1¹⁄₂   |
      |     12¹⁄₂    |          16         |    2     |
  ----+--------------+---------------------+----------+----

A skilled workman properly assisted can lay 140 to 180 square yards in a
day.[105]

With regard to the price of asphalte mastic footpaths, this is quite a
local question, and is not worth while discussing. The life of a
footpath thus treated may be reckoned at about 15 years under ordinary
traffic; the concrete will remain untouched and what is left of the
asphalte may be remelted, so that a renewal is not so costly as the
first expense.


_Yorkshire Flagging._--This pavement is too well known to need any
description from me; it is an excellent pavement in many ways, and is
most pleasant to walk upon, there being a cling or foothold not
experienced in any other material.

The objections to this description of pavement are:--

(1.) Its first cost, which is undoubtedly high as compared to its
durability.

(2.) The fact of uneven wearing: one stone will be found soft next to a
hard one; the former wears, leaving a pit which forms a pool for water
in due course, and has to be removed.

(3.) Unless very carefully bedded, a stone will see-saw; this is very
unpleasant in wet weather, water accumulates beneath, and as the
pedestrian treads on one end of the stone a squirt of dirty water up to
his knees, and a stumble, remind him that the stone is loose.

(4.) Liability to crack when any heavy goods are thrown upon it.

The following specimen specification for Yorkshire flagging pavement may
be of use.


_Specimen Specification for Yorkshire Flagging Foot Pavements._

The old flagging (where and when directed) to be taken up, refaced,
squared, and relaid.

The new flagging is to be chisel-dressed to a fair face, true, out of
winding, and not less than 3 inches thick,[106] to be properly squared
and not pitched off only, or undercut, but to hold good to the square;
to have not more than fourteen pieces to the hundred superficial feet;
the joints must be set flush, and bedded and pointed with the best blue
lias mortar.

The bed for the flagging both old and new, if any is required, to be
made with proper earth, gravel, or dry rubbish, and all surplus earth
and rubbish to be carted from the streets as it arises from the works.

The flagging to be properly cut and rebated to receive all area
gratings, coal shoots, rain water troughs, &c.

Any damage done to gas or water service pipes in digging for the
flagging, or in any way connected with the work, to be made good by the
contractor, as also all and every other damage to windows, wood, or
glass work; and the contractor will be held responsible for, and will
make compensation for any injury that the public may sustain through the
negligence of his workmen, or otherwise.

The whole of the flags to be of the very best quality, from Halifax, the
quarries in the neighbourhood of Bradford or in Yorkshire, and subject
to the approval of the surveyor.

The contractor to provide all lights and proper guards at night, and
when old paving is to be taken up the work is to be done under the
direction of the surveyor, and if considered necessary, the stones are
to be removed from the streets to be re-faced and squared. No stone to
be stacked in the streets.

The flagging to be measured after the work is completed.

The contractor to provide all stone, materials, tools, implements, horse
and cart hire, and pay all railway dues, freightages, etc., and also to
provide all labour of every kind for properly completing the work to the
full and entire satisfaction of the surveyor. Payment will be made as
the work proceeds, on the certificate of the surveyor.

Should the contractor fail to perform the work to the satisfaction of
the surveyor, he then shall have power to execute the work and charge
the same to the contractor, and deduct the cost from any amount that may
be due to him; and in the event of the cost being more than the amount
due, or if there shall then be no sum due to the contractor, such cost
shall be paid by the contractor to the mayor, aldermen, and citizens,
and the same shall be recoverable from him as liquidated and ascertained
damages.


_Caithness Flagging_ is now used very largely instead of Yorkshire; it
comes from Thurso in Scotland, and it is contended for it that it
possesses many excellent qualities, amongst others may be enumerated the
following:

(1). It is impervious to wet.

(2.) It is not slippery nor does it wear so.

(3.) It does not scale or flake.

(4.) It dries rapidly after rain.

(5.) Its appearance is cheerful.

(6.) Great durability, as it does not abrade.

(7.) Frost has no effect upon it.

(8.) Can be re-used when half worn.

(9.) Cleanliness; for, not being porous, no dirt or dust can adhere to
it.

(10.) Vehicular traffic may be turned over it without injury to the
path.

(11.) Economy; as natural forces can be used, thus saving labour, and it
can be laid from 1¹⁄₂ to 2 inches thick only.

(12.) Having sawn edges, the joints are expeditiously and well made.

(13.) Its whole surface wears evenly.

The following table was compiled by the well-known firm of Kirkaldy, by
direction of Mr. Tarbotton the Borough Engineer of Nottingham, in order
to ascertain the resistance to a gradually increased bending stress upon
Yorkshire flagging as compared with Caithness.

                         YORKSHIRE.
  --------+-------+---------------------------+--------
          |       |       Dimensions.         |
          |       +-------+--------+----------+Ultimate
  Test No.|Weight.|Length.|Breadth.|Thickness.|Stress.
  --------+-------+-------+--------+----------+--------
      K   |  lbs. |inches.| inches.|  inches. |  lb.
     1918 |  184  |   36  |  24·07 |   2·46   |  4·744
     1919 |  163  |   36  |  24·03 |   2·22   |  3·398
     1920 |  107  |   36  |  23·90 |   1·50   |  1·459
          +-------+-------+--------+----------+--------
     Mean |  151  |   36  |  24·00 |   2·06   |  3·200
  --------+-------+-------+--------+----------+--------
                         CAITHNESS.
  --------+-------+---------------------------+--------
          |       |       Dimensions.         |
          |       +-------+--------+----------+Ultimate
  Test No.|Weight.|Length.|Breadth.|Thickness.|Stress.
  --------+-------+-------+--------+----------+--------
      K   |  lb.  |inches.| inches.|  inches. |  lb.
     1921 |  215  |   36  |  24·06 |   2·59   | 17·274
     1922 |  178  |   36  |  24·05 |   2·15   | 12·711
     1923 |  114  |   36  |  23·90 |   1·38   |  6·211
          +-------+-------+--------+----------+--------
     Mean |  169  |   36  |  24·00 |   2·04   | 12·065
  --------+-------+-------+--------+----------+--------

By which it appears that the balance in favour of Caithness flagging is
8·865 lbs.

The objection to this style of flagging is, that however varied the
sizes of the stones selected may be, as they have sawn edges and are
very hard to cut with a chisel, a difficulty sometimes arises in
finishing rounded corners of footpaths, and against uneven frontages of
shops or buildings abutting on the footpath; this is especially the case
in old towns.


_Blue Lias Flagging._--A blue lias flagging does not make a first-rate
pavement, as although it is very cheap, durable, clean, and has many
other good qualities, it sometimes wears slippery and is then dangerous
to pedestrians; but the Devonian limestone, which is much used in the
west of England, has not apparently this defect.


_Concrete Footpaths._--These have been tried in this country, but
generally without success; the concrete or cement cracks, and in
addition to this the paths wear slippery and greasy, and as some time is
necessary in order to allow the concrete to thoroughly set before the
traffic can be allowed on them, they have not found much favour.

In the United States, however, concrete footpaths seem to be made
successfully; the following detail particulars of such a foot-pavement
will, I think, be of great interest and use.[107]

“Concrete footpaths should be laid upon a form of well-compacted sand,
or fine gravel, or a mixture of sand, gravel and loam. The natural soil,
if sufficiently porous to provide thorough sub-drainage, will
answer.[108]

“It is not usual to attempt to guard entirely against the lifting
effects of frost, but to provide for it by laying the concrete in
squares or rectangles, each containing from 12 to 16 superficial feet,
which will yield to upheaval individually, like flagging stones, without
breaking and without producing extensive disturbance in the general
surface.

“When a case arises, however, where it is deemed necessary to prevent
any movement whatever, it can be done by underlying the pavement with a
bed of broken stone, or a mixture of broken stone and gravel, or with
ordinary pit gravel containing just enough of detritus and loam to bind
it together. In high latitudes this bed should be 1 foot and upwards in
thickness, and should be so thoroughly subdrained that it will always be
free from standing water. It is formed in the usual manner of making
broken stone or gravel roads already described, and finished off on top
with a layer of sand or fine gravel, about 1 inch in depth, for the
concrete to rest upon.

“The concrete should not be less than 3¹⁄₂, and need rarely exceed 4 to
4¹⁄₂ inches in thickness, the upper surface to the depth of ¹⁄₂ an inch
should be composed of hydraulic cement and sand only. Portland cement is
best for this top layer. For the rest, any natural American cement of
standard quality will answer. The following proportions are recommended
for this bottom layer.

  Rosendale or other American cement  1   measure
  Clean sharp sand                    2¹⁄₂   „
  Stone and gravel                    5      „

“It is mixed from time to time as required for use, and is compacted
with an iron-shod rammer in a single layer to a thickness less by ¹⁄₂ an
inch than that of the required pavement. As soon as this is done and
before the cement has had time to set, the surface is roughened by
scratching, and the top layer, composed of,

  1 volume of Portland cement, and
  2 to 2¹⁄₂ volumes of clean fine sand,

is spread over it to a uniform thickness of about 1¹⁄₂ inch, and then
compacted by rather light blows, with an iron-shod rammer. By this means
its thickness is diminished to ¹⁄₂ an inch. It is then smoothed off and
polished with a mason’s trowel and covered up with hay, grass, sand, or
other suitable material to protect it from the rays of the sun, and
prevent its drying too rapidly.

“It should be kept damp and thus protected for at least 10 days, and
longer if circumstances will permit; and even after it is opened to
travel, a layer of damp sand should be kept upon it for two or three
weeks, to prevent wear while tender.

“At the end of one month from the date of laying, the Portland cement
mixture forming the top surface will have attained nearly one-half its
ultimate strength and hardness, and may then be subjected to use by
foot-passengers without injury.

“The rammers for compacting the concrete should weigh from 15 to 20 lb.,
those used on the surface layer from 10 to 12 lb. They are made by
attaching rectangular blocks of hard wood shod with iron to wood handles
about 3 feet long, and are plied in an upright position. Certain
precautions are necessary in mixing and ramming the materials in order
to secure the best results. Especial care should be taken to avoid the
use of too much water in the manipulation. The mass of concrete, when
ready for use, should appear quite incoherent, and not wet and plastic,
containing water however in such quantities that a thorough ramming with
repeated though not hard blows will produce a thin film of moisture upon
the surface under the rammer, without causing in the mass a gelatinous
or quicksand motion.”

Under the head of Concrete may be included many artificial stone
pavements, such as “Bucknell’s Granite Breccia” “Ransome’s Artificial
Stone,” “Eureka Concrete,” “Granolithic,” and the “Silicated Victoria
Stone,” this last being worth a description. The stone is really a
concrete, formed by mixing very superior Portland cement with crushed
Thames gravel, furnace or iron slag, Kentish rag-stone, granite
chippings, or other suitable material carefully washed. This fine
concrete, after being mixed in the moulds forming the slabs, is
thoroughly incorporated by being rocked or jiggled in a trembling
machine; this motion, as can be easily understood, making the whole mass
even and homogeneous when it sets. The cost of the slabs is about 9_d._
per square foot, 3 inches in thickness, and they make an excellent
footpath.


_Brick Footpaths._--These are sometimes constructed of ordinary bricks
laid on their sides, but soon wear, and are unsuitable for the
purpose.[109] Staffordshire blue paving bricks make an excellent
footpath. These are bricks made of stoneware highly vitrified; they
should be about 12 inches in length by 6 inches wide, by about 2⁷⁄₈
inches in thickness, their surface being chequered with a diamond
pattern so as to prevent their being slippery. They are exceedingly
hard and durable if well burnt, and to ascertain this a brick should be
broken across and the colour, etc., noted.

They should be laid in cement mortar upon a bed of concrete or sand. The
objections to this class of pavement are as follows:

(1.) The colour is objectionable; being very dark, the footpaths give a
street the appearance of mourning.

(2.) The difficulty of breaking up the path for gas or water services,
or for other purposes.

(3.) The hardness of the bricks makes them awkward to cut to rounded
corners, or for water trunks, coal-holes, etc.

(4.) A loaded hand-barrow driven over them will sometimes break off the
chequered pattern.

(5.) They are slippery in a frost after snow.

But notwithstanding these disadvantages, they make a most wonderfully
durable and useful pavement for back streets.


_Granite Slab Pavement._--This is sometimes adopted, large granite
slabs, 6 inches in thickness being laid; they are very useful when there
are cellars underneath, or where heavy vehicular traffic is intended to
cross the foot pavement. Granite is of course excessively durable, but
it wears very slippery with traffic and must then be tooled or axed; in
process of time this wears it out, and its first cost is heavy.

This description of pavement can be laid with advantage in front of
markets or similar buildings.


_Artificial Asphalte Pavements._--The cost of obtaining natural rock
asphalte from the mines, and the knowledge that it is composed of two
very simple ingredients, limestone and bitumen, has led to a great
number of artificial asphaltes being introduced, especially for foot
pavements. “British Rock Asphalte” is a name by which many of the
compositions are known; “Beauchamp’s Mendip Mountain Machine-made
Granite Asphalte” is a high-sounding title; “Prentice’s Mineral Foreign
Rock Asphalte” is another.

All these, and many more of the same description, are really what may be
better and more correctly described as “tar concrete” or “tar paving,”
and consist of different modifications of the homely coal-tar and
limestone.

So long ago as the year 1840, “Lord Stanhope’s Composition” was well
known; it was made as follows:

Three gallons of Stockholm tar, 2 bushels of well-dried chalk, 1 bushel
of fine, sharp, clean sifted sand, the whole being boiled in an iron
caldron.

Tar paving is now made in many and various ways by different surveyors
of towns, some making it with hot compositions, some with cold. A
description will be found in the chapter on Macadamised Roadways, page
46, of one method of making it, a modification of this being all that is
necessary for foot pavements.

The best paths of this description that I have seen are to be found at
Torquay, and by the kind permission of Mr. John Little, County Surveyor
of Devon, and late Surveyor of Torquay, I give his useful specification
in detail, as follows:


_Tar Concrete for Footpaths._

PROPORTIONS OF MATERIALS.

  12 barrow loads of engine ashes.
   4    „     „      screened slaked blue lias lime.
   4    „     „      small spar or sharp grit.
  34 gallons of best gas tar.
  20 bucketsful, say 70 to 80 gallons of water.


_Method of Mixing._--On a clean flagged or wooden floor spread three
barrow-loads of ashes, then about one barrow-load of lime, and so on
until the whole of the dry materials (or one mixing) has been spread;
then throw over them about three bucketfuls of tar, and before mixing it
with them add (say) six bucketfuls of water; then mix as for concrete,
and when the liquids are pretty well absorbed add a similar quantity,
mix again, and so on until all the liquids have been absorbed; the mass
will then be something of the consistency of ordinary mortar. Next pass
the whole three times _at least_ through a pug mill: if this be not done
the concrete will be a failure. An ordinary hand pug-mill will not be
sufficient; the knives are not strong enough, nor will it incorporate
the materials thoroughly, but an upright pug-mill, worked by steam power
where practicable, or by at least one horse, should be used.

It will be found that as the mass emerges from the pug-mill a large
proportion of the water will run from it; means should therefore be
provided for allowing the water to escape freely from the floor.


_Method of Laying._--Prepare the path for a layer of concrete 3 inches
in thickness, on a hard dry bottom, inclining from the inside to the
kerb, at the rate of ¹⁄₂ an inch to a foot for pathways not more than 6
or 7 feet wide, but for wider pathways an inclination of ³⁄₈ of an inch
to a foot will be sufficient.

A template the full width of the path having been provided, lay concrete
with a shovel on the inner side of the path for a length of (say) 15
feet and a width of 1 foot, at such a height that when it has been well
rammed and patted with shovels it shall be the exact height intended for
the path; this is to form a resting-place for one end of the template,
the kerb forming that for the other end; then fill the intervening space
with concrete up to the template, treading and ramming it solidly for
about twenty minutes, and as it gets into shape, patting it with shovels
and smoothing with a trowel; then, with an iron (not stone) roller
weighing about 5 cwts., roll for two hours, trimming and filling up
hollows where necessary; then go on with another length, and
occasionally roll the first for half-an-hour, and so on. Experience
alone will decide the quantity of rolling necessary after the first day
or two, as weather and other causes tend to a more rapid solidification
of the concrete at some times than at others.

On the third day, sprinkle a small quantity of sea or other very fine
sand on the concrete, and allow it to remain for two or three days after
the path has been in use--it should then be removed.


_General Remarks._--The ashes should not be those from a saw-mill or
other place where wood ashes would be mixed with them. All ashes, spar
or grit, and lime, should be passed through a screen of ³⁄₈-inch mesh.
The lime should be the best blue lias, slaked under cover; it should be
allowed to lie for at least four days, but not more than six days,
before it is used. The spar or grit should be sharp and angular.

Great care should be taken to keep the concrete free from mud or dust;
it should be tipped from the carts or barrows, either directly into
place, or, if this cannot be done, a few slabs or boards should be laid
down, on which it may be tipped.

The path should not be used until the concrete is sufficiently solid to
bear a man’s weight without taking the impression of his boots.

It has been found by experience that the laying of this concrete should
not be commenced before May, and that it should not be continued beyond
the end of September (or middle of October, if the weather is very
fine). Frost is fatal to it before it has become hard, and continuous
cold wet weather <DW44>s considerably the hardening.

There can be no doubt that a pavement of this description for traffic
that is not too heavy answers every requirement; for streets of greater
traffic, genuine mastic asphalte should be used.

Before closing my remarks on artificial asphalte pavements, the
following description of an American method may be interesting:

On a dry foundation is placed a coat of rough clinkers from anthracite
coal or iron clinkers from a foundry, mixed with sand and tar in the
proportions of 15 cubic feet of fine sifted ashes, 14¹⁄₂ cubic feet of
pit sand, and 1¹⁄₂ cubic feet or 9 gallons of tar. This is laid about 3
to 4 inches thick and well rolled. Over this is placed a coating from 1
inch to 1¹⁄₂ inch thick, composed of 15 cubic feet of coarse sifted
ashes, 15 cubic feet of clinkers, and 1¹⁄₄ cubic feet or 8 gallons of
tar. It must be then well rolled and sanded, care having been taken that
the materials are thoroughly mixed.


_Gravel Footpaths._--For the suburbs of a town and in the country,
nothing looks so pretty as a gravel footpath.

The same rules that apply to a macadamised roadway apply to a gravel
footpath. They must be well “bottomed,” and well drained and well
rolled. Limestone or other stone chippings may with advantage be used
with a pit gravel for constructing paths of this description, and a
barrelled surface looks better and is more enduring than a hanging path.
The following cross sections of footpaths will explain themselves better
than any long description:

[Illustration]

Gravel footpaths are sometimes tarred over when thoroughly consolidated.
This must be done only when the weather is quite settled and fine: the
least rain will spoil the whole operation; it consists in simply tarring
over the surface of the footpath in the same manner that a gate or wall
or any other substance would be tarred. The surface of the path must
previously have been swept perfectly clean, and immediately as the
tarring is completed, fine stone dust must be sprinkled on its surface;
the traffic should be diverted from it for a few hours, and it is then
ready.

Care must be taken that the tar is not too thin in consistency, and that
the coat is not put on too thick. Treating a path in this manner saves
gravel, which is washed or kicked off it if left with an ordinary
surface; but a cold night, a slight shower, or inferior tar will make
the whole process abortive, and the path will be in a fearful mess in
the winter.

  [101] Concrete is especially necessary as a foundation for asphalte,
  as it has little or no power of resistance to vertical pressure in
  itself, and indentations in its surface would be very unsightly as
  well as hold water. The concrete should be perfectly dry and
  thoroughly set before the asphalte is laid on it.

  [102] _Vide_ ‘Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers,’ vol.
  i. p. 6.

  [103] Trinidad bitumen is best, but it has to be refined before it can
  be used. This is done by cooking it with shale oil, then straining it
  and decanting it, which is a troublesome and tedious process, and
  there is great danger of fraud being practised. Good bitumen can be
  detected by its elasticity and softness when rolled between the finger
  and thumb, and also by its smell.

  [104] _Vide_ ‘Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers,’ vol.
  xliii. p. 293.

  [105] _Ibid_, vol. xliii. p. 293.

  [106] A rule is sometimes made that York flags should be ¹⁄₂-inch
  thick for every square foot of surface, but they should never be less
  than 2 inches thick.

  [107] _Vide_ ‘Roads, Streets, and Pavements,’ by Q. A. Gillmore, p.
  208.

  [108] Sawdust 2 feet in thickness has sometimes been used, well rammed
  and rolled.

  [109] The town of Brighton is an instance of this. Ordinary red bricks
  used to be laid as a footpath, no doubt to give a rural appearance for
  the eye of the jaded Londoner, but these are giving place to more
  modern materials.




CHAPTER XII.

KERBING AND CHANNELLING, ETC.


For all footpaths both urban and sub-urban a kerb of some description is
necessary to be fixed on the outside of the footpath, for the following
reasons:

(1.) It acts as a sill against which the material of which the footpath
is paved may butt.

(2.) It retains both the foundation and surface of the footpath.

(3.) Whether there is a paved channel gutter or not, a kerb is necessary
in order to finish the haunches of the roadway.

(4.) The appearance of a footpath without kerbing is very unsightly.

(5.) Unless a footpath is raised above the roadway it is liable to be
flooded.

Many materials are used for kerb, of which granite being the best is
generally used in streets where there is much traffic, as the kerb is
often subjected to severe blows from the passing vehicular traffic as
well as a grinding action from the wheels of waggons and other heavy
vehicles, especially on gradients where “hugging” the kerb acts as a
drag or break. In such cases granite, although the most expensive in the
first case, is certainly the most economical, and no other material
should ever be used.

Granite kerb varies in dimensions considerably in different localities
and according to the width of the footpaths, the wider the path the
wider should be the kerb. It should however never be of less depth than
9 inches, nor narrower than 4 inches; depth is necessary to prevent the
kerb turning over towards the channel gutter, or water table as it is
sometimes termed, and the filling in on the gutter side must also be
well rammed with a bar to prevent this. Kerb should never be in less
lengths than 3 feet, and when 8 inches and broader it is better that the
top surface should be bevelled off to conform with the <DW72> of the
footpath, but in narrower kerbing such a practice is unnecessary, and if
carried to an extreme may even be dangerous.

The kerb should be drafted about 1 inch along both top edges and hammer
dressed about 5 inches on the face, in addition to the whole surface of
the top and for 3 inches at the back, in order that there may be a
smooth surface visible against the channel gutter, and also for the
flagging or other paving to butt fair against, besides giving a clean
appearance to the aris of kerb both inside and out.

The following section of an 8-inch granite kerb will explain this:

[Illustration]

The top surface should always be tooled or axed whenever it has worn
smooth and slippery, as a slip from a kerbstone often causes a very bad
fall to a pedestrian.

Setting kerb requires a very experienced hand, for as it is set dry
great care must be shown, or it will sink, turn slightly over, or move
even months after it has been set. In addition to this it is heavy stuff
to handle, but unless the line is accurate both as regards level and
contour, the appearance will be exceedingly bad. Of course the skillet
line and boning rods are freely used in setting kerb, but even with
these helps one mason will set kerb in a pleasing manner, whilst
another, with even more care, does not seem able to make it appear
graceful.

Deep and narrow kerb should be bedded on good clean river gravel, and
beaten into its place with hard blows from a heavy wooden setting maul
or beetle weighing not less than 50 lbs.

Broader and shallower kerb should be bedded on concrete.

In addition to granite, kerbing is also made of Endon or Yorkshire
stone, limestone, and for brick pavements a kerb specially made of the
same material is generally used; it is also, though not often in this
country, constructed of wood, old railway sleepers being used for the
purpose. In the more rural districts grass sods are used with good
effect for gravel paths.

It is difficult to estimate the cost of kerbing, as local questions must
interfere, carriage of the material and value of labour entering so
largely into the question.

Mr. Codrington[110] states that “A limestone kerb about 1 foot deep and
4 inches wide costs from 2_s._ 6_d._ to 3_s._ 6_d._ per lineal yard, and
a channel 10 inches wide by 6 inches thick rather more.

“Granite kerbs 12 inches wide by 9 inches deep, 6_s._ 6_d._ to 7_s._ per
yard run.

“Granite channel 12 inches wide by 6 inches deep, 4_s._ 6_d._ per lineal
yard.

“A channel 12 inches wide, formed of granite cubes 4 inches by 7 inches,
costs about the same.”

I have found that granite kerb 6 by 12 inches could be fixed “_in situ_”
at 3_s._ 3_d._ per yard run, and 8 by 12 inches at 4_s._ 6_d._ per
lineal yard.

Granite channelling composed of 3 courses of granite pitchers 6 by 8
inches, costing 5_s._ 6_d._ per lineal yard.

Limestone channelling 15 inches in width by 3 inches in depth, costing
3_s._ per lineal yard.

A paved channel, gutter, or water table is of the greatest use to a
roadway, besides adding greatly to its appearance. Without such a
channel the haunches of a road become sadly damaged by the wash of the
surface water, which is sometimes so extreme as to undermine the kerb
and cause it to fall out.

These channel gutters are made of different materials for macadamised
roads, granite setts laid in the direction of the gutter being the best.
A channel gutter should not be less than 18 inches wide, so that if made
with ordinary 3-inch setts, 6 courses will be necessary; they should be
bedded on gravel and well grouted in with lime or cement grouting.
Sometimes granite slabs 18 inches wide by 3 or 4 inches thick are used
and make an excellent gutter, they are however liable to tip under heavy
loads. Limestone slabs can also be used in roads of light traffic with
advantage.

In streets paved with granite setts, wood blocks or asphalte, the same
material is used for the channelling, the setts or blocks being however
bedded in line with the channel instead of transversely as in the street
itself.

The channel gutter should take the <DW72> of the roadway and the granite
kerb should show from 3 to 5 inches above it. At paved crossings it is
well to keep them level with the kerb so that pedestrians may step off
the path on to the crossing without any drop, or if there is any water
in them at such points, it is a good plan to let the edge of the
crossing drop rather suddenly towards the kerb, so that the ordinary
stride of the pedestrian carries him on to the level.

Gulley gratings or buddle holes should be placed along the line of
channel at such intervals as may be found necessary. A great number of
different forms have been from time to time introduced for this purpose,
the objects to be considered being:

(1.) Sufficient area to carry off all the water.

(2.) Not easily choked on surface by leaves or other debris.

(3.) Sufficiency of pit to retain all sand or road detritus and prevent
it being washed into the sewer.

(4.) The least possible obstruction to the traffic.

(5.) Constructed so that the pit may easily be cleaned out.

(6.) Trapped so as to prevent the escape of sewer gas.[111]

(7.) The drain from it should be easily freed of any obstruction.

One of the best forms of gully pit is that manufactured by Messrs. Oates
and Green of Halifax, as it meets nearly all the requirements which I
have summarised as being necessary for this description of work. The
following drawing will explain itself:

[Illustration]

What is called a “buddle hole,” which is an opening under the kerb, has
much to recommend it as giving a free unobstructed waterway and at the
same time avoiding the necessity of a grating in the street itself. The
following drawing will explain the general features of this
“buddle-hole:”

[Illustration]

A great number of different descriptions and forms of gully pits are
shown in Mr. Baldwin Latham’s excellent book on sanitary engineering, to
which I refer my readers for any further information upon this subject.

  [110] ‘The Maintenance of Macadamised Roads,’ by Thomas Codrington, p.
  18.

  [111] In many towns the gully gratings are purposely in direct
  communication with the sewers, so as to act as ventilators.




CHAPTER XIII.

LIGHTING STREETS.


At the present moment the question of lighting streets by electricity is
gaining so much attention, that it must necessarily be first considered
in connection with the subject of lighting streets: but to enter fully
into all the details and comparative merits of electricity and gas as
applied to street lighting would entail more space than can be afforded
in this work. It may however be of some use, even under the present
state of uncertainty, if I attempt to condense as much information upon
this necessary part of a surveyor’s duty into as small a compass as
possible. Nor must it be forgotten that electric lighting will not
easily be adapted in old cities and towns, where, in addition to the
main streets being narrow and crooked, there are few large open spaces
suitable for intense lights, and there are numerous small courts and
alleys which require lighting, and this for a long time to come will
probably be effected with gas.[112]

Section 161 of the Public Health Act 1875 enacts as follows:

“Any urban authority may contract with any person for the supply of gas
or other means of lighting the streets, markets, and public buildings in
their district, and may provide such lamps, lamp-posts and other
materials and apparatus as they may think necessary for lighting the
same. . . .” (38 and 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 161.)

I do not propose to entertain the question of lighting where the gas
works are the property of the corporation, but only to give information
that may be of use where a contract has to be entered into between the
corporation and a company. These contracts are based nearly always upon
the length of time at which the public lamps are to be kept lighted, and
may be summarised as follows:

(1.) The public lamps are lighted from sunset to sunrise every night
throughout the year; this averages 12 hours per diem, or about 4000
hours per annum.

(2.) The public lamps are not lighted on the nights of full moon, nor
for two or three nights before and after this period; the rest of the
year they are lighted at sunset.

(3.) Similar to the preceding, except that the public lamps are not
lighted during the five nights of full moon, the night after they are
lighted for one hour and extinguished on the rising of the moon; this
lighting increases from night to night about three quarters of an hour
until the moon has entirely disappeared, when the lamps are lighted
during the whole of the night for five consecutive nights. Then again on
the appearance of the new moon the lamps are extinguished the first
night for about an hour that the moon is visible, and this extension
increases nightly about three quarters of an hour according as the moon
appears until the period of full moon, the intention being to profit by
every hour of the moon’s light.

By this arrangement the lighting is about 2000 hours per annum, instead
of 4000 hours, when it is continued throughout the night during the
whole of the year.

(4.) Sometimes, in addition to the foregoing, the lamps are not lighted
at all during the summer months.

(5.) Occasionally the public lamps are extinguished at midnight all the
year round, if not for the whole, for some portions of the district, it
being assumed that all respectable citizens being in bed, no light is
required.

(6.) In some cases every other lamp only is lighted in the summer
months, and many other similar variations for the sake of economy may be
practised.

(7.) The public lamps are sometimes supplied by gas through meters,
which is then paid for at so much per 1000 cubic feet consumed.

Of all the above methods the first is undoubtedly the most satisfactory
to the inhabitants, the urban authority, their officers, and the gas
company; it is the least likely to introduce disputes, and although
something may be saved by adopting the more parsimonious methods
enumerated, it is found in practice that the first is the best.

In drawing up an agreement with the gas company to light the public
street lamps for any length of time, the following points must be
considered.


_Hints for a Contract with a Gas Company._

The company to provide a sufficient supply of gas of the full
illuminating power and quality as provided by their Act.

Payment to be at so much per lamp, or per 1000 cubic feet consumed, or
at per hour, or whatever may be determined on.

Payment to be made by urban authority for lighting, extinguishing,
cleaning, repairing, etc., as may be agreed, such payments to be made
quarterly, or at such times as may be agreed upon.

The hours or times throughout the year during which the lamps shall be
lighted to be determined by a table, every lamp to be fully lighted
within one hour of the time named, and not extinguished before that
named for extinguishing. The consumption of the gas to be regulated and
determined by Sugg’s or Borradaile’s street lamp governors, or such
other mode as is agreed upon.

The company to keep the governors and burners in repair, and also the
lanterns, at a fixed sum per lamp per annum.

The company to light and extinguish, and keep all lanterns clean, and
all pipes, valves, etc., in repair.

The company to keep the lamp posts etc., properly painted after they are
fixed by the urban authority. Lamps may be shifted or fresh lamps
erected by the urban authority, on their paying the cost.

The company not to be compelled to supply gas to lamps which are beyond
a certain distance of their existing mains, without compensation.

A certain pressure of gas must be maintained, to be ascertained by water
gauges fixed at certain public places, or at such points as may be
determined.

Any lamps burning under size or out, shall be immediately attended to by
the company. A deduction in payment for gas by the urban authority to be
made if neglect can be proved. An arbitration clause is necessary for
this or other matters that may be disputed, and also a clause for
determining the agreement upon notice being given.

In supplying gas to the public lamps by meter, either wet or dry meters
may be employed, and these are fixed either in the lamp posts themselves
or under the footpath. Sometimes each lamp has a separate meter, but in
the generality of cases one meter fixed to a lamp gives the average of
gas consumed by ten or a dozen of its fellows at the same level, and in
the same neighbourhood. The difficulties arising from this system are:

(1.) The liability of the meters to get out of repair, especially in
times of severe frost, or by vibration of traffic.

(2.) The first cost of providing and fixing the meters, and subsequent
cost of repairs.

(3.) The trouble and cost of inspection and keeping the accounts.

And it is found that by employing either “Borradaile’s,” “Sugg’s,” or
other regulators the consumption of the gas can be readily adjusted to
consume from 3 to 6 cubic feet per hour, according to the requirements
of the situation of the lamp.[113]

Lamp posts and lanterns are of innumerable sizes, shapes, and patterns,
but the following hints in connection with them may be of some service.

The lamp must not only be ornamental by day, but useful by night.

The light must not be placed either too high or too low.

The post must not be too clumsy so as to interfere with the pedestrian
traffic, nor too fragile so as to be easily broken if driven against.
Bracket lamps have advantages in these respects, and also in the very
important one of throwing no downward shadow,[114] as well as being
cheaper.

The lantern should be made with the lightest possible amount of metal
frame compatible with sufficient strength, the angle bars should be very
narrow to avoid shadow, trap doors of perforated zinc or glass should be
provided at the bottom for the admission of the torch, and a good outlet
at the top is essential for the escape of the heated air. Flat glass is
much cheaper and easier of repair than curved. The top of the lantern
should be furnished with a reflector cover, otherwise a large percentage
of the light is lost: this is very observable on approaching a large
city, by the glare which is thrown upwards. Some hundreds of different
patterns of lanterns for street lamps have been designed from time to
time, and it is not necessary, nor have I space, to describe them.

The burners should have steatite tips and be of varying size to suit the
requirements of the locality, the regulators which I have previously
mentioned must be kept in good repair. A lever tap is indispensable with
the torch for lighting, as well as the trap door or opening in the
bottom of the lantern through which the torch is inserted.

Each public lamp post should be legibly numbered, and the surveyor
should keep a register in his office of all the public lamps in his
town.

In order to determine the distance apart of the public lamps in a
street, it must be remembered that the intensity of light is directly
proportional to the illuminating power of the light, and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance of the light, if unreflected.
For instance, the illumination of any point between lamps may be arrived
at by adding all the quotients obtained by dividing the illuminating
power in standard sperm candles of each lamp, by the square of its
distance in yards from the point.

Thus a point midway between two lamps of 15 candles each, 20 yards
apart, would be reckoned thus:

       15    15
  X = --- + --- = ·30
      100   100

In this country, the rule has generally been adopted that public street
lamps burning 5 cube feet per hour of 15 candle gas should not be placed
at a greater distance than 60 yards apart, the average distance in most
English towns being about 40 yards.

On this question, the following interesting particulars by Monsieur
Servier will be of special interest.[115]

It appears to M. Servier that up to the present there has been too much
straining after intensity, with insufficient care for the object of
obtaining a proper quantity of light uniformly spread over the surface
of the ground. The paper in question is therefore intended in the first
place to elucidate this latter subject, so as to determine beforehand
the necessary intensity for luminous centres, gas or electric, and also
their height from the ground and distance from each other required to
produce a certain effect. With this purpose M. Servier proposes to
determine for any point of the road-surface, by the law of the squares
of the distances, the intensity of light, in terms of the Carcel
standard, which is spread at that point by one or more lights of given
power. Representing these intensities by proportional ordinates, the
extremities of these ordinates form an irregular surface, and the volume
contained between this surface and that of the roadway represents a
specific value equivalent to the total luminous intensity distributed
over the soil. In default of a better term, M. Servier calls this a
volume of _cubic Carcels_, a cubic Carcel being the intensity of a
Carcel (9·5 standard candles) multiplied by a square mètre of surface.
The different cases capable of being valued in this manner are as
follows:

1. A burner consuming 140 litres (5 cubic feet nearly), and of 1·1
Carcels (10·45 candles) illuminating power, placed at the height of 3
mètres (9 feet 6 inches). This burner gives at the foot of the
lamp-pillar a maximum intensity of 0·122 Carcel (1·159 candles), and at
10 mètres (32·8 feet) away the illuminating power is reduced to 0·01
Carcel (0·095 candle). The distance of 20 to 30 mètres kept between the
street lamps, even in the best-lighted towns, is therefore excessive,
for these should not be more than 13 mètres (14 yards) apart in order to
obtain between them the minimum illuminating power of 0·05 Carcel (0·475
candle), sufficient for enabling passengers to read.

2. The second case is that of a burner consuming 1400 litres (50 cubic
feet nearly) of gas, with an illuminating intensity of 14 Carcels (133
candles), placed at the height of 3·20 mètres; this being the class of
burner fixed in the Rue du Quatre Septembre. The intensity of light at
the foot of the lamp-pillar is 1·367 Carcels (13 candles nearly), and to
obtain the light of 0·05 Carcel (0·475 candle) already mentioned as the
least intensity enabling one to read, a point must be fixed in a circle
of 16 mètres radius from the lamp as a centre. Taking now a group of six
lamp-columns, three on each side of the street, and overlapping, as in
the Rue du Quatre Septembre, it will be found that the distribution of
light is defective. The most brilliantly lighted point at the foot of
the column has an intensity of 1·367 Carcels (13 candles), or more than
triple that of the darkest point, which has an intensity of 0·5 Carcel
(4·75 candles) at 4·58 mètres distance.

3. A lamp of 50-Carcel (475-candle) power, gas or electric, fixed at the
height of 8 mètres (26·24 feet). The illuminating intensity at the point
vertically under the light is reduced to 0·7 Carcel (6·65 candles); but
the light of 0·5 Carcel (4·75 candles) is to be found in a circle of 6
mètres radius from this point. It will therefore be observed that _the
distribution of light over the ground is better in proportion as the
luminous centre is higher_; but conversely also, _the amount of light
thrown on the ground is greater as the luminous centre is lower_. It
consequently results that the power of the light and its height should
be determined in every case with reference to the effect desired. The
method shortly described shows that, in the case of the lighting of the
Rue du Quatre Septembre, the mean amount of light per square mètre of
the roadway is 855 _décicarcel-cubes_, the best lighted parts having an
intensity of 1·62 cubic Carcels, and the darkest portions an intensity
of 0·50 cubic Carcel.

M. Servier has examined the question of lighting a street 20 mètres wide
and one or more kilomètres long, with the condition that the
illumination of the ground shall present a mean determinate quantity of
light per square mètre, or a given intensity at the darkest points. Some
interesting results are thus obtained. Thus, by substituting for the
14-Carcel (133-candle) lamps in the Rue du Quatre Septembre, burners of
50-Carcel (475-candle) power, with the condition of giving the same
intensity of 0·5 Carcel (4·75 candles) to the darkest points, a quantity
of light more considerable than before will be required. That is, a
greater number of Carcels (3000 as against 1848 per kilomètre in length)
will be necessary in the larger burners than were required in the
original smaller lamps. It is therefore imperative, in order that the
lighting shall be equally economical, that the unit of intensity--the
Carcel or candle power--shall be less costly in a lamp of 50 Carcel (or
475-candle power) than in the smaller lamps. By fixing lamps of
50-Carcel (475-candle) power in the centre of the street, instead of
along the side walks, maintaining the condition of giving the light of
0·5 Carcel (4·75 candles) in the darkest parts of the thoroughfares, it
is found that the pillars must be 8 mètres high and 20 mètres apart. The
best-lighted part of the road would then have the intensity of 1 Carcel
(9·5 candles), and would therefore be only twice as brilliantly lighted
as the darkest corner; the mean quantity light per square mètre would be
755 _décicarcel-cubes_.

Lastly, the same method of lighting has been applied to the “ordinary,”
as distinguished from the “luxurious” lighting of the public
thoroughfares, assumed to be 20 mètres wide, giving a light of 0·05
Carcel (0·475 candle) at the darkest points. With ordinary street
burners consuming 200 litres (7 cubic feet) of gas per hour, and giving
1·72-Carcel (16·34-candle) power, it is found that the lamps should be
18 mètres (20 yards nearly) apart, the burners being 3 mètres (9 feet 10
inches) high. With burners of 14-Carcel (133-candle) power placed at the
height of 3·20 mètres (10 feet 6 inches), the lamp-pillars would be 106
mètres (115 yards) apart. Or with lamps of 50-Carcel (475-candle) power
placed at a height of 8 mètres (26·24 feet), the distance between the
pillars may be increased to 270 mètres (494 yards).

In the case of electric lighting M. Servier has studied two
examples--the Jablochkoff candle, and an arc light (system not stated).
The former is credited with the illuminating power of 16 Carcels (152
candles), and is fixed at the height of 5 mètres (16 feet 3 inches), on
pillars 110 mètres (120 yards) apart. This would give a light of 0·65
Carcel (6·27 candles) at the foot of the pillar, and a minimum intensity
of 0·05 Carcel (0·475 candle) midway between the lights. The arc light
is purposely made exactly equal in computed efficiency to the larger
Siemens burner of 50 Carcels (475 candles). In the matter of expense,
however, using the data applicable to Paris, with 12-candle gas at 6_s._
6_d._ per 1000 cubic feet, M. Servier makes a striking comparison. The
cost of lighting a kilomètre of road in the “ordinary” manner last
described varies very little for the three classes of gas lamps--small,
large, and very powerful--included in the calculation, and ranges from
3·33 frs. to 3·96 frs. per hour. The cost of the same work done by the
Jablochkoff candle is estimated at about double, or 6·91 frs. per hour;
and with the arc light the cost would be 4 frs., or still higher than
with the most costly system of gas lighting, although less than the
expense of the Jablochkoff electric light.

The following table will show the particulars of different lights so
placed that persons may see to read ordinary print in any part of the
street, which may be taken as then being a well-lighted street.

  ----------------------+------------+---------+--------+---------+
                        |            |         |Distance|         |
                        |            |         |   of   |Number of|
                        |Illuminating|Height of| Lamps  |Lamps per|
  Description of Light. |   Power.   |  Lamps. | apart. |  Mile.  |
  ----------------------+------------+---------+--------+---------+
         _Gas._         |  candles.  | ft. in. | yards. |         |
  Batswing, 7 cubic feet|    16·34   |  9  10  |    20  |   176   |
  Cluster, 50   „    „  |   133·00   | 10   6  |   115  |    29   |
  Siemens, 100  „    „  |   475·00   | 26   3  |   294  |    10   |
                        |            |         |        |         |
      _Electricity_     |            |         |        |         |
  Jablochkoff candle    |   152·00   | 16   3  |   120  |    29   |
  Arc light             |   475·00   | 26   3  |   294  |    10   |
  ----------------------+------------+---------+--------+---------+

  ----------------------+------------+-----------+----------+----------
                        |            |           | Greatest |  Least
                        |   Total    |Consumption|Intensity |Intensity
                        |Illuminating|of Gas per | of Light | of Light
  Description of Light. |   Power.   |   Mile.   |on Ground.|on Ground.
  ----------------------+------------+-----------+----------+----------
         _Gas._         |  candles.  |  cub. ft. | candles. | candles.
  Batswing, 7 cubic feet|    2876    |    1232   |    2·15  |    0·47
  Cluster, 50   „    „  |    3857    |    1450   |   13·10  |    0·47
  Siemens, 100  „    „  |    4750    |    1000   |    7·46  |    0·47
                        |            |           |          |
      _Electricity_     |            |           |          |
  Jablochkoff candle    |    4408    |     ..    |    6·18  |    0·47
  Arc light             |    4750    |     ..    |    7·46  |    0·47
  ----------------------+------------+-----------+----------+----------

It must not be lost sight of, that the illuminating power of the gas in
Paris is very low, and is thus fixed. Under a pressure of 12 hundredths
of an inch, gas burning at the rate of 4·05 cubic feet per hour (or 115
litres) shall give a light of 9·5 standard sperm candles (or a “Carcel”
lamp burning 42 grammes of pure colza oil) per hour.

The competition which has been started by the electric lighting
companies has given a great impetus to gas lighting. A large number of
improved street gas lamp burners and lanterns having been invented and
brought into general use, the following particulars with reference to
some of those which were tried in the City of Exeter may be of use as a
comparison.

  --------------------+------------+-----------+------------------
                      |            |Consumption|  Cost per Hour,
                      |            | of gas in |gas being supplied
                      |Candle Power| cubic feet|at 3_s._ per 1000
  Description of Lamp.|  of Light. | per hour. |   cubic feet.
  --------------------+------------+-----------+------------------
                      |            |           |      pence.
  Ordinary street lamp|     15     |      5    |       ³⁄₁₆
  with batswing burner|            |           |
  Siemens’            |    330     |     50    |       1³⁄₄
    Ditto             |    130     |     25    |        ⁷⁄₈
    Ditto             |     45     |     10    |        ³⁄₈
  Sugg’s              |     50     |     16    |        ⁵⁄₈
    Ditto             |     30     |     10    |        ³⁄₈
  Bray’s              |     80     |     20    |        ³⁄₄
  --------------------+------------+-----------+------------------

Having thus far given a few facts upon lighting streets with coal gas, I
will now turn to the question of lighting them by means of electricity,
and in doing this the following points will be considered:

(1.) The motive-power to be employed in producing electricity and its
applicability for the purpose.

(2.) The description of machinery to be employed.

(3.) The value of the light produced, and its adaptability to the
requirements of any town.

(4.) The comparative cost of the electric light as compared with gas.

(1.) Whatever motive power is employed, whether water-power, steam or
gas, it is essential that it should be steady and unfailing; steady,
because the regularity and uniformity of the light depends upon the
evenness of the speed with which the power works, and unfailing, because
a stoppage means the immediate extinguishment of the lights:
electricity, unlike gas, is not stored after manufacture, but is used as
fast as it emanates from the producing power.[116]

Sensitive governors and careful bedding of the machinery greatly tend to
lessen unsteadiness, and are points of considerable importance.

(2.) The machinery consists of the dynamo machines, the conducting wires
and the lamps.

I will not here enter into the question of which is the best dynamo
machine to employ, as to discuss the merits of them all would involve a
large amount of space; but for this and other valuable information upon
the subject of electric lighting I will refer my readers to Mr. Hedges’
excellent little book entitled ‘Useful Information on Electric
Lighting,’[117] but the following points should be attended to. The
dynamo machine should be fixed in a dry place, and not be exposed to
dust or flyings, it should be kept perfectly clean, and its bearings
well oiled, its coils and conductors should be perfectly insulated, and
it should, where practicable, be fixed on an insulated bed. With regard
to the wires, the following ‘Regulations for the prevention of Fire
Risks arising from Electric Lighting,’ published by the Society of
Telegraph Engineers and of Electricians, are given in full, as they
leave nothing to be desired in the way of their careful selection and
fixing:

“(7.) Every switch or commutator used for turning the current on or off
should be constructed so that when it is moved and left to itself it
cannot permit of a permanent arc or of heating, and its stand should be
made of slate, stoneware, or some other incombustible substance.

“(8.) There should be in connection with the main circuit a safety fuse
constructed of easily fusible metal which would be melted if the current
attain any undue magnitude, and would thus cause the circuit to be
broken.

“(9.) Every part of the circuit should be so determined that the gauge
of wire to be used is properly proportioned to the currents it will have
to carry, and changes of circuit, from a larger to a smaller conductor,
should be sufficiently protected with suitable safety fuses, so that no
portion of the conductor should ever be allowed to attain a temperature
exceeding 150° F.

“N.B.--These fuses are of the very essence of safety. They should always
be enclosed in incombustible cases. Even if wires become perceptibly
warmed by the ordinary current, it is a proof that they are too small
for the work they have to do and that they ought to be replaced by
larger wires.

“(10.) Under ordinary circumstances complete metallic circuits should be
used, and the employment of gas or water pipes should in no case be
allowed.

“(11.) Where bare wire out of doors rests on insulating supports, it
should be coated with insulating material, such as india-rubber tape or
tube, for at least two feet on each side of the support.

“(12.) Bare wires passing over the tops of houses should never be less
than seven feet clear of any part of the roof, and they should
invariably be high enough, when crossing thoroughfares, to allow
fire-escapes to pass under them.

“(13.) It is most essential that the joints should be electrically and
mechanically perfect. One of the best joints is that shown in the
annexed sketches. The joint is whipped around with small wire, and the
whole mechanically united by solder.

[Illustration]

“(14.) The position of wires when underground should be efficiently
indicated, and they should be laid down so as to be easily inspected and
repaired.

“(15.) All wires used for indoor purposes should be efficiently
insulated.

“(16.) When these wires pass through roofs, floors, walls, or
partitions, or where they cross or are liable to touch metallic masses,
like iron girders or pipes, they should be thoroughly protected from
abrasion with each other, or with the metallic masses, by suitable
additional covering; and where they are liable to abrasion from any
cause or to the depredations of rats or mice, they should be efficiently
encased in some hard material.

“(17.) Where wires are put out of sight, as beneath flooring, they
should be thoroughly protected from mechanical injury, and their
position should be indicated.

“N.B.--The value of frequently testing the wires cannot be too strongly
urged. It is an operation skill in which is easily acquired and applied.
The escape of electricity cannot be detected by the sense of smell as
can gas, but it can be detected by apparatus far more certain and
delicate. Leakage not only means waste, but in the presence of moisture
it means destruction of the conductor and its insulating covering by
electric action.”

The lamps may take either the “arc” form, or the “incandescent.” The
former is produced by the electric current passing between carbon
points, and requires considerable electrical pressure; they give a light
of from 1500 to 4000 candle power; the mechanism of arc lamps has to be
of the most delicate kind to ensure the proper distance of the carbon
points being maintained. The lamps should be guarded by globes of
frosted glass, not only to prevent incandescent pieces of carbon from
falling, but to lessen the glare of the light. “Incandescent” lamps are
of small size, giving a light of from 8 to 50-candle power, which is
produced by the heating of a filament of carbon in a vacuum owing to the
resistance caused to the electric current by this contraction of the
conductor.

(3.) With regard to the value of the light produced, and its
adaptability to the requirements of any town, it will be seen on
reference to the opening of this chapter that at present considerable
doubt exists as to its adaptability for general public lighting, and as
each town varies in the length, straightness, and width of its streets,
the number of its large squares or confined courts and alleys, the
surveyor must use his own judgment as to the suitability of the light
before recommending his corporation to adopt it.

As to the value of the electric light, there can be no doubt that a most
brilliant and powerful light is produced by the voltaic arc: so
brilliant indeed, as to render it necessary to screen it nearly always
behind frosted or opalescent glass globes, the former being found to be
much the best for many reasons.

As to the photometrical value of the light, some considerable difficulty
has hitherto been experienced in obtaining accurate observations,
principally owing to the peculiar colour of the electric light, and also
from its fluctuating character; but these difficulties are being
steadily overcome, and with a photometer mounted on a light frame with
wheels, some excellent experiments have been made in the public streets
upon the comparative values of different lights.

(4.) The last and really one of the most important questions remaining
to be discussed is that of the cost of the electric light as compared
with gas.

With reference to the cost of the electric light, the following table
may be of use; it is compiled from an excellent paper on electric
lighting, by Mr. James N. Shoolbred:[118]

TABLE OF COMPARATIVE ESTIMATES OF FIRST OUTLAY AND OF WORKING EXPENSES
OF SOME SYSTEMS OF ELECTRIC LIGHTING.

  ----------------+------------------------------+
                  | First Cost, including Engine |
                  |         to drive it.         |
                  +------+-------+-------+-------+
                  | One  |  Two  | Three | Five  |
  Name of Machine.|light.|lights.|lights.|lights.|
  ----------------+------+-------+-------+-------+
                  |   £  |   £   |   £   |   £   |
  Gramme single   |      |       |       |       |
    light “A” with|  330 |  535  |  725  |  935  |
    Siemens lamp  |      |       |       |       |
                  |      |       |       |       |
  Cost per light  |   -- |   --  |   --  |   --  |
    per hour      |      |       |       |       |
                  |      |       |       |       |
  Siemens single  |      |       |       |       |
    light “medium”|      |       |       |       |
    with Siemens  |  365 |  611  |  835  | 1185  |
    small-sized   |      |       |       |       |
    lamp          |      |       |       |       |
                  |      |       |       |       |
  Cost per light  |   -- |   --  |   --  |   --  |
    per hour      |      |       |       |       |
  ----------------+------+-------+-------+-------+
                  |  Six lights. | Twenty lights.|
                  +--------------+---------------+
                  |       £      |        £      |
  Gramme “many    |              |               |
    light” machine|      576     |      1155     |
    with candles  |              |               |
                  |              |               |
  Cost per light  |       --     |       --      |
    per hour      |              |               |
  ----------------+--------------+---------------+

  ----------------+-----------------------------------------
                  |
                  |        Working Expenses per hour.
                  +-----------+---------+---------+---------
                  |    One    |   Two   |  Three  |  Five
  Name of Machine.|   light.  | lights. | lights. | lights.
  ----------------+-----------+---------+---------+---------
                  |_s._ _d._  |_s._ _d._|_s._ _d._|_s._ _d._
  Gramme single   |           |         |         |
    light “A” with| 1   6     | 2   1   | 2   7   | 3   0
    Siemens lamp  |           |         |         |
                  |           |         |         |
  Cost per light  | 1  11·4   | 1   4·8 | 1   2·2 | 0  10·2
    per hour      |           |         |         |
                  |           |         |         |
  Siemens single  |           |         |         |
    light “medium”|           |         |         |
    with Siemens  | 1 7¹⁄₂[119]| 2   4   | 2  10   | 3   9
    small-sized   |           |         |         |
    lamp          |           |         |         |
                  |           |         |         |
  Cost per light  | 2   1·4   | 1   6·8 | 1   3·84| 1   0·8
    per hour      |           |         |         |
  ----------------+-----------+---------+---------+---------
                  |     Six lights.     |   Twenty lights.
                  +---------------------+-------------------
                  |      _s._ _d._      |      _s._ _d._
  Gramme “many    |                     |
    light” machine|       2    8        |       6    3
    with candles  |                     |
                  |                     |
  Cost per light  |       0    6·4      |       0    4·2
    per hour      |                     |
  ----------------+---------------------+-------------------

Mr. Shoolbred has also given another table[120] of street lighting
which partly deals with the question of cost, it is as follows:

  -------------+--------+------+-------+------+--------+---------------
               |        |      |       |      |Illumi- |
               |        |      |       |      | nating |
               | Cost to|      | Annual|      |  Power |
               | Munic- |Length|  Cost |      |   of   |
               |  ipal  |  of  |  per  |  No. |each (on|
     Date of   | Author-|Street|mile of|  of  |hori-   |
    Lighting.  |  ity.  | Lit. |street.|Lamps.|zontal).|   Remarks.
  -------------+--------+------+-------+------+--------+---------------
               |        | yards|       |      |        |
               |        | line-|       |      |   can- |
               |    £   |  al. |    £  |      |  dles. |

                             CITY OF LONDON.
    _District No. 1._ (Ludgate Hill, &c.).--“Brush” Electric Light Co.

  Mar. 31, 1881|  660[A]| 1750 |   660 |32 arc|  9506  |1 40-light Brush
       to      |        |      |       |      |        |machine.
  Mar. 30, 1882|        |      |       |      |        |[A] Add £750 to
               |        |      |       |      |        |cost, for fixing
               |        |      |       |      |        |and final
               |        |      |       |      |        |removal of
               |        |      |       |      |        |apparatus.

               _District No. 2._ (King William Street, &c.).
                        --Siemens Bros. & Co., Ld.

  Mar. 31, 1881| 2270[B]| 1960 |  2026 | 6 arc|  4000  |6 continuous
       to      |        |      |       |23 arc|   330  |current ma-
  Mar. 30, 1882|        |      |       |      |        |chines.
               |        |      |       |      |        |2 alternating
               |        |      |       |      |        |ditto.
               |        |      |       |      |        |[B] Add £1450 to
               |        |      |       |      |        |cost, for fixing
               |        |      |       |      |        |and removal of
               |        |      |       |      |        |apparatus.

  _Metropolitan Board of Works_ (Thames Embankment).--“Jablochkoff” Co.

  Dec. 13, 1878|2¹⁄₂_d._| 2540 |  1131 |  60  |   380  |3 Gramme double-
       to      |   per  |      |       | can- |        |machine (“A” and
  June 30, 1881|  light |      |       | dles |        |divider).
               |   per  |      |       |      |        |1 Ransome’s
               |  hour. |      |       |      |        |steam engine. 20
               |        |      |       |      |        |HP nominal.
  July 1, 1881 |1¹⁄₂_d._|  ..  |   753 |      |        |
       to      |   per  |      |       |      |        |
  June 30, 1884|  light |      |       |      |        |
               |   per  |      |       |      |        |
               |  hour. |      |       |      |        |

   CITY OF NORWICH (Prince of Wales’ Road, &c.).--R. E. Crompton & Co.

  Aug. 15, 1881|  710   | 1700 |   531 | 5 arc|  2000  |4 Bürgin
       to      |        |      |       | 9 arc|   500  |machines.
  Jan. 31, 1883|        |      |       |      |        |1 Ransome’s
               |        |      |       |      |        |steam engine, 20
               |        |      |       |      |        |HP nominal.

                   _Chesterfield_ (Market Place, &c.).
                  --Brush (Hammond) Electric Light Co.

  Nov. 1, 1881 |  855   | 3500 |       |22 arc|   950  |2 40-Light
       to      |        |      |   ..  |100   |    16  |“Brush” ma-
  Oct. 31, 1882|        |      |       |Incan-|        |chines.
               |        |      |       |des-  |        |2 Fowler’s semi-
               |        |      |       |cent. |        |portable com-
               |        |      |       |      |        |pound engines 20
               |        |      |       |      |        |HP nominal.
  -------------+--------+------+-------+------+--------+----------------

As to the comparison of cost between the electric light and gas, this
has only, I believe, been properly estimated on the Thames Embankment,
London, by Sir Joseph Bazalgette, the results of whose investigations
upon this important point I shall give presently; it has, however, been
stated generally, and without contradiction, that arc lights can be
produced of about 2000 candle power, with 1 HP at a cost of from 3_d._
to 6_d._ per candle per annum of 4000 hours, gas costing from 1_s._
9_d._ to 3_s._ 6_d._ per candle according to the price of the gas.

Incandescent lamps cost 3_s._ to 4_s._ per candle per annum, as their
life is short, and only 200 candle power can be got from 1 HP.[121]

The latest investigations into the comparative cost of lighting by gas
and electricity upon the Victoria Embankment and Waterloo Bridge in
London, show that the lighting as effected by 96 gas burners for an
average of 12 hours burning all night, and 121 gas burners for 6 hours
lighted after the electric lights are put out, together with the
electric lighting 40 lights on the parapet of Embankment, and 10 on the
bridge, costs 834_l._ for the gas and 663_l._ for the electric light per
annum. Gas costing 3_s._ 2_d._ per 1000 cubic feet showed a cost of
nearly 1_s._ per hour for every 1000 candle power of light. The electric
lights cost 1¹⁄₂_d._ per light per hour, which is stated to represent
5·66 pence per 1000 candle power of light; each electric light as now
used, it is said, gives a photometric light of 265 candles, frosted
glass globes being found to pass much more light than the opalescent
globes.

These are by far the most important and reliable comparisons that have
hitherto been made, and it will be seen that the cost is in favour of
the electric light.

There is no doubt that the acme of all artificial lighting is the
prolongation of the light of day, and whether this is proposed to be
effected by electricity or gas, it should be the goal aimed at by all
who make this question their study.

  [112] Since writing these lines the following letter has appeared in
  the Standard and has never been refuted, which shows that electric
  lighting for streets is not yet all that can be desired:

  ELECTRIC LIGHTING.

  _To the Editor of the_ STANDARD.

  SIR,--At this time, when the question of lighting by means of
  electricity is receiving so much attention, and as Chesterfield is the
  only town in England whose lighting is done throughout by electricity,
  it may be interesting to your readers to know what our experience has
  been.

  I need not detail the stages which led to our abandoning gas, and
  taking up the electric light after being in darkness some months. I
  may briefly state that, after going carefully into the question, we
  decided to adopt the system whose praise was in everyone’s mouth a
  year ago, namely, “The Brush,” and, though we were applied to by other
  companies, we placed the execution of the work in the hands of the one
  that we considered the most suitable--the Hammond Company. During the
  negotiations of the contract, Mr. Hammond particularly pressed us not
  to stipulate for incandescent lamps, as he acknowledged that their
  Company were not in a position to cope with incandescent lighting for
  public purposes. We, however, decided upon the town being lighted with
  the Lane-Fox Incandescent Lamps, as well as the Brush Arc Lights.

  After waiting many weary months for the completion of the incandescent
  lighting, it is now, when declared by the contractors complete, in my
  opinion a decided failure. The Lane-Fox lamps, which have been
  supplied by the Brush Company, are most variable in their lighting
  power; whilst some are good, others only give a feeble light instead
  of a light equal to that of fifteen candles, as expected. The arc
  lights are doing good service in some of the large streets, but as a
  whole I think it has been fully demonstrated in a year’s trial in
  Chesterfield, that the field for arc lighting is very limited indeed.

  Though the tradesmen have been canvassed by the Hammond Company with a
  view to introducing the arc lights into their shops and hotels, in not
  one single case has the light been adopted. Indeed, it is evident to
  us who have them under our eyes every night, that they are only fit
  for lighting works and large, open spaces. The experience that has
  been thus gained at Chesterfield at the present juncture must be of
  value to all towns intending to adopt the electric light, and is my
  reason for troubling you with this letter, although I believe the time
  will shortly come when lighting by electricity may be advantageously
  adopted, both for public and private purposes.

  I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

  GEO. EDWD. GEE,
  _Alderman of the Borough of Chesterfield_.

  HIGH STREET, CHESTERFIELD, _October 10, 1882_.

  [113] The Surveyor of Folkestone says: “Sugg’s self-acting regulator
  is used, adjusted as nearly as may be practicable to consume 4 feet
  per hour, and so very satisfactory is this apparatus that for the last
  two years, after burning 7294 hours, it is found by the average meter
  to have consumed 29,227 feet, as against 29,176 feet as per regulator,
  being only 51 feet in excess of that which the apparatus is adjusted
  to consume.” _Vide_ Ellice Clark on gas in Public Streets,
  ‘Proceedings of the Association of Municipal and Sanitary Engineers
  and Surveyors,’ vol. ii. P. 193.

  [114] Bracket lamps may not be fixed by an urban authority to houses
  within their district without the previous consent of the owners of
  such houses. _Vide_ ‘Fitzgerald’s Public Health Act,’ third edition,
  p. 182.

  [115] Meeting of the ‘Société Technique de l’lndustrie du Gaz en
  France’ in 1882.

  [116] “Faure’s” batteries can store electricity, but at present this
  cannot be manipulated on a very large scale.

  [117] Published by Messrs. Spon, 16 Charing Cross, London.

  [118] _Vide_ ‘Proceedings of the Association of Municipal and Sanitary
  Engineers and Surveyors,’ vol. vi. p. 9 _et seq._

  [119] Siemens’ light at Blackburn cost 2_s._ per hour per lamp of 6000
  candle power.

  [120] _Vide_ ‘Proceedings of the Association of Municipal and Sanitary
  Engineers and Surveyors,’ vol. viii. p. 171, &c.

  [121] On this point Mr. W. G. Laws, Borough Engineer,
  Newcastle-upon-Tyne, says: “Taking as an example a street a mile long,
  lighted by the arc system, the arrangement would probably be lamps 60
  yards apart, placed alternately on either side, giving 30 lamps or
  60,000 candles at a cost of about 800_l._ per annum. If lighted by
  ‘incandescent lamps’ we should have them placed about 30 yards apart
  on both sides: that is, 120 lamps giving 2400 candles at a cost of
  about 420_l._ per annum. The number of gas lamps for the same distance
  might be 150, giving about 2250 candles at a cost of 300_l._ per
  annum.” (‘Proceedings of the Association of Municipal and Sanitary
  Engineers and Surveyors,’ vol. viii. p. 65.)




CHAPTER XIV.

STREET NAMING AND NUMBERING.


It was not until the commencement of the present century that
inconvenience was apparently felt from the want of any distinguishing
names of streets, or numbers to houses, either in London or provincial
towns; the first Act of Parliament on the subject being one passed in
the year 1819, which gave powers to vestries and district boards to put
up the names of streets, and even then for some considerable period
afterwards houses or premises were not marked with numbers, but with
distinguishing trade signs or names.

The Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847, however, contains the following
clauses which are incorporated with the Public Health Act 1875, by the
160th section of that act:

“The commissioners shall from time to time cause the houses and
buildings in all or any of the streets[122] to be marked with numbers as
they think fit, and shall cause to be put up or painted on a conspicuous
part of some house, building or place at or near each end, corner, or
entrance of every such street the name by which such street is to be
known; and every person who destroys, pulls down, or defaces any such
number or name, or puts up any number or name different from the number
or name put up by the commissioners, shall be liable to a penalty not
exceeding 40_s._ for every such offence” (10 & 11 Vic. c. 34, sec. 64).

“The occupiers of houses and other buildings in the streets shall mark
their houses with such numbers as the commissioners approve of, and
shall renew such numbers as often as they become obliterated, or
defaced; and every such occupier who fails within one week after notice
for that purpose from the commissioners to mark his house with a number
approved of by the commissioners, or to renew such number when
obliterated, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding 40_s._; and the
commissioners shall cause such numbers to be marked or to be renewed as
the case may require, and the expense thereof shall be repaid to them by
such occupier, and shall be recoverable as damages” (10 & 11 Vic. c. 34,
s. 65).

Some difference even now exists as to the manner in which streets are
named, there being considerable diversity in the sizes, colours, and
materials of the name plates, as well as in the spaces allowed for the
letters. The following list is given to show how this diversity existed
in the metropolis even so late as the year 1870.

Table taken from a “Memorandum by the Superintending Architect of the
Metropolitan Board of Works, relative to the enforcement of the Law
regulating the naming of Streets and numbering of Houses in the
Metropolis” (1871):

                                             Parish A.  Parish B.
  Names on houses at corners of streets        237        281
    „   on piers of railings                    24         36
    „   on iron plates                           6         44
    „   on wooden boards                        18         36
    „   on enamelled plates                      1          2
    „   impressed in terra cotta                 2          3
    „   in cement letters                       14          9
    „   in Minton’s china letters                2          1
    „   engraved on stone                        5         13
    „   on porcelain plates                      1          1
    „   with raised letters on iron girder       1
    „   on board on posts                                  11
    „   on zinc                                             2

And to this table are added the words “Some names are completely hidden
by vines, names given for ‘streets’ are put up as ‘roads.’” Since this
table was prepared however, the confusion has been rectified by the
energetic action of the Metropolitan Board of Works.

It is no doubt essential that for postal, telegraphic, and social
reasons there should be uniformity in the manner in which the naming and
numbering of streets is carried out, and the following particulars and
suggestions may be of use.

Names of streets should be marked up in such a manner as to be legible
both by day and lamp light, and the materials of which the name-plates
are composed should be of sufficient strength to prevent any damage
accruing to them from stone-throwing or other wilful or accidental
injury, or from the action of changes of temperature or climatic
influences of any kind, and the following list is given descriptive of
some of the modern methods of effecting this:


_Minton’s China Tiles._--These are white glazed china tiles 6 inches
square, on which either blue or black letters are burnt in, one letter
on each tile (except in the case of St. which is on one tile); they are
fixed by chasing them into walls of buildings, and setting them in
cement. They are the best description of name-plate with which I am
acquainted, their cost being only 6_d._ each, with the additional
advantages of being not easily broken, they can be removed and re-used
with facility, weather has no effect upon them, and they require no
attention whatever after they are once fixed.


_Cast-iron Plates with Embossed Letters._--These are generally painted
with a white ground, and black letters; they are liable to become
broken, and as they are fixed with screws these rust through in course
of time, when the plate may suddenly fall in a dangerous manner into the
street; another disadvantage is that they require to be painted about
once every three years.


_Painted Names on Walls of Buildings._--This method requires no special
mention; it is an economical plan and is more adopted than any other,
but the letters must be painted every three years at least, and they
are apt to be defaced if the premises are painted by the owner or
occupier.


_Enamelled Iron Plates._--These look very well, but they are apt to get
loose, and a blow from a stone will shiver them.


_Wooden or Metal Figures cut out and fastened on to Boards or against
Walls._--The same objection holds good with this method as with others
of the same description, the fastenings fail in time, and the name
disappears.


_Enamelled Glass Tablets in Street Lamps._--This is an excellent method
of recent introduction, and has many advantages. The name can be seen
very plainly either by day or night, no private premises have to be
interfered with in fixing them,[123] a uniformity of position or “where
to look” for the name of the street is secured, and there is no limit to
the number of times the name may be repeated.

Where the names of streets are placed against buildings the letters
which compose the name should not be less than 4 inches in height by 2
inches in breadth, with a space between each letter of not less than 1
inch; a light colour should always where practicable be used for the
back ground, and black or blue for the letters. One great objection to
painted letters is that they must be frequently repainted, and in order
to do this, ladders have to be raised against the building, which the
occupiers naturally object to without previous notice: it is always very
annoying to any citizen to have the head of a painter appearing outside
his bed-room window at any time, and more especially at an inconvenient
hour in the morning.

In selecting names for streets it is very important that they should not
be duplicated in a town, and also that there should be some sense in
their nomenclature; generally some local association can be found with
a family or historical name which is suitable for the street. Nothing is
more ridiculous than to see such names as Bath Street or York Road given
to streets which have as much association with such places as with
Jericho.

The street having been properly and conspicuously named, the next point
to consider is that of the manner in which it shall be numbered, there
being three methods in vogue by which this can be effected.

(1.) By allotting even numbers on one side of the street and odd numbers
on the other side.

(2.) By allotting consecutive numbers up one side of the street, and
down the other side.

(3.) By allotting corresponding numbers to both sides of the street,
which are distinguished by a prefix of north and south, or east and
west, as the case may require.

The first is by far the best method to pursue, for the following
reasons:

If the street is ever extended after being numbered, the sequence is in
no way disturbed. By this method any house can be more easily found, as
on reference to a directory it will at once be seen at which end of the
street it is situated. If the second method had been adopted this would
be impossible, except for the first few numbers, and where a street is
of considerable length with branch streets running into it this is of
the greatest importance. It is the best method also for the Post-Office
officials, as it facilitates the district sorting of the letters.

Giving each side of the street distinctive prefixes to its name, such as
north and south, &c., is evidently a bad plan, and leads to much
confusion.

In allotting numbers to premises in a street, if it has been already
numbered care should be taken to disturb existing numbers as little as
possible, for an altered number involves considerable expense as well as
inconvenience to the occupier of business or trade premises, owing to
the necessity of altering bill heads, letter paper, &c., and sometimes
even considerable trouble and expense in order to secure the validity of
the title.

Avoid numbering from right to left, and take care to allot sufficient
numbers to vacant spaces which may eventually be built upon, and to do
this the length of frontage may be divided into such lengths as (in the
surveyor’s judgment) will represent the new frontages. In any case it is
better to have too many numbers in a street than too few, and large
premises, and any public or other buildings which may be removed, and
other buildings substituted should have numbers allotted to them,
although it will not be necessary to serve the notices to have them
affixed. Most large shops prefer to have more than one number, although
I have heard the rather far-fetched contention urged, that more than one
number means extra rating.

Considerable care must be exercised to ensure that no separate premises
are passed over in allotting the numbers, often only a door or side
passage denoting the existence of another claimant for a number. Nothing
looks worse in a freshly numbered street than to see such numbers as 37A
or 96¹⁄₂ placed upon premises that should have had a distinct numeral,
and thus showing that they must have been left out.

The manner in which streets are numbered is generally as follows:

The town surveyor or one of his assistants walks through the street, and
with a piece of chalk legibly marks each house with its correct number,
taking care to observe the precautions I have enumerated; having done
this throughout its entire length, these numbers must be entered in a
book with the name of the occupier written opposite to the number. Upon
returning to the office the surveyor must then fill up and serve the
necessary notice upon each of these occupiers, the following being given
as a specimen of such notice:

  _Urban Sanitary Authority for the_           .

  TOWN SURVEYOR’S OFFICE,      188 .

  ____________

  I beg leave to give you notice, that the Town Council of       , as
  the Urban Sanitary Authority, have approved of the number        for
  the house in your occupation, in       .

  You are therefore required, within one week from the date of this
  notice [to obliterate the present number, and][124] to mark the said
  house with the number so approved of, and to renew the same from time
  to time in the case of its becoming obliterated.

  A penalty of 40_s._ will be incurred in the event of default in
  compliance with this notice.

  I am,

  Your obedient Servant,

  _________________________
  _Town Surveyor_.

  _To_ __________________

  _No._ __________________

In the event of the old number with which any premises were marked not
being obliterated by the occupier, the following notice may be served:

  _Urban Sanitary Authority for the_               .

  TOWN SURVEYOR’S OFFICE,      188 .

  ________________

  It has been reported to the Town Council that you have neglected to
  obliterate the old number of your premises, No.
  Street, after receiving notice of a new number being allotted to such
  premises by the Town Council, whereby you have incurred a penalty of
  40_s._

  The duplication of numbers in the same street was found to be the
  occasion of so much inconvenience, that the Council were obliged to
  re-number the street in question, and it is manifest that if a number
  allotted to another house is retained by you, the inconvenience sought
  to be removed will still remain.

  I am therefore instructed to inform you that unless the old number of
  your premises is obliterated within seven days from the date of this
  notice, proceedings will be taken against you for the recovery of the
  penalty incurred.

  Yours faithfully,

  ______________________
  _Town Surveyor_.

Of course, if nothing is done after service of this second notice, it
only remains to summon the offender as provided by the sections of the
Act, which I have given in the early part of this chapter.

  [122] “Street” includes any highway (not being a turnpike road), and
  any public bridge (not being a county bridge), and any road, lane,
  footway, square, court, alley, or passage, whether a thoroughfare or
  not. (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 4.)

  [123] The law apparently gives the Sanitary Authority power to fix
  names of streets against any premises they may choose, without first
  applying for or obtaining any consent from either the occupier or
  owner of such premises. (_Vide_ 10 & 11 Vic. c. 34, s. 64.)

  [124] If the premises have no existing number, these words can be left
  out.




CHAPTER XV.

BREAKING UP STREETS.


In nearly every city and town of the United Kingdom, except those where
the gas and water undertakings are the property of the urban authority,
the town surveyor is constantly annoyed by having some portions of his
streets broken up and greatly damaged by the action of the gas or water
companies of the district.

With regard to the lasting character of the damage caused to the street
by this disturbance of its surface, I shall have something to say in
this chapter, but it is first necessary to see what legal powers the
companies have to break up the streets, and what powers the surveyor has
to enforce the work being properly carried out.

It will be found that the sections bearing upon this point are almost
precisely similar in their wording in the following Acts:

“The Gas Works Clauses Act 1847” (10 & 11 Vic. c. 15).

“The Water Works Clauses Act 1847” (10 & 11 Vic. c. 17).

“The Electric Lighting Act 1882” (45 & 46 Vic. c. 56).

but with regard to the powers of the Government to lay telegraph and
telephone wires, &c., the clauses are different, and are contained in,

“The Telegraphs Act 1863” (26 & 27 Vic. c. 112).

As the clauses on this subject of “the Water Works Clauses Act” are
those which are incorporated with the Public Health Act 1875, I shall
select the sections from that Act, the first of importance being as
follows:

“The undertakers, under such superintendence as is hereinafter
specified, may open and break up the soil and pavement of the several
streets and bridges within the limits of the special Act, and may open
and break up any sewers, drains, or tunnels, within or under such
streets or bridges, and lay down and place within the same limits pipes,
conduits, service pipes, and other works, and engines, and from time to
time repair, alter, or remove the same, and for the purposes aforesaid
remove and use all earth and materials in and under such streets and
bridges, and do all other acts which the undertakers shall from time to
time deem necessary for supplying _water_[125] to the inhabitants of the
district included within the said limits; doing as little damage as can
be[126] in the execution of the powers hereby or by the special Act
granted, and making compensation for any damage which may be done in the
execution of such powers” (10 & 11 Vic. c. 17 s. 28).

The next clause deals only with the powers of laying pipes, &c., in
private property, and here it will be well to remark that if the water
undertaking is in the hands of the urban authority they have much more
power of entry for these purposes than companies possess (_Vide_ ss. 16,
18, 32, and 54, 38 & 39 Vic. c. 55), but this is a matter which does not
affect the questions dealt with in this chapter.

The next clause is upon the subject of giving the necessary notices, and
is as follows:

“Before the undertakers[127] open or break up any street, bridge, sewer,
drain, or tunnel, they shall give to the persons under whose control or
management the same may be, or to their clerk, surveyor, or other
officer, notice in writing of their intention to open or break up the
same, not less than three clear days before beginning such work, except
in cases of emergency arising from defects in any of the pipes or other
works, and then so soon as is possible after the beginning of the work
or the necessity for the same shall have arisen” (10 & 11 Vic. c. 17, s.
30).

The next clause is of great importance, as it gives the surveyor the
necessary powers to dictate the manner in which the interference with
his streets is to be conducted.

“No such street, bridge, sewer, drain, or tunnel shall, except in the
cases of emergency aforesaid, be opened or broken up except under the
superintendence of the persons having the control or management thereof,
or of their officer, and according to such plan[128] as shall be
approved of by such persons or their officer, or in case of any
difference respecting such plan, as shall be determined by two justices;
and such justices may, on the application of the persons having the
control or management of any such sewer or drain, or their officer,
require the undertakers to make such temporary or other works as they
may think necessary for guarding against any interruption of the
drainage during the execution of any works which interfere with any such
sewer or drain. Provided always, that if the persons having such control
or management as aforesaid, and their officer fail to attend at the time
fixed for the opening of any such street, bridge, sewer, drain, or
tunnel, after having such notice of the intention of the undertakers as
aforesaid, or shall not propose any plan for breaking up or opening the
same, or shall refuse or neglect to superintend the operation, the
undertakers may perform the work specified in such notice without the
superintendence of such persons or their officer” (10 & 11 Vic. c. 17,
s. 31).

There are several points to which it is necessary to draw attention
whilst considering the above clause. I am afraid that the “attendance”
of the surveyor “at the time fixed for the opening” or even of one of
his assistants could not always be managed, nor would it be practicable
to prepare a “plan” for every opening that might be made by a gas or
water company for new services, leaks in mains, &c.; but where it is
proposed to carry out any extensive works, such as laying a considerable
length of new main or removing an old one, it is certainly necessary
that there should be some “plan” of the manner in which such work is
proposed to be carried out by the company.

On referring to the clause it is evident that the first “plan” mentioned
must be prepared by and on behalf of the company proposing to carry out
the work, and this plan must show the exact position on each street of
the proposed excavations, and their depth, &c., which “shall be approved
of by such persons (having the control of the streets) or their
officer,” their officer really being the surveyor.

Lower down in the clause another “plan” is referred to in the following
words: “or shall not propose any plan for breaking up or opening the
same.” This plan, or more correctly speaking, a specification of the
manner in which the company shall proceed with the work, must be
prepared by the surveyor, and if it meets with the approval of his
corporation it can be enforced.

In order to assist town surveyors who may be required to act under this
clause, I now give a verbatim copy of a “plan” or specification under
which I compelled a gas company to work after they had given me the
usual statutory notice of their intention to break up certain
macadamised streets for the purpose of removing some disused mains.

  _Plan of the manner in which the              Gas Light and Coke
  Company shall take up and remove the old mains in        street,
  commencing at or near        street._

A trench to be excavated of not greater width than      inches and of no
greater length than      feet at a time.

Great care must be taken to keep the top facing metal separate from the
lower formation of the roadway, so that they may not become mixed
together; no metal is on any account to be removed from the street.

The mains must be taken up with all possible speed and instantly
conveyed away, without being allowed to remain at the sides of the
streets.[129]

The trench to be then at once filled in, care being taken to replace all
the materials of which the roadway is formed in their proper positions.
All extra filling in that may be required owing to the removal of the
mains shall be done on the surface with the best          stone, broken
so as to pass all ways through a ring of 2¹⁄₂ inches internal diameter,
the top of the trench being always kept flush with the surface contour
of the roadway. No earth, rubbish, or other material shall be allowed to
be brought on to the ground by the gas company for the purpose of
filling in, nor shall any material of any kind be allowed to be brought
from any other excavations that may be being made by the gas company in
other parts of the town for the purpose of laying or removing mains.

The filling in to be done in the proportion of one man filling to two
men ramming with punners of not less weight than      lbs. each. During
dry weather a plentiful supply of water must be allowed to run into the
trench whilst the filling in is in progress, for the purpose of
consolidating the ground.

The traffic must not in any case be impeded, and planks must be placed
across the excavations, where necessary, for the convenience of foot
passengers.

The work shall if necessary be suspended on market days, or any other
days that the surveyor may deem proper for the convenience of the
public.

       *       *       *       *       *

The next clause of the Act deals with the manner in which the companies
shall reinstate and make good the road or pavement, and is as follows:

“When the undertakers open or break up the road or pavement of any such
street, or bridge, or any sewer, drain, or tunnel, they shall with all
convenient speed complete the work for which the same shall be broken
up, and fill in the ground and reinstate and make good the road or
pavement, or the sewer, drain, or tunnel so opened or broken up, and
carry away the rubbish occasioned thereby; and shall at all times whilst
any road or pavement shall be so opened or broken up cause the same to
be fenced and guarded, and shall cause a light sufficient for the
warning of passengers to be set up, and kept there against every night
during which such road or pavement shall be continued open or broken up,
and shall after replacing and making good the road or pavement which
shall have been so broken up, keep the same in good repair for three
months thereafter, and such further time, if any, not being more than
twelve months in the whole, as the soil so broken up shall continue to
subside” (10 & 11 Vic. c. 17, s. 32).

The conditions embodied in the above clause are easier written than
carried out.

It is well known that a trench cut longitudinally through a street takes
a very long time to heal. Asphalte shows it the least if there is a good
backing of concrete, but all other pavements suffer considerably in the
process, as it is almost impossible to maintain their strict contour,
and with macadamised roadways the result is simply disastrous.

Opening a macadamised roadway does it more harm than the heaviest and
most persistent traffic, and it is surprising for what a length of time
the surface will show the treatment it has received.

It is unfortunately the practice generally for the men in the employ of
a gas or water company, after laying a pipe, to try and ram into the
trench all the material they have removed, without allowing for the
cubical contents taken up by the pipe, or if they do condescend to cart
anything away it is generally the metal, which they think will come in
nicely for the repairs of the trench during their liability for such
repairs. What ought to be done is that no filling of ordinary earth,
&c., should be allowed to come within at least six inches of the top of
the trench, which should then be filled in with good road metal, and as
this wears down it should be brought up to the proper level with more
metal. In the former plan a hump is seen over the trench, and this hump
is a mass of mixed dirt and road-metal for which there is no cure but
its entire removal to a depth of at least six inches, and the
substitution of good clean road-metal, which would have been the best
and most economical plan in the first place.

The clauses following those I have quoted are “penalty clauses” for
non-compliance with the provisions of the Act, and need not be here
given, but there is one more clause of the Water Works Clauses Act 1847,
dealing with the powers of private individuals to break up streets for
the purpose of laying service pipes, which it is necessary to give _in
extenso_.

On the question of similar powers to private individuals to break up
streets for drains, &c., I shall speak later on in this chapter:

“Any such owner or occupier may open or break up so much of the pavement
of any street as shall be between the pipe of the undertakers and his
house, building or premises, and any sewer or drain therein, for any
such purpose as aforesaid, doing as little damage as may be and making
compensation for any damage done in the execution of any such work;
provided always, that every such owner or occupier desiring to break up
the pavement of any street or any sewer or drain therein, shall be
subject to the same necessity of giving previous notice, and shall be
subject to the same control, restrictions, and obligations in and during
the time of breaking up the same, and also reinstating the same, and to
the same penalties for any delay in regard thereto, as the undertakers
are subject to by virtue of this or the special Act” (10 & 11 Vic. c.
17, s. 52).

It would also seem that the _consent_ of the urban authority must be
obtained (as well as notice given to them) before a street is broken up
(38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 149).

Very often, however, the companies prefer to execute all this work
themselves, as they do not like anyone else to interfere with their
mains or put in services which may be unfitted for the purpose;
consequently they give the necessary notices, execute the work
themselves, and charge the owner or occupier with the expense.

The powers under which streets are broken up for telegraphic or
telephonic purposes are, as I have previously stated, contained in the
“Telegraphs Act 1863,” the following being the clauses which refer to
this subject:

“The company shall not place a telegraph under any street within the
limits of the district over which the authority of the Metropolitan
Board of Works extends, or of any city or municipal borough or town
corporate, or of any town having a population of thirty thousand
inhabitants or upwards (according to the latest census), except with the
consent of the bodies having the control of the streets within such
respective limits” (26 & 27 Vic. c. 112, s. 9).

“Where the company has obtained consent to the placing, or by virtue of
the powers of the company under this Act intends to proceed with the
placing of a telegraph under a street or public road, the depth, course
and position at and in which the same is to be placed shall be settled
between the company and the following bodies:

“The body having the control of the street or public road.

“The body having the control of the sewerage or drainage thereunder.

“But if such settlement is not come to with any such body, the following
provisions shall take effect:

“(1.) The company may give to such body a notice specifying the depth,
course and position which the company desires.

“(2.) If the body to whom such notice is given does not, within 28 days
after the giving of such notice, give to the company a counter-notice
objecting to the proposal of the company, and specifying the depth,
course and position which such body desires, they shall be deemed to
have agreed to the proposal of the company.

“(3.) In the event of ultimate difference between the company and such
body, the depth, course and position shall be determined in England or
Ireland by two Justices, and in Scotland by two Justices or the Sheriff”
(26 & 27 Vic. c. 112, s. 10).

“Subject to any special stipulations made with a company by the body
having the control of a street or public road, and to any
determinations, orders, or directions of the Justices, or Sheriff, as
aforesaid, where the company proceeds to open or break up a street or
public road, the following provisions shall take effect.

“(1.) The company shall give to the bodies between whom respectively and
the company the depth, course and position of a telegraph under such
street or public road are hereinbefore required to be settled or
determined, notice of their intention to open or break up such street or
public road, specifying the time at which they will begin to do so, such
notice to be given in the case of an underground work ten days at least,
and in the case of an above-ground work five days at least before the
commencement of the work, except in case of emergency, in which case
notice of the work proposed shall be given as soon as may be after the
commencement thereof.

“(2.) The company shall not (save in case of emergency) open or break up
any street or public road except under the superintendence of the bodies
to whom respectively notice is by the present section required to be
given, unless such bodies respectively refuse or neglect to give such
superintendence at the time specified in the notice for the commencement
of the work or discontinue the same during the work.

“(3.) The company shall pay all reasonable expenses to which such bodies
respectively may be put on account of such superintendence” (26 & 27
Vic. c. 112, s. 17).

It will be seen by the above section that the time required before the
work is commenced after service of the notice is considerably longer
than that for gas or water mains or for electric lighting wires, and
subsection 3 authorises a payment for the services of the surveyor or
other officer attending to superintend the work, which is not the case
in the other Acts.

The next clauses are as follows:

“Subject to any such special stipulations as aforesaid, after the
company has opened or broken up a street or public road they shall be
under the following further obligations:

“(1.) They shall with all convenient speed complete the work on account
of which they opened or broke up the same, and fill in the ground and
make good the surface, and generally restore the street or public road
to as good a condition as that in which it was before being opened or
broken up, and carry away all rubbish occasioned thereby:

“(2.) They shall in the meantime cause the place where the street or
public road is opened or broken up to be fenced and watched, and to be
properly lighted at night:

“(3.) They shall pay all reasonable expenses of keeping the street or
public road in good repair for six months after the same is restored,
so far as such expenses may be increased by such opening or breaking up”
. . . (26 & 27 Vic. c. 112, s. 18).

“Whenever the permanent surface or soil of any street or public road is
broken up or opened by the company it shall be lawful for the body
having the control of the street or road, in case they think it
expedient so to do, to fill in the ground, and to make good the pavement
or surface or soil so broken up or opened, and to carry away the rubbish
occasioned thereby, instead of permitting such work to be done by the
company; and the cost and expenses of filling in such ground and making
good the pavement or soil so broken up or opened, shall be repaid on
demand to the body having the control of the street or road by the
company, and in default thereof may be recovered by the body having the
control of the street or road from the company, as a penalty is or may
be recoverable from the company” (26 & 27 Vic. c. 112, s. 19).

“The company shall not stop or impede traffic in any street or public
road, or into or out of any street or public road, further than is
necessary for the proper execution of their works. They shall not close
against traffic more than one third in width of any street or public
road or of any way opening into any street or public road at one time;
and in case two-thirds of such street or road are not wide enough to
allow two carriages to pass each other, they shall not occupy with their
works at one time more than fifty yards in length of the one-third
thereof except with the special consent of the body having the control
thereof” (26 & 27 Vic. c. 112, s. 20).

It will be seen that these are much more elaborate clauses, restricting
the rights of the telegraph companies than those of the gas and water
companies, &c., and as the Telegraphs Act containing these strict
clauses was passed in the year 1863 and the Water Works Clauses Act in
1847, it is fair to assume that the clauses of the Telegraphs Act 1863
were framed to meet certain objections to these clauses and upon
experience of their working, and are consequently better and more
adapted for the case in point.

To obviate all the difficulties and complications arising out of this
constant breaking up of streets, with the attendant inconvenience to the
public and damage to the surfaces of the roadways, it was suggested many
years ago that subways should be constructed under the surface of the
principal streets, in which should be placed all the gas and water mains
then existing.

There is no doubt that there are many advantages in this plan as well as
some disadvantages. It must be recollected that probably the subways
would have been constructed of sufficient capability to carry all the
mains and wires then existing, with a margin for future extensions of
size, but when we see the enormous growth of many towns, notably that of
the metropolis, and the consequent increase necessary in the number and
diameters of the mains, it is to be feared that sufficient space would
not have been left, and competition between rival gas and water
companies might consequently have been crippled.

Still there would be great convenience in many respects if all water and
gas mains, telegraph and telephone wires could be carried in subways, as
they would be easily accessible for repairs, and hidden leaks would be
unknown. With regard to the one great objection so constantly urged,
that in the case of a leaky gas main or service a most terrible and
damaging explosion might take place, it is true that this is a very
grave and serious objection, but it must also be recollected that
although this danger may be enhanced by the necessarily solid masonry of
which the subway is constructed, still there would be every precaution
taken to prevent leakage of gas, and in the present system liability to
explosion is not altogether remote. In Percy Street, Tottenham Court
Road, only a year or two ago, there was a terrible explosion in
trenches and mains which had become full of gas and atmospheric air in
the proportions of one volume of gas to fifteen volumes of air, and if
gas mains were laid in subways greater precautions would no doubt be
taken.

There would be also great danger in conveying the wires used for
electric lighting purposes in these subways, as they might fuse and thus
cause danger, and at all events they would have some considerably
disturbing influence upon the wires of the telegraph and telephone
systems, if laid too near.

I will now pass on to consider the powers of individuals to break the
surface of public streets for the purpose of putting new drains to their
premises or of repairing existing drains.

With regard to the former question I have given full particulars with
regard to new drains or connections with sewers in the chapter upon
“house drainage,” but with regard to the latter question it will be
necessary to make a few remarks.

There is no doubt that the public streets vest in the urban authority,
and it is contended that the following clause of the Public Health Act
1875 prevents any person from breaking up any street without their
permission, although it is sometimes questioned whether the words
“wilfully displaces” do not mean the doing of an illegal act, such as
taking up a stone in a street to annoy or injure a neighbour or from
sheer mischief, rather than that of a legal act for a proper purpose;
the clause in question is as follows:

“All streets being or which at any time become highways repairable by
the inhabitants at large within any urban district, and the pavement
stones and other materials thereof and all building implements and other
things provided for the purposes thereof, shall vest in and be under the
control of the urban authority. . . . Any person who without the consent
of the urban authority wilfully displaces or takes up, or who injures
the pavement, stones, materials, fences or posts of or the trees in any
such street, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five shillings
for every square foot of pavement, stones or other materials so
displaced taken up or injured; he shall also be liable in the case of
any injury to trees to pay to the local authority such amount of
compensation as the court may award” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 149).

Even, however, granting that application must be made before any
individual can break up a street, the urban authority would not be
likely to withhold their consent if it was for a legitimate purpose, and
having disturbed the street, a person must light and guard the opening,
and the “hole,” as it is called in the clauses following must be “filled
up or otherwise made secure;” but it is very doubtful if he can be
called upon to keep the surface of the road in repair for any length of
time, as can be done in the case of water and gas companies, &c.; the
following are the clauses in question:

“When any building materials, rubbish or other things are laid or any
hole made in any of the streets, whether the same be done by order of
the commissioners or not, the person causing such materials or other
things to be so laid or such hole to be made, shall at his own expense
cause a sufficient light to be fixed in a proper place upon or near the
same, and continue such light every night from sun-setting to sun-rising
while such materials or hole remain. And such person shall at his own
expense cause such materials or other things and such hole to be
sufficiently fenced and enclosed until such materials or other things
are removed or the hole filled up or otherwise made secure” . . . (10 &
11 Vic. c. 34, s. 81).

“In no case shall any such building materials or other things or such
hole be allowed to remain for any unnecessary time.” . . . (10 & 11 Vic.
c. 34, s. 82).

“If any building, or hole, or any other place near any street be for
want of sufficient repair, protection or inclosure, dangerous to the
passengers along such street, the commissioners shall cause the same to
be repaired, protected, or inclosed, so as to prevent danger therefrom,
and the expenses of such repair, protection, or inclosure shall be
repaid to the commissioners by the owner of the premises so repaired,
protected or inclosed, and shall be recoverable from him as damages” (10
& 11 Vic. c. 34, s. 83).

These three sections are incorporated in the Public Health Act 1875, by
38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 160, and the last clause undoubtedly gives power
to the urban authority to repair a “hole” which for want of “sufficient
repair” is “dangerous to passengers” but not otherwise, in however
unsightly a manner the trench may have been repaired.

The result of this uncertainty has been that a great many towns have
inserted in their private improvement Acts, clauses making it compulsory
upon all persons to give them from 3 to 7 days’ notice of their
intention to break up the streets, specifying the manner in which the
work shall be done, and also compelling them to deposit a sum of money
in order to secure that the repairs of the street are properly
executed.[130] A better method than this is to insert in any private
improvement Act a clause giving powers to the urban authority to execute
all drain-work themselves and charge it upon the owners of the property,
thus ensuring that any interference with the surface of the street shall
be done in a proper manner by men accustomed to the work, and also that
the drain itself shall be of perfect workmanship.

Where the town surveyor has no private improvement Act dealing with this
question, it is well to frame some regulations as to the manner in which
the notice of intention to break up the surface of the street shall be
given to him by the person intending to do the work, and if possible to
obtain a deposit of a few shillings as a guarantee that the surface of
the street shall be kept in something like decent repair. Although this
may not be strictly legal, it is a very universal practice amongst town
surveyors.

The following forms of notices are given as specimens of the description
of notice now in use, and are copied verbatim from those which are now
enforced in a very large borough in this country:

  _Borough of_             .

  TO THE BOROUGH SURVEYOR,

  I hereby apply for permission to break up the footway or roadway, and
  make excavations in             for the purpose of         , and I
  hereby undertake to light, watch and fence the place during the
  progress of the works, to temporarily make good the surface of the
  footway or roadway, to remove all rubbish, and to execute and complete
  the work to the satisfaction of the borough surveyor. I also deposit
  the sum of five shillings for the repair of the surface, and agree to
  pay the balance if it should cost more than that sum.

                                (Signature)

                                (Address)

  Witness and receiver           .

  Received by accountant        188 .

  Surface repaired        188 .

  At a cost of         .

  _Borough of_         .

               188 .

  To Mr.

  This is to certify that you have paid a deposit of five shillings, and
  that you are hereby permitted to take up the footway or roadway and
  make excavations in            for the purpose of          on the
  undertaking you have given to light, watch and fence the place during
  the progress of the works, to temporarily make good the surface of the
  footway or roadway, to remove all rubbish, and to execute and complete
  the work to the satisfaction of the borough surveyor; also that you
  will pay the balance if the surface repairs should cost more than the
  aforesaid sum of five shillings.

  ______________________________
  _Borough Surveyor._

  NOTE.--If the surface repairs should cost less than the deposited sum,
  the balance will be returned to you by the accountant, who will notify
  you of the fact.

  Notice must be given to the Building Inspector when the work is ready
  for inspection, and no drainage work must be covered up until it has
  been examined by the Inspector.

It may be well to add to this authority to break up the streets, the
following words--

“This authority may be revoked at any time if found necessary, and it
does not in any way relieve the person to whom it is granted from any
liabilities he may incur in respect of accidents from anything done in
pursuance thereof.”

In some towns the following custom prevails in regard to this question.

The person desirous of opening the street for the execution of any work
has to apply to the surveyor for a licence, and at the same time deposit
a sum sufficient to cover the expense of the work, such sum being
estimated and fixed by the surveyor. The corporation then supply one
labourer whilst the job is in hand, who, whilst working, takes care that
the soil is properly rammed and the surface made good; a mason is also
supplied to make any drainage or sewer connections. The deposit is kept
for about 3 months, and the cost of the labourer and mason, and of any
subsequent making good the surface of the street, is then deducted, and
the balance returned to the person who made the deposit.

This arrangement seems an excellent plan, and is said to work remarkably
well where it is in vogue, but whether it is strictly legal is open to
considerable question.

  [125] Or gas or electricity, as the case may be.

  [126] These words apply only to the manner of doing the work, not to
  alternative ways of doing it. (_Vide_ ‘Fitzgerald’s Public Health and
  Local Government Act, 1875,’ 3rd edition, p. 45.)

  [127] In the “Electric Lighting Act 1882,” the words “proceed to” have
  been inserted before the word open, which is an obvious improvement.

  [128] It is incumbent upon the undertakers intending to break up a
  road to communicate beforehand their proposed plan or method of
  executing the work to the road authority, and this in a sufficient
  manner to enable the road authority to judge whether what is proposed
  ought to be done without modification. The plan should, therefore,
  show the position on the road of the proposed excavation, and its
  depth. (Edgware Highway Board _v._ Colne Valley Water Company, 46 L.
  J. ch. 889.)

  [129] This precaution was necessary, as the smell of the old mains was
  naturally very offensive and a nuisance.

  [130] In some towns it is the practice to give the builder a junction
  pipe or block for nothing, thus ensuring his calling to give notice,
  but this is only successful in the case of new attachments to sewers,
  in which case the law is much more strict.




CHAPTER XVI.

OBSTRUCTIONS IN STREETS.


For convenience, I propose to treat in this chapter some subjects which,
strictly speaking, do not come under the head of “obstructions,” but
they are all questions which have to be considered by the town surveyor;
temporary obstructions and other offences with which it is the province
of the police to deal are omitted.

The following subjects will therefore be discussed:

(1.) Improving the line of frontages of streets.

(2.) Removing projections.

(3.) Doors and gates opening outwards.

(4.) Vault or cellar coverings.

(5.) Rain-water shutes and down-pipes.

(6.) Blinds or awnings over footpaths.

(7.) Trees over-hanging roadways.

(8.) Surface water from private premises running over footpaths.

(9.) Hoardings and scaffolds.

(10.) Dangerous buildings.

(1.) _Improving the Line of Frontages of Streets._--By the Towns
Improvement Clauses Act 1847, certain powers were granted which enabled
the commissioners to agree with owners of property to set back for the
purpose of widening any street,[131] but this was often found to be
difficult and wearisome of accomplishment, consequently in the Public
Health Act 1875, the following important clause bearing upon this point
was inserted.

“Where any house or building situated in any street in an urban
district, or the front thereof, has been taken down in order to be
rebuilt or altered, the urban authority may prescribe the line in which
any house or building, or the front thereof, to be built or rebuilt in
the same situation shall be erected, and such house or building or the
front thereof shall be erected in accordance therewith. The urban
authority shall pay or tender compensation to the owner or other person
immediately interested in such house or building for any loss or damage
he may sustain in consequence of his house or building being set back or
forward, the amount of such compensation in case of dispute to be
settled by arbitration in manner provided by this Act” (38 & 39 Vic. c.
55, s. 155).

This clause gives an excellent power to the sanitary authority,
especially in older towns, to lay down improved building lines upon the
plan of their town, and thus set back the line of buildings as
opportunity offers.

In assessing the value of compensation to be paid to the owner for
setting back his property, the following points should be considered:

(1.) The value of the area of the land given up to the public.

(2.) The loss of available and useful space to the premises.

(3.) If any use is made by the owner of the land given up to the public
by constructing cellars underneath, the amount of compensation should be
less.

(4.) The amount the owner will have to expend to make good the sides of
the neighbouring premises thus exposed by his setting back must be
considered.

A surveyor should be very careful to recollect if any building line has
been laid down in any street when the plans of new buildings are
deposited with him for approval. If these plans are approved without any
notice being given to the owner to set back, it is questionable whether
he can afterwards be called upon to do so.[132]

(2.) _Removing Projections of Buildings._--The Towns Improvement Clauses
Act 1847 made provision for setting back any house or building, or any
part which projected beyond the regular line of street when taken down,
on payment of compensation,[133] and this and the following sections
were incorporated in the general Public Health Act 1875.[134]

“The commissioners may give notice to the occupier[135] of any house or
building to remove or alter any porch, shed, projecting window, step,
cellar, cellar-door, or window, sign, sign-post, sign-iron, show-board,
window shutter, wall, gate, or fence, or any other obstruction or
projection erected or placed after the passing of the special Act,
against or in front of any house or building within the limits of the
special Act, and which is an obstruction to the safe and convenient
passage along any street, and such occupier shall within fourteen days
after the service of such notice upon him, remove such obstruction or
alter the same in such manner as shall have been directed by the
commissioners, and in default thereof shall be liable to a penalty not
exceeding forty shillings; and the commissioners in such case may remove
such obstruction or projection, and the expense of such removal shall be
paid by the occupier so making default, and shall be recoverable as
damages; provided always, that except in the case in which such
obstructions or projections were made or put up by the occupier, such
occupier shall be entitled to deduct the expense of removing the same
from the rent payable by him to the owner of the house or building.”

The wall of a garden in front of a house, and shrubs in the garden,
which encroach on the street, come within the words “any other
obstruction” in this section.[136]

It is doubtful, however, if trade signs projecting at such a height as
not to be “an obstruction to the safe and convenient passage along any
street” can be removed under this section, however unsightly they may
be, nor does it appear that flag poles or flags can be ordered to be
removed when at such a height as to cause no obstruction.

The following clause, however, of the Public Health Act 1875 affects the
question of new projections much more closely.

“It shall not be lawful in any urban district, without the written
consent of the urban authority, to bring forward any house or building
forming part of any street or any part thereof, beyond the front wall of
the house or building on either side thereof, nor to build any addition
thereto beyond the front of the house or building on either side of the
same. Any person offending against this enactment shall be liable to a
penalty not exceeding 40_s._ for every day during which the offence is
continued after written notice in this behalf from the urban authority”
(38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 156).

Here some difficulty is frequently experienced as to the question if the
building has really been brought beyond the common line of neighbouring
buildings, especially where the houses are detached; but it is
apparently left to the tribunal before whom the case is heard to decide
this point, and the surveyor can only give his evidence, as in many
other cases, to the best of his ability and knowledge, and trust to
obtaining a verdict in his favour.

With regard to obstructions erected before the passing of the special
Act, the commissioners may cause the same to be removed or altered as
they think fit--

“Provided that they give notice of such intended removal or alteration
to the occupier[137] of the house or building against or in front of
which such alteration or removal is begun; and if such obstructions or
projections shall have been lawfully made, they shall make reasonable
compensation to every person who suffers damage by such removal or
alteration.”[138]

Here the words “_reasonable_ compensation” are difficult of construction
and lead frequently to long litigation.

(3.) _Doors or Gates opening outwards._--

Section 71 of the Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847 enacts that “All
doors, gates and bars put up after the passing of the special Act within
the limits thereof, and which open upon any street, shall be hung or
placed so as not to open outwards, except when in the case of public
buildings the commissioners allow such doors, gates or bars to be
otherwise hung or placed; and if (except as aforesaid) any such door,
gate or bar be hung or placed so as to open outwards on any street, the
occupier of such house, building, yard or land shall, within eight days
after notice from the commissioners to that effect, cause the same to be
altered so as not to open outwards; and in case he neglect so to do the
commissioners may make such alteration, and the expenses of such
alteration shall be paid to the commissioners by such occupier, and
shall be recoverable from him as damages, and he shall in addition be
liable to a penalty not exceeding 40_s._”

Section 72 of the same Act further enacts, “If any such door, gate or
bar was before the passing of the special Act hung so as to open
outwards upon any street, the commissioners may alter the same so that
no part thereof when open shall project over any public way.”

It is naturally necessary that doors or gates of all public buildings
should hang so as to open outwards, so as to give a free and easy exit
in case of panic, many serious accidents having arisen from a want of
this precaution; but with regard to private premises the case is
altogether different, and if doors and gates were allowed to open
outwards, they would soon become a dangerous and intolerable nuisance.

It will be seen that there are two courses to be pursued in connection
with this offence.

The first is where the door, gate or bar has been placed before the
passing of the Towns Improvement Clauses Act in 1847, in which case the
“commissioners may alter the same, so that no part thereof when open
shall project over any public way.” This duty of course rests with the
town surveyor, and in many cases it is not easy of execution, as
structural difficulties may have to be encountered and overcome.

In the second case, where the door, gate or bar has been placed since
the passing of the Act in 1847, certain penalties are incurred by the
occupier or owner, and the commissioners may also alter the door, gate
or bar at his expense.

The following specimen form of notice to be served in connection with a
case of this description may be of use:

  ____________ TOWN SURVEYOR’S OFFICE.

  SIR,

  I beg leave to give you notice that        of the premises in your
  occupation opens outwards, and when open, projects into the street
  called or known as                .

  I have therefore to require that you will be good enough to have such
           altered so that it shall not open outwards into the said
  street, within eight days next after your receipt of this notice.

  I beg leave also to give you notice that if you neglect to make the
  alteration required within the period specified by this notice, you
  render yourself liable to a penalty of 40_s._, and I shall proceed to
  make the necessary alterations, and recover the costs and penalties
  from you as the law directs.

  I am, Sir, your obedient Servant,

  ______________________________
  _Town Surveyor._

  To _______________

(4.) _Vault or Cellar Coverings._--

Section 73 of the Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847 enacts, “When any
opening is made in any pavement or footpath within the limits of the
special Act, as an entrance into any vault or cellar, a door or covering
shall be made by the occupier[139] of such vault or cellar, of iron, or
such other materials, and in such manner as the commissioners direct,
and such door or covering shall from time to time be kept in good repair
by the occupier of such vault or cellar: and if such occupier do not
within a reasonable time make such door or covering, or if he make any
such door or covering contrary to the directions of the commissioners,
or if he do not keep the same when properly made in good repair, he
shall for every such offence be liable to a penalty not exceeding five
pounds.”

Besides the penalty, the person negligently leaving the covering in a
dangerous condition would be liable to an action for damages at the suit
of anyone who had sustained an injury in consequence of the covering
being so kept.[140]

There is another clause incorporated in the Public Health Act 1875 from
the Towns Police Clauses Act 1847 upon this subject, which is as
follows:

“Every person who leaves open any vault or cellar, or the entrance from
any street to any cellar or room underground, without a sufficient fence
or hand rail, or leaves defective the door, window or other covering of
any vault or cellar . . . . shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding
40_s._ for each offence, or in the discretion of the justice before whom
he is convicted may be committed to prison, there to remain for a period
not exceeding 14 days” (10 & 11 Vic. c. 89, s. 28).

But the former section I have quoted is that upon which the town
surveyor generally acts.

In connection with this duty the following is given as a specimen
notice:

  SIR,

  I beg to call your attention to the fact that the door or covering to
  the vault or cellar in your occupation, No.                 Street, is
  not in good repair (and is slippery and dangerous to
  foot-passengers),[141] you are in consequence liable to a penalty of
  5_l._

  I must request you will be good enough to have such door or covering
  properly repaired and made good in accordance with the construction
  required by law, within days from the date hereof, and in the event of
  your failing to do so, proceedings will be taken to enforce the
  penalty to which you are liable without further notice.

  I am, your obedient Servant,
  ______________________________
  _Town Surveyor_.

  To _______________

In accordance with the provisions contained in the section of the Towns
Improvement Clauses Act 1847 which I have quoted, that the “door or
covering shall be made by the occupier of such vault or cellar of iron
or such other materials, and in such manner as the commissioners
direct,” most towns in this country have prescribed the size and
materials of which they shall be made, the size being often limited to 6
feet in length, by 20 inches projection, from the line of plynth of the
building, for cellar coverings or pavement lights as they are sometimes
called, and 12 inches in diameter for coal plates.

Hayward’s patent hexagonal and semiprismatic pavement lights, however,
have obviated the danger of slipping upon this description of covering,
and consequently little or no inconvenience is experienced, even if the
greater portion of the foot pavement is covered by them.[142]

Coalhole plates should be so firmly fixed as to prevent the possibility
of their shifting, even when the rebate of the flag stone into which
they are dropped is worn, and also to prevent mischievous persons from
raising them.

Here let me state that no person can without the written consent of the
urban authority cause “any vault, arch or cellar to be newly built or
constructed under the carriageway of any street” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s.
26); but from this section it does not appear illegal to construct a
vault, arch or cellar under the footpath, which would generally be the
extent to which such constructions would be extended. However, the more
general powers contained in section 149 of the same Act, by which all
“streets and the pavement stones and other materials thereof” vest in
and are under the control of the urban authority, give the necessary
powers to prevent the construction of cellars under any portion of the
foot-pavement without the consent of the urban authority.

The usual practice adopted is for any person who requires to construct a
cellar under the foot-pavement or carriageway of any street, to apply to
the urban authority for the necessary permission to do so. In granting
the permission, the urban authority call upon the owner of the premises
to which the proposed vault or cellar is attached, to enter into an
agreement acknowledging that the cellar or vault is only an easement,
and agreeing to remove the encroachment whenever called upon by the
urban authority to do so.

These agreements and any other similar easements should be kept together
in a book, which may be called the “Easement Book,” and indexed in such
a manner that a reference can be easily made at any time to any
easement that has been granted.

(5.) _Rain-water from Shutes or Down Pipes._--

Water may not be allowed to drip on to the pavements of the streets from
the adjoining houses, and the following clause from the Towns
Improvement Clauses Act 1847 has been incorporated with the Public
Health Act 1875:

“The occupier of every house or building in, adjoining, or near to any
street shall, within seven days next after service of an order of the
commissioners for that purpose, fit up and keep in good condition a
shoot or trough of the whole length of such house or building, and shall
connect the same either with a similar shoot on the adjoining house, or
with the pipe or trunk to be fixed to the front or side of such building
from the roof to the ground, to carry the water from the roof thereof in
such a manner that the water from such house or any portico or
projection therefrom shall not fall upon the persons passing along the
street or flow over the footpath; and in default of compliance with any
such order within the period aforesaid, such occupier shall be liable to
a penalty not exceeding 40_s._ for every day that he shall so make
default” (10 & 11 Vic. c. 34, s. 74).

In many private Town Improvement Acts, the cost of the repair necessary
under an order to do so from the urban authority may be deducted by the
occupier from the rent payable to the owner of the premises, thus
ensuring the work being done more quickly.

The following is a specimen notice to be served upon the occupier to
repair or put new shuting to his house:

  I beg to give you notice that the eaves, shuting, or projecting
  cornice[143] to the house or building No.          in your occupation,
  is out of repair. A penalty of 40_s._ will be incurred if this
  shuting be not repaired within seven days from the date of this notice
  (and under the Special Improvement Act the cost of such repair may be
  deducted from the rent payable to the owner).[144]

  I am, your obedient Servant,

  ______________________________
  _Town Surveyor_.

  To _______________

It is a common practice in most towns for the urban authority to provide
and fix trunks or troughs across their footpaths into which the down
pipes from the rain-water shutes can empty their contents.

(6.) _Blinds or Awnings over Footpaths._--

These may be dealt with as obstructions under sec. 69 of the Towns
Improvement Clauses Act 1847, which I have already quoted,[145] but they
are more particularly alluded to in the Police Clauses Act 1847 in the
following section:

“Every person who . . . places any blind, shade, covering, awning, or
other projection over or along any such footway, unless such blind,
shade, covering, awning or other projection is 8 feet in height at least
in every part thereof from the ground, shall be liable to a penalty not
exceeding 40_s._ for each offence, &c.” . . . (10 & 11 Vic. c. 89, s.
28).

Thus legalising the fixing of shop-blinds, &c., provided they are at
least 8 feet in height and consequently no obstruction to the traffic.

In order to make the blinds or awnings sufficiently secure where they
are of large dimensions, it is very usual for the owner or occupier of
the premises to which the blind or awning is to be attached, to seek and
obtain the consent of the local authority to fix iron sockets in the
kerb of the footpath into which iron or wood standards are inserted for
the purpose of supporting the outer part of the blind or awning, and
there can be no objection to this practice provided that the work is
efficiently performed and to the satisfaction of the town surveyor.

(7.) _Trees overhanging Roadways._--

It used formerly to be considered by road surveyors and others[146] that
great injury was caused to roadways by overhanging branches of trees or
bushes, which were supposed to exclude the light and air from the
roadway and thus damage it, hence powers were given to local
authorities, as surveyors of highways, to compel occupiers of premises
adjoining the roadways to cut back and prune their trees or hedges in
order to prevent this damage. The following being the form of notice
usually adopted for this purpose:

  To ______________________________

  You are hereby required to cut, prune, and trim your hedges adjoining
  the highway leading from        to and also to cut down, prune, or lop
  the branches of trees, bushes and shrubs growing in or near such
  hedges and other fences adjoining thereto, in such manner that the
  said highway shall not be prejudiced by the shade thereof, and that
  the sun and wind may not be excluded therefrom. And you will further
  take notice, that if you shall neglect so to do within five days of
  the delivery hereof, I shall proceed to have the said hedges, trees,
  and bushes cut and pruned, according to the power and provisions of
  the various Acts of Parliament relating thereto. And further, that I
  shall also proceed to recover from you the penalties in this respect
  imposed by the said Acts of Parliament.

  Dated this        day of

  ____________________
  _Surveyor_.

It is however now very seldom that overhanging branches of trees or
hedges cause any damage to the roadways within an urban district, and
unless they are an actual obstruction to the traffic, the growth of
trees near urban roads and streets should be encouraged; indeed it is
now a common practice to plant trees close alongside the roadway, the
branches of which must of necessity hang over it, and cause no damage if
the roadway is properly formed and attended to.

(8.) _Surface Water from Private Premises running over Footpaths._--

It frequently happens that the rain-water which falls upon a front
garden or courtyard finds its way, for want of a sufficient drain, out
of the gate and across or along the public footpath, thus causing
annoyance to pedestrians even if it does no injury to the path. There
does not seem to be any clause in the Public Health Act 1875 to meet
this objection, for the section which I have given with reference to
rain-water shutes and down pipes (10 & 11 Vic. c. 34, s. 74), does not
apply to such cases, as it only refers to water from the “roof or any
portico or projection” and not to water falling upon the surface of a
garden or courtyard, nor is there anything in the Highways Acts which
can be brought to bear upon the subject.

If, however, any injury is caused to the footpath, no doubt the cause of
offence may be stopped or the perpetrator prosecuted or indicted in
default.

(9.) _Hoardings and Scaffolds._--

When buildings are in course of erection, or repairs are being carried
out to them, it is generally necessary that the person engaged in the
work should construct either a hoarding or inclosure, or at all events a
scaffold, so as to execute the work properly. Upon this point the
following clause of the Towns Improvement Clauses Act has been
incorporated with the Public Health Act 1875:

“Every person intending to build or take down any building within the
limits of the special Act, or to cause the same to be so done, or to
alter or repair the outward part of any such building, or to cause the
same to be so done, where any street or footway will be obstructed or
rendered inconvenient by means of such work, shall, before beginning the
same, cause sufficient hoards or fences to be put up in order to
separate the building where such works are being carried on from the
street, with a convenient platform and handrail if there be room enough,
to serve as a footway for passengers, outside of such hoard or fence,
and shall continue such hoard or fence with such platform and handrail
as aforesaid standing and in good condition, to the satisfaction of the
commissioners, during such times as the public safety or convenience
requires, and shall, in all cases in which it is necessary in order to
prevent accidents, cause the same to be sufficiently lighted during the
night.[147] And every such person who fails to put up such fence or
hoard or platform with such handrail as aforesaid, or to continue the
same respectively standing and in good condition as aforesaid, or who
does not, while the said hoard or fence is standing, keep the same
sufficiently lighted in the night, or who does not remove the same when
directed by the commissioners within a reasonable time afterwards, shall
for every such offence be liable to a penalty not exceeding 5_l._, and a
further penalty not exceeding 40_s._ for every day while such default is
continued” (10 & 11 Vic. c. 34, s. 80).

Hoardings and scaffoldings are now so scientifically erected as to be
little or no inconvenience to foot-passengers. Care must, however, be
taken to see that in the erection of a hoarding the doors or gates in it
shall not open outwards, and the police should be instructed to prevent
carts being backed in and left standing across the footpath.

The surveyor must exercise great discretion in the length of time he
allows a hoarding to remain; without undue hardship on the builder, he
must study at the same time the more important question of the public
convenience.

(10.) _Dangerous Buildings._--

This is the last, although by no means the least, of the series of
“obstructions” I have enumerated. Here, again, very grave responsibility
rests with the surveyor to determine what is a dangerous building, and
in what manner it shall be rendered safe and secure, for his opinion is
apparently legally conclusive on this matter.

The following is the clause of the Towns Improvement Clauses Act which
deals with ruinous or dangerous buildings:

“If any building or wall, or anything affixed thereon, within the limits
of the special Act, be deemed by the surveyor of the commissioners to be
in a ruinous state and dangerous to passengers or to the occupiers of
the neighbouring buildings, such surveyor shall immediately cause a
proper hoard or fence to be put up for the protection of
passengers,[148] and shall cause notice in writing to be given to the
owner of such building or wall, if he be known and resident within the
said limits, and shall also cause such notice to be put on the door or
other conspicuous part of the said premises, or otherwise to be given to
the occupier thereof, if any, requiring such owner or occupier forthwith
to take down, secure or repair such building, wall or other thing, as
the case shall require. And if such owner or occupier do not begin to
repair, take down or secure such building, wall or other thing, within
the space of three days after any such notice has been so given or put
up as aforesaid, and complete such repairs or taking down or securing as
speedily as the nature of the case will admit, the said surveyor may
make complaint thereof before two justices to order the owner, or in his
default the occupier (if any) of such building, wall, or other thing, to
take down, rebuild, repair or otherwise secure, to the satisfaction of
such surveyor, the same, or such part thereof as appears to them to be
in a dangerous state, within a time to be fixed by such justices. And in
case the same be not taken down, repaired, rebuilt or otherwise secured
within the time so limited, or if no owner or occupier can be found on
whom to serve such order, the commissioners shall with all convenient
speed cause all or so much of such building, wall, or other thing as
shall be in a ruinous condition and dangerous as aforesaid, to be taken
down, repaired, rebuilt or otherwise secured in such manner as shall be
requisite, and all the expenses of putting up every such fence, and of
taking down, repairing, rebuilding or securing such building, wall or
other thing shall be paid by the owner thereof” (10 & 11 Vic. c. 34, s.
75).

Great care must be observed in seeing that the notices are properly
prepared and served in accordance with sections 266 and 267 of the
Public Health Act 1875, and the town clerk, as the legal adviser of the
sanitary authority, should be consulted (in this as in all cases
requiring notices) by the surveyor.

It sometimes happens that a tall chimney shaft, wall, or other erection
may apparently be perfectly safe, whereas in a high gale of wind it may
be blown down.

Many tall chimney shafts rock in an alarming manner in a high wind,[149]
but he would be a bold surveyor who would order some of these expensive
structures to be pulled down in the face of the opposition he would
receive.[150]

A curious case of some difficulty in connection with dangerous buildings
has come under my notice, where a house was built with the approval of
the urban authority, and after completion and occupation the attention
of the surveyor was called to the fact that a large piece of rock at the
back of the house, from which the site had been excavated for the
purpose of its erection, was in a dangerous condition and likely to fall
at any moment and cause great damage to property, or even loss of life.
The clerk to the urban authority, when consulted, was of opinion that
the surveyor could do nothing in the matter, as the case was not met in
any way by the Act.

The following is given as a specimen notice to serve with reference to a
dangerous structure:

  NOTICE.

  _To_ (A)                                _the Owner of the ruinous and
  dangerous_ (B)                                _under-mentioned and the
  occupier thereof._

  Whereas a certain (B)          situated at          within the borough
  of         , in the county of       , is deemed by me, the
  undersigned, the surveyor of the mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the
  said borough of       , acting by the council as the urban sanitary
  authority for the same, to be in a ruinous state and dangerous to
  passengers or to the occupiers of neighbouring buildings:

  Therefore take notice, that you are hereby required, in pursuance of
  the provisions in that behalf of the Public Health Act 1875, and the
  Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847, to take down, repair or secure the
  said (B).

  And that if you do not or if neither of you does begin to take down,
  repair, or secure the said (B)          within the space of three days
  after this notice has been served upon you or put upon the said
  premises, and complete such taking down, repairing or securing as
  speedily as the nature of the case will admit, I shall cause complaint
  thereof to be made before two justices in accordance with the
  provisions of the statutes aforesaid.

  Dated this        day of        18  .

  ____________________
  _Surveyor of the said Urban Sanitary Authority._

  A. The name and description of the owner or occupier, or the names,
  &c., of both should be here inserted.

  B. Building, wall, or anything affixed thereon.

Before closing this chapter upon “Obstructions in Streets” I give the
following clause from the “Towns Improvement Clauses Act,” which comes
after two other sections of the same Act principally dealing with
building materials, rubbish, or holes in streets, and although in this
clause the word “building” is used, the section cannot be taken as
referring to dangerous buildings, although it may undoubtedly be used
where it is required on account of waste land, &c., being left in an
unprotected and dangerous state:--

“If any building or hole or any other place near any street be, for want
of sufficient repair, protection or inclosure, dangerous to the
passengers along such street, the commissioners shall cause the same to
be repaired, protected or inclosed so as to prevent danger therefrom;
and the expense of such repair, protection or inclosure shall be repaid
to the commissioners by the owner of the premises so repaired,
protected or inclosed, and shall be recoverable from him as damages” (10
& 11 Vic. c. 34, s. 83).

I have purposely omitted any reference to temporary obstructions in the
streets, which are naturally subjects for the interference of the
police, but I think I have enumerated all those which require the
attention of the town surveyor.

  [131] _Vide_ 10 & 11 Vic. c. 34, s. 67.

  [132] _Vide_ Fitzgerald’s ‘Public Health and Local Government Act
  1875,’ 3rd edition, p. 166.

  [133] _Vide_ 10 & 11 Vic. c. 34, s. 68.

  [134] _Ibid._ ss. 69 and 70.

  [135] Or _Owners_, see s. 160, 38 & 39 Vic. c. 55.

  [136] _Vide_ Fitzgerald’s ‘Public Health and Local Government Act
  1875,’ 3rd edition, p. 174.

  [137] Or owner, see 38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 160.

  [138] Towns Improvement Clauses Act 1847, s. 70.

  [139] Or owner.

  [140] _Vide_ ‘Fitzgerald’s Public Health and Local Government Act
  1875,’ 3rd edition, p. 175.

  [141] Care must be taken that the mode of construction “directed by
  the commissioners” authorises this part of the notice.

  [142] In the City of London these patent lights have been fixed in the
  pavement round the whole of the frontage of Mansion House Buildings,
  at the corner of Queen Victoria Street, and also over the whole of the
  pavements in Draper’s Gardens, besides many other equally crowded
  thoroughfares, without the least inconvenience being experienced.

  [143] In the Act the words used are “shoot” and “trough.”

  [144] These words must be omitted if there is no special Improvement
  Act.

  [145] _Vide_ p. 176.

  [146] Sir Fred. Parnell in his celebrated work upon roads has the
  following paragraph upon this subject:--

  The great advantage of having a road perfectly exposed to the action
  of the sun and wind will be more accurately conceived by referring to
  writers of science on evaporation. Dr. Hailey states that one-tenth of
  an inch of the surface of the sea is raised per diem in vapour. He
  also says that the winds lick up the water somewhat faster than it
  exhales by the heat of the sun. Other writers say the dissipation of
  moisture is much accelerated by the agency of sweeping winds, the
  effects being sometimes augmented five to ten times.

  Trees are particularly injurious by not allowing the sun and wind to
  have free action on the surface of roads producing evaporation.
  Besides the benefit which a road receives from its drying rapidly by
  an open exposure to the atmosphere, there is another of great
  importance, namely, that of affording to horses the advantage of free
  respiration; for it is well known that the powers of a horse to
  perform work with ease, particularly when moving rapidly, depends upon
  the quantity of cool and fresh air that he can pass through his lungs.
  If the cause of horses tiring or becoming ill under their work be
  carefully examined into, it will often be found that it is not their
  muscles or limbs that fail them, but their wind; and therefore, it is
  particularly important to have a road so circumstanced that a horse
  may on all parts of it have the benefit of a free current of air.

  [147] No person can put up hoards or scaffolds in the streets without
  first obtaining the consent of the urban authority, _vide_ sections
  144 and 149 of the Public Health Act 1875. Many towns also have
  private improvement Acts with very binding clauses on this subject,
  empowering the surveyor to demand a fee for a licence to erect a
  hoarding, and empowering him to remove these after notice, &c.

  [148] This is scarcely ever feasible, or of the slightest use if done.

  [149] Mr. Cooper states that “a tall chimney will rock 1 inch in a
  moderate wind, and even to an extent of ¹⁄₈th of an inch at a distance
  of only 16 feet up from its base, and yet be safe.” (_Vide_ ‘Minutes
  of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers,’ vol. xxvii. p.
  100.)

  [150] Whilst this work was in the press the terrible disaster arising
  from the falling of an immense chimney shaft at Bradford took place,
  the result of which was the death of upwards of forty persons and
  great destruction of property.




CHAPTER XVII.

IMPROVEMENT OF PRIVATE STREETS.


Prior to the passing of the Public Health Act 1875 the improvement of
private roads and streets was dealt with under section 69 of the Public
Health Act 1848, but the clause under which the town surveyor now works
is that which is so well known as the 150th section of the Public Health
Act 1875, and is as follows:

“Where any street within any urban district (not being a highway
repairable by the inhabitants at large) or the carriageway, footway, or
any other part of such street is not sewered, levelled, paved, metalled,
flagged, channelled and made good, or is not lighted to the satisfaction
of the urban authority, such authority may, by notice addressed to the
respective owners or occupiers of the premises fronting, adjoining or
abutting on such parts thereof as may require to be sewered, levelled,
paved, metalled, flagged or channelled, or to be lighted, require them
to sewer, level, pave, metal, flag, channel or make good, or to provide
proper means for lighting the same within a time to be specified in such
notice.

“Before giving such notice the urban authority shall cause plans and
sections of any structural works intended to be executed under this
section, and an estimate of the probable cost thereof, to be made under
the direction of their surveyor, such plans and sections to be on a
scale of not less than one inch for eighty-eight feet for a horizontal
plan, and on a scale of not less than one inch for ten feet for a
vertical section, and, in the case of a sewer, showing the depth of such
sewer below the surface of the ground: such plans, sections and
estimate shall be deposited in the office of the urban authority, and
shall be open at all reasonable hours for the inspection of all persons
interested therein during the time specified in such notice; and a
reference to such plans and sections in such notice shall be sufficient
without requiring any copy of such plans and sections to be annexed to
such notice.

If such notice is not complied with, the urban authority may, if they
think fit, execute the works mentioned or referred to therein; and may
recover in a summary manner the expenses incurred by them in so doing
from the owners in default, according to the frontage of their
respective premises, and in such proportion as is settled by the
surveyor of the urban authority, or (in case of dispute) by arbitration
in manner provided by this Act; or the urban authority may by order
declare the expenses so incurred to be private improvement expenses.

“The same proceedings may be taken and the same powers may be exercised
in respect of any street or road of which a part is or may be a public
footpath or repairable by the inhabitants at large, as fully as if the
whole of such street or road was a highway not repairable by the
inhabitants at large” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 150).

One has only to look at the number of footnotes that follow this clause
both in “Glenn” and “Fitzgerald” to see that it requires some
considerable interpretation. I propose in this chapter to call attention
to some of its engineering discrepancies and to point out the duties of
the town surveyor in connection with its enforcement.

First then, I conclude that it is the duty of the surveyor to call the
attention of the urban authority to the fact that any street within his
district (not being a highway repairable by the inhabitants at large) is
not “sewered, levelled, paved, &c.” but there is no express order for
him to do so, but with whoever this duty rests, it is no doubt the
surveyor’s duty to be certain that the street in question has never been
dedicated to the public or repaired at the cost of the rates, but is
really a private street within the meaning of the Act.

Before proceeding to give the manner of putting the 150th section into
force, it is necessary to draw attention to some of its wording.

The word “sewered” no doubt is also meant to include all drains both for
house sewage and surface water falling on the street, &c., and may be
used in the same comprehensive manner that the word “sewerage” is
generally employed.

“Levelled” is also rather a vague term, but it has been held to refer
only to the level or cross section of the street itself, there being no
power to charge the adjacent owners with the expense of altering the
level of the street so as to make it conform to a street with which it
connects. The word “formed” would in this case have therefore been a
more appropriate phrase.

“Paved, metalled, flagged, channelled and made good” are very precise
directions, but why both the words “paved” and “metalled” are used is
not clear. Is the paving to be placed on the top of the metalling or
vice versâ? It seems ludicrous to have used both words. The word
“kerbed” also ought no doubt to have been inserted, as no street either
urban or suburban can be formed without this necessary adjunct.

These very precise directions, if carried out in their entirety, would
cause great injustice to the adjacent owners of the property who had to
bear the expense, for although “paving” and “flagging” may be necessary
for streets situated in a town itself, they would be perfectly
unnecessary for a suburban road, and it is to this latter class of work
that the section is more frequently applied. There are generally very
few badly maintained private streets in the heart and busiest parts of a
town, much difference of opinion consequently exists in different
localities as to what the requirements shall be.

Some urban authorities insist that the roadways shall be paved with
granite setts or wood blocks, the footpaths being flagged or paved with
asphalte, while others are content with ordinary macadamised roadways
and gravelled paths.

There can be no doubt that the town surveyor must use considerable
discretion in deciding what class of work should be demanded, and he
must be greatly guided by the situation and requirements of the street
in question and the description and value of the adjoining property.

With reference to the words “or is not lighted,” my opinion is that
nearly all private streets are at once lighted by the urban authority
out of the rates, so soon as buildings are erected at its sides or it is
found necessary for the public convenience to do so. A reference to
section 161 of the Public Health Act 1875 will show that there is no
exclusion of private streets for that purpose, and for many obvious
reasons it is better that the urban authority should themselves
undertake this duty rather than throw it upon private individuals.

Having thus far drawn attention to some of the wording of the clause, it
is now necessary to discuss the duties of the town surveyor in
connection with it.

It will be seen that notice has to be addressed to the owners or
occupiers of “premises fronting, adjoining or abutting _on such parts
thereof_ as may require to be sewered, levelled, paved, &c.” It is often
found that although the greater portion of a certain private street may
be in a shocking state of repair, perhaps just a small length here and
there opposite portions of different frontages may not be so bad: for
instance, the path may be well gravelled and kerbed and a narrow channel
gutter inserted against a wretchedly constructed roadway. It is often
open to question if the owners of these properties against which these
partial improvements have been effected can expect to escape their
liability. If they can, it complicates still more the working of an
already greatly complicated clause.

“Before giving such notice the urban authority shall cause plans and
sections . . . to be made under the direction of their surveyor.”

This order involves some considerable amount of work. Very accurate
surveys must be made and plotted to a large scale, levels must be taken,
and where sewers have to be included in the notice it is often necessary
to extend the survey considerably, in order to make provision for future
extensions of streets or buildings or for the existing sewerage system.
The clause is very particular in stating that the “depth of such sewer
below the surface of the ground” must be shown, but no mention is made
about the size. The latter point being of quite as great importance it
would be thought as the depth, the question also at once arises, whether
the new sewer must be specified of such a size as only to meet the
requirements of the street alone, or may it be made of such an area as
will carry the sewage of a considerable district? It would be most
unjust to expect the owners of property to pay for a sewer larger than
was required for the street in respect of which they were responsible,
and if legal, the better plan would be for them to be charged with the
cost of such a sewer as would be sufficient for their purpose and let
any extra size that the surveyor found was requisite be paid for out of
the public rates.

It should be noted that in addition to the plans and sections “an
estimate of the probable cost” must also be prepared by the surveyor,
and this must be very carefully prepared, for it has been held to be a
“condition precedent to the recovery of the expenses, that such estimate
should have been properly made” (_Vide_ ‘Fitzgerald’ p. 160, 3rd
edition).

No mention is however made in the Act of a specification, which is of
course absolutely essential.

It may here be of use if I give a specimen form of notice to be served
in connection with carrying out the duties involved by this clause; of
course each town surveyor must alter the work specified to meet the
requirements of the case;

  _To the Owner or Owners of certain premises fronting, adjoining, or
  abutting upon a certain street, called              in the parish of
           in the borough of            in the county of         _

  Whereas the said street is not levelled, paved, metalled, channelled
  and made good to the satisfaction of the mayor, aldermen and burgesses
  of         , the urban sanitary authority of the above-named borough:

  And whereas your said premises front, adjoin, or abut on certain parts
  of the said street which requires to be levelled, paved, metalled,
  channelled and made good as aforesaid:

  Now therefore, the mayor, aldermen and burgesses of         , the
  urban sanitary authority of the said borough as aforesaid, hereby give
  you notice (in pursuance of the statute in that case made and
  provided) to level, pave, metal, channel and make good the portion of
  the said street in which your said premises front, adjoin, or abut as
  aforesaid, within the space of one month from the date hereof, in
  manner following, that is to say:

  (_If a sewer is to be formed, fill in this first._)

  The carriage-way and water tables thereof to be formed in the mode,
  according to the sections, and on the levels and at the rates of
  inclination shown upon the plan, sections, and in accordance with the
  specification of the work prepared by the surveyor to the said urban
  sanitary authority, and now open for public inspection at his office,
           during the usual office hours.

  The carriage-way to be bottomed, formed, and carefully levelled up to
  the form shown by the said sections; and in the following manner:

  (_Here fill in specification of method._)

  Construct        gullies, fitted with five-bar cast-iron gratings and
  frames of the form and pattern to be seen at         , these gullies
  to be placed in such positions as are shown on the aforesaid plan and
  sections; each gully to have a six-inch glazed stoneware socket-pipe
  drain connecting it with the sewer, to be laid on a solid bed, and at
  an uniform inclination from gully to sewer, with joints made of neat
  Portland cement.

  The existing kerb to be taken up and replaced by        inches by
         inches granite kerb in lengths of not less than        inches,
  to the lines shown on plan, and to the levels marked on sections.

  The water-tables or gutter to be channelled        with properly laid,
  and bedded on fine gravel to the levels and inclinations marked on
  sections.

  The footpaths shall be properly formed, bottomed, and drained where
  required; the formation level made to the inclination shown on
  section, and afterwards coated with       .

  The whole of the above-mentioned works to be executed by you in
  accordance with the plan and sections hereinbefore referred to and now
  open for inspection at the surveyor’s office as aforesaid, and of the
  dimensions, widths and levels shown thereon, and to be done in a good,
  workmanlike and substantial manner, to the satisfaction of the said
  urban sanitary authority and of their surveyor.

  An estimate of the probable cost of the said work, prepared under the
  direction of the surveyor to the said urban sanitary authority, is
  also lying for inspection at the office of the said surveyor, in
  manner required by section 150 of the Public Health Act 1875.

  Dated this        day of        18  .

  ____________________
  _Town Clerk_.

The clause then goes on to say “If such notice is not complied with.”

It would be a most difficult and costly proceeding for any individual
owner of property to execute the work for half the width of the street
opposite his length of frontage, and the result would be anything but
satisfactory if the owners of the properties were to comply with the
notices in this manner.

If the owners do intend to comply with the notice, and carry out the
work themselves, the best method for them to adopt is to hold a meeting
and decide upon having it done, then to appoint one of their number, or
some other person to superintend or carry out the work, and afterwards
collect the money, but this is very seldom done, and the wisest course
(which is generally adopted) is not to comply with the notice, but let
the urban authority execute the work themselves. This again entails
considerable labour upon the town surveyor, who has to superintend the
work and see that all the details contained in the statutory notices are
properly carried out, but his labour does not end here. Upon the
completion of the work the amount expended has to be recovered “from the
owners in default according to the frontage of their respective
premises, and in such proportion as is settled by the surveyor of the
urban authority, or (in case of dispute) by arbitration.”

It is scarcely necessary to point out what an immense amount of
responsible work this involves. First, a separate account of all the
labour and materials employed on the street must be most carefully kept
and totalled at the end of the work, with such additional sum for
supervision, &c., as the urban authority may think necessary.[151] The
exact length of each property “fronting, adjoining or abutting” on the
street, must be most carefully measured. A proportionate sum has then to
be calculated for each of these, and this sum is often complicated by
cross roads, cul-de-sacs, narrow passages, strips of land intervening
between the street and the properties, and many other perplexing
intricacies, in addition to those persons who are legally exempted from
any payment under the following clause of the Public Health Act 1875:

“The incumbent or minister of any church, chapel, or place appropriated
to public religious worship, which is now by law exempt from rates for
the relief of the poor, shall not be liable to any expenses under the
last preceding section as the owner or occupier of such church, chapel,
or place, or of any churchyard or burial ground attached thereto, nor
shall any such expenses be deemed to be a charge on such church, chapel
or other place, or on such churchyard or burial ground . . .” (38 & 39
Vic. c. 55, s. 151.).

The town surveyor, having ascertained what is the amount of the sum due
from each owner, shall proceed to fill in the amount upon a form a
specimen of which is now given:

  _To the Owner of certain premises fronting, adjoining or abutting upon
  a certain street called          in the parish of          in the
  borough of          in the county of         _

  Whereas the mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the urban sanitary
  authority for the said         , by a notice in writing pursuant to
  the statute in that behalf made and provided, dated the        day of
        , 18  , required you being the owner of certain premises
  fronting, adjoining or abutting upon a street or highway called
          , within the said          (and not being a street or highway
  repairable by the inhabitants at large) to level, pave, metal, channel
  and make good the said street or highway within the time and in the
  manner specified in the said notice, and according to the plans and
  sections deposited at the office of the surveyor to the said urban
  sanitary authority at         :

  And whereas the said notice not having been complied with by you
  within the time limited by the said notice, the said urban sanitary
  authority have executed the works mentioned or referred to therein:

  And whereas the expenses incurred by the said urban sanitary authority
  in levelling, paving, metalling, channelling and making good the said
  street, amount to          pounds        shillings and        pence:

  Wherefore take notice that I the undersigned, being the surveyor of
  the said urban sanitary authority, in pursuance of the statutes in
  that case made and provided, do hereby apportion the sum of
  pounds,        shillings and        pence as the proportion of the
  said sum of        pounds,        shillings and        pence, to be
  paid by you as such owner aforesaid, such apportionment being
  according to the frontage of your said premises, fronting, adjoining
  or abutting upon the said street or highway.

  Further take notice that the aforesaid apportionment will be binding
  and conclusive upon you unless within the period of three months from
  the day of the date of this notice you shall by written notice to the
  said urban sanitary authority dispute the same.

  Dated this          day of       , 18  .

  ______________________________
  _Surveyor to the said Urban Sanitary Authority._

  ______________________________
  _Clerk of the said Urban Sanitary Authority._

There seems to be no power on the part of any owner to dispute the
question as to whether the works carried out have been necessary or not,
or whether the cost of the works have been excessive; the only point
upon which they can go to arbitration is that as to whether the
proportion settled by the surveyor is accurate or not, and this point
the arbitrator is left to decide.

It must not be lost sight of that there is a clause in the Public Health
Act 1875, which makes the expenses so settled by the surveyor very
binding upon the owner of the property in question, unless he appeals
within three months from the service of the notice, as the following
extract from the clause will show:

. . . “Where such expenses have been settled and apportioned by the
surveyor of the local authority as payable by such owner, such
apportionment shall be binding and conclusive on such owner, unless
within three months from service of notice on him by the local authority
or their surveyor of the amount settled by the surveyor to be due from
such owner, he shall by written notice dispute the same” . . . (38 & 39
Vic. c. 55, s. 257)[152] and it must also be borne in mind that the
person from whom these expenses may be recovered “is the owner of the
premises at the time when the work was done, not the owner to whom
notice requiring the work to be done may be given” (_vide_ Fitzgerald’s
Public Health Act, p. 301, 3rd edition); so that the town surveyor must
be very careful to make sure that any of the property abutting on the
street has not changed hands before he commences the work.

After the 150th section of the Public Health Act has been carried out
and a private street has been thus put into thorough repair, the urban
authority may take possession of it and declare it to be a highway
repairable by the inhabitants at large; the following section of the Act
gives the modus operandi necessary to effect this:

“When any street within any urban district, not being a highway
repairable by the inhabitants at large, has been sewered, levelled,
paved, flagged, metalled, channelled and made good and provided with
proper means of lighting to the satisfaction of the urban authority,
such authority may if they think fit, by notice in writing put up in any
part of the street, declare the same to be a highway, and thereupon the
same shall become a highway repairable by the inhabitants at large, and
every such notice shall be entered among the proceedings of the urban
authority.

“Provided that no such street shall become a highway so repairable if
within one month after such notice has been put up, the proprietor or
the majority in number of proprietors of such street, by notice in
writing to the urban authority, object thereto, and in ascertaining such
majority, joint proprietors shall be reckoned as one proprietor” (38 &
39 Vic. c. 55, s. 152).

The necessary notices in conformity with this section are usually
prepared by the town clerk, so that the town surveyor has nothing to do
with this proceeding except to maintain the street after it has been
declared a highway repairable by the inhabitants at large, in the same
manner as he does the rest of the public streets within his district.

There is still one other clause of the Public Health Act 1875, which
deals with the question of private roads, and it is as follows:

“Any urban authority may agree with any person for the making of roads
within their district for the public use through the lands and at the
expense of such person, and may agree that such roads shall become and
the same shall accordingly become on completion, highways maintainable
and repairable by the inhabitants at large within their district; they
may also with the consent of two-thirds of their number agree with such
person to pay and may accordingly pay any portion of the expenses of
making such roads” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 146).

This clause is very explicit and requires no comment, it would however
be much better for the urban authority in contemplating a case of this
description to execute the necessary works themselves and agree with the
person about the expense, for if they are intended to be afterwards
taken over it is to be feared that the roads would be very improperly
constructed in the first place by the person intending to hand them
over. It must be noted that the word “roads” is used in the above clause
instead of “streets” as in the other clauses I have quoted, and also
that the word “maintainable” is added to repairable.

Street is the term legally used in the Public Health Act 1875, and is
thus defined:

“Street includes any highway (not being a turnpike road) and any public
bridge (not being a county bridge), and any road, lane, footway, square,
court, alley or passage, whether a thoroughfare or not” (38 & 39 Vic. c.
55, s. 4.) so that whereas in the 150th section of the Public Health Act
1875, any of the above can be dealt with, it is only open for the urban
authority to deal with roads under the 146th section of the Act, and it
is sometimes rather difficult to define a road for the purposes of the
latter section.

  [151] In some districts the urban authority make an additional charge
  of 5 per cent. upon the total outlay to cover the cost of preliminary
  surveys and supervision of the work by their surveyor; this 5 per
  cent., however, is not paid to him, but is paid to the city treasurer,
  and thus becomes a set off against his salary.

  [152] See also 38 & 39 Vict. c. 55, s. 268, where a person who deems
  himself aggrieved may memorialise the Local Government Board, &c.




CHAPTER XVIII.

NEW STREETS AND BUILDINGS.


One of the most important duties devolving upon a “town surveyor” is
that of exercising control over any new streets that may be constructed,
or any new buildings that may be erected, within the limits of his
jurisdiction.

This duty is imposed on him by the following clause of the Public Health
Act 1875:

“Every urban authority may make byelaws with respect to the following
matters; (that is to say,)

“(1.) With respect to the level, width and construction of new streets,
and the provisions for the sewerage thereof;

“(2.) With respect to the structure of walls, foundations, roofs, and
chimneys of new buildings, for securing stability and the prevention of
fires, and for purposes of health;

“(3.) With respect to the sufficiency of the space about buildings to
secure a free circulation of air, and with respect to the ventilation of
buildings;

“(4.) With respect to the drainage of buildings, to waterclosets, earth
closets, privies, ashpits, and cesspools, in connexion with buildings,
and to the closing of buildings or parts of buildings unfit for human
habitation, and to prohibition of their use for such habitation;

“And they may further provide for the observance of such byelaws by
enacting therein such provisions as they think necessary as to the
giving of notices; as to the deposit of plans and sections by persons
intending to lay out streets or to construct buildings; as to inspection
by the urban authority, and as to the power of such authority (subject
to the provisions of this Act) to remove, alter, or pull down any work
begun or done in contravention of such byelaws. Provided that no byelaw
made under this section shall affect any building erected in any place
(which at the time of the passing of this Act is included in an urban
sanitary district) before the Local Government Acts came into force in
such place, or any building erected in any place (which at the time of
the passing of this Act is not included in an urban sanitary district)
before such place becomes constituted or included in an urban district,
or by virtue of any order of the Local Government Board subject to this
enactment.

“The provisions of this section, and of the two last preceding sections,
shall not apply to buildings belonging to any railway company, and used
for the purposes of such railway under any Act of Parliament” (38 & 39
Vic. c. 55, s. 157).

The result of this power having been so given to urban authorities, is
that they have all framed sets of byelaws, which having received the
sanction of the Local Government Board, are now law in the several
districts.

In the year 1877, it being found that considerable variation existed in
the requirements set forth in the byelaws, according to the districts
from which they emanated, and experience having shown that the forms of
byelaws previously issued by the Local Government Board were inadequate,
the Local Government Board in order to assist urban authorities issued a
series of model byelaws; amongst the series being a set of byelaws
regulating the manner in which new streets should be constructed and
buildings erected.[153]

These model byelaws are too extensive to give in detail, as they contain
99 clauses, but every town surveyor should at once procure a copy, even
if his corporation have not adopted them, nor intend to do so.

One of the first difficulties that often presents itself to those who
have to enforce the observance of the necessary “giving of notices and
deposit of plans and sections by persons intending to construct new
buildings” is to prove that the building is “new” so as to bring it
under the operations of the Act.

In many cases, of course, there can be no doubt where bare land is being
built upon, but often after buildings have been partially destroyed by
fire, or where extensive alterations are being carried out, some
considerable elements of uncertainty as to what is a “new building” are
introduced.

The law attempts to settle the question as follows:

“For the purposes of this Act, the re-erecting of any building pulled
down to, or below the ground floor, or of any frame-building of which
only the frame-work is left down to the ground floor, or the conversion
into a dwelling house of any building not originally constructed for
human habitation, or the conversion into more than one dwelling house of
a building originally constructed as one dwelling house only, shall be
considered the erection of a new building” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 159).

But the difficulty at once presents itself as to what is meant by the
words “ground floor.” Does this mean the actual floor level, or the
cubical space contained by the walls, floor and ceiling of the “ground
floor” (or as it is sometimes called “ground story”) of the building?
The latter may be assumed to be the correct interpretation, for if we
order a man to hang a picture, or to fix a chandelier on the “ground
floor,” we certainly do not expect to find them placed upon the floor.

It is important that this point should be settled definitely, or some
more explanatory term employed in the Act in order to determine what is
a new building, for in the present state of uncertainty it may be urged
that the whole building must be razed to the ground, whereas if the
proper meaning of “ground floor” is taken, would the removal of the
superstructure and destruction of the ceiling only of the “ground
floor” bring the new work under the definition of a new building and
within the operation of the byelaws?

This uncertainty is now taken advantage of by builders and others, who
sometimes find it irksome and inconvenient to be obliged to construct a
building in accordance with the byelaws of any town. Somewhat sharp
practices are consequently resorted to in order to evade the law, and
old buildings are converted into new ones without any powers of
interference by the urban authority or their surveyor. This is greatly
to be regretted, as unless the building comes within the operation of
the byelaws, it is frequently erected without any sanitary precautions
or even stability.

Sometimes a so-called repair of a building is commenced by adding a new
roof perhaps, at a higher level than the old one; when sufficient time
has elapsed to allay suspicion, a new front is erected, and then new
back and side walls in due course, the alteration of the interior floors
not attracting much attention.

Cases of this description are very troublesome to the town surveyor, as
if legal proceedings are to be taken against the offender, it is
necessary for the surveyor to make surveys and drawings of the works as
they are in progress in order to prove his case, and these might extend
over a considerable period of time.[154] In order to make these surveys
it would be necessary for him to enter the premises whilst the works
were in progress, but there does not seem to be any powers conferred on
him by any Act of Parliament for such a purpose, so that really he has
no power to prevent the occurrences I have mentioned.

It must also not be forgotten that what may sometimes appear to be an
entirely new building, may only be an addition to one that existed
before the passing of the Act, and although the new work may be ten
times as large as the old, still much conflicting evidence may be
brought to bear before it can be proved to be a “new building” within
the meaning of the Act.

Turning again to section 159 of the Public Health Act 1875, these words
will be found as defining also what is a new building: “or the
conversion into a dwelling house of any building not originally
constructed for human habitation.”

It would have been better in the interests of sanitation if the Act had
prohibited the conversion of any building at all into a dwelling house
without the approval of the urban authority, for as the law stands at
present, it is open for an owner of property to convert stables or
warehouses, &c., into dwelling houses, by simply asserting and bringing
witnesses or other evidence to prove that they were “originally
constructed for human habitation” irrespective of whether they are
adapted for the purpose or not, thus defeating the intention of the
Public Health Act to secure a better description of dwellings than those
that were erected before the passing of the Act.

When a dispute does arise with anyone as to whether a building comes
within the definition of “new” or not, it is well if possible to agree
upon certain points of fact and upon plans, &c., before the case comes
into court, and then to endeavour to get the magistrates to “view.” This
course if pursued often saves lengthy litigation, and a great waste of
time and money.

With reference to the deposit of plans of new streets or buildings, the
following clause of the Public Health Act 1875 provides that this shall
be done:

“Where a notice, plan or description of any work is required by any
byelaw made by an urban authority to be laid before that authority, the
urban authority shall, within one month after the same has been
delivered or sent to their surveyor or clerk,[155] signify in writing
their approval or disapproval of the intended work to the person
proposing to execute the same; and if the work is commenced after such
notice of disapproval, or before the expiration of such month without
such approval, and is in any respect not in conformity with any byelaw
of the urban authority, the urban authority may cause so much of the
work as has been executed to be pulled down or removed” . . . (38 & 39
Vic. c. 55, s. 158.).

The result of these clauses of the Act with reference to new streets and
buildings is, that some of the most arduous and irksome duties of the
town surveyor are embodied in the few words they contain. These duties
consist of, first, the careful examination of, and report upon all plans
of new streets and buildings; secondly, the constant supervision of
these streets and buildings whilst the works are in progress; and each
of these duties will be considered in the course of this chapter.

First then, as to the deposit and examination of the plans of new
streets or buildings.

The byelaws of which I have already made mention should contain some
such clause as the following:

“Every person who shall intend to make or lay out any new street,
whether the same shall be intended to be used as a public way or not,
shall give notice to the urban authority of such intention, by writing
delivered to them at their office, or at the office of their surveyor,
and shall at the same time leave or cause to be left at the office of
the urban authority, or of their surveyor, a plan and section of such
intended new street, drawn to a scale of not less than 1 inch to every
44 feet, and shall show on every such plan the names of the owners of
the land through or over which such street shall be intended to pass,
the level, width, direction, the proposed mode of construction, the
proposed name of such intended new street, and its position relatively
to the streets nearest thereto; the size and number of the intended
building lots, and the proposed sites, height, class, and nature of the
buildings to be erected therein, and the proposed height of the division
and fence walls thereon; and the name and address of the person
intending to lay out such new street, and he shall himself sign such
plan, or cause the same to be signed by his duly authorised agent.

“Such person shall show on every such section the level of the present
surface of the ground above some known fixed datum, the level and rate
or rates of inclination of the intended new street, the level and
inclination of the streets with which it will be connected, and the
level of the lowest floors of the intended new buildings.

“Every person who shall intend to erect any new building shall give
notice to the urban authority of such intention by writing delivered to
them at their office or at the office of their surveyor, and shall at
the same time leave or cause to be left at the said office detail plans
and sections of every floor of such intended new building, drawn to a
scale of not less than 1 inch to every 8 feet, showing the position,
form and dimensions of the several parts of such building, and of the
watercloset, earth closet, privy, cesspool, ashpit, well, and all other
appurtenances; and together with such plans and sections he shall leave
or cause to be left at the office of the urban authority, or of their
surveyor, a description of the materials of which the building is
proposed to be constructed, of the intended mode of drainage, and means
of water supply.

“Such person shall at the same time leave or cause to be left at the
office of the urban authority, or of their surveyor, a block plan drawn
to a scale of not less than 1 inch to every 44 feet, and shall show the
position of the buildings and appurtenances of the properties
immediately adjoining, the width and level of the street in front, and
of the street, if any, at the rear of such building, the level of the
lowest floor of such building, and of any yard or ground belonging
thereto.

“Such person shall likewise show on such plan the intended lines of
drainage of such building, and the intended size, depth and inclination
of each drain; and the details of the arrangement proposed to be adopted
for the ventilation of the drains.”

With reference to the deposit of plans as required by the above byelaw,
the following suggestions as to the best manner of effecting this may be
of some use:

(1.) The town surveyor should see that the person, or his agent,
intending to carry out the work, deposits tracings of the proposed
street or building signed by himself, so that there should be no after
dispute as to what really has been deposited; these tracings should be
on good paper properly inked in and  so as to be indelible. In
some towns it is the practice for original plans to be deposited
temporarily with the surveyor, who is expected to have them traced and
then returned to the owner, but this not only tends to the possibility
of dispute as to the correctness of the tracings, but it also takes up a
large amount of the surveyor’s time, or of such other officer as may
have charge of this branch of the duties.

In order to insure that the plans deposited shall not be afterwards
claimed by the person making the deposit, it might be well to add these
words to the clause of the byelaws which I have quoted:

“All such plans and sections so left at the office of the urban
authority or of their surveyor, shall remain the property of the urban
authority.”

(2.) It is advisable for the town surveyor to have in his possession a
number of printed forms on which application should be made by the
person intending to erect a new building and filled in and signed by him
or his duly authorised agent. The following is given as a specimen form
for this purpose:

  _To the Surveyor of the Urban Authority of       _

  I hereby give you notice that it is my intention to erect certain
  buildings in        street, and that the following particulars relate
  thereto:

  ---+-----------------------------------++---+-------------------------
  No.|            Questions.             ||No.|         Answers.
  ---+-----------------------------------++---+-------------------------
   1 |Christian and Surname _in full_,   || 1 |
     |Address and Occupation of          ||   |
     |persons for whom buildings to      ||   |
     |be erected.                        ||   |
     |                                   ||   |
   2 |Number of drawings deposited.      || 2 |
     |                                   ||   |
   3 |Name of architect, if any.         || 3 |
     |                                   ||   |
   4 |Description of buildings and of    || 4 |
     |the materials to be used in        ||   |
     |construction of same.              ||   |
     |                                   ||   |
   5 |Situation of buildings.            || 5 |
     |                                   ||   |
   6 |Level, or intended level of cellar,|| 6 |
     |or ground floor, with reference    ||   |
     |to surface of street.              ||   |
     |                                   ||   |
   7 |Thickness of walls.                || 7 |
     |                                   ||   |
   8 |Height of building in stories.     || 8 |
     |                                   ||   |
   9 |Area of clear open space at rear   || 9 |
     |or side of buildings exclusively   ||   |
     |belonging thereto.                 ||   |
     |                                   ||   |
  10 |Distance across such open space.   ||10 |
     |                                   ||   |
  11 |Description of ventilation.        ||11 |
     |                                   ||   |
  12 |Width of street or open space      ||12 |
     |opposite buildings.                ||   |
     |                                   ||   |
  13 |Size and description of drains,    ||13 |
     |and traps, and if ventilated.      ||   |
     |                                   ||   |
  14 |Inclination of drains.             ||14 |
     |                                   ||   |
  15 |Description of outlet to drains.   ||15 |
     |                                   ||   |
  16 |How supplied with water.           ||16 |
     |                                   ||   |
  17 |Situation, dimensions, and         ||17 |
     |particulars of apparatus of w.c.’s.||   |
  ---+-----------------------------------++---+-------------------------

  And I herewith leave detail plans and sections of every floor of such
  intended new buildings, drawn to a scale of not less than 1 inch to
  every 8 feet, showing the position, form, and dimensions of the
  several parts of such buildings, and of the watercloset, privy,
  cesspool, earthcloset, ashpit, well, and all other appurtenances; and
  also, a block plan drawn to a scale of not less than 1 inch to every
  44 feet, showing the position of the buildings and appurtenances of
  the properties immediately adjoining, the width and level of the
  street, the level of the lowest floor of the intended building, and of
  the yard or ground belonging thereto.

  Dated this        day of        18

  Signature in full,
  Address,
  Occupation,

A similar form may be prepared relating to plans of proposed new
streets, but of course the number of the questions contained in it will
be less.

(3.) When the necessary notices have been given and the tracings
properly deposited with the surveyor, he should carefully examine them
to see if they are in accordance with the byelaws which are in force in
his district. They should then be folded and placed in a large envelope,
which should be endorsed with the name of the person proposing to carry
out the work, the description of the work proposed, the name of the
architect, if any, the name of the builder, if any, the date of the
deposit, and a blank left for the date of approval. Each envelope should
also have a large number stamped upon it.

(4.) These particulars should be entered in a book of reference against
a corresponding number, so that at any future date it may be easy to
find and refer to any plans that have been deposited by means of an
index and the number on the envelope.

(5.) If on examining the plans the surveyor finds anything in them
which does not conform to the byelaws, he should be empowered by the
urban authority to return them at once to the person depositing them,
without having to wait to lay them before a committee, as this is a
great saving of time. In returning the plans the surveyor should write a
letter setting forth a schedule of his objections and the particulars of
the manner in which the plans and sections fail to comply with the
requirements of the byelaws.

(6.) If the plans are redeposited unaltered or showing still some
non-compliance with the byelaws, the surveyor must lay them before his
committee and explain in what respects they are defective, leaving it to
the committee to decide whether they shall be approved or not.

(7.) If the plans are in accordance with the byelaws, the surveyor
reports the fact to the committee, whereupon the plans should be at once
signed by the chairman of the committee.

(8.) All plans which the committee decline to approve of should be at
once returned to the person who deposited them with a written
notification of the reasons.

(9.) Plans which are approved of by the committee and afterwards
ratified by the general meeting of the urban authority, should be
carefully put away in pigeon-holes, so that by means of the reference
book previously described they can be easily found at any future time.
This is very important, as no extension of a building the plans of which
have been thus approved by the urban authority can ever afterwards be
carried out without their consent; and the plans of any alteration which
would not involve building upon an increased area must be deposited as
in the case of a new building.

(10.) A notification in writing should be sent to the person who has
deposited the plans when they have been approved by the urban authority;
and in sending this notification it is well to draw his attention to the
fact that notice must be given to the surveyor of the commencement of
the work, in order that the foundations, drains, &c., may be examined
by him before the ground is filled in.

The importance and necessity for the deposit of plans with a sanitary
authority cannot be over-estimated, but this deposit is of but little
practical good unless it can be insured that all the buildings are
erected strictly in conformity with these plans, and this, according to
the Act, is the duty also of the town surveyor. As a matter of fact, it
is quite impossible for any single person in any large town to perform
this duty, and a staff of assistants is consequently necessary if the
sanitary authority really wish their byelaws to be enforced.

Anyone who is practically acquainted with the difficulties that even
architects experience in superintending buildings they have _themselves_
designed, and how much they have to trust to the clerk of works (of
which there is generally one to every building), will readily see what
an absurdity it is to suppose that a town surveyor, with his multitude
of other duties and attendances at committees and meetings, can even
pretend to see that the 99 detail clauses of such byelaws as those
emanating from the Local Government Board Office, or even those of a
less stringent character, can possibly be enforced, especially when it
is remembered that many of the buildings he has to inspect have no
superintending architect, but are being erected for purposes of
speculation by what are commonly known as jerry builders.

Laws may be passed, books on sanitary questions may be written, but
until a change is made in the machinery and manner of the inspection of
buildings in the course of erection, and a large staff of inspectors or
sanitary police or some such officials are kept by a sanitary authority,
very little real advancement will be made with the poorer classes of
buildings.

It must in fairness to the builder be stated that to erect houses in
strict accordance with the model byelaws would probably mean loss of
money to him, as they could not possibly be built with any prospect of
a reasonable return upon the outlay. This partly arises from the
stringent clauses inserted with respect to the structure of walls and
other precautions for the prevention of fires. I cannot help thinking
that too much interference is now made by sanitary authorities for the
protection of property from fire.[156] It is not a sanitary question,
and is certainly one which chiefly affects insurance companies. Every
one should be able to pay his small insurance premium and the companies
should look after their own interests, and not expect it to be done by
others. If the sanitary authority wish to interfere in the question of
fire, why should not the protection of _life_ be considered as much as
property? Yet no clause can be discovered in the model byelaws rendering
it compulsory to make some provision in dwelling-houses or factories for
the easy escape of the inmates in case of fire. Indeed, as the Public
Health Act does not authorise the enactment of a byelaw for such a
purpose, such a clause would most probably be held to be _ultra vires_.

Another cause of expense to builders is the necessity imposed on them to
provide a comparatively large open space at the back or sides of new
dwelling-houses, thus sacrificing land, and sometimes making it almost
impossible to build at all. This necessity for open gardens or yards at
the back of even small labourers’ dwellings is in some towns pushed to
an extreme. If such houses are erected in a thoroughly sanitary manner
in all points of detail, it is questionable if this open space is really
beneficial. My experience has shown me that the space is often misused,
animals, such as rabbits, chickens, pigeons, &c., being kept there, or
it is made into a so-called garden, really a refuse heap which is a
receptacle for all the garbage and filth of the house, soon becoming a
fruitful source of disease to the occupants of the house itself and the
neighbours. It is also difficult to ensure that the space thus provided
and approved of in the deposited plans shall not be built upon at some
future period. It would be better if the streets in front of such
dwellings were wide, and a narrow street or “drangway” constructed at
the back for the dust-cart service, supply of coals, &c. The houses
themselves should have their rooms properly and thoroughly ventilated;
underground kitchens or living rooms should be prohibited. The drainage,
water-supply, and all the apparatus in connection with them, should be
perfect but simple. At the back of the house should be a small yard or
court well paved with asphalte or other impervious material, in which
should be placed the wash-house, w.c., &c. These and public parks and
plenty of fresh air in the streets and in the dwelling-houses themselves
should take the place of the large open spaces at the back of small
dwelling-houses, which, as I have already stated, are generally so much
misused.

The model byelaws with regard to new streets and buildings issued by the
Local Government Board contain most admirable clauses--valuable
suggestions which should receive attention from any town surveyor who
has to advise his corporation upon the subject of framing a set of
byelaws for his district--but they necessarily contain many clauses
which are not suitable equally well for towns in the north, south, east,
and west of England.

Many of the clauses are too stringent to be enforced, but this arises
not from any fault in the byelaws themselves, but rather from the
machinery employed in carrying them into effect. To secure all that they
require adequate inspection is needed, and this might be effected if
there was a fee charged by the urban authority of any town for the
purposes of proper inspection of buildings in course of construction;
and although it must be admitted that any provision which increases the
cost of construction of small dwelling-houses which shall be complete
in all sanitary requisites is undesirable, the extra cost of such
inspection would be too small to be appreciable, while the advantages
arising from such improved supervision would, even from a pecuniary
point of view, be of immense advantage not only to the community as
tending to improve the public health, but also to the owner as ensuring
good honest work in return for his money. In larger and more expensive
buildings this supervision is exercised by the architect, but as a rule
there is no architect employed in the case of small houses, and the
builder is accordingly left to his own devices, with frequently
unfortunate results.

  [153] ‘Model Bye-laws issued by the Local Government Board for the use
  of sanitary authorities. New Streets and Buildings, IV.’ Printed by
  George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode, 1877.

  [154] It is open also to question whether in the case of an old
  building being gradually altered into a new one, it would be possible
  to prosecute, as there is the following limitation as to proceedings
  in the Public Health Act 1875: “Any complaint or information made or
  laid in pursuance of this Act shall be made or laid within six months
  from the time when the matter of such complaint or information
  respectively arose” . . . (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 252). The complaint
  could not be made when the work was first commenced, as no offence
  would have been committed, and if made after the work was finished, it
  might be urged that the offence was commenced more than six months
  prior, and that the complaint should have been made “when the matter
  of such complaint or information respectively arose.”

  [155] Plans are usually deposited with the surveyor as being the
  officer who would be most likely to understand them.

  [156] Nothing can be more vexatious than the bye-law compelling the
  party walls of new buildings to be carried up above the roof to at
  least 12 inches; not only does this frequently spoil the architectural
  appearance of a building, but it causes great expense in order to keep
  the wet out: a very difficult thing with a wall treated in this
  manner.




CHAPTER XIX.

SCAVENGING.


In a great number of towns in this country the town surveyor has charge
of the unostentatious, though very necessary sanitary work of the
scavenging of the district over which he has charge, and the following
are the clauses of the Public Health Act 1875, under which he carries
out his duties:

“Every local authority may, and when required by order of the Local
Government Board shall, themselves undertake or contract for--

“The removal of house refuse from premises;

“The cleansing of earthclosets, privies, ashpits, and cesspools;

either for the whole or any part of their district: Moreover every urban
authority and any rural authority invested by the Local Government Board
with the requisite powers may, and when required by the said board
shall, themselves undertake or contract for the proper cleansing of
streets, and may also themselves undertake or contract for the proper
watering of streets for the whole or any part of their district.

“All matters collected by the local authority or contractor in pursuance
of this section may be sold or otherwise disposed of, and any profits
thus made by an urban authority shall be carried to the account of the
fund or rate applicable by them for the general purposes of this Act;
and any profits thus made by a rural authority in respect of any
contributory place shall be carried to the account of the fund or rate
out of which expenses incurred under this section by that authority in
such contributory place are defrayed.

“If any person removes or obstructs the local authority or contractor in
removing any matters by this section authorised to be removed by the
local authority, he shall for each offence be liable to a penalty not
exceeding five pounds: Provided that the occupier of the house within
the district shall not be liable to such penalty in respect of any such
matters which are produced on his own premises and are intended to be
removed for sale or for his own use, and are in the meantime kept so as
not to be a nuisance” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 42).

The next clause imposes a penalty on the local authority if they fail
“without reasonable excuse after notice in writing from the occupier of
any house” to cleanse the ashpit, &c., within seven days if they have
“themselves undertaken or contracted for the removal of house refuse”
&c., and the next clause is as follows:

“Where the local authority do not themselves undertake or contract for,

“The cleansing of footways and pavements adjoining any premises;

“The removal of house refuse from any premises;

“The cleansing of earthclosets, privies, ashpits, and cesspools
belonging to any premises;

“They may make byelaws imposing the duty of such cleansing or removal,
at such intervals as they think fit, on the occupier of any such
premises.

“An urban authority[157] may also make byelaws for the prevention of
nuisances arising from snow, filth, dust, ashes, and rubbish, and for
the prevention of the keeping of animals on any premises so as to be
injurious to health”[158] (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 44).

There is also another clause in the Public Health Act 1875, which is as
follows:

“Any urban authority may, if they see fit, provide in proper and
convenient situations receptacles for the temporary deposit and
collection of dust, ashes, and rubbish; they may also provide fit
buildings and places for the deposit of any matters collected by them in
pursuance of this part of this Act” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 45).

The result of the above comprehensive clauses upon the subject of
scavenging is that the following duties fall upon the town surveyor
where that officer is responsible for such work:

(1.) “The removal of house refuse from premises.”

This work, like all the rest which follows, can be done either by the
local authority themselves or by contract, the former method, as I hope
presently to show, being much the best system.

In connection with this first duty of the removal of house refuse, the
following points will have to be considered:

(_a._) What is house refuse?

(_b._) What is the best manner of storing it on the premises pending the
visit of the scavenger?

(_c._) Which are the best methods for its collection?

(_d._) Which are the best methods for its disposal?

(2.) “The cleansing of earthclosets, privies, ashpits, and cesspools.”

This work where necessary (owing to the want of a system of sewerage)
can be carried out simultaneously with the collection of house refuse
and in almost the same manner.

(3.) “The proper cleansing of streets.”

In connection with this duty the following points must be considered:

(_a._) The best methods for sweeping and cleansing streets.

(_b._) If machinery effects such work better and more economically than
hand labour.

(_c._) The extra work involved by the bad construction of streets, or
the ill chosen materials of which they are formed.

(_d._) Whether private streets, courts and alleys, “not repairable by
the inhabitants at large,” should be swept and cleansed by the local
authority?

(_e._) The ultimate disposal of excessive accumulations of mud.

(_f._) The removal and disposal of snow.

(4.) “The proper watering of streets for the whole or any part of their
district.”

In considering this question it is necessary to note:

(_a._) The best form of vehicle for carrying and spreading the water.

(_b._) The number, position, and description of standpipes.

(_c._) Whether vehicles, or fixed standpipes and hose are best.

(5.) If the local authority do not impose a byelaw they must themselves
cleanse the “footways and pavements adjoining any premises;” and this in
excessively muddy weather, or after a heavy fall of snow, is no
inconsiderable work.

(6.) An _urban authority_ may make provision for the “temporary deposit
and collection of dust, ashes and rubbish.”

This involves public dust-bins being placed in suitable positions in the
town, the points in connection with this work being,

(a.) The most suitable sites for such accommodation.

(b.) The materials and form of which they shall be constructed.

Having thus stated all the heads under which the work of scavenging may
be grouped, it is necessary to decide what is “house refuse;” for unless
this is satisfactorily settled, considerable onus and expense will be
put upon the local authority if they are to include in the removal
trade, garden, and other similar refuse.[159]

It may be assumed that all house refuse which it is the duty of the
scavenger to remove, is really so removed by the direction of the local
authority without dispute, but that the following articles, which
frequently find their way into a domestic dust-bin, are not in the
strict terms of the Act expected to be removed by him. (1) Plaster from
walls and brick bats, (2) Large quantities of broken bottles and flower
pots, (3) Clinkers and ashes from foundries and green-houses, (4) Wall
paper torn from the rooms of a house, (5) Scrap tin (but not old tins
which have contained meats, &c., and which, although very useless and
bulky, may be fairly assumed to be house refuse), (6) All garden refuse
such as grass cuttings, dead leaves, and the loppings from trees and
shrubs.[160]

As a matter of fact, out of ninety towns with which I communicated on
this subject only thirteen of them directed the removal of both trade
and garden refuse without any special extra payment being made by the
householder, and this is only done when these materials are placed in
the ordinary dustbin or ashpit attached to a house. Several towns,
however, it appears remove such materials on special payments being made
of sums varying from 1_s._ 6_d._ to 3_s._ per load.

Disputes frequently arise between the men employed in scavenging and the
householder on these vexed questions as to the difference between house,
trade or garden refuse: a dispute often raised by the scavengers
themselves, in the hope of obtaining a gratuity or reward for the
clearance of a dustbin, which no doubt, legally, they are perfectly
justified in refusing to empty; and in order to lessen the chance of
such disputes and to attempt to settle this question, the following
suggestions may be of value.

It would no doubt be vexatious if any sanitary authority were to
absolutely refuse to remove the “garden” refuse from those houses to
which a small flower garden was attached, whilst it would on the
contrary be an unfair tax upon the general community if the refuse of
large gardens was removed without payment. A good rule would therefore
be to remove only such _garden_ refuse as was contained in the ordinary
dustbin or ashpit attached to a house, and that as the removal of any
kind of _trade_ refuse would no doubt lead to abuses if done
gratuitously by the sanitary authority, that this material should only
be removed on payment of some sum, which should be previously fixed by
the local authority, and each case should be reported to the officer
superintending the work before it was removed.

The next question is the important one of the manner and place in which
house refuse shall be temporarily stored pending the visit of the
scavenger.

The Public Health Act of 1875 enacts that: “Every local authority shall
provide that all drains, waterclosets, earthclosets, privies, _ashpits_,
and cesspools within their district be constructed and kept so as not to
be a nuisance or injurious to health” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 40).

And section 35 of the above Act states, “It shall not be lawful newly to
erect any house or to rebuild any house pulled down to or below the
ground floor without a sufficient watercloset, earth closet, privy, and
an _ashpit_ furnished with proper doors and coverings. Any person who
causes any house to be erected or rebuilt in contravention of this
enactment shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds” (38
& 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 35).

The same Act also gives power to local authorities to enforce provision
of ashpit accommodation for houses where such accommodation does not
already exist, and to frame byelaws with respect to ashpits.

There can be no doubt that the position of the dustbin or ashpit, as
regards its site with reference to the main dwelling-house, is of
primary sanitary importance, for if the garbage and domestic
accumulations therein are allowed to remain for a few days, especially
when the weather is close, damp, and warm, they become very offensive,
and the emanations therefrom may even be highly deleterious and
dangerous to health; this effect is aggravated by persons emptying
vegetable refuse and other matters which are _wet_ into the dustbin, as
decomposition of these matters is greatly assisted by this addition, and
it would be well that all such matters should be burnt on the kitchen or
scullery fire along with a large percentage of the ashes which could be
sifted and saved from those which too readily find their way into the
dustbin, and are thus wasted. Care would of course have to be taken in
this process that no smell or nuisance was caused by the process of
burning.

It is open to considerable doubt if the fixed dustbin or ashpit is the
best or most sanitary receptacle for the house refuse; they may be
necessary and suitable for Public Institutions, or for large isolated
private dwellings, or for schools or any places where excessive
quantities of refuse may accumulate, but where this refuse is
systematically and properly removed by the order of the local authority,
at such times and in such manner as will be hereafter pointed out,
moveable or portable dustbins, boxes or baskets are far preferable to
the large immoveable, inconvenient fixed ashpit, recommended and
enforced under the Act.

The next point to consider is that of the collection of the house
refuse, which should be effected satisfactorily, economically and
expeditiously.

The following are the three methods by which this is attempted:

(1.) By a house to house call at intermittent periods.

(2.) By the scavengers giving notice of their approach by ringing a bell
or by other signal, and requiring the householder to bring out the
refuse to the cart.

(3.) By placing public dustbins in different localities, and expecting
householders in their vicinity to place the house refuse in these
dustbins, which are then cleared from time to time by the local
authority.

Experience alone can teach which of these is the best method to adopt in
any district, and it is usually found that some modification of all
three is necessary.

It is, however, difficult sometimes to adopt public dustbins not only on
account of their first cost, but from the objections raised by the
occupiers of adjacent houses to their being fixed in their
neighbourhood.

If these dustbins were constructed with properly balanced self-closing
lids, these objections might be overcome, and their first cost would be
but trifling when compared with the benefit to be derived by placing
them in some of the thickly populated courts and alleys which are
unfortunately to be found in nearly every town. Where there are no
public dustbins the inhabitants of these courts throw their waste
products upon the surface of the streets or courts, from time to time
throughout the day, as it cannot be expected nor desired that such
materials should remain, even for twenty-four hours, in their one living
room, which is frequently over crowded, and has but little spare space
even for the common necessities of life; but that these waste products
should be thus strewn over the surface of the street or court is almost
equally objectionable, and points to the advantage to be gained by
placing in convenient situations covered dustbins which could be easily
emptied once a day.

Undoubtedly the best method for the removal of refuse is the house to
house call, but except in suburban districts and for the collection of
refuse from the better class of dwelling-houses and public institutions,
the expense, delay and difficulty which would be incurred in calling at
every house throughout a town, would make it almost impracticable, and
consequently this system is universally combined with that which is
known as the bell or signal system, which simply means that the
scavenging cart in going its rounds has a bell attached to it, or the
horse, which bell rings automatically as the cart proceeds on its way;
or the man in charge blows a trumpet, or calls in stentorian tones,
“Dust oh!” On hearing this signal, _but not before_, the householder is
expected to bring out the refuse in some convenient receptacle, which is
then emptied into the cart by the scavenger.

As a matter of fact, the receptacles containing all the waste products
of these householders are brought out and are placed in the gutter of
the street close to the kerb, long before the cart makes its appearance
or can be reasonably expected to do so.

The result of these (generally inappropriate) receptacles filled with
heterogenous collections of house refuse being left unprotected in the
public streets, is that their contents are quickly strewn about the
surface of the street, by their being upset accidentally, or purposely,
and the appearance of the street, which has probably been carefully
swept and garnished during the night or early in the morning, quickly
assumes, especially in a high wind, a very offensive character, and
probably has to be entirely re-swept and cleansed before the ordinary
traffic of the day commences.

To obviate this evil I must refer my readers to a small book on the
subject of scavenging, entitled ‘Dirty Dustbins and Sloppy Streets,’
published by Messrs. Spon & Co., written by myself, in which I have
suggested moveable iron cylinders being placed in the streets for the
reception of the house refuse.

The “house to house” call system in the suburbs of a town may be greatly
assisted by a very simple remedy, which has already been tried in some
towns with considerable success. It consists in the householder placing
a card bearing the letter D, or some other distinguishing mark, in a
conspicuous place in a window, when the services of the scavengers are
required; these cards should be printed and circulated by the Sanitary
Authority of the district, who should state on the back of the card the
days on which the scavengers would visit each neighbourhood, with the
approximate hour of the day in which they would appear, in order that
the householder may not be unnecessarily inconvenienced by being obliged
to keep the card for any length of time in his window.

The scavengers in passing observe the signal, and call at the house;
otherwise they pass on, unless specially called in by the occupants,
thus avoiding any unnecessary delay in their rounds.

A visit from the scavengers either before seven or after ten in the
morning is generally very inconvenient for households of a superior
class, and should be, if possible, carefully avoided by the sanitary
authority.

The cart usually employed for scavenging is that known as the ordinary
“tip cart,” strongly, if not clumsily, constructed of an oak frame, with
elm or deal sides of considerable height; it holds about a couple of
cubic yards of material, and costs from sixteen to twenty pounds.

These carts are not only clumsy and heavy, but they give an overweighted
diminutive appearance to the horse between the shafts, especially as the
quality of horses employed for work of this character is frequently none
of the best. The height, too, of the cart is often so great as to
necessitate the use of a short ladder, up which the scavenger has to
climb, the result being a shower of dust when it is being loaded with
house refuse, and spatterings of mud, when it is being used as a slop
cart.

It is difficult also to effectually cover a cart of this description.
The imperfect mode at present adopted is to cover it with a tarpaulin,
which is tied down as tightly as the circumstances of the case will
admit, but which as a rule does not effectually answer the purpose for
which it is intended. In towns where the house refuse is not collected
separately from the road scrapings, a judicious mixture of the two in
the cart considerably assists in preventing any mud from splashing over
or the dust from blowing about.

The employment of wooden carts for this work is bad economy, their rough
usage, and the mode adopted for emptying them by “tipping,” renders
their life a short one; a cart in constant work frequently costs from
4_l._ to 5_l._ per annum in repairs, and having but little of the
original material of which it was constructed left in it at the end of
six years. They are also difficult to cleanse or disinfect.

With a view to obviate these and other objections, several improved
carts and waggons have been introduced by different makers, who have
styled them by a variety of names. Amongst others they are called dust
carts, general purpose carts, sanitary carts, slush carts, tumbler
carts, mud waggons, tip waggons, slop waggons, &c. These are constructed
with iron bodies fixed upon wooden frames and wheels; they are of
various forms and designs, the principal objects aimed at being
lightness of construction combined with strength, so balanced as to bear
with a minimum of weight upon the horse; economy in their cost has not
been lost sight of, and they are usually provided with some special
means for emptying, either by being tipped by a chain and windlass, or
by some mechanical arrangement of the tailboard; they are built very low
upon their axles, so as to be easily filled, are either completely
covered over with a moveable lid, or are fitted with hinged side boards,
so as to prevent any splashing over of their contents, and as they are
nearly all constructed with iron; they are easily cleansed and
disinfected whenever it is thought necessary to do so.

With reference to the important question of the ultimate disposal of
house refuse, street sweepings &c., no rules can be laid down, as so
much depends upon the position of every town and the character of the
district in which it is situated, as the following replies to some
questions which I addressed to several English towns will show.

In many towns it is stated that the whole of the refuse is used by brick
makers, in others it is simply “tipped to waste.” In one case the answer
is, “Sold by auction twice a year,” but to whom it is sold, and for what
purpose, does not transpire. In some towns it appears to be mixed with
lime and used as manure upon the fields, and in others it is mixed with
the sludge of the sewage farms, and is then ploughed or dug into the
soil of the farm. This seems a better plan than that of another town,
where it is “given or thrown away,” although the difficulty of disposing
of the old iron, tins, &c., is not touched upon in any of the foregoing
answers. The next reply states that “it is riddled, and the cinders and
vegetable refuse are burnt to generate steam, the fine dust is used with
the manure manufactory (tub system), the old iron is sold, and the pots,
&c., used for the foundations of roads.” In one case the whole of the
refuse is taken out to sea in hopper barges, and sunk in deep
water.[161] In a great number of towns it is sold by tender for the
year, but what eventually becomes of it does not transpire. But the most
favoured methods, where it cannot be sold as manure to farmers, seem to
be either that of carting it away to some spot outside the town, and
there using it for the purpose of filling up hollows and depressions, or
that of giving or selling it to brick-makers.

The practice of filling up hollow places with such materials cannot be
too strongly deprecated if there is any chance of dwelling houses being
erected on them, as the unsanitary condition of sites thus formed has
been frequently demonstrated.

Where towns are unable to dispose of their refuse by sale to farmers or
market gardeners, the best method, and one which is gaining in
popularity every day, is that of its destruction by fire.

With this object in view a Mr Fryer has invented an apparatus which he
styles a “Patent Carboniser, for the conversion of garbage, street, and
market sweepings, also other vegetable refuse, into charcoal.” This
apparatus consists of a structure somewhat resembling, externally, a
brick kiln. It is divided into hopper-shaped compartments, which at the
bottom are furnished with a furnace, fitted with a reverberatory arch. A
fire is lighted in this furnace, the necessary combustion being
obtained, and the heat maintained, by burning the cinders, which are
sifted out of the house refuse for this purpose. All the street
sweepings, refuse, garbage, &c., is then thrown in at the top of the
kiln, and it is there and then completely destroyed by the action of the
fire, and converted into charcoal, which is withdrawn through a sliding
door fixed at the bottom of the kiln.[162]

The next point which has to be considered, and which is the second in
order of the list of duties I have given at the commencement of this
chapter, is “the cleansing of earth closets, privies, ash-pits, and
cesspools.”

This is generally effected in conjunction with the collection of the
house refuse and the work is carried out at night. Under the Goux-tub
system the ashes of the house refuse are largely used as a deodorant or
absorbent as a lining for the tub,[163] but in the pail systems this
mixture is not effected until the tubs and refuse arrive together at the
depôt.

For descriptions of the manner in which the pail system for the
collection of excreta is carried out in Birmingham, I must refer my
readers to an article written by myself in a number of _The Sanitary
Engineer_ of New York published on the 1st Sept. 1881, in which I have
entered fully into the method there adopted and its advantages and
disadvantages, but which are too long to recapitulate in this chapter.

The next duty which has to be considered is that of “the proper
cleansing of streets.”

There is no doubt that for the sake of the appearance as well as the
health of any town its streets cannot be too well cleansed. Muddy and
wet streets cause dampness in the subsoil of neighbouring dwellings, and
dust is not only injurious to tradesmen’s goods but also to the lungs of
those who have to breathe an atmosphere loaded with silicate and organic
impurities.[164]

Street cleansing is effected either by hand-sweeping and hand-scraping,
or by machinery. As to which is the most economical much depends upon
the value of labour, and also upon the condition of the roads to be
dealt with, but in point of time and as a general rule the value of a
horse rotary brush-sweeping machine is undoubted, the only time at which
such a machine fails to do effective work is on the occasions when the
mud to be removed (owing to a peculiar condition of the atmosphere), has
attained a semisolidity, and is of a stiff and sticky consistency, when
it either adheres to and clogs the brushes of the machine, or is
flattened by them on to the road instead of being removed.[165]

The brushes of a machine last about 180 hours constant work, and then
the old stocks can be easily refilled with bass at no great cost. The
comparative work which can be done by a sweeping machine is about 11 to
1 of that effected by manual labour, so that the economy involved by the
former method is evident.

The strength and durability of the brooms used for the work of sweeping
the streets is of some importance, as affecting the ultimate cost of the
work, and some care and skill is required in their selection. Bass
brooms are better than birch brooms for this purpose, and the bass of
which the brooms are made should be sufficiently stout and of regular
thickness; it should be tough and elastic, not old, dry, and brittle,
each knot should be of uniform size and be firmly set, and the number of
knots in each broom head is also a matter of choice. A convenient and
fair test of the soundness of a broom is to soak it for a few days in
water before issuing it to the sweeper, and then note the time it will
last. The handles of the brooms should be made of alder wood.

On the question of the extra work involved in street cleansing by its
bad construction or by the materials of which it is constructed, climate
must be considered, as well as the amount of traffic it has to bear, and
also its gradient and the habits of the people residing in it.[166]

The Superintendent of the Scavenging Department at Liverpool has made
some observations and obtained some valuable information on these
points, which he has detailed in a report he presented to the Health
Committee of that borough in the year 1877, an abstract of which is as
follows:

GROSS COST FOR EACH TIME OF CLEANSING 10,000 YARDS SUPERFICIAL OF
DIFFERENT DESCRIPTIONS OF ROADWAY IN THE BOROUGH OF LIVERPOOL.

  --------+---------+--------+-------+------+------+------+------------
          |         |        |  Con- |      |      |      |   Gross
          |         |        | dition| Area | Loads| Times|  Cost per
          |Descrip- |        | of re-|  of  |  re- | swept|10,000 Yards
          |tion     |        |pair of| Car- | moved|  in  | Superficial
          | of      |  When  | Road- |riage-|in one|  one |  for each
   Street.|Pavement.| paved. |  way. | way. |Month.|month.| cleansing.
  --------+---------+--------+-------+------+------+------+------------
          |         |        |       | Yds. |      |      |
          |         |        |       | supr.|      |      |£ _s._ _d._
  Lord    |Granite  |  1877  |  Very | 4,503| 15   |  26  |0  6   5¹⁄₂
  Street  |setts,   |        |  good |      |      |      |
          |asphalte |        |       |      |      |      |
          |joints   |        |       |      |      |      |
          |         |        |       |      |      |      |
  North   |  Ditto  |  1872  |  Good | 3,287| 17¹⁄₂|  26  |0  8  10¹⁄₂
  John    |         |        |       |      |      |      |
  Street  |         |        |       |      |      |      |
          |         |        |       |      |      |      |
  Tithe-  |Granite  |  1872  |  Bad  | 5,150| 38   |  26  |0 11   2
  barn    |setts,   |   and  |       |      |      |      |
  Street  |ordinary |  1874  |       |      |      |      |
          |joints   |        |       |      |      |      |
          |         |        |       |      |      |      |
  West    |Ditto,   |  1876  |  Very |11,980| 35   |  13  |0  9   4³⁄₄
  Derby   |asphalte |        |  good |      |      |      |
  Road    |joints   |        |       |      |      |      |
          |         |        |       |      |      |      |
  Great   |  Ditto  |  1877  |  Good |16,860| 85   |  13  |0 14   4¹⁄₂
  Howard  |         |        |       |      |      |      |
  Street  |         |        |       |      |      |      |
          |         |        |       |      |      |      |
  Great   |Ditto,   | Not as-|  Mod- |15,900| 85   |  13  |0 14   1
  Homer   |ordinary |certain-| erate |      |      |      |
  Street  |joints   |  able  |       |      |      |      |
          |         |        |       |      |      |      |
  Kensing-|Macadam  |  Ditto |  Good |14,540| 76   |  13  |0 14  3³⁄₄
  ton     |breasted |        |       |      |      |      |
  Street  |with sett|        |       |      |      |      |
          |         |        |       |      |      |      |
  Stanley |  Ditto  |  Ditto |  Bad  |16,534|186   |  13  |1  8  9¹⁄₄
  Road    |         |        |       |      |      |      |
  --------+---------+--------+-------+------+------+------+------------

He adds that the full benefit of the impervious pavements as regards the
cost of scavenging has not yet been felt, for almost all the lines of
streets so paved are intersected at short distances by streets of
ordinary jointed granite setts or macadam, whence a quantity of mud and
refuse is dragged by the traffic on to the asphalted jointed roadways,
which are consequently debited with the cost of removal of some effete
material not intrinsically belonging to them.

Mr. Till, the Borough Surveyor of Birmingham, from investigations he has
made on this subject, says that for granite pavement 2 cart loads of mud
have to be removed from every 1000 square yards of surface, one third of
a load for wood pavement[167] and 4 loads three times a day (a total of
12 loads) for macadamised roadways.

The ultimate disposal of the material removed from the surfaces of
roadways especially when they are macadamised is a difficult matter, as,
being chiefly composed of silicate, it is valueless as a manure.

In small towns, except during abnormally muddy weather, it may be mixed
with the house refuse and sold to farmers, or the road scrapings
themselves may be used as an excellent sand, if thoroughly washed, to
mix with lime or cement to form mortar for public works; excessive
accumulations of mud, however, must be got rid of in the most economical
and speedy manner possible, and this is effected either by filling up
old disused quarries with it, or depositing it upon waste lands, or
forming embankments for new roads, but in no case should it be used, as
I have before stated, upon building sites; it is difficult and expensive
to destroy it or partially convert it into other matters by fire, so
that if these methods which I have enumerated are impracticable, the
only other method left for the disposal of the sweepings or scrapings
from the streets is to take them out to sea in hopper barges and sink
them in deep water.

The last question that arises on the subject of scavenging before we
consider the disposal of snow, is whether the onus of cleansing private
courts and alleys which are not repairable by the urban authority should
be borne by them or not.

The great difficulty attached to this duty arises from the fact that
these private courts and alleys are generally very badly paved, if paved
at all, full of pits, where pools of stagnant mud and water collect, and
even in the best cases, the interstices between the pebbles, or other
paving, are filled with filth arising in great measure from the dirty
habits of the people, and this filth it is found exceedingly difficult
to dislodge. The remedy for this is to compel the owners of the abutting
properties to have the courts and alleys properly paved with asphalte,
or other equally impervious material, after which it would be easy for
the urban authority to cause them to be swept at least once a day, and
flushed with water in the hot weather once a week, but in order to
compel the owners to execute this very desirable work it would be
necessary to put the complicated machinery of section 150 of the Public
Health Act 1875 in force, and the expense to the landlords would be in
many cases very disproportionate to the value of their property.

Out of the ninety towns to which reference has before been made, the
authorities of only nineteen of them cleanse the private courts and
alleys in their jurisdiction, although for the sake of sanitation it is
very desirable that such work should be so undertaken by them.

In most towns it is necessary to cleanse its principal streets at least
once a day, and this appears to be the practice of nearly all the ninety
towns I have referred to; only seven of them, however, appear to have
this operation repeated more frequently; in several towns, the horse
droppings, &c., are removed at once, under what is called the “orderly”
system, and this is especially necessary in streets that are paved with
such materials as wood paving, asphalte, or granite setts. The suburban
streets of a town need only be cleansed once or twice a week, except in
special cases of extremes of mud or snow, and I will now proceed to
discuss the questions involved by a heavy fall of the latter.

Experiments have shown that a cubic yard of fresh fallen snow may weigh
as much as 814 pounds or as little as 71 pounds. Assuming that a cubic
foot will weigh 16·38 pounds, I estimate that for a fall of 3 inches of
snow upon a street 36 feet in width, 20 tons, representing a bulk of
about 100 cubic yards, would have to be removed for every 100 yards of
length of street if it was thought necessary to clear it away.

Assuming that there are 30 miles of street in a town from which the snow
must be removed; 21,144 loads must be carted somewhere, at a cost of at
least 1,500_l._, assuming that each cart could make ten trips a day, and
even then it would take 352 carts a whole week to effect it.

It may be contended that I have taken an extreme case, and that, of
course, the snow does not lie for very long upon the ground in the
condition in which it fell, and that hourly it is reducing in bulk and
weight by being ground up by the traffic, and finding its way in the
form of water into the sewers. This may be so, but at the same time it
must not be forgotten that the bulk is also being constantly increased
by that which is shovelled off the house tops[168] and brought out from
private premises adjoining the streets.

Upon this point Mr. Hayward, the Engineer to the Commissioners of Sewers
of the City of London, says[169]:--

“Snow readily compresses under the traffic, and when removed in carts
and shot down elsewhere it may be assumed that on an average four cubic
yards of snow measured as it has fallen is equal to one cubic yard when
placed on the apparatus.” This computation, however, does not make any
allowance for the snow thrown from off the roofs, &c., and it of course
greatly consolidates whilst travelling in the cart.

Fortunately for a town surveyor in this country, exceptionally heavy
falls of snow are not very frequent, but when they do happen great
pressure is put upon his department to cope with it, and one of the
greatest difficulties he has to contend against is the disposal of the
snow after it has been placed in the cart.

If there is a river close by, it can be taken there and tipped, but this
is objectionable if it is a navigable river where dredging has to be
done, as it is surprising what a quantity of road scrapings and other
matters are always removed with the snow, and these materials naturally
sink to the bottom, and add considerably to the cost of dredging.

If there are public parks the snow may be heaped in them, provided no
damage is done to the grass or paths, but the snow thus heaped takes a
considerable time to melt, the first effect of a thaw being to
consolidate it: a better plan is to deposit it upon waste spots, if
these are not too far from the streets which have to be cleared.

Tipping the snow down the manholes into the sewers has been tried in
London and other cities, but has failed through the snow consolidating,
and although lighted gas jets have been turned on to the snow, it has
still melted too slowly to be of any practical utility.

Speaking of Clarke’s apparatus for melting snow, Mr. Haywood, in the
same report from which I have already quoted, says:

“It is seldom that a fall of snow occurs sufficiently large to cause
serious interruption to the traffic; heavy snowstorms in fact occur only
once in six or seven years; for some years therefore these apparatuses
if fixed might not be required. They would either have to be taken out,
stored and refixed yearly or maintained in their places and kept in
order there, in either case at an annual expense.”

In perusing Mr. Hayward’s report it also appears that the cost of this
apparatus fixed is about 120_l._, and the cost of melting the snow 9_d._
per cubic yard.

In order to grapple with this question of the removal of snow, I am of
opinion that it is useless to attempt to cart it away while falling, but
try to make clear crossings for the foot passengers and to keep the
traffic open. If there should be a high wind at the time, and the snow
drifts in consequence, cut through the drifts so as to allow the
vehicular traffic to continue. Directly the snow ceases to fall put on
all available hands to clear the channel gutters and street gratings, in
preparation for a sudden thaw, when, if these precautions were not
taken, serious flooding and great damage to property might ensue; for
the same reason cart away all the snow you can at the bottom of
gradients and in the valleys, and also from very narrow streets and
passages, &c. In the wider streets use the snow plough, or with gangs of
men (in the snow season there is generally plenty of labour obtainable),
shovel the snow into a long narrow heap on each side of the street,
taking care to leave the channel gutters and gratings quite clear, and a
sufficient space between the heaps for at least two lines of traffic.
Passages must also be cut at frequent intervals through the heaps, in
order to allow foot passengers to cross the street, and also to let the
water reach the channel gutters as soon as the snow begins to melt.[170]

The next point to be considered in this chapter is that of “The proper
watering of streets for the whole or any part of their district.”

One of the earliest methods for watering streets, but one which has, I
think, almost entirely died out, on account principally of the large
quantity of water used in the process, was that of allowing the water to
run down the channel gutters, ponding it back by means of canvas or
leather aprons placed across the gutter, and then spreading the water on
to the surface of the street by throwing it with wooden shovels. This
method, which at first sight may appear clumsy, is an exceedingly good
one upon sanitary grounds. It not only lays the dust, but it washes the
surface of the street, and it most effectually scours out the gutters
and at the same time flushes the sewers, which at the season that
watering is necessary is also of great importance to any town. By this
process a delightful freshness is given to the air, and the appearance
of the cool and limpid water rushing along on each side of the street
acts favourably upon the inhabitants. The great objections to this
system are (1) the enormous quantity of water that is used in the
process, and (2) the difficulty of doing the work after the traffic of
the day has commenced.

Somewhat of a modification of this process is what is known as “Brown’s
System of Street Watering,” which may be described as follows:--A lead
pipe is laid in the footpath at the back of the kerb on each side of the
street to be watered, small gratings or shields being fixed in the pipe
at intervals of twelve inches, and the remaining space filled with
asphalte; small holes are then bored in the pipe through the openings in
the shields. The pipe is connected with the water main in the street,
and is provided with the necessary stopcocks, &c. On the water being
turned on, fine jets are thrown in different directions upon the surface
of the street. The width of roadway that can be watered by this process
depends upon the pressure of the water, but it may be fairly assumed
that in most towns streets of fifty feet width could be effectually
watered in a few minutes by a pipe on each side of the street.

This process has not gained much favour hitherto, principally on account
of the large first cost involved, which would amount to upwards of
800_l._ per mile of street, but the expense afterwards should not much
exceed the wages of one man at about 3_s._ 6_d._ per day to manipulate
the necessary work, and the interest on the outlay and depreciation of
the pipes, &c.

The other objections to this system are:--

(1.) The liability of the pipes and perforations to get out of order,
especially when allowed to lie idle for so many months in each year.

(2.) The unpleasantness to pedestrians which must be caused whilst the
watering is proceeding.

(3.) The inconvenience to the traffic during the process.

(4.) The effect upon the water by high winds, when in all probability it
would be blown back across the foot pavement.

(5.) In very broad streets it would be inoperative.

In Paris and other continental cities, and also in several towns in this
country, the watering is effected by hose and reels, or by portable iron
tubes.

Mr. Parry, C.E., the Borough Surveyor of Reading, has given the
following particulars of the system of hand watering adopted in that
borough, in which he gives the cost, and describes the utility of that
method as compared with the use of water carts:

A water cart (he states) will water twice a day a superficial area of
23,849 yards, and for a length watered one width that means 5,962 lineal
yards, or for a double width 2,981 yards, the cost per day of laying on
being as follows:--Horse, cart, and man, 8_s._ cost of maintenance of
cart, harness, shoeing, &c., 1_s._ 5_d._, making 9_s._ 5_d._ per day.

With respect to the hand machines he states that he has one of Headley’s
drum machines, and three of special make, somewhat similar to those used
in Paris. They are equal in point of work; and one machine will water
23,740 square yards twice a day, which, it will be observed, is very
close to the amount of work performed by a cart.

“Headley’s machine cost us (he continues), five years ago when new,
31_l._ 7_s._ 3_d._, and the repairs and maintenance since that date have
been 22_l._, or an average of 4_l._ 8_s._ per annum, and is just now
almost past repair. The other description of hand machine cost each when
new 20_l._, and the repairs and maintenance have amounted to an average
of 3_l._ 18_s._ each year. They were in use some time before Headley’s
was obtained, and they will be of use for a long time yet. The cost of
labour per day by the hand machines is for two men at 2_s._ 10_d._
each--5_s._ 8_d._--as it requires two men to work the machine properly,
one to distribute the water, and the other to move the machine and to
attach and detach the apparatus to and from the hydrants; add to this
7_d._ per day for maintenance and repairs, will make 6_s._ 3_d._ per
day. The quantity of water delivered by the water carts is 0·51 gallons
per square yard, and by the hand machine 1·30 gallons.”

It will thus be seen that in the case of the cart 24,324 gallons of
water are used per diem, and 61,724 gallons by the hand machines, the
surface watered being very nearly the same in both cases. Assuming that
the water has a commercial value of 6_d._ per 1000 gallons, and adding
this to the cost per diem in each case, the total cost stands thus:

  Hand machines   £1 10_s._ 10_d._
  Carts           £1  1_s._  7_d._

the advantage in point of cost being in favour of the carts; but the
hand machine may water better, especially in broad streets, although in
narrow streets or where there is much traffic, this method would be
impracticable.

In Paris both hose and carts are used for watering the thoroughfares,
the former for the boulevards, the avenues, and a certain number of
first-class streets.

The most commonly known method in this country for watering the streets
and roads of our towns is that of carrying the water in wheeled barrels,
carts, or vans, and distributing it therefrom through a perforated pipe
upon the surface of the road as the vehicle is drawn along by a horse
attached to the shafts.[171]

The old barrel upon wheels gave place to a cart, and now we have
“Bayley’s Patent Hydrostatic Van,” which is too well known to almost all
town surveyors to need much description. It holds about 450 gallons of
water and takes about 9 minutes to fill (this time of course varying
with the size of main and pressure of water), and ten minutes to spread
the water upon the surface of the road.

With regard to the work that one of these vans will accomplish in
comparison to that effected by an ordinary cart, the following table,
compiled from experiments on the question, will be useful:

  -------------+--------+------+--------+----------+-----------+------
               |        |No. of|        |          |           |
               |        | Loads|  Total |          |           |
               |Contents|  to  |quantity|          |           | Gain
               |   in   | cover|   of   |          |           |  per
  Cart or Van. |Gallons.| beat.| Water. |   Time.  |Difference.| Cent.
  -------------+--------+------+--------+----------+-----------+------
               |        |      |        |Hrs. Mnts.| Hrs. Mnts.|
  Bayley’s van |   450  |  5¹⁄₂|  2475  | 1    23  |    ..     | ..
  Ordinary cart|   225  | 11   |  2475  | 1    50  |  0    27  |24¹⁄₂
  -------------+--------+------+--------+----------+-----------+------
  Bayley’s van |   450  |  5¹⁄₂|  2475  | 1    38  |    ..     | ..
  Ordinary cart|   237  | 11   |  2607  | 2    10  |  0    32  |25
  -------------+--------+------+--------+----------+-----------+------
  Bayley’s van |   450  |  6   |  2700  | 1    45  |    ..     | ..
  Ordinary cart|   290  | 11   |  3190  | 2    10  |  0    25  |19¹⁄₄
  -------------+--------+------+--------+----------+-----------+------
  Bayley’s van |   450  |  8   |  3600  | 2    15  |    ..     | ..
  Ordinary cart|   260  | 17   |  4420  | 3    30  |  1    15  |36
  -------------+--------+------+--------+----------+-----------+------

This shows a mean gain of 26 per cent. in favour of the van, and the
following tables, made by an inspector in 1873, showing the actual
occupation of the ordinary carts and Bayley’s vans during a day’s work,
are extremely interesting, as showing that while the van is engaged in
spreading the water the time of the cart is wasted in travelling to and
from the stand posts, and when it is borne in mind also that the van
spreads water more widely than the cart, there can be no doubt that a
saving of at least 30 per cent. can be effected by the substitution of
these vans for the old-fashioned cart.

                                 CARTS.
  -------------+--------+----------+----------+------------+----------
               |        |Travelling|Travelling|            |
               |Filling.|   Full.  |  Empty.  |Waiting, &c.|Spreading.
  -------------+--------+----------+----------+------------+----------
               | H.  M. |  H.  M.  |  H.  M.  |   H.  M.   |  H.  M.
  Paddington   | 1   45 |  2    9  |  1   58  |   0   20   |  1   30
  St. Saviour’s| 1   29 |  2   16  |  2    4  |   0   26   |  1   29
  Strand       | 1   11 |  2   30  |  2   18  |   0   17   |  1    3
  Kensington   | 4   40 |  2    2  |  1   57  |   0    0   |  1   54
  Chelsea      | 2   44 |  1   15  |  2   14  |   0   35   |  1    6
  -------------+--------+----------+----------+------------+----------
                                 VANS.
  -------------+--------+----------+----------+------------+----------
  Paddington   | 3   33 |  1    9  |  1    3  |   0    0   |  3    0
  St. Saviour’s| 2   20 |  1    4  |  1   21  |   0   23   |  2   58
  Strand       | 2   30 |  1   25  |  1   14  |   0   20   |  2   23
  -------------+--------+----------+----------+------------+----------

In the year 1856, Mr. Scott, C.E., the Chief Surveyor of the parish of
St. Pancras, kept an account of the daily round of an ordinary water
cart, when he found that through an average working day of 10¹⁄₄ hours,
exclusive of the breakfast and dinner hours, the cart took one hour and
twenty minutes filling, fifty minutes only in distributing the water on
the roads, and eight hours and seven minutes in travelling to spread the
water and back to the stand posts. It was obvious that these were placed
too far apart, and by the subsequent introduction of additional
standposts Mr. Scott found, in the year 1867, that the filling occupied
two hours, the distribution one hour and thirty minutes, and the
travelling to and fro six hours and thirty minutes; so that it may be
assumed, with an ordinary two-wheeled water cart, that two-thirds of the
day is spent in travelling, one fifth in filling, and about one-seventh
in the actual spreading. But a watch should be kept upon the man who is
engaged in this work, otherwise he will idle away his time and the
streets remain unwatered. A good check upon this is Mr. Bayley’s
Tell-Tale, which registers automatically on a dial at the side of the
van the number of rounds a man goes each day.

Watering the streets with sea water should be adopted whenever it is
feasible, as it not only gives a delightful freshness to the air and
dispels iodine, but it also causes the surface of the street to maintain
its humidity for a longer period than when fresh water is used, as it
impregnates the soil with hygrometric matter. This has been often
attempted artificially, by adding common salt to the water used for
watering, but it is rather too expensive for the benefit derived.[172]

Watering the roads with a largely diluted disinfectant such as
“Sanitas” in the liquid form, is frequently of great benefit, and where
it can be afforded, it should be occasionally done, especially in the
narrower streets and more crowded districts of a city or town, or when
an epidemic has broken out.

With reference to the very important question as to the cost of
scavenging, street-cleansing and watering. It is, of course, not
possible to lay down any hard and fast lines, as it must necessarily
vary considerably according to circumstances; much depends upon whether
the district is an urban one, consisting of houses closely packed
together, or whether it is suburban, with scattered villas and mansions
standing in their own grounds; the question, also, of the distance of
the depôts to which the material has to be carted, considerably affects
the result of any estimate, as also does the cost of horse hire, the
rate of wages, and whether the district is of a hilly or flat nature,
and, as I have before shown, the manner in which the streets are formed
and paved, the habits of the people, the requirements as to cleansing
streets and watering, and last, but not least, the manner of the
eventual disposal of the rubbish after removal; all these points must
bear with great weight upon any question of cost, and make the results
widely different.

On referring to the returns to which I have more than once alluded, it
is found that the cost of removing the house refuse and cleansing and
sweeping the streets combined, varies considerably in different
localities. In one case the sum amounts only to the rate of one
half-penny per annum per head of the population of the town, whereas in
another case the amount is at the rate of three shillings and sixpence
per head. On calculating the average cost per head of population per
annum of the ninety towns from which I received replies on this point, I
find that it amounts to about tenpence half-penny, after giving credit
for any sum of money realised by the sale of the refuse to farmers and
others; so that if this work is costing the ratepayers of a town or
city anything under a shilling per head of the whole population every
year, they have no cause to grumble.

Before closing this chapter I will make a few observations upon the
subject of contracts for work of this description.

There is no doubt that the “dust and slopping” contractor is fast going
out of fashion,[173] as it has been found that the work is far more
carefully and systematically carried out without the intervention of a
contractor; for if we turn to the articles of agreement or contract
usually drawn up between a sanitary authority and a contractor for
scavenging, we find that they must be very binding in their phraseology,
and enter fully into the details of the work; they should state very
clearly the number of times in every week that the contractor shall
cause all the ashpits in the districts enumerated to be emptied and
cleansed, the manner in which this work shall be performed, and how the
materials thus removed shall be disposed of and the place of their
ultimate destination. The conditions should further specify what amount
of manual, team labour, and carts, are necessary for the work, and also
what plant the contractor must keep in the way of ladders, baskets,
shovels, and brooms, &c. The conditions should also contain a carefully
prepared list of the streets to be swept, and the manner and number of
times this work must be executed, and arrange for the disposal of the
materials thus removed.

In many such contracts it is found necessary to insert clauses binding
the contractor, under all sorts of penalties, to be always at the
disposal of and under the commands of the inspector of nuisances, or
such other officer or officers as the sanitary authority may appoint.
The contractor’s men also are forbidden to accept gratuities, and are
directed on no account to remove either trade or garden refuse, and they
are also enjoined to be “careful to consult the convenience of the
householders in their visits, and to thoroughly clean up all dirt and
litter that they may cause in the discharge of their duties. If they
fail in any or either of these injunctions and commands, or for any
other dereliction of duty, the inspector of nuisances, or such other
officer as the sanitary authority shall appoint, may summarily dismiss
them, without any reference being made on the subject to their employer
the contractor, and in fact the conditions have necessarily to be made
so stringent and binding as to be either totally inoperative or open to
grave abuses, or, on the other hand, the work can be carelessly and
improperly executed by the contractor.

The consequence of such binding clauses is that the officers, if they do
their strict duty, will probably be engaged in constant disputes and
litigation with the contractor as to the due and proper observance of
the terms of his contract, and thus their time is much occupied instead
of in other more important matters, which is naturally detrimental to
the interests of the ratepayers.

I am strongly of opinion that the work of the collection of house refuse
and cleansing the streets should be carried out by the local authority
with their own officers and staff, and that executing this work by
contract is a mistake and a false economy. It is, perhaps, true that it
may be done in the latter manner at less actual cost to the ratepayers,
but all public work should be done in the best manner possible,
irrespective of cost, thoroughly, but without extravagance, and the
result of such work, especially where it affects the cleanliness and the
appearance of a town, soon fully repays any moderate extra cost that may
thus have been incurred, irrespective of the enormous benefit that is
conferred upon any community by the reduction of disease and the
death-rate by a proper attention to such necessary sanitary work.

  [157] A _rural authority_ cannot apparently make any byelaw with
  regard to the prevention of such nuisances.

  [158] A byelaw under this section “must be limited to imposing upon
  the occupier the duty of cleansing or removal at such intervals as the
  sanitary authority may think fit. The mode of cleansing or removal and
  the precautions to be observed in connection with the process are not
  matters within the range of such byelaws.” _Vide_ ‘Memorandum to the
  Model Byelaws issued by the Local Government Board for the use of
  Sanitary Authorities, No. 1, Cleansing of Footways and Pavements,
  &c.,’ 1877.

  [159] In Glenn’s ‘Law of Public Health and Local Government,’ 8th
  edition, in a footnote to section 44, p. 39, several instances are
  given of _what is not refuse_, such as ashes from furnaces, &c., and
  it is stated that “the intention of the Act was that only the rubbish
  arising from the domestic use of houses should be removed.”

  [160] The Bromley Local Board issue a card on which is printed,
  amongst other information with reference to the contract for the
  removal of house refuse, the following suggestions:--“It is hoped that
  householders will as far as possible facilitate the systematic removal
  of refuse by providing suitable dust-bins, and directing their
  servants that ordinary house refuse only shall be deposited in such
  receptacles. The following are some of the items of refuse which the
  contractors are bound to remove, viz.:--cinder ashes, potatoe
  peelings, cabbage leaves, and kitchen refuse generally. But the
  contractors are not required to remove the refuse of any trade,
  manufacture, or business, or of any building materials or any garden
  cuttings or sweepings.”

  [161] In New York about 800,000 tons of refuse are disposed of
  annually in this manner.

  [162] For a description of the manner in which this is effected at
  Manchester, see my book on scavenging, to which I have before
  referred.

  [163] The ashes are mixed with chaff, chopped straw, refuse hay, grass
  cuttings, dry street sweepings, wool and hair, shoddy, &c., and a
  small percentage of sulphate of iron or lime.

  [164] Professor Tyndall, in his beautiful experiments, has proved that
  dusty air is alive with the germs of the bacteria of putrefaction,
  whilst the pure fresh air which he gathered on a mountain peak in the
  Alps is innocent of such germs, and is absolutely powerless to produce
  any organisms.

  [165] Dry dust will absorb about ten times its bulk of water, thus
  swelling considerably and producing the greasy mud so often seen after
  rain.

  [166] In Boston, U.S.A., the macadamised roads are not swept at all,
  as it is considered that by sweeping off the sand and detritus their
  durability is much lessened, but their gutters are cleansed as
  required, and rubbish picked up. (_Vide_ ‘Minutes of Proceedings
  Institution of Civil Engineers,’ vol. lxiii. p. 368.)

  [167] In Regent Street, London, in November 1881, I saw four loads of
  mud removed from about 1000 square yards of surface, it being then
  almost new wood pavement.

  [168] See note under “Other Obstructions and Nuisances,” p. 155, 8th
  edition, Glen’s ‘Law of Public Health and Local Government.’

  [169] _Vide_ ‘Report to the Streets Committee of the Honourable the
  Commissioners of Sewers of the City of London on Melting Snow by
  Clarke’s Apparatus,’ by William Haywood, Engineer and Surveyor to the
  Commission, 1881, p. 9.

  [170] With regard to the removal of snow from the footpaths, it is
  highly desirable that this should be effected by the occupiers of the
  premises adjacent to the street, as otherwise it adds immensely to the
  work of the local authority. The following interesting remarks by the
  superintendent of the scavenging department of Liverpool will be no
  doubt read with great interest:

  “The only way to compass the removal of snow from the footwalks of the
  principal thoroughfares within a comparatively short time, is by
  sprinkling them with salt, such as is commonly used for agricultural
  purposes. It is certain that, unaided by the salt, a sufficient number
  of men cannot be procured for the emergency of clearing snow from the
  footways of the most important thoroughfares. It has been stated by
  medical authorities that the application of salt to snow is
  detrimental to the health of people who have to walk through the
  ‘slush’ produced by the mixture, and that the excessive cooling of the
  air surrounding the places where the application has been made is
  injurious to delicate persons. It therefore seems that the application
  of salt to snow should not be undertaken during the day time, but
  should be commenced not before 11 p.m., nor continued after 6 a.m.,
  and that only such an area of footwalks should be so treated on any
  one night as the available staff of men can clear by an early hour the
  following morning.

  “To sweep snow from the footwalks whilst the fall of snow continues,
  and especially during business hours, appears to be wasteful and
  futile, and to apply salt during the same periods may be held to be
  injurious to health.

  “That the snow of an ordinary fall can be removed from the footwalks
  by an application of salt an hour or so before they are scraped is an
  ascertained fact, except at least when a moderately severe frost has
  preceded, accompanied, or followed the snow-fall, or when the snow has
  drifted into extensive accumulations. Were it not for the danger to
  health by excessive cooling of the air, and for the expense attending
  the operation, all the impervious pavements could be cleared of snow
  (unless the fall was a heavy one) in a comparatively short time by a
  liberal application of salt and the employment of the horse sweeping
  machines as soon as the snow had become sufficiently softened to admit
  of their use.”

  [171] In the metropolis of London alone, the watering of the streets
  and roads employs, in addition to a staff of inspectors and foremen,
  about 1500 men, and an equal number of horses and carts; and in order
  to lay the dust effectually, about 30,000 tons of water must be spread
  upon the streets every dry day, the cost of this gigantic work being
  nearly 200,000_l._ per annum upon an average of 120 days when watering
  becomes necessary.

  [172] In Rouen, where chloride of calcium is obtained from the
  manufactories of pyroligneous acid in the neighbourhood, it is mixed
  with the water for use on the roads, and it is stated that on a mile
  of road, 16 feet in width, 5630 gallons of water were necessary daily,
  but that the same result was attained with 1480 gallons of chloride
  solution, marking 30° Baumé, and costing about ¹⁄₂_d._ per gallon, the
  humectation remaining good for five or six days with the solution of
  chloride. With water only in 1093 yards, in four rounds daily, 3520
  gallons were used, the cost being 48_s._; with chloride of calcium the
  cost was 32_s._ per day.

  [173] Amongst the questions which I addressed to the surveyors of the
  principal towns of England in 1879 was the following:--“Is the house
  refuse collected by the sanitary authority or by a contractor?” and
  out of the ninety towns from which I received replies, only thirty
  were found to employ contractors for this purpose, and of these the
  authorities of two of them proposed to dispense with the services of
  the contractor, and to administrate the work with their own staff, as
  they found the existing state of things was thoroughly unsatisfactory.




CHAPTER XX.

SEWERAGE.


The Public Health Act 1875 contains a considerable number of clauses
dealing with the subject of the sewers of a town, but two of the
shortest sections in the whole Act, and yet those that involve a
considerable amount of work in the town surveyor’s department, are the
following:

“Every local authority shall keep in repair[174] all sewers belonging to
them, and shall cause to be made such sewers as may be necessary for
effectually draining their district for the purposes of this Act”[175]
(38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 15).

“Every local authority shall cause the sewers belonging to them to be
constructed, covered, ventilated,[176] and kept so as not to be a
nuisance or injurious to health, and to be properly cleansed and
emptied”[177] (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 19).

As to what sewers do “belong” to the local authority, the following
section of the Public Health Act 1875 states:

“All existing and future sewers within the district of a local
authority, together with all buildings, works, materials, and things
belonging thereto,

“Except

“(1.) Sewers made by any person for his own profit, or by any company
for the profit of the shareholders; and

“(2.) Sewers made and used for the purpose of draining, preserving, or
improving land under any local or private Act of Parliament, or for the
purpose of irrigating land; and

“(3.) Sewers under the authority of any commissioners of sewers
appointed by the Crown,

shall vest in and be under the control of such local authority.

“Provided that sewers within the district of a local authority which
have been, or which may hereafter be constructed by or transferred to
some other local authority, or by or to a sewage board or other
authority empowered under any Act of Parliament to construct sewers,
shall (subject to any agreement to the contrary) vest in and be under
the control of the authority who constructed the same, or to whom the
same have been transferred” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 13).

And as to the definition of the word “sewer,” the same Act states:

“‘Sewer’ includes sewers and drains of every description, except drains
to which the word ‘drain’[178] interpreted as aforesaid applies, and
except drains vested in or under the control of any authority having the
management of roads and not being a local authority under this Act.”

The result of this acquisition by the local authority of the sewers in
their district is, that in most of the old cities and towns a legacy of
very defective and imperfect sewers has been inherited, and considerable
expense in their repair and maintenance has thus been entailed.

A great number of books have been written on the subject of sewerage,
and much valuable information has been published from time to time, so
that it almost seems superfluous to say much upon the subject; however,
a few remarks which are particularly applicable to the work of a town
surveyor may be of some service.

The word _sewerage_ may be taken as meaning a system of sewers carrying
_sewage_ which is the fluid and feculent refuse from dwellings and their
yards, &c. Sewage is generally found mixed with rain water from the
surface of the streets and roofs of houses, together with the liquid
waste products from manufactories,[179] and sometimes, although very
improperly, with subsoil water.

A good system of sewerage should embrace the whole of the following
requirements:--

(1.) Each sewer should be laid at such a depth as will readily drain the
basements of the adjoining buildings.

(2.) Its area and gradient must be so regulated as to make it
self-cleansing, and at the same time carry off effectively the maximum
quantity of liquid for which it is intended.[180]

(3.) Each sewer should (unless quite impracticable) be laid in straight
lines and with even gradients between man- or lamp-holes, and these
gradients must not be excessive, or damage may be caused to the sewer.
A velocity of about 6 feet per second is sufficient.

(4.) Sewers must be laid at proper levels in respect of their
intersection with each other, bearing in mind that they are all
generally converging to one point.

(5.) Manholes should be of simple construction; circular brickwork upon
concrete is a convenient description. They may be made to serve the
additional purposes of ventilating shafts, flushing chambers, junction
shafts, storm overflows, and side entrances.

(6.) Tributary sewers or drains should not join the main sewers at right
angles unless the bottom of the manhole is so constructed as to give the
required curve in the direction of the flow of the sewage, and they
should join at a height (if of unequal section) equal to the difference
of their sectional diameters, the aim of all junctions being to cause as
little disturbance as possible in the proper flow of the liquids along
their respective channels.

(7.) Sewers should not be constructed of too large a sectional area, but
none should be less than 6 inches internal diameter, as house-drains in
this country are never less than 4 inches diameter, and the main sewer
should of course be larger than its tributaries. It is also rather
difficult to ventilate a smaller sewer than 6 inches, and very little is
saved by putting in a smaller sewer than that.

Stoneware pipes of greater diameter than 18 inches should never be used.
Where larger sewers are constructed they should be either concrete
pipes,[181] or brickwork or concrete should be employed.

The position of the sewer should, if possible, be behind the houses for
the following reasons:--

(1.) The waterclosets, sinks, &c., being nearly always at the back, a
drain under the house (which is always objectionable) is avoided.

(2.) Economy is secured to the owner of the property, as a shorter
length of drain is required than if the sewer was in the front.

(3.) A better fall is usually obtained.

(4.) Where there is a separate or partially separate system of sewerage,
a double sewer in the street is avoided.

The only objection to this method being that of the chance of the sewer
becoming choked or broken when entry has to be made into private
property to repair it, but this ought never to happen after once the
sewer has been properly constructed. Of course, where houses are closely
packed together it would not be possible to carry the sewer at the back,
but where it can be done I agree thoroughly with Mr. Rawlinson, C.B.,
C.E., &c., who, speaking of this method, says, “I know nothing but good
of it.”

Where the sewer is proposed to be taken through any private lands it is
necessary to act in accordance with the following clause of the Public
Health Act 1875, and serve the necessary notices, a specimen form of
which also follows:

“Any local authority may carry any sewer through, across, or under any
turnpike road, or any street or place laid out as or intended for a
street, or under any cellar or vault which may be under the pavement or
carriageway of any street, and, after giving reasonable notice in
writing to the owner or occupier (if on the report of the surveyor it
appears necessary), into, through, or under any lands[182] whatsoever
within their district. They may also (subject to the provisions of this
Act relating to sewage works without the district of the local
authority) exercise all or any of the powers given by this section
without their district for the purposes of outfall or distribution of
sewage” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 16).

The form of notice necessary to be served before entry upon any lands
for the purpose of carrying out any sewerage works may be on the
following pattern:--

  “NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN.

  “1. That the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the borough of       ,
  in execution of the powers and authorities given to and vested in them
  by virtue of the Public Health Act 1875, upon the report of their
  surveyor, whereby it appears to the said authority to be necessary to
  enter into, through, or under the lands and premises particularly
  described in the schedule hereunder written, for the several purposes
  hereinafter mentioned, the said mayor, aldermen, and burgesses will
  immediately after the        day of        enter into and upon the
  premises described in the said schedule hereto, and on the plan
  hereinafter mentioned numbered       , for the purpose of        in,
  through, or under the said lands and premises       , and to construct
  all other necessary works for all or any of the purposes aforesaid.

  “2. The course of the said sewer is indicated by a line drawn on the
  said plan from the point        to       .

  “And notice is hereby further given that a plan of the intended works,
  and of the lands and premises upon which it is intended to enter for
  the construction of the same, is now open for inspection, between the
  hours of 10 in the forenoon and 4 in the afternoon, and may then be
  seen at the offices of the borough surveyor,        Street,       ,
  and a tracing thereof is hereunto annexed.

  Dated this        day of        18  .

  _________________________
  _Town Clerk._”[183]

THE SCHEDULE REFERRED TO.

  ------------+------------------------+--------------+-------+---------
  No. on plan.|Description of premises.|Where situate.|Owner. |Occupier.
  ------------+------------------------+--------------+-------+---------
              |                        |              |       |
              |                        |              |       |
              |                        |              |       |
              |                        |              |       |
              |                        |              |       |
              |                        |              |       |
              |                        |              |       |
              |                        |              |       |
              |                        |              |       |
              |                        |              |       |
              |                        |              |       |
              |                        |              |       |
              |                        |              |       |
  ------------+------------------------+--------------+-------+---------

In carrying out works of sewerage the greatest care is necessary in the
materials selected and the manner in which the work is executed. Tunnels
and shafts must be most carefully timbered, levels very accurately given
and adhered to, and for this purpose sight rails and long boning rods
can be used with great advantage. In running sands, or where the line of
an old sewer is being followed, or in fact anywhere where a good and
quick joint is required, “Stanford’s” patent jointed pipes should be
used.

“This joint is made by casting, upon the spigot and in the socket of
each pipe, rings of durable material, which, when put together, fit
mechanically into each other, as in a bored and turned joint; it needs
no skilled labour in fixing, only a little grease, allows of slight
settlement of the pipes without injury, and requires neither cement,
clay, nor other extraneous material, the pipes containing a perfect
joint within themselves.”

Breakages sometimes occur in stoneware pipe sewers after they are laid,
which generally are found on examination to arise from one of the
following causes:

(1.) Laying the pipes on a rigid foundation without recessing the
sockets so as to give an even bearing.

(2.) Laying the pipes on foundations which afterwards yield or settle.

(3.) Laying the pipes at too great a depth without protection by
concrete or otherwise to resist the pressure of the superincumbent
earth, or by not sufficiently punning the filling-in, when a sudden
settlement will often crack or crush a pipe.

(4.) Accidental or wilful injuries to pipes which are not noticed before
the trench is filled in.

(5.) Laying the pipes at too shallow a depth without protection, when
heavy traffic or a falling weight upon the surface will crush or crack a
pipe.

(6.) Defective or weak pipes.[184]

The following plates give the different forms of sewerage pipes that are
now manufactured in this country, in addition to those of common
shapes:

[Illustration: BROOKE’S PATENT SUBSOIL DRAINS AND PIPE-RESTS.]

[Illustration: CREEKE’S PATENT CAPPED PIPES.]

[Illustration: MAWBEY’S PATENT GROOVED SOCKET-PIPES.]

[Illustration: HENRY SHARP, JONES, & CO.’S ROCK-CONCRETE PIPES.]

[Illustration: JENNING’S PATENT CHAIR AND SADDLE PIPES.]

The chokage in pipe sewers generally arises from one or more of the
following causes:--

(1.) Improper gradients.

(2.) Insufficient flush.[185]

(3.) Foreign articles finding their way into and choking the sewer.

(4.) Defective joints through which the liquid runs leaving solid
matters behind.

(5.) An excess of road detritus or of ashes, through the house closets
of the poor, finding their way into the sewer.

(6.) Improper bends in the line of sewer.

(7.) Right-angle or improper junctions being formed with the sewer.

(8.) A collapse of the sewer.

A temporary chokage in a small-sized sewer which does not arise from any
structural defect can be speedily and effectually remedied by the use of
Ben Reed’s patent drain-cleaning rods, which are probably too well known
to every town surveyor to need any description, but in conjuction with
man- or lamp-holes and straight lines of sewers they are very valuable.

Before closing this chapter, a few words upon what is called the
“separate system of sewerage” may be of use.

The mistake hitherto made has been to try to absolutely separate all
rainfall from the sewers, and there is no doubt that a partial
separation of the rain-water from the sewage proper has many advantages;
but it must be understood that a great deal of the rain-water that falls
upon roofs of buildings and in back yards and small back streets must of
necessity be carried into the sewers, as well as liquid refuse from
manufactories. A partial separation thus carried out has the following
advantages:

(1.) It is not necessary to have sewers of enormous diameter.

(2.) The depth of the surface water conduits need not be so great as
that which is necessary for sewers.

(3.) The avoidance of road detritus being washed into the sewers.

(4.) Where the sewage has to be pumped or treated chemically or put on
the land, the combined system causes an immense unwieldy bulk of liquid
to be at times dealt with.[186]

(5.) The sewers may be placed at the back of the houses, a great
advantage which cannot be carried out under the combined system.

(6.) The regularity in the amount of flow of sewage.

(7.) The accuracy with which the quantity of sewage may be calculated
and the sizes of sewers apportioned.

(8.) Economy both to the general rates and also to individuals in
carrying out their connections.

(9.) Where old and defective sewers exist they are often fitted to carry
surface water, but are quite inappropriate as sewers.

No rules, however, can be laid down with regard to this question, as
each town or district must be treated as the case requires.

In conclusion, I will mention the different methods at present in vogue
for the sewerage of towns.

(1.) The combined system, where all sewage, surface water,
manufacturers’ refuse, and subsoil waters are carried in the same sewer.

(2.) Similar to the above, the subsoil water, however, being carefully
excluded.

(3.) The partially separate system.

(4.) The absolutely separate system, where there are three sets of
sewers, one for sewage proper, one for surface water, and one for
subsoil water.

(5.) The “Lieurner” system, which professes to remove all sewage by
exhausting the air in the sewers and drains.

(6.) “Shone’s” pneumatic ejector system, which is described as
follows:--

“The ejectors are cast-iron receivers of a suitable form, placed
underground at depths to suit the locality, into which ejectors the
sewage flows through the ordinary pipe drains from the houses. As the
liquid rises in the interior of the ejector, and when full, it lifts a
valve and admits compressed air from an engine which supplies the entire
district. The ejectors are thus emptied of their contents, which are
blown out in about eighty seconds of time, and the sewage passes through
cast-iron main pipes of suitable diameters to the land, or other outlet
provided to receive it, or it may be distributed upon the waste land as
it passes through.”

(7.) The dry systems, which consist of--

(_a._) Earth closets;

(_b._) Tubs, as the Goux, &c.;

(_c._) Pails, as the Rochdale;

(_d._) Middens.

But all these dry systems require some system of sewers to carry off
rain-water, slop-water, &c., and in my opinion are not suitable for very
large communities.

  [174] If the sewers vested in and belonging to a local authority are
  allowed by their negligence to get out of repair, they are liable to
  an action for damages (_Vide_ ‘Fitzgerald’s Public Health Act,’ 3rd
  edition, p. 19). Keeping in repair does not, however, include
  construction of entirely new works. (_Ibid._)

  [175] The sewers provided by a local authority must be sufficient to
  carry off the ordinary sewage and rainfall of the district, but they
  need not be sufficient to carry off an extraordinary flow of water
  caused by a storm; damage caused by that comes under the definition of
  damage caused by the act of God, for which there is no individual
  responsibility (_Ibid._ p. 20). This clause seems to insist upon
  sewers carrying the rainfall.

  [176] See chapter on “Ventilation of Sewers.”

  [177] A local authority is not to be held liable for not keeping their
  sewers cleansed at all events and under all circumstances, but only
  where by the exercise of reasonable care and skill they can be kept
  cleansed. They are, however, liable, in case they make default in
  observing the requirements, to have an injunction filed against them
  and to be restrained by injunction from allowing the continuance of
  the nuisance. (_Ibid._ p. 23.)

  [178] For the legal definition of “drain,” see the chapter on “House
  Drainage.”

  [179] Facilities must be given to enable manufacturers to send the
  liquids proceeding from their works into the public sewers, provided
  the sewers are more than sufficient for the requirements of the
  district, or if the liquids would not prejudicially affect the sewers,
  or from their temperature or otherwise be injurious in a sanitary
  point of view. _Vide_ Rivers Pollution Act 1876 (39 & 40 Vic. c. 75,
  s. 7). But this question is often greatly disputed, and has led to
  much litigation.

  [180] If everything has to be carried in a sewer, the following
  provisions must be made:--

  (_a_) The house sewage which may be calculated from the water supply.

  (_b_) Manufacturers’ refuse.

  (_c_) Rainfall, which is a very uncertain quantity.

  (_d_) The subsoil water should certainly be dealt with, but it should
  on no account be permitted to enter the sewers themselves; separate
  provision under the main sewers should be provided for this purpose.

  [181] Messrs. Sharp, Jones and Co., of Bournemouth, make most
  excellent concrete pipes up to 36 inches in diameter, which can be
  economically and advantageously used in many instances, and are
  gaining every day in popularity with engineers.

  [182] The definition of “lands” as given in the Public Health Act
  1875, is as follows:--“‘lands’ and ‘premises’ include messuages,
  buildings, lands, easements, and hereditaments of any tenure” (38 & 39
  Vic. c. 55, s. 4).

  [183] Notices may be signed either by the clerk to the local authority
  or their surveyor (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 266).

  [184] The thickness of stoneware pipe sewers should be as follows:

  ----+--------------------------+----------------------+----
      |Internal diameter of pipe.|Thickness of material.|
      +--------------------------+----------------------+
      |         in.              |          in.         |
      |          3               |          ¹⁄₂         |
      |          4               |          ⁵⁄₈         |
      |          6               |          ³⁄₄         |
      |          9               |         1            |
      |         12               |         1¹⁄₈         |
      |         15               |         1¹⁄₄         |
      |         18               |         1³⁄₈         |
  ----+--------------------------+----------------------+----

  The thickness of fire clay or earthenware pipes should be slightly in
  excess of those given for stoneware.

  [185] The patent automatic flushing arrangement by Mr. Rogers Field,
  C.E., is an excellent apparatus for lessening the chances of a sewer
  becoming choked from this cause.

  [186] It is necessary in many towns where the combined system is in
  force, and the sewage has to be pumped when heavy rains commence, to
  put temporary clay dams round the street gratings to prevent the
  surface water from entering the sewers, thus at once showing the
  inability of the system to deal with flood waters.




CHAPTER XXI.

SEWAGE DISPOSAL.


The magnitude of the question of “sewage disposal” almost decided me to
refrain from making any remarks upon it, but on reconsideration I
thought a few might be serviceable.

Sewage disposal means the getting rid of the foul water contained in the
sewerage system of any community.

Where a dry method is in force for the collection of the excrementitious
matters it is called “interception”; the following are some of the
systems which effect it:--

Privies, ashpits, middens, cesspools, pails, troughs, the “Rochdale,”
the “Eureka,” the “Goux,” Fosses Permanentes, Fosses Mobiles, and
Moule’s, Taylor’s, and Phillip’s earth closets.

The collection and disposal of the mass of excrement under these dry
systems is found to be a very troublesome matter, and they are at their
best but inferior substitutes for water carriage, nor must it be
forgotten that sewers and drains are necessary even if a good
interception process is in force. I shall therefore confine my remarks
to the disposal of water-carried sewage.

Many books have been written, many valuable reports have been prepared
and issued, lengthy papers and discussions have been frequent at the
meetings of scientific societies, and almost innumerable pamphlets have
been published upon this important sanitary subject. Some millions of
money have also been spent in trying to deal satisfactorily with this
question, not only with a view to the purification of the effluent of
the sewage, but also to endeavour to make a profit out of the
residuals.[187] The result of this literature, discussion, and
experiment has led to the following conclusions:

No hard and fast lines can be laid down as to the best method to be
adopted for the disposal of the sewage of any town, but the peculiar
circumstances of each case must be considered before advice could be
given on the subject: geographical position, physical arrangement,
habits of the population, and the character and quantity of the sewage
of the town being some of the most important.

In any case it is necessary that the transmission of the sewage to the
outfall should be effected as speedily as possible, and that the
position of this outfall should be such as to cause no nuisance. The
contents of the sewers should, if possible, be emptied by gravitation,
as pumping is a constant expense, and economy with efficiency must of
course be studied.

Up to the present time the following are the methods adopted in this
country for the disposal of sewage:

(1.) Passing the sewage in its crude state into the sea or tidal river.

(2.) Passing the sewage in its crude state over large tracts of land;
this is called broad irrigation.

(3.) Passing the sewage in its crude state on to small tracts of land
previously prepared by deep drainage; this is called intermittent
downward filtration.

(4.) Mechanical subsidence of the sewage in large tanks, the effluent
passing on to land or into a river.

(5.) Mechanical filtration of the sewage, the effluent passing on to
land or into a river.

(6.) The introduction of lime or other precipitant into the sewage,
which is allowed to settle in tanks, the effluent passing on to land or
into a river.

Very little need be said upon the first of these methods. Many engineers
of high standing contend that, where practicable, the sea or the tidal
estuary of a river is the right place for the sewage, as no costly works
are necessary, and an abominable nuisance is thus got rid of at once and
for ever. To ensure this, however, great care must be exercised in the
selection of the site for the outfall. Float observations should be
made, not only of the surface tides and currents, but also of those at
different depths, and the effect upon the sewage by its different
specific gravity from that of the salt water must be allowed for, as
well as the difference of level of the tides and the configuration of
the adjoining coast line.

The second method, that of broad irrigation, is one that finds
considerable favour with a large number of engineers and agriculturists.
The great sewage-disposal cry has always been, “Put back on the land
what you have taken from it, or some day there will be no beef and no
bread.” The difficulty is to always find land in sufficient quantity and
so situated as to be available for this purpose. Almost any soil is,
however, suitable for irrigation, provided it is well and properly
drained. The quantity of sewage which should be used for this purpose
per acre of land varies considerably, as will be seen on reference to a
table prepared by Mr. Henry Robinson,[188] where the number of
inhabitants to each acre irrigated is in one case (Leamington) stated to
be 55, in another (Blackburn) 208,[189] the average being 137, the
number of gallons per head of population per diem being 38.

It may be useful to state here that a hundred tons of sewage will cover
an acre of land 1 inch in depth, and that the value of sewage as a
manure is said to vary from ¹⁄₂_d._ to 2_d._ per ton, or, calculated in
another manner, about 10_d._ per head of population per annum.

The best crops for a sewage farm (in addition to nearly all kinds of
market-garden produce) are rye-grass, mangolds, beetroot, cabbages,
carrots, potatoes, turnips, rabi, parsnips, lucerne, beans, wheat,
oats, and barley; the cereals, however, are apt to run rather to straw,
and some care is also necessary not to oversewage potatoes and some
other root crops. Grazing cattle or cows can also be carried on with
advantage, the presence of sewage having no effect either on the milk or
flesh of animals fed on sewage farms.

The third method, that of intermittent downward filtration, is really
irrigation of land to such an extent as the land will filter or purify
the sewage, the effluent passing off pure, irrespective of any effect
upon the crops which may be growing upon the land.

Great discussions have arisen (the principal battle-ground being Merthyr
Tydvil) as to the maximum quantity of sewage which an acre of properly
prepared land will treat, some of the champions of this system
contending that a good porous soil properly drained to a depth of six
feet will purify the sewage of 6000 persons per acre, others that only
the sewage of 250 persons can be so treated.[190]

There can be no doubt that earth has a most powerful deodorising power.
Laboratory experiments have shown that as much as eight gallons of
sewage can be filtered through a cubic yard of loamy soil in twenty-four
hours, the soil being drained at a depth of six feet, the effluent
therefrom having obtained a wonderful degree of purity. Much, however,
must depend upon the character of the soil of the filtering area and the
strength of the sewage which is being operated upon.

The following description of the manner in which the earth acts upon
sewage will be of interest:

“The fæcal matters and other impurities attached themselves to the
surfaces of the particles of earth by a kind of cohesive attraction, and
in this state were readily attacked by the oxygen of the air. Their
organic carbon became carbonic acid, their nitrogen was converted into
nitrous or nitric acid, which united with the lime, magnesia, and other
basic matters present. Mechanically suspended impurities were arrested
as by a sieve, and the water issued from beneath--not indeed fit for
dietetic or domestic purposes, but at any rate in a fair state of purity
and quite inoffensive to the senses.” (_Vide_ W. Crookes in the
discussion on the Sewage Question by Norman Bazalgette, ‘Min. of
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers,’ vol. xlviii. p.
164.)

The land thus used as a sewage filter requires constant aëration by
being dug over or ploughed, and if this precaution is taken, it is
surprising to what a wonderful extent the land will take sewage without
becoming what is called “sewage sick.” Clay soils are, however, stated
to be ill-adapted for this purpose.

The next method, that of mechanical subsidence of the sewage in large
tanks, has been attempted in conjunction with irrigation and filtration
without much benefit, nor has the fifth method I have mentioned, viz.,
that of mechanical filtration of the sewage, met with any better result.
Artificial filters have been constructed of burnt clay, cinders, coke,
charcoal, peat, chalk, gravel, broken stone, sand, spongy iron (this is
now being applied very successfully for the purification of water),
straw, cocoa-nut matting, wicker-work, and wire gauze of different
degrees of fineness of mesh.

The late Mr. Odams spent a considerable sum in endeavouring to strain
sewage through revolving screens of wire gauze with but little success,
and Mr. Bannehr has striven to achieve the same object by passing sewage
over oscillating screens of the like material.

In all these cases of mechanical filtration, however, the effluent has
either not been sufficiently pure or the screens and filters have become
clogged and refused to act.[191]

The last method that I have mentioned for the disposal of sewage is
that of precipitation, or what may be more properly called the chemical
treatment of sewage.

Precipitation means the production, by the introduction of chemical
substances within the body of the sewage, of certain solid compounds,
which, in settling, drag down with them the suspended matters in the
sewage, together with a small proportion of the polluting matters which
are in solution in the sewage, this proportion varying with the quantity
of solid matters deposited. The effluent from the tanks in which this
precipitation takes place is then allowed to flow direct into a river or
stream, or is still further purified by being passed over land or
filtered through deep-drained soils.

Chemical treatment of sewage was first tried in Paris in the year 1740,
and since then every effort has been made to extract a valuable and
commercial manure from sewage and purify the effluent. Between the years
1865 and 1875 more than 400 patents were taken out in respect of these
and other matters in connection with the sewage question.

It is almost needless to say that but few of these patents were of any
practical value. Those processes which have some merit and are now best
known are, I believe, included in the following list:--

LIST OF CHEMICAL PROCESSES FOR THE TREATMENT OF TOWN SEWAGE.

  The A. B. C. (or Sillar’s) process
  Anderson’s process
  Bird’s        „
  Blyth’s       „
  Campbell’s    „
  Collin’s      „
  Forbes and Price’s process
  Fulda’s process
  Goodall’s  „
  Hanson’s   „
  Higg’s     „
  Hille’s    „
  Holden’s process
  Lenk’s      „
  Lundy’s     „
  Manning’s   „
  Scott’s     „
  Smith’s     „
  Spence’s    „
  Stothert’s  „
  Suvern’s    „
  Whitthread’s process
  Wickstead’s     „

Space will not permit me to describe these processes, and probably most
of them, if not all, are familiar to my readers. Suffice it to say that
in nearly all cases the _modus operandi_ is that of mixing certain
chemicals with the sewage by mechanical agitation, or by passing the
sewage over “salmon ladders,” &c., then allowing the sewage to remain
perfectly still whilst the solids are gravitating, and then dealing with
the effluent in different manners.

Amongst the numerous chemical ingredients which are used for this
purpose may be mentioned the following:--

Alum, animal charcoal, ashes, blood, bone ash, carbolic acid, chalk,
chloride of lime, chloride of zinc, chloride of iron, clay, creosote,
hæmatite, hydrate of lime, lead nitrate, magnesian salts, oxide of
manganese, perchloride of iron, salt, soda, sulphate of zinc, sulphate
of iron, sulphuric acid, and tar.

One of the great difficulties in connection with the precipitation of
sewage is the disposal of the sludge which is left behind in the tanks.

This sludge contains about 90 per cent. of moisture, and if left to dry
atmospherically, a thin crust forms over it, thus protecting that which
is underneath, and it will not dry for many months. In some cases it is
sought to dispose of the accumulations of sludge by digging it into the
land; in others it is mixed with house ashes, &c., and sold as manure.
Its bulk, however, in proportion to its manurial value is so excessive
as to render it almost valueless, and it is difficult to get rid of it
for this purpose even when fortified with ammonia or other chemical. A
frequent practice now adopted is to reduce its bulk by exposure or by
presses to a semi-dried condition; in other cases it is dried to a
powder by heat, and General Scott has patented a method where, in
connection with the lime process, it is burned and manufactured into
cement. Sometimes it is squeezed in presses, such as Needham and Kite’s
or Johnson’s, or it is filtered by Milburn’s or Weare’s apparatus. For
drying the sludge by heat, Borwick’s or Forrest’s machines have been
used with some success, but there is no doubt that the slimy,
glutinous, albuminous, offensive mixture technically known as sludge is
a difficult matter to dispose of in all sewage works.

In connection with the chemical treatment of sewage, it is of advantage
to pass the effluent over land filters on the intermittent downward
filtration principle. Another very effective plan is to pass the
effluent (or even crude sewage) through land which is thickly planted
with the Anacharis or American weed, duckweed, sedges, rushes, reeds,
&c., or through beds of osiers or alder trees. An acre of land thus
planted is said to purify more than three million gallons of sewage per
diem.[192]

There is no doubt that plants of this description have a powerful action
in purifying sewage or foul water of any kind, and where land is scarce
this method has many advantages.

It is almost unnecessary to add that where sewage is treated in any
other manner than that of throwing it into the sea or river, bulk is a
great objection, especially if it has to be pumped.

To obviate this bulk the separate system is of great advantage, and
Isaac Shone’s new method for ejecting sewage along pipes seems also to
be a most desirable invention in connection with this subject.

  [187] It is computed that every ton of liquid sewage which is treated
  chemically costs about three-quarters of a farthing.

  [188] _Vide_ ‘Sewage Disposal,’ by Henry Robinson, C.E., &c., 2nd
  edition, p. 79.

  [189] I purposely omit (Kendal) 856, as this is, properly speaking,
  “filtration.”

  [190] For much interesting information upon this and other subjects in
  connection with sewage disposal, see ‘Minutes of Proceedings of the
  Institution of Civil Engineers,’ vol. xlviii. p. 105 et seq. Also the
  report of a committee of the Local Government Board on Modes of
  Treating Town Sewage, 1876. ‘Sewage Disposal,’ by Henry Robinson,
  C.E., and other works on the subject.

  [191] Under the Rivers Pollution Act, no effluent is allowed to enter
  a stream &c., if it contains more than three parts of suspended
  inorganic matter, and one part organic matter for every 100,000 parts
  of liquid.

  [192] _Vide_ ‘Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil
  Engineers,’ vol. xlviii. p. 179.




CHAPTER XXII.

VENTILATION OF SEWERS.


The necessity for some manner of dealing with the noxious vapours
emanating from sewage other than that of letting it find its way from
the sewers into the house drains and thence into dwelling houses, has
induced the legislature of this country to introduce the following
clause in the Public Health Act 1875, which imposes on every local
authority the duty of causing their sewers to be ventilated so as not to
be a nuisance or injurious to health.

“Every local authority shall cause the sewers belonging to them to be
constructed, covered, ventilated and kept, so as not to be a nuisance,
or injurious to health, and to be properly cleansed and emptied” (38 &
39 Vic. c. 55, s. 19).

The result of this compulsion upon local authorities to ventilate their
sewers has been the introduction of many methods to effect the purpose,
the great difficulty being to “ventilate so as not to be a nuisance or
injurious to health,” the advocates of open ventilation contending that
this is effected by having a sufficient number of openings in a sewer to
dilute and safely disseminate the foul gas with atmospheric air so that
no nuisance is caused.[193]

Many other methods have been from time to time suggested, some of which
have been carried into effect, and I will now proceed to give them in
detail, discussing their merits and objections in each case.

(1.) Open shafts are carried up from the crown of the sewer to the
centre or side of the roadway, and there protected by an open iron grid
or grating at the level of the street surface.

This is the system which has hitherto found most favour with town
surveyors, and is sometimes modified or worked in conjunction with the
practice of untrapping all the gully pits and buddle holes at the sides
of the roadway, which is an excellent plan if the theory of the
atmospheric air dilution at which this system aims is a correct one; in
fact, if this dilution by air is all that is necessary to render the
foul air in a sewer innocuous and inoffensive, there cannot be too many
openings into it.

The objections to this system are as follows:

(_a._) The foul air escaping into the public streets is often very
injurious to persons passing a ventilator, and sewers are buried out of
sight, but they are not out of mind so long as we are constantly and
unpleasantly reminded of their existence.

(_b._) It is found that a change of temperature either of the
atmosphere, or of the air in a sewer, will seriously affect the action
of a shaft, causing it sometimes to have upcast currents of air,
sometimes downcast; the effect of this latter action, especially when it
arises from the direction of the wind blowing over or into the shaft, is
frequently to drive the impure gases contained in the sewer into the
house drains, and from thence into the houses, unless they are so
trapped and ventilated as to prevent it.

(_c._) They are also affected by the fluctuations of the flow of sewage
in the sewer, or by barometric changes in the atmosphere.

(_d._) The situation of the open grids in the street is sometimes
somewhat awkward for traffic, and horses will frequently shy at them,
they also admit solid road detritus into the sewer unless they are
protected by a catch plate of some description.

(_e._) They are tempting places for children to play over, with what
results may be imagined.

(2.) Open shafts are carried up the sides (gable ends if possible) of
buildings in the neighbourhood of the sewer; these shafts may be either
open at the top, or be furnished with exhaust cowls. This system is
sometimes employed in conjunction with inlet shafts at the sides of the
street, in the manner shown by the drawing which follows:

[Illustration]

This method has the advantage over the first system I have mentioned of
carrying the smells further from our reach, but it also has the
following disadvantages:

(_a._) The distance and the number of bends and elbows the gases have to
traverse before reaching the external air.

(_b._) The difficulty of fixing them just at the points where they are
most required with reference to the gradients of the sewer, especially
if they are to be constructed of such an internal diameter as will
ensure their efficiency.

(_c._) The great objection raised by occupiers and owners of premises
against having them fixed on their premises, both on sanitary and legal
grounds.

(_d._) Their great expense.

(_e._) The effect of weather upon their currents.

(3.) By making use of the rain-water pipes from adjoining buildings.

This method commends itself as being very economical, and the
opportunities thus given for ventilation are so numerous. If sewers are
to be ventilated at all[194] it would seem at first sight that there
could not be too many openings from and into them, but this system has
the following serious objections:

(_a._) When raining, little or no ventilation can take place, and this
is the very time, owing to the rising of the water in the sewer, that
the gases should be allowed free egress if such is considered the best
manner of dealing with them.

(_b._) The position of the head of the rain-water pipe is generally the
worst that could be chosen for the egress of the gases, both on sanitary
and pneumatic grounds.

(_c._) The joints of a rain-water pipe are usually none of the best.

(_d._) The objections persons naturally have to allow the rain-water
pipes of their houses to be used for such a purpose.

(4.) By utilising the lamp posts or columns adjacent to the sewer.

The objects of this system are first to obtain a constant upward current
from the sewer, and secondly to secure that the foul gases and air shall
be consumed and rendered innocuous by being burnt. The objections to
this system are--

(_a._) The lamps are only lit at night, consequently little or no
ventilation would be going on during the day.

(_b._) The number and diameter of the lamps are generally too small to
make any appreciable effect upon the ventilation of the sewer.

(5.) By passing or filtering the foul air through charcoal placed in
trays or other receptacles in shafts.

The theory of this method is admirable, as the charcoal would arrest all
the impurities and flocculent organic matters contained in the foul air,
and allow only the pure filtered air to pass into the atmosphere.

It has been found, however, where this method has been adopted, that the
charcoal very soon becomes so caked and consolidated from damp and the
vibration of the traffic, that it will neither allow the air to filter
through, nor absorb the impurities contained in it; these objections and
the amount of attention this system requires, has not rendered it very
popular with town surveyors, although it has much to recommend it.

(6.) By making use of ordinary chimney shafts.

This method and the one which follows have some merits, the principle
being that an upward current is established as an exhaust from the
sewer, and also that the foul air is purified by being passed through
fire, but both these advantages are only gained when the fires are
actually burning; the objections to this system are--

(_a._) Structural difficulties must often be encountered and overcome.

(_b._) Possibility of explosion arising from leaks of gas mains into
sewers (a by no means uncommon occurrence, as all who have charge of
sewers frequently find to their cost).

(_c._) The objections of owners and occupiers to allow their premises to
be thus made use of to carry off a public nuisance for which they as
individuals are in no way responsible.

(7.) By lofty shafts erected at convenient positions which are either in
connection with furnaces or are simply open to the air.

For a long outfall sewer with no connections this method has many
advantages, notably so in the large furnace and shaft erected on the
Brighton outfall sewer by the borough surveyor, Mr. Lockwood. But in a
general system of sewerage, it was found by experiments made by Sir
Joseph Bazalgette, C.B. that the effect of trying to reduce the gases by
the action of furnaces was but very small, and that the area over which
the effect extended was but very limited: in fact, a sewer may be
compared to a perforated tube, the house drains, gully drains, &c.,
representing the perforations; the effect of an exhaustion by the action
of the furnace is simply to suck fresh air into the sewer at all these
points instead of removing the foul air for any distance.

High shafts at different points effect a partial clearance of sewer
gases, but they are very costly, and the reasons I have previously given
against the system of open shafts are practically the same in this and
all other modifications of the principle.

Many other methods have been tried from time to time, either to prevent
the formation of gases in the sewers, or neutralize or destroy them,
some of which are as follows:

By giving a quick velocity of discharge in a sewer; by placing materials
within sewers which would absorb the gases as fast as they were
generated; by passing deodorants or disinfectants into sewers; by
deodorizing or disinfecting all materials before they are allowed to
enter a drain or sewer; by placing chemical agents within sewers to give
off certain gases which would then, it was conjectured, destroy the
noxious properties of the sewer gases; by introducing charcoal into
sewers to absorb the foul gases; by laying pipes within the sewers for
the purpose of discharging chlorine into the sewer; by employing
galvanic agency to disengage or to produce ozone from the sewer gas; by
passing the foul air through shafts into which water was constantly
injected, and by endeavouring to extract the foul air by fans driven by
machinery.

I have myself patented a plan for “annihilating sewer gases” by allowing
them to be absorbed into dry earth, and have tried the system with some
very marked and successful results.[195]

Having thus far considered all the known methods for dealing with the
noxious emanations which proceed from sewers, the next point to consider
is what these noxious emanations are, and whether they exist in all
sewers.

It has been found that even in sewers of the best and most modern
construction what is called “sewer gas” is generated in more or less
quantity; this arises even from fresh sewage, but is far more noxious
and dangerous to health when the sewage has begun to decompose. Even
where the sewers are so constructed as to remove all the sewage to the
outfall within 24 hours (which has been decided to be the maximum time
it should take), there is still an accumulation of slime on the inner
periphery of the sewers, owing to the rise and fall of the sewage line,
which is constantly manufacturing gases of decomposition.

It is no doubt true that the more perfect the system of sewerage is the
less foul air there is in the sewers, but in very few towns will there
be found no sewers or drains where temporary obstructions of the sewage
do not occur, and where gases are generated, which then find their way
into other parts of the sewage system unless they are dealt with in some
effective manner.

As to what is the actual composition of this foul air in a sewer little
or nothing seems to be known, except that it is highly dangerous to
health if breathed, and is also very offensive to the smell.

The “fœtid organic vapour,” or sewer gas proper, has for its companions
in a sewer, sulphuretted hydrogen, a most poisonous as well as
unpleasant smelling gas, carburetted hydrogen, due very often to leaky
gas mains or services, or to decomposing vegetable matters, carbonic
acid gas or carbonic anhydride (choke damp), and some ammoniacal
compounds.

The actual component parts, however, of any gases in a sewer must vary
considerably with its conditions and locality, &c., in the same manner
as they would in any public building or room, and it is impossible to
tell, without costly experiments, what gases may be prevalent in any
particular portion of a sewer. But whatever may be the analysis of this
foul air, there can be but little doubt that it contains organic matter
floating about in it as solids, and that it is excessively injurious and
even dangerous to breathe, and that it should be caught and destroyed or
rendered innocuous, and not be permitted to pass into and contaminate
and poison the air we breathe.

Some engineers are of opinion that this foul air always finds its way to
the upper portions of the sewerage system, but my investigations into
this subject have led me to believe that no rule of this kind can be
laid down, for with quick velocities of flow, in some sewers, the gases
are carried by friction in the direction of the flow of the sewage, and
do not ascend as has been imagined.

Whatever system of ventilation of the main sewers in any town may be
adopted, it is imperative that the house drains connected with them
should be properly trapped and ventilated, and this is in my judgment of
even greater importance than the ventilation of the main sewers. On this
point I have given more explanations in the chapter upon “House
Drainage.”

In conclusion, let me refer my readers to a most exhaustive discussion,
and very valuable information contained in the chapter entitled
“Ventilation of Sewers and Drains” in Mr. Baldwin Latham’s ‘Sanitary
Engineering,’ in which may be found almost everything that is at present
known upon this important subject.

  [193] If there is any truth in the “germ theory” of disease, how
  dangerous must be the practice of open sewer ventilation, a waft of
  foul air from a sewer carrying with it a germ, and the unsuspecting
  passer-by is inoculated just as surely as if he had handled or been
  near the excrements of the diseased person whose evacuations have been
  passed into the public sewer.

  [194] The important city of Bristol has no system of sewer
  ventilation, and yet the death rate of the city, which is by no means
  specially healthily situated, has not been abnormally high up to this
  year (1883).

  [195] For further information upon my system for the annihilation of
  sewer gases, I must refer my readers to a pamphlet written by myself
  in 1880, entitled ‘Sewer Ventilation, or a New and Improved System for
  the disposal of the Noxious Gases generated in Sewers and Drains,’ and
  also to a paper I read on this subject at the meeting of the Sanitary
  Institute of Great Britain, held in Exeter in the year 1881.




CHAPTER XXIII.

PUBLIC CONVENIENCES.


In almost every town in the United Kingdom public urinals are now
erected, although it is not often that good watercloset accommodation is
provided, except at hotels and railway stations, over which the local
authority have no jurisdiction; or perhaps if they do provide any
accommodation of this description it is only in connection with the
public parks or in the markets, museums, &c.

The clause of the Public Health Act which empowers an urban authority to
spend money out of the district rates for this purpose is as follows:

“Any urban authority may if they think fit provide and maintain in
proper and convenient situations, urinals, waterclosets, earthclosets,
privies and ashpits and other similar conveniences for public
accommodation” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 39).

It is not my intention to enter into the merits or otherwise of the many
descriptions of urinals and latrines that have been brought to the
notice from time to time of every town surveyor by enterprising
manufacturers and patentees, but only to give a few suggestions upon the
subject.

Public urinals ought to be erected by the urban authority as a matter of
convenience to the peripatetic portion of any community, and also to
prevent nuisances being committed in improper places.

In selecting sites for urinals the town surveyor must take care that
after erection they shall not be offensive or a nuisance to any persons
living in the vicinity, and that they shall be so placed that although
they may be easily found, the persons using them shall be effectually
screened.[196]

Urinals are better constructed of iron rather than of brickwork or more
solid workmanship, in order that they can be readily removed. It is
surprising what an uproar is sometimes raised in a neighbourhood by the
erection of a urinal; this clamour occasionally has so much effect upon
the urban authority that they order the removal of the urinal, although
it may not have been erected many days, and if it has been substantially
built a considerable waste of the public money is thus involved.

Where a urinal is constructed with basins, as by the following plan, the
basins may be of iron or good stone ware or similar construction, these
being always kept full of water which is constantly although slowly
changing.

[Illustration]

Stall urinals may be some modification of the following plan, and be
constructed of iron with slate partitions, or the partitions may be of
iron covered with plate glass where soiled, the stalls should not be
less than 24 in. in the clear, and water must be kept constantly flowing
over the soiled portion either from a perforated pipe or a
spreader.[197] A very excellent arrangement is to have a trench or
trough cut at the foot of the stall for the whole length of the urinal,
which is kept constantly full of water and occasionally flushed, thus
avoiding nuisance in a very satisfactory manner.

[Illustration]

Provision must of course be made to efficiently drain and light all
public urinals, and arrangements should be made by which they can be
thoroughly washed once or twice a day, so as to keep every part
scrupulously clean. Urine after a very short exposure exhales a most
fœtid and unpleasant odour, from the decomposition of its nitrogenous
matter. Carbolic acid, chloride of lime, sanitas, or other disinfectant
should also be used, especially in warm weather.

If the interior of a public urinal or latrine has to be painted a light
colour, it is well to mix a little sand with the paint, so as to prevent
as much as possible that literature and art which so often disfigures
establishments of this description. An excellent composition with which
to treat urinals, although it is of a somewhat dark tint, is a mixture
of common coal tar and naphtha, which not only gives a clean and
polished appearance to the place, but is also an excellent deodorant and
disinfectant.

With regard to public W.C. accommodation, this, as I have before stated,
is not very often provided by an urban authority,[198] although common
public latrines are sometimes erected. These are generally used by
rather rough persons, and should be constructed in a strong and simple
manner.

For this purpose stoneware bowls or basins placed over a drain and
fitting into ordinary right-angled junctions placed vertically are
simple and effective as well as very economical in construction. Slate,
iron, or wood seats may be placed on these basins, which should be kept
half full of water. A periodical and sudden flush which carries the
whole contents into the nearest sewer can be arranged for so as to work
automatically by the introduction of a cistern and one of Mr. Roger
Field’s flush syphons at the upper end of the system.

For further information on the subject of urinals, waterclosets,
latrines, and all similar subjects, let the town surveyor refer to Mr.
George Jennings or Messrs. Macfarlane, who have an endless variety of
designs and appliances in connection with such matters.

  [196] The urban authority have an absolute discretion as to the sites
  they select. They cannot, however, erect public conveniences so as
  thereby to cause a nuisance, even though the convenience is wanted and
  the locality chosen suitable. (_Vide_ ‘Public Health and Local
  Government Act,’ by F. V. Fitzgerald, 3rd edition, p. 33.)

  [197] The quantity of water usually required to each stall when kept
  constantly running is about half a gallon per minute.

  [198] For an excellent specimen of such public accommodation, that at
  Liverpool near the St. George’s Hall should be inspected.




CHAPTER XXIV.

ARTIZANS AND LABOURERS’ DWELLINGS, &c.


The Artizans and Labourers’ Dwellings Act 1868 (31 & 32 Vic. c. 130) was
in effect incorporated in the Public Health Act 1875 so that “every
urban authority shall within their district, . . . have, exercise and be
subject to all the powers, rights, duties, capacities, liabilities, and
obligations within such district exercisable or attaching by and to the
local authority” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 10).

The mode of procedure is as follows:

Where the “officer of health”[199] finds any premises in a condition or
state dangerous to health so as to be unfit for human habitation, he
shall report the same in writing to the clerk of the local authority.
The local authority must then refer such report to a surveyor or
engineer,[200] who shall thereupon consider the report so furnished to
him, and report to the local authority what is the cause of the evil so
reported on, and if such evil is occasioned by defects in any premises,
whether the same can be remedied by structural alterations and
improvements or otherwise, or whether such premises or any or what part
thereof ought to be demolished (31 & 32 Vic. c. 130, s. 6).

Upon the receipt of this report from the surveyor the local authority
sends copies to the owner of the premises, giving him opportunities of
attending before them and of appealing against the report, and if his
objections are overruled, a plan and specification of the works (if
any) and an estimate of the cost of such works, must be prepared by the
surveyor, and these in turn may be inspected by the owner and objected
to by him in writing, and he may also attend before the local authority,
and if he makes good his objections the local authority may direct the
plan, specification and estimate to be amended, and the works would then
be executed in accordance with the amended plans, &c. (31 & 32 Vic. c.
130, s. 8).

Persons who are aggrieved by any order of the local authority may appeal
against it, but failing this, if the owner does not within two months
diligently proceed with and complete the same in conformity with the
specification to the satisfaction of the surveyor, the local authority
may either order the premises to be shut up, or to be demolished, or may
themselves execute the required works in conformity with the
specification (31 & 32 Vic. c. 130, s. 18).

If the requirements of the order involve the total demolition and not
the improvement of the premises, the owner shall within three months
proceed to take down and remove them, and if he fail to do so, then the
local authority may pull down and recoup the expenses by a sale of the
old material (31 & 32 Vic. c. 130, s. 20).

The above Act was amended in 1879 by the “Artizans and Labourers’
Dwellings Act (1868) Amendment Act 1879” (42 & 43 Vic. c. 64), the most
important clause affecting the action of the town surveyor being as
follows:

“Notwithstanding anything in the Act of 1868, the owner of any premises
specified in an order of the local authority made under that Act, and
requiring him to execute any works or to demolish such premises, may
within three months after service on him of the order, require the local
authority in writing to purchase such premises” (42 & 43 Vic. c. 64, s.
5).

The amount of compensation to be paid to the owner is to be settled by
arbitration if no agreement can be arrived at, such arbitration to be
carried out in a manner provided for by certain clauses in this
Amendment Act 1879.

Sec. 9 of the same Act also provides for the repayment (by sale of old
materials, &c.) of the cost incurred by the local authority in executing
any works under the Acts.

This Act has again been amended quite recently (August 1882) by “An Act
to Amend the Artizans and Labourers’ Dwellings Acts” (45 & 46 Vic. c.
54), the most important clause affecting the working of this Act being
as follows:

(1.) “If in any place to which the Artizans and Labourers’ Dwellings Act
1868 applies the officer of health finds that any building, although not
in itself unfit for human habitation, is so situate that by reason of
its proximity to or contact with any other building it causes one of the
following effects, that is to say:

  “(1.) It stops ventilation or otherwise makes or conduces to make such
  other buildings to be in a condition unfit for human habitation; or

  “(2.) It prevents proper measures from being carried into effect for
  remedying the evils complained of in respect of such other buildings,

in any such case the officer of health shall make a report to the local
authority in writing of the particulars relating to such first-mentioned
building (in this Act referred to as ‘an obstructive building’) stating
that in his opinion it is expedient that the obstructive building should
be pulled down, and shall deliver the report to the clerk of the local
authority.

“(2.) The local authority shall refer such report to a surveyor or
engineer to report thereon, and to report as to the cost of acquiring
the lands on which such obstructive building is erected, and of pulling
down such building.”

The local authority then consider the reports of the officer of health
and of the surveyor, and proceed to give copies to the owner of the
lands in question, who has liberty of appeal, &c., as before given in
the Act 1868. The lands may be acquired by the local authority by
agreement or compulsorily under the Lands Clauses Consolidation Acts,
and the obstructive building, “or such part thereof as may be
obstructive,” may be pulled “down, and the whole site, or such part
thereof as may be required to be kept open for the purpose of remedying
the evils” kept as an open space.

The owner of the land may, by giving due notice, declare that “he
desires to retain the site of the obstructive building, and undertake
either to pull down or to permit the local authority to pull down, the
obstructive building,” in which case he retains the site, and is
compensated only for the building.

These recent amendments to the old Act of 1868 are of the greatest
importance, for they aim at the easy improvement of courts and alleys,
by opening them where houses have been erected across the entrance, in
some cases depriving the courts and alleys of light and air, and leaving
only a small covered archway through which the occupants can enter.

The Act has only too recently become law for me to give any particulars
with regard to its working, but it appears to be a most valuable
sanitary Act.

Prior to these amendments of the Act 1868, it was felt that it dealt
only with isolated buildings, and consequently, in order to improve
large areas, the “Act for Facilitating the Improvement of the Dwellings
of the Working Classes in Large Towns” was passed in 1875 (38 & 39 Vic.
c. 36), since which date, like the Act 1868, it has been twice amended,
once in 1879 (42 & 43 Vic. c. 63), and again in 1882 (45 & 46 Vic. c.
54).

The object of the Act of 1875 was to facilitate the removal of portions
of towns, especially of the courts and alleys in the poorer and more
densely-populated parts.

The Act is to be put in force where an official representation is made
by the medical officer of health to the local authority of an urban
sanitary district (which must contain a population of at least 25,000)
that “any houses, courts, or alleys within a certain area” are “unfit
for human habitation, or that diseases indicating a generally low
condition of health amongst the population have been from time to time
prevalent in a certain area,” and that this is attributable to the bad
arrangement or bad condition of the streets and houses, or “other
sanitary defects,” which can only be remedied by “an improvement scheme
for the rearrangement and reconstruction of the streets or houses” (38 &
39 Vic. c. 36, s. 3).

The improvement scheme to be prepared on receipt of this report by the
local authority must be accompanied by “maps, particulars, and
estimates” (no doubt these must be prepared by the surveyor, although no
mention is made as to who shall prepare them), and this scheme may
“provide for widening any existing approaches to the unhealthy area, or
otherwise for opening out the same for the purposes of ventilation or
health.” It must distinguish “the lands proposed to be taken
compulsorily,” and by the Act 1875 it was necessary to “provide for the
accommodation of at the least as many persons of the working class as
may be displaced in the area with respect to which the scheme is
proposed in suitable dwellings, which, unless there are any special
reasons to the contrary, shall be situate within the limits of the same
area or in the vicinity thereof” (sec. 5).

So much practical difficulty was experienced in carrying this latter
part of the clause into effect, that in 1879 a short Act was passed (42
& 43 Vic. c. 63), which by the 4th section amended that part of the
original clause as to the provision of accommodation for the working
classes as follows:

“Where it is proved to the satisfaction of the confirming authority
. . . . that equally convenient accommodation can be provided . . . . at
some place other than within the area or the immediate vicinity . . . .
and it is also proved to the satisfaction of such authority that the
required accommodation has been or is about to be forthwith provided.”
The confirming authority may be satisfied with such provision, and for
this purpose the local authority may make use of any lands belonging to
them, or purchase any that are suitable (42 & 43 Vic. c. 63, s. 4).

This part of the Act has again been amended in the year 1882 by 45 & 46
Vic. c. 54, which in section 3 enacts as follows:

“. . . . and where any such improvement scheme comprises an area situate
elsewhere than in the metropolis or the City of London, it shall, if the
confirming authority so require (but it shall not otherwise be
obligatory on the local authority so to frame their scheme), provide for
the accommodation of such number of those persons of the working class
displaced in the area with respect to which the scheme is proposed in
suitable dwellings to be erected in such place or places either within
or without the limits of the same area as the said authority, on a
report made by the officer conducting the local enquiry, may require
. . . .”

Having thus far given the _modus operandi_ under which the Act has to be
enforced, it is necessary to see what are some of the town surveyor’s
duties in connection therewith.

First, there are the “maps, particulars, and estimates” which have to be
prepared, and these involve--

(_a._) Accurate surveys of the area;

(_b._) A reference of all the properties included:

(_c._) A census of the population of the area;

(_d._) A valuation of all the properties;

(_e._) A plan of the proposed new streets, &c.

(_f._) An estimate of the cost of the whole work.

In addition to this it is necessary for the local authority to “impose
suitable conditions and restrictions as to the elevation, size, and
design of the houses and the extent of the accommodation to be afforded
thereby, and to make due provision for the maintenance of proper
sanitary arrangements,” and this naturally involves detailed drawings of
the buildings to be erected.

In the same clause (38 & 39 Vic. c. 36, s. 9) it is stated that the
local authority may engage with any society, &c., to carry the whole or
any part of the scheme into effect, but “the local authority shall not
themselves, without the express approval of the confirming authority,
undertake the rebuilding of the houses or the execution of any part of
the scheme, except that they may take down any or all of the buildings
upon the area, and clear the whole or any part thereof, and may lay out,
form, pave, sewer, and complete” all the necessary streets, &c., which
shall thenceforth be public streets repairable by the inhabitants at
large.

It is scarcely necessary to say that the enforcement of this Act
involves a considerable expenditure of work and time in the office of
the town surveyor.

The buildings which are erected on the sites dealt with under this Act
are generally of the “high block” class, as it is found that the
labouring man prefers to live near his work, and land is generally too
expensive in such localities to admit of the erection of any other
description of buildings.

As to whether this class of dwelling is as healthy as ordinary cottages
or houses, the following death-rates for the year 1879 will be some
guide:

  The London Improved Industrial Dwellings          16·4 per 1000
  The Peabody Trust Dwellings                       17·2  „   „
  The Metropolitan Association Dwellings            14·3  „   „
  The Newcastle Improved Industrial Dwellings       12·0  „   „
  The general death rate for the Metropolis at the
  same date being                                   21·2  „   „

It is of course necessary that the sanitary arrangements of industrial
dwellings of the block type should be very perfect, and as to the manner
in which they should be erected the following words of Mr. John Price,
who for twelve years had lived in one of them himself, can be here given
with advantage:[201]

“Model dwellings are therefore most appreciated by working men when
placed near the scene of their daily labour. The arrangements most
preferred are those which bring the fewest families or persons in
contact with one another on a flat or landing. As a rule the buildings
should not exceed four stories in height; the staircases should be about
four feet in width, and broken by short landings, lighted by large
windows open to the external air; the window-sills should not be less
than three feet from the floors for the safety of young children, and
for the same reason well staircases should be avoided. The steps of the
stairs should only have a 6-inch ‘rise,’ for the more easy accommodation
of old people and young children; they should be fire-proof, and well
lighted with gas on an evening. There should be a thick layer of
deafening between the floors. The waterclosets should be placed in an
offshoot from the main building, opening on to each landing, and well
ventilated by open windows and air bricks. The watercloset apparatus
should be as simple and effective as possible. Patents depending upon
the proper working of valves and ball-cocks should be avoided, as the
fruitful cause of trouble and expense; little reliance must be placed on
their proper use by tenants where more than one family have access to
them. I have seen excellent closets stopped up with cloths and all
manner of earthenware and hardware, children of careless parents being
the principal offenders; what is everybody’s duty is often most
neglected. It will be found most economical in large buildings of this
class to appoint a person whose duty it should be to attend to the
proper flushing of waterclosets daily. I would suggest that there
should be a large cistern under the roof (distinct from the cistern used
for domestic purposes), a ³⁄₄-inch feed pipe should lead to each w.c.,
which should consist of a simple metal or earthenware pan, provided only
with a tap, flushing rim, and plug, placed under the seat securely, and
under the sole control of the attendant, who, by the necessary daily
inspection, would detect any stoppage or injury to the fittings. The
expense of such supervision would probably be soon saved in plumbers’
bills. Of course the soil-pipes should be well ventilated above the roof
of the building, and all drains and sinks should be properly trapped.
The attendant on his daily rounds would also be able to see that these
are kept in proper order. The dust-shaft, extending to the full height
of the building, should have proper hoppers connected with it to prevent
the dust coming from the lower or upper landings; a nuisance sometimes
complained of in block dwellings. The washhouses should be placed on the
roof or in the yards, fitted with set pots and requisite conveniences.
The soft water from the roofs should be stored in tanks for washing and
domestic purposes--it will be much appreciated by sensible tenants, and
save the water bill greatly.

“The great desiderata of these large blocks of buildings is ample
playground for the children, without which they play upon the stairs,
and are often the cause of strife amongst neighbours. I know those who
have experience in the matter may say that it is more easy to state what
is desirable than what is practical. The enhanced value of land in all
our large towns precludes any liberal investment on what appears so
financially unremunerative as playgrounds, yet they are essential
adjuncts wherever there is an infantile population. Mr. Powell, on
behalf of the London Trades’ Unions, enumerated before Sir Richard
Cross’s Committee certain objections which the working classes of London
entertained against the earliest erected blocks of dwellings, amongst
which was their barrack-like and uninviting appearance, and also their
want of playgrounds for children. Recently these defects have been
greatly remedied.”

A few words are necessary upon the “Labouring Classes’ Lodging Houses
Acts” (14 & 15 Vic. c. 34; 29 & 30 Vic. c. 28; 30 & 31 Vic. c. 28).

The object of these Acts was to empower urban authorities, under certain
restrictions and after certain formalities, to appropriate any lands
vested in them or at their disposal, or to purchase or rent the
necessary lands for the purpose of erecting suitable buildings for
lodging-houses for the working classes, or to convert any buildings into
lodging-houses, and “repair and improve the same respectively with all
requisite furniture, fittings, and conveniences”; and further powers are
given in the Acts for the urban authority to contract with persons for
different objects, &c.

I am unable to give any experiences of the working of these Acts, for I
do not know of any urban authority which has carried them into effect,
the Artizans and Labourers’ Dwellings Improvement Acts having virtually
superseded them.

The following copy of the bye-laws as sanctioned by the Treasury in 1867
in connection with the Labouring Classes’ Lodging Houses Acts may,
however, be of interest, as well as the table of sizes of rooms which
follows:

Separate watercloset accommodation to be provided for each tenement, or
else, where watercloset accommodation is to be used in common by the
occupants of two or more tenements, separate accommodation must be
provided for each sex. Such accommodation may be either watercloset,
earthcloset, or privy.

Each tenement to have a dustbin or the use of a dustbin common to
several buildings.

Each tenement to be well lighted by external windows made to open.

Each tenement to have ready access to water.

Where several tenements in one building, proper ventilation to be
provided for the passages, staircases, &c.

The drains to be well constructed.

Parties to whom moneys to be advanced to enter into covenants with the
Public Works Loan Commissioners, that where there are several tenements
in one building they

(_a._) Will cause the passages, staircases, &c., to be kept clean;

(_b._) Will cause the waterclosets, &c., to be kept in good repair;

(_c._) Will cause the dustbins to be emptied at intervals of seven days;

(_d._) Will take precautions against any interruption in the supply of
water;

(_e._) Will keep the windows in good order and repair, and the chimneys
swept;

(_f._) Will keep the drains in proper order;

(_g._) Will allow inspection by Commissioner of Works to see that the
above covenants are observed.

Number of cubic feet in each room of the several classes of tenements
(none of less than two rooms) for which money has been authorised to be
advanced:

  ------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
                          |  One  |  One  |  One  |  One  |  One
                          |Room of|Room of|Room of|Room of|Room of
                          | cubic | cubic | cubic | cubic | cubic
           Class.         | feet. | feet. | feet. | feet. | feet.
  ------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
  Class I. of two rooms   |   715 | 1,219 |       |       |
  Ditto                   |   816 |   994 |       |       |
  Ditto                   |   995 | 1,020 |       |       |
  Class II. of four rooms |   960 |   960 |   960 |   960 |
  Class III. of five rooms|   372 |   675 |  1056 |  1056 |  1232
  Ditto                   |   446 |   459 |   459 |   781 |  1468
  ------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------

It may be information valuable to a town surveyor, if before closing
this chapter I draw attention to the provisions of the Municipal
Corporations Act 1882, sec. 3, which gives corporations power to convert
any corporate land into sites for working men’s dwellings, although the
corporation are not authorised to erect the dwellings thereon.

  [199] The term “officer of health,” as respects any urban sanitary
  district in England, means the medical officer of health appointed by
  the urban sanitary authority under the Public Health Act 1875 (42 & 43
  Vic. c. 64, s. 3).

  [200] The town surveyor is usually employed for this work.

  [201] _Vide_ ‘Industrial Dwellings from a Sanitary point of View,’ by
  John Price, Resident Agent, Newcastle-on-Tyne Industrial Dwellings
  Company, read September 28th, at the Congress of the Institute, held
  at Newcastle-on-Tyne.




CHAPTER XXV.

DEFECTS IN DWELLING-HOUSES, &C.


There are many defects in dwelling-houses with which it is the duty of
the sanitary inspector to deal, such as the Bakehouse Regulations Act,
offensive trades, nuisances rendering houses unfit for human habitation,
&c., but I propose to give in this chapter, in addition to those with
which I have already dealt, such subjects under this head as come within
the duties of the town surveyor.

The first which I propose to treat is that of the question of


_Cellar Dwellings._--These are at all times objectionable even if the
clauses of the Public Health Act 1875 be strictly carried out, and the
surveyor should discourage them as much as possible. Nothing more can be
said with reference to them than is contained in the provisions of the
above Act, which are as follows:[202]

“It shall not be lawful to let or occupy or suffer to be occupied
separately as a dwelling, any cellar (including for the purposes of this
Act in that expression any vault or underground room) built or rebuilt
after the passing of this Act, or which is not lawfully so let or
occupied at the time of the passing of this Act” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s.
71).

And with regard to existing cellar dwellings they are only to be let or
occupied on the following conditions:--

“Unless the cellar is in every part thereof at least seven feet in
height, measured from the floor to the ceiling thereof, and is at least
three feet of its height above the surface of the street or ground
adjoining or nearest to the same; and

“Unless there is outside of and adjoining the cellar and extending along
the entire frontage thereof, and upwards from six inches below the level
of the floor thereof up to the surface of the said street or ground, an
open area of at least two feet and six inches wide in every part; and

“Unless the cellar is effectually drained by means of a drain, the
uppermost part of which is one foot at least below the level of the
floor thereof; and

“Unless there is appurtenant to the cellar the use of a watercloset,
earthcloset, or privy, and an ashpit, furnished with proper doors and
coverings, according to the provisions of this Act; and

“Unless the cellar has a fireplace with a proper chimney or flue, and an
external window of at least nine superficial feet in area clear of the
sash frame, and made to open in a manner approved by the surveyor
(except in the case of an inner or back cellar let or occupied along
with a front cellar as part of the same letting or occupation, in which
case the external window may be of any dimensions, not being less than
four superficial feet in area clear of the sash frame).

“Provided that in any area adjoining a cellar there may be steps
necessary for access to such cellar, if the same be so placed as not to
be over, across, or opposite to the said external window, and so as to
allow between every part of such steps and the external wall of such
cellar a clear space of six inches at the least, and that over or across
any such area there may be steps necessary for access to any building
above the cellar to which such area adjoins, if the same be so placed as
not to be over, across, or opposite to any such external window” (38 &
39 Vic. c. 55, s. 72).

Where two convictions in respect of the same cellar have taken place
within three months, the local authority may close it, and recover any
expenses incurred by them in the execution of this duty (38 & 39 Vic.,
c. 55, s. 75).

The next defect in a dwelling-house which will be considered is that of


_Insufficient W.C. accommodation._--A new house may not be erected
without “a sufficient watercloset, earthcloset,[203] or privy” under a
penalty not exceeding twenty pounds[204] (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 35).

And with regard to existing premises:

“If a house within the district of a local authority appears to such
authority _by the report of their surveyor_ or inspector of nuisances to
be without a sufficient watercloset, earthcloset, or privy . . . . the
local authority shall by written notice require the owner or occupier of
the house within a reasonable time therein specified, to provide a
sufficient watercloset, earthcloset, or privy . . . . or either of them
as the case may require. If such notice is not complied with the local
authority may, at the expiration of the time specified in the notice, do
the work, provided that where a watercloset, earthcloset, or privy has
been and is used in common by the inmates of two or more houses, or if
in the opinion of the local authority a watercloset, earthcloset, or
privy may be so used, they need not require the same to be provided for
each house” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 36).

If the local authority approve, an earthcloset may be constructed
instead of a watercloset, but in this case they should make arrangements
for the supply of the dry earth and the removal of its contents.

The necessary form of notice to be served in connection with
insufficient w.c. accommodation may be as follows:

  _To the owner of the house No.        in the borough of       ._

  Whereas the above-mentioned house is situate within the district of
  the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of       , the urban sanitary
  authority for the borough of       : And whereas it appears to the
  said urban sanitary authority that the said house is without a
  sufficient watercloset, earthcloset, or privy: Now the said urban
  sanitary authority do hereby require you, the said owner, within
         from the date of this notice to provide a sufficient
  watercloset for the use of the inhabitants of the said house. And take
  notice, that if you do not within the time above specified provide a
  sufficient watercloset, as aforesaid, to the satisfaction of the said
  urban sanitary authority, they will themselves, at the expiration of
  such time, do the necessary work to provide such closet accommodation
  as aforesaid, and proceed to recover the costs and expenses thereby
  incurred in manner provided by the Public Health Act 1875.

  Dated this        of       , 188 .

  ______________________________
  _Surveyor to the said Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses._

And where the case demands, the following note may be added below the
above notice:

  “NOTE.--The urban sanitary authority may, if they so determine,
  require a separate watercloset to be provided for each house, or they
  may permit a watercloset to be used in common by the inmates of two or
  more houses,[205] but in either case the closet itself must be
  properly constructed and provided with due means of ventilation. The
  urban sanitary authority will approve of the existing closet
  accommodation if it is perfected by means of the following works being
  carried out. (Specification of work required to be done must here be
  inserted.) The whole of the work to be executed in a workmanlike
  manner and to my entire approval.

  “It is, however, to be understood that the above notice requiring the
  work to be executed within one month will be rigidly enforced; and if
  at the expiration of that time the work be not completed, the urban
  sanitary authority will themselves proceed to execute the necessary
  work to provide proper closet accommodation in such manner as they may
  deem most advisable, without pledging themselves to the adoption of
  the method above suggested.”

  ______________________________
  _Surveyor to the said Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses._

With regard to watercloset accommodation for factories, it appears to
rest entirely with the town surveyor to draw the attention of the
sanitary authority to any case where he considers this is deficient, as
by the following clause:

“Where it appears to any local authority by the report of their surveyor
that any house is used or intended to be used as a factory or building
in which persons of both sexes are employed or intended to be employed
at one time in any manufacture, trade, or business, the local authority
may, if they think fit, by written notice require the owner or occupier
of such house, within the time therein specified, to construct a
sufficient number of waterclosets, earthclosets, or privies and ashpits
for the separate use of each sex.

“Any person who neglects or refuses to comply with any such notice shall
be liable for each default to a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds, and
to a further penalty not exceeding forty shillings for every day during
which the default is continued” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 38).

In providing closet accommodation which is to be used in common by the
occupants of a number of houses, it must be remembered that it should
be of the most simple description. Any one acquainted with the working
of waterclosets situated in courts and alleys will know how badly they
are treated, and into what a fearful state of disrepair and filth they
speedily fall, as the great difficulty the sanitary inspector always
finds is to have them kept clean; “What is everybody’s business is
nobody’s.” And although by clauses 40, 41, 46, &c., of the Public Health
Act 1875 persons causing a nuisance can be punished, it is a difficult
matter to detect the person in fault, unless of course it is a
structural defect, when the owner can be summoned if it is allowed to
remain uncured.

For this reason what are known as “Fowler’s closets,” or some
modification of this principle, should be adopted in all such localities
where earthclosets or some of the dry systems are not in force, as they
are without any complicated valve apparatus or anything of the kind.

The last point to consider in this chapter is that of _Houses without a
proper supply of water_.

“Where on _the report of the surveyor_ of a local authority it appears
that any house is without a proper supply of water, and that such a
supply can be furnished at a cost not exceeding that authorised by any
local Act, or where there is not any local Act, not exceeding twopence a
week, or at such other cost as the Local Government Board may determine,
the local authority shall give notice in writing to the owner, requiring
him, within a time specified, to obtain such supply, and to do all such
works as may be necessary for that purpose,[206] and in default of his
doing so may carry out all necessary works themselves for obtaining such
supply” (_vide_ 38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. lxii.).

It is not very often that a house is found without any supply of water
at all, for if that from the mains is not laid on it is generally found
that the house is supplied from a well or from a stand-pipe in a court,
or some similar source. If the water is derived from an impure well or
other contaminated source, the following clause of the Public Health Act
1875 must be enforced in order to close the well or compel the
discontinuance of the polluted supply, when a “proper” supply of water
can be enforced in the manner I have described:

“On the representation of any person to any local authority that within
their district the water in any well, tank, or cistern, public or
private, or supplied from any public pump, and used or likely to be used
by man for drinking or domestic purposes, or for manufacturing drinks
for the use of man, is so polluted as to be injurious to health, such
authority may apply to a court of summary jurisdiction for an order to
remedy the same; and thereupon such court shall summon the owner or
occupier of the premises to which the well, tank, or cistern belongs if
it be private, and in the case of a public well, tank, cistern or pump,
any person alleged in the application to be interested in the same, and
may either dismiss the application, or may make an order directing the
well, tank, cistern, or pump to be permanently or temporarily closed, or
the water to be used for certain purposes only, or such other order as
may appear to them to be requisite to prevent injury to the health of
persons drinking the water.

“The court may, if they see fit, cause the water complained of to be
analysed at the cost of the local authority applying to them under this
section.

“If the person on whom an order under this section is made fails to
comply with the same, the court may, on the application of the local
authority, authorise them to do whatever may be necessary in the
execution of the order, and any expenses incurred by them may be
recovered in a summary manner from the person on whom the order is
made.

“Expenses incurred by any rural authority in the execution of this
section, and not recovered by them as aforesaid, shall be special
expenses” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 70).

It is an established fact that wells within a town must always be
regarded with some suspicion, and where they exist either publicly or
privately the local authority would do well to have the water from them
analysed with a view to having them closed. Even cisterns, if not
frequently examined and cleansed, will cause the water that is stored in
them to become polluted, not only from the dust of the air settling in
them and the natural impurities of the water passing through them, but
frequently from foreign objects falling into them and decaying, such as
rats, mice, cats, and in one case that I know of, a sirloin of beef, and
in another a plumber! These remained in the cistern until the colour,
smell, and taste of the water drew the attention of the drinkers to
“something being the matter!” The cure for the chance of such cases as
these is of course the constant supply.

  [202] Any cellar in which any person passes the night shall be deemed
  to be occupied as a dwelling within the meaning of this Act (38 & 39
  Vic. c. 55, s. 74).

  [203] “In this Act (P. H. Act 1875) the term ‘earth closet’ includes
  any place for the reception and deodorization of fæcal matter
  constructed to the satisfaction of the local authority” (38 & 39 Vic.
  c. 55, s. 37).

  [204] In case of several houses together, it has been held as not
  necessary to have separate accommodation for each house, if there is
  sufficient for them collectively. (Clutton Guardians v. Pointing, 4 Q.
  B. Division 340, 48 L. J. M. C. 137.)

  [205] It is not always possible for a separate w.c. to be provided for
  each house, hence the wisdom of the law which makes it permissive for
  a local authority to allow a group of tenements to be provided for by
  several waterclosets close together.

  [206] A similar provision is made requiring the keeper of a common
  lodging house to obtain a proper supply of water (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55,
  s. 81), but it does not appear to be the express duty of the town
  surveyor to draw attention to this, as it does in the more general
  clause.




CHAPTER XXVI.

HOUSE DRAINAGE.


It would not be possible in one chapter of a book of this description to
enter into all the details and necessary apparatus in connection with
house drainage. I propose only to point out some of the town surveyor’s
duties in connection with this subject, and to add a few remarks which
may be of some service.

The definition of the word “drain” as given in the Public Health Act
1875 is as follows:

“‘Drain’ means any drain of and used for the drainage of one building
only, or premises within the same curtilage, and made merely for the
purpose of communicating therefrom with a cesspool or other like
receptacle for drainage, or with a sewer into which the drainage of two
or more buildings or premises occupied by different persons is conveyed”
(38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 4).

Although this definition is very clear, it occasionally happens,
especially in old towns, that some doubt arises as to whether an
existing conduit for sewage is a “drain” or a “sewer”[207] for though a
conduit is of small size it maybe found to be carrying the sewage of two
or more buildings, and thus is really “a sewer belonging to the local
authority.”

This difficulty often leads to litigation where a notice having been
served upon an owner of property to put in a new drain in place of one
that has been found on examination to be defective, the new work is of
course commenced at the junction with the main sewer, and it is not
until the new so-called drain is nearly completed that it is found to
be “used for the drainage” of more than one building, and is in fact “a
sewer into which the drainage of two or more buildings or premises,
occupied by different persons is conveyed” (see clause quoted above),
and is therefore repairable by the local authority (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55,
s. 13).

Where the town surveyor is in any doubt as to whether the conduit is a
drain or a sewer, he should test from whence the sewage comes by passing
diluted white lime or carbolic acid down the adjacent water-closets and
watching whether it flows through the conduit or not, but even here he
is sometimes at fault if the drains are old and dilapidated, as they do
not reach the point he is watching and he is thus misled.

In connection with the question of house drainage the town surveyor has
the following duties to perform:

(1.) To inspect all new drains that are constructed in connection with
existing buildings within his district.

(2.) To inspect all drains of new buildings that are constructed within
his district.

(3.) To inspect all defective drains within his district, serve the
necessary notices in respect thereof, and inspect the works he has
required to be executed whilst they are in progress.

(1.) With reference to the first of these duties the following is the
clause of the Public Health Act 1875 which bears upon the point:

“The owner or occupier of any premises within the district of a local
authority shall be entitled to cause his drains to empty into the sewers
of that authority on condition of his giving such notice as may be
required by that authority of his intention so to do, and of complying
with the regulations of that authority in respect of the mode in which
the communications between such drains and sewers are to be made, and
subject to the control of any person who may be appointed by that
authority to superintend the making of such communications. Any person
causing a drain to empty into a sewer of a local authority without
complying with the provisions of this section shall be liable to a
penalty not exceeding twenty pounds, and the local authority may close
any communication between a drain and sewer made in contravention of
this section . . . .” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 21).

The first thing therefore that a local authority has to do is to frame
the necessary regulations and appoint a “person to superintend the
making of such communications.”

The following is given as a specimen form of the manner in which these
regulations may be compiled:[208]

  _Regulations made and ordained by the Urban Sanitary Authority for
        , as to the giving of notice before any drains are made to
  communicate with the sewers of the said Urban Sanitary Authority;
  regulating the mode in which such communications are to be made; and
  appointing the person under whose superintendence and control the work
  is to be executed._

1.--No communication shall be made with any sewer belonging to the said
Urban Sanitary Authority, nor any drain made to empty therein, unless
notice of an intention so to do, signed by the owner or occupier of the
premises to which such drains belong, be left at the office of the
borough surveyor two days previously; and such notice must specify the
point at which it is desired that communication shall be made, and the
time at which it is proposed the work shall be commenced, and any person
not complying with these regulations will be liable to a penalty not
exceeding twenty pounds.

2.--Work required to be done in connecting any house drain or drains
with the main or public sewer, shall be executed in the following
manner:

The ground to be excavated to the required depth with all possible
expedition, the work to proceed by night and day; and there shall be
maintained during the progress of the work all such fencings, hoardings,
struttings, and shorings, as may be necessary for or in consequence of
any of the works, for the protection of the public, and of all buildings
and property whatever, near to or liable to be affected by the work,
which shall also be well watched and lighted.

The shoring and strutting of the excavation is to be done in such
manner, with poling boards, waling pieces and struts, as the surveyor
shall consider necessary.

All surplus earth or material is to be carted away as speedily as
possible. Care must be taken where the excavation is made in a road or
path to keep separate the surface material from the lower, so as to
replace them in their proper positions.

The excavation shall in all cases where practicable be in open cutting,
and not by shafts and headings.

The junction with the main sewer to be done in the following manner:--

The drain shall in no case be less than four inches internal diameter,
and shall be constructed of well-burnt glazed socketed stoneware pipes,
circular, perfectly true in bore, and straight, with whole socket joints
free from flaws, blisters, cracks, or other defects, set in Portland
cement joints with a uniform fall, well bedded on well-rammed and solid
ground, the sockets being sunk into it so as to give an even bearing.
No shafts or sudden falls will be allowed.

Where the junction is with a sewer constructed of pipes, one length of
the sewer (or more if necessary) shall be removed and an oblique proper
glazed socket junction pipe, set in Portland cement, inserted in its
place.

The junction with the sewer shall be of the same size as the drain.

Where the junction is with a brick or stone sewer, the connection shall
be made at such height above the invert as the surveyor shall determine,
and be made with a glazed socket pipe obliquely in line of current of
main sewer, properly bedded in with cement, cut off so as to take the
form of the main sewer and offer no obstruction to the proper flow of
sewage therein, or with a properly constructed stoneware block junction.

On completion of the junction, which shall be made before any of the
pipe drain is laid, it shall be inspected by the surveyor, and the work
must not be further proceeded with until such inspection has been made
and the junction pronounced satisfactory. The drain shall be properly
trapped between the sewer and the house, with a syphon of such form as
the surveyor shall direct, and be at its inlet end or other extremity
carried up open its full diameter to above the roof line.

The excavation is to be filled in within six inches of the surface of
the ground, with layers of earth not more than six inches in thickness,
carefully rammed or punned with iron punners of not less weight than 10
lbs.

The surface of a roadway must be brought up to its proper level with the
surface material kept separate, and properly broken or other approved
road metal, and the roadway where broken shall be kept in repair by the
person opening the ground for a period of twelve months after the
completion of the work.

If the excavation is made under a footpath or paved road, the paving
must be made good and kept in repair for a similar period.

3.--A. B. C., the present borough surveyor, and his successors in
office, or the person for the time being acting as or discharging the
duties of borough surveyor, are hereby appointed as the person or
persons to superintend the making of such communications with the public
sewers as aforesaid.

       *       *       *       *       *

(1.) Notwithstanding the stringency of the above regulations it is very
difficult to ensure that the whole of the new drain is properly executed
by the person who is carrying out the work, for if he wishes to deceive
the surveyor’s department it is not very difficult to do so in works of
this description. It would be far better if all drains of dwelling
houses could be constructed solely by the staff of the local authority,
and failing any general act upon the subject, that they should be able
to obtain private powers to do so.

It is illegal for anyone to touch the surface of either roadway or
footpath for any purpose whatever[209] without the consent of the urban
authority (see 38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, sec. 149), and especially to touch or
interfere with the main sewers. All such work could be done better and
cheaper, both for the ratepayers and the owners of property, if carried
out by the trained staff of the local authority; nothing would be gained
by scamping the work, and one of the worst stumbling blocks in the
interests of sanitation would be removed by this simple and effective
measure. Gas and water companies invariably refuse to allow anyone to
interfere with their mains or services, but execute the work with their
own men; how much more important is it that house drains and sewers
should be equally protected. If a gas or water main or house service
leaks through defective work it is quickly detected and remedied; not so
with a drain or sewer, the deadly gases may be oozing through defective
joints or the foul liquid may be poisoning the soil under the adjacent
dwelling houses, and many victims may suffer before the cause is
ascertained, and even then laborious legal machinery has to be put in
force before it can be rectified.

The only objections that can be raised to the plan I so strongly
advocate are, first, the interference with the trade connections and
interests of builders and others; and secondly, the responsibility
incurred by the local authority to execute thoroughly sound and good
work, and the difficulty they might afterwards experience if it was
necessary to find fault with their own work. The first objection should
really have no weight when lives are at stake, and the responsibility
incurred by the second objection ought not to be shirked.

Until some alteration is made in the present law the town surveyor must
be as vigilant as he can, and endeavour to induce the public to look
more closely themselves into such all-important points.

(2.) The next duty of the town surveyor is to inspect all drains of new
buildings that are being constructed in his district.

I have dealt with this subject in the chapter on “New Buildings.” The
model bye-laws to which I have there referred contain some excellent
principles in reference to this matter, and too much power cannot be
given to a local authority in respect of house drains, even to the
extent of prohibiting any one else to construct them. The main sewer,
shared in common as it is by all the inhabitants of a town, must be
looked upon as a common danger, and each house that connects with it
should so far as possible be severed from it; at the same time the drain
must be so constructed that the sewage reaches the sewer as quickly and
as completely as possible, without any nuisance or knowledge of the
unpleasant nature of its contents or those in the sewer reaching the
inhabitants of the house: this is the key-note of all house drainage,
and many excellent books and descriptions of this class of work have
been from time to time written.

(3.) The next duty of the town surveyor is to inspect all defective
drains within his district, and serve the necessary notices, &c.

This duty is embodied in the following clauses of the Public Health Act,
1875:

“Where any house within the district of a local authority is without a
drain sufficient for effectual drainage, the local authority shall by
written notice require the owner or occupier of such house, within a
reasonable time therein specified, to make a covered drain or drains
emptying into any sewer which the local authority are entitled to use,
and which is not more than one hundred feet from the site of such house;
but if no such means of drainage are within that distance, then emptying
into such covered cesspool or other place not being under any house as
the local authority direct; and the local authority may require any such
drain or drains to be of such materials and size, and to be laid at such
level and with such fall, as on the report of their surveyor may appear
to them to be necessary.

“If such notice is not complied with, the local authority may, after the
expiration of the time specified in the notice, do the work required,
and may recover in a summary manner the expenses incurred by them in so
doing from the owner, or may by order declare the same to be private
improvement expenses.

“Provided that where, in the opinion of the local authority, greater
expense would be incurred in causing the drains of two or more houses to
empty into an existing sewer pursuant to this section, than in
constructing a new sewer and causing such drains to empty therein, the
local authority may construct such new sewer, and require the owners or
occupiers of such houses to cause their drains to empty therein, and may
apportion as they deem just the expenses of the construction of such
sewer among the owners of the several houses, and recover in a summary
manner the sums apportioned from such owners, or may by order declare
the same to be private improvement expenses” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s.
23).

The above clause is the most simple under which this duty can be carried
out, provided it can be proved that the house[210] is “without a drain
sufficient for effectual drainage,” and for this purpose it would
probably be necessary to enter the premises and open up and examine the
drain, unless, of course, it was a case where no drain existed to the
house at all, or was evidently and notoriously without “effectual
drainage.” In order to enter for this purpose the requisite powers are
conferred in the following clause of the Public Health Act 1875:

“The local authority, or any of their officers, shall be admitted into
any premises for the purpose of examining as to the existence of any
nuisance thereon, or of enforcing the provisions of any Act in force
within the district requiring fireplaces and furnaces to consume their
own smoke, at any time between the hours of nine in the forenoon and six
in the afternoon, or in the case of a nuisance arising in respect of any
business, then at any hour when such business is in progress or is
usually carried on.

“Where under this Act a nuisance has been ascertained to exist, or an
order of abatement or prohibition has been made, the local authority or
any of their officers shall be admitted from time to time into the
premises between the hours aforesaid, until the nuisance is abated, or
the works ordered to be done are completed, as the case may be.

“Where an order of abatement or prohibition has not been complied with,
or has been infringed, the local authority, or any of their officers,
shall be admitted from time to time at all reasonable hours, or at all
hours during which business is in progress or is usually carried on,
into the premises where the nuisance exists, in order to abate the same.

“If admission to premises for any of the purposes of this section is
refused, any justice on complaint thereof on oath by any officer of the
local authority (made after reasonable notice in writing of the
intention to make the same has been given to the person having custody
of the premises), may, by order under his hand, require the person
having custody of the premises to admit the local authority, or their
officer, into the premises during the hours aforesaid, and if no person
having custody of the premises can be found, the justice shall, on oath
made before him of that fact, by order under his hand authorise the
local authority or any of their officers to enter such premises during
the hours aforesaid.

“Any order made by a justice for admission of the local authority or any
of their officers on premises shall continue in force until the nuisance
has been abated, or the work for which the entry was necessary has been
done” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 102).

The above clause also gives the necessary powers of entry where the
following clause of the Public Health Act is enforced with reference to
defective house drainage, instead of the 23rd section which I have
quoted.

“On the written application of any person to a local authority, stating
that any drain, watercloset, earthcloset, privy, ashpit, or cesspool on
or belonging to any premises within their district is a nuisance, or
injurious to health (but not otherwise), the local authority may, by
writing, empower their surveyor or inspector of nuisances, after
twenty-four hours’ written notice to the occupier of such premises, or
in case of emergency without notice, to enter such premises, with or
without assistants, and cause the ground to be opened, and examine such
drain, watercloset, earthcloset, privy, ashpit, or cesspool. If the
drain, watercloset, earthcloset, privy, ashpit, or cesspool on
examination is found to be in proper condition, he shall cause the
ground to be closed, and any damage done to be made good as soon as can
be, and the expenses of the works shall be defrayed by the local
authority. If the drain, watercloset, earthcloset, privy, ashpit, or
cesspool on examination appear to be in bad condition, or to require
alteration or amendment, the local authority shall forthwith cause
notice in writing to be given to the owner or occupier of the premises
requiring him forthwith or within a reasonable time therein specified to
do the necessary works; and if such notice is not complied with, the
person to whom it is given shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding
ten shillings for every day during which he continues to make default,
and the local authority may, if they think fit, execute such works, and
may recover in a summary manner from the owner the expenses incurred by
them in so doing, or may by order declare the same to be private
improvement expenses” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 41).

In acting upon the above clause it is well to note the machinery that is
necessary in order to secure success in the event of a prosecution.

(1.) The notice to the local authority of the existence of a nuisance
arising from a drain, &c., must be in writing, and that authority must
then proceed to consider the notice.

(2.) If they agree to take action the local authority may empower their
surveyor to enter the premises (with or without notice as the case may
require) but this order to him must also be in writing.[211]

(3.) If the surveyor is allowed by the occupier of the premises to enter
(and in default he must put the 102nd section which I have quoted in
force) he may then open the ground “with or without assistants.”

(4.) If he finds a defective drain he must then report to the local
authority in writing, unless he has been primarily invested by the local
authority with such powers as will dispense with such report.[212]

(5.) The local authority shall “forthwith cause notice in writing to be
given to the owner, &c.” to do the work.

(6.) If the owner executes the work the surveyor must supervise its
execution.

(7.) If this work is not done within a reasonable time the local
authority “may if they think fit” execute the works; the surveyor has
probably to carry them out, after having obtained the necessary
permission to enter for the purpose.

(8.) The costs of the work have to be recovered.

Anyone acquainted with local government will know how difficult and
tedious such processes must necessarily be, the delay between the
meetings of the local authority being quite sufficient to make the
matter in dispute last a considerable time, and this delay is extremely
undesirable where a nuisance arising from a defective house-drain is in
existence.

There seems to be no doubt that the clauses which are given in the
Public Health Act 1875 empower the local authority to specify without
dispute the class of work they think necessary in order to remedy any
evils arising from a defective drain, but it is a pity that some more
simple process cannot be introduced to improve the sanitary condition of
a house without the necessity of so much laborious legal machinery.

There is still one other clause in the Public Health Act 1875, which
refers to house drainage, and it is as follows:

“Every local authority shall provide that all drains, waterclosets,
earthclosets, privies, ashpits, and cesspools within their district be
constructed and kept so as not to be a nuisance, or injurious to health”
(38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 40). But this clause is usually taken to apply
rather to nuisances arising from temporary defects than to more
important structural defects in a drain, and such nuisances come more
under the cognizance and duties of the inspector of nuisances than those
of the town surveyor.

It would not be possible, as I have already stated, in one chapter to
give all the detail descriptions of house drains and the necessary
apparatus in connection therewith, and besides very many excellent
books, pamphlets and papers have been from time to time written on this
important subject.[213] Before, however, bringing this chapter to a
conclusion, I will give a list of the essential requirements of all good
house drainage which may be of some use to the town surveyor:

(1.) A house drain should be constructed of stoneware pipes (not
earthenware or fire clay), these are generally salt glazed, and should
be perfectly smooth or even slippery inside, the pipes must be of true
circular section and thickness of material, and straight in the
direction of their length, with whole sockets of proper depth, and free
from any cracks, blisters, sand holes, or other defects. As even the
most carefully manufactured pipes vary somewhat in diameter of sockets;
&c., it is well to have them sorted before commencing the work; it is
scarcely necessary to add that no “seconds” should be allowed on the
works.

(2.) The internal diameter of the drain should not be too large; 6
inches may be considered as a maximum, 4 inches is generally quite
sufficient to carry off all the sewage from an extensive establishment,
even if all the water from the roofs or a portion of them is included.

(3.) The inclination is governed by circumstances, but about 1 in 60 is
found to be a very convenient fall for many hydraulic, and other
reasons.

(4.) The jointing of the pipes should be executed with great care; if
cement joints are made each pipe should be jointed separately, and it
should be seen that no cement is left in the drain. Sometimes tarred
gaskin is used to prevent this, and Stanford’s patent joints are
excellent where running water or sewage has to be contended with, or
great despatch of the work is necessary.[214]

(5.) The sockets of the pipes should be sunk into the ground at the
bottom of the trench so as to give an even bearing, which amongst other
benefits dispenses with the chance of settlements.

(6.) No pipes should be allowed to be covered in until they have been
inspected by the town surveyor or his assistants, and in order to test
the soundness of the joints, it is a good plan to fill the drain with
water, having first stopped up the lower end, and note the effect.

(7.) Drains should not pass under buildings if it can be avoided, but if
unavoidable they must be buried in good concrete, and relieving arches
turned to any walls passing over them. In America iron pipes are used
under houses.

(8.) Care must be exercised, in filling in over pipes, not to break or
injure them.

(9.) The trap to a house drain should be a “Buchan” or other similar
syphon with a good cascade action, its position must be guided by
circumstances.

(10.) The drain should end at the outside wall of the house and be
carried up the wall its full diameter to above the roof for ventilation,
an inlet for fresh air being essential on the house side of the trap; if
the drain has to pass under the house it must be similarly carried up on
the other side.

(11.) The connection with the main sewer has been already described.

In conclusion I would urge the necessity of a register of all drains
being kept that are examined by the surveyor’s department. This can be
done by having a series of numbered notebooks kept solely for this
purpose, and all the information thus acquired should also be plotted on
the map of the town if on a sufficiently large scale.

The necessity of correct plans of the drainage of buildings cannot be
over-estimated, especially for hospitals, asylums, workhouses, schools,
or other public buildings, and even for the smallest dwelling house such
a plan would often prove to be the greatest boon to the occupier or
owner as well as at all times to the town surveyor, the medical officer
of health, and the inspector of nuisances.

  [207] For definitions of the word “sewer,” see the chapter on
  Sewerage.

  [208] The New York Board of Health require that earthenware drain
  pipes connecting dwellings with street sewers shall be hard and salt
  glazed, sound and cylindrical; at least ⁵⁄₈ths of an inch thick if 5
  inches in diameter, and ³⁄₄ of an inch thick if 6 inches in diameter.
  Pipe must be connected with hydraulic cement of the best quality. No
  “tempered up” cement can be used. The pipes must be laid with such
  good alignment that the inspector can see through the entire line from
  the house to the sewer, and every section must be bedded in cement so
  as to have a firm bearing, not only at the hub, but along its entire
  length. The inside of the drain must be freed from all cement which
  may have oozed through at the joints, and from all other obstructions.
  Before the drain is covered notice must be sent to the Health
  Department, by the owner or plumber, that the inspector may visit and
  examine the work, and the Board of Health will not approve or permit a
  drain which has not been examined by one of its inspectors and found
  to be properly constructed.

  [209] See chapter on “Breaking up Streets.”

  [210] The definition of house is as follows:--“House” includes
  schools, also factories and other buildings in which more than twenty
  persons are employed at one time. (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 4)

  [211] Notices, orders, and other such documents under this Act may be
  in writing or print, or partly in writing and partly in print; and if
  the same require authentication by the local authority, the signature
  thereof by the clerk to the local authority or their surveyor or
  inspector of nuisances shall be sufficient authentication (38 & 39
  Vic. c. 55, s. 266).

  [212] Having obtained admission to the premises, the inspection of the
  alleged nuisance should be so conducted as to enable the local
  authority to determine whether it exists, or whether it existed at the
  time the notice was given, and whether, although it has since been
  removed or discontinued, it is likely to recur or to be repeated; and
  in all cases it will be the most expedient course to reduce to writing
  the result of the inspection. When the inspection is made by an
  officer of the local authority, it will also be expedient for that
  authority, on receiving the report of their officer formally and in
  writing, to record the conclusions to which they have come after
  considering his report in order to ground further proceedings. (_Vide_
  ‘Law of Public Health and Local Government,’ by W. C. and A. G. Glen,
  8th edition, p. 81.)

  [213] For ample information on the subject of house drainage and
  similar subjects see the following books, etc.:-- Bailey Denton’s
  ‘Sanitary Engineering’; Baldwin Latham’s ‘Sanitary Engineering’;
  Buchan’s ‘Plumbing’; Slagg’s ‘Sanitary Work’; Hart’s ‘Manual of Public
  Health’; Hellyer’s ‘Plumber and Sanitary Houses’; Galton’s ‘Healthy
  Dwellings’; ‘House Drainage,’ by W. A. Tylor; Philbrick’s ‘American
  Sanitary Engineering,’ and many others, besides the numerous reports
  of the “Health of Towns Commission,” and several articles in the
  _Sanitary Record_, the _Sanitary Engineer of New York_, and Mr.
  Rawlinson’s ‘Hints,’ all of which should be studied by the town
  surveyor.

  [214] In some parts of the north of England taper pipes are used about
  20 inches in length, the internal diameter of the larger end being
  slightly greater than the external diameter of the smaller end, thus
  allowing the small end of one pipe to enter the large end of another.
  Continuous lengths of cement pipes made _in situ_ are also now being
  introduced.




CHAPTER XXVII.

PUBLIC PLEASURE GROUNDS AND STREET TREES.


Amongst the clauses of the Public Health Act 1875 which affect the
duties of the town surveyor will be found the following:

“Any urban authority may purchase or take on lease, lay out, plant,
improve, and maintain lands for the purpose of being used as public
walks or pleasure grounds, and may support or contribute to the support
of public walks or pleasure grounds provided by any person whomsoever.

“Any urban authority may make bye-laws for the regulation of any such
public walk or pleasure ground, and may by such bye-laws provide for the
removal from such public walk or pleasure ground of any person
infringing any such bye-law by any officer of the urban authority or
constable” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 164).

There are very few, if any, cities or towns in this country that have
not availed themselves of this clause, even if they did not already
possess one if not more public parks or pleasure grounds of some
description, these having either been given by some benevolent citizen
or acquired in some other manner by the urban authority.[215]

Included in the powers given by the above clause are no doubt those
regulating the acquisition and support of recreation or public
playgrounds, public walks, or old city walls or other places, and
disused burying grounds.[216]

In connection with the above clause of the Public Health Act, the town
surveyor may have the following duties to perform:

To advise his corporation upon the value, suitability, and desirability
of any site that is intended for use as a public park or recreation
ground, and after its acquisition to adapt it for the requisite
purposes. To effect this it must be drained and laid out with
carriage-drives, walks, lawns, flower-beds, plantations, and sometimes
streams, waterfalls, and lakes. He must design and erect the necessary
lodges, entrance gates, fences, shelters, seats,[217] band-stands, and
fountains, and must afterwards superintend the maintenance of these and
the rest of the works in connection with the pleasure ground.

It would be impossible to lay down any rules for the guidance of a
surveyor in carrying out these works, for each case must be dealt with
as its exigencies require, and a great deal of common sense, as well as
engineering, architectural, and artistic skill must be displayed by him
in carrying out any works of this description, details of which could
not possibly be given in a book of this size dealing with so many
subjects.[218]

A few suggestions may, however, be of some service on these points.

Public playgrounds for children should be composed of large, level,
well-rolled, gravelled spaces, with a few trees for shade, and some
sheds for shelter. Turf soon gets spoiled and worn bare, when it is not
so pleasant as well-rolled gravel, as it is far more dusty in dry
weather and very damp in wet, besides having an uncared-for appearance.

In public parks, shrubs planted singly directly on the lawns without any
beds around them have a very pleasing look, although it adds somewhat to
the difficulty of mowing the grass. The grass itself is greatly improved
if it is well dressed with manure in the spring and constantly watered
all the year round.

Paths should be gravelled in the autumn, care being taken to wait until
all the leaves have fallen, which are swept up and removed at once. A
good fence for a path, if any protection is necessary, is either a
strained wire fence or cast-iron hoops representing bent sticks. They
are both cheap, and stand well against weather and rough treatment.

A very economical and neat border to the footpaths can be made from the
old used-up flagstones from the foot pavements of the streets, these cut
up and placed on edge, especially if in conjunction with a pitched
channel gutter of pebbles, look remarkably well.

Ornamental flints make a pretty border, but they are nasty things for a
child to fall upon.

For flower-beds a flat border or edge of ivy has a very telling effect.
If there are ponds or lakes in the park there should be a broad path or
road close to the water’s edge. It is surprising what a great advantage
in effect this has over the plan of leaving a strip of green between the
path and the water.

The selection of the proper shrubs for a park and their distribution is
a matter that requires the advice of an expert gardener. The following
list of ordinary shrubs that will thrive well almost anywhere in this
country may however be of use for reference:

  Aucubas.
  Azaleas.
  Box.
  Berberises.
  Euonymus.
  Hollies.
  Ivies.
  Laurels.
  Lilacs.
  Mahorrias.
  Pampas grass.
  Privet.
  Rhododendrons.
  Thorns.
  Yuccas.

With regard to the selection of trees, this also requires skilled
advice, but a list is given further on in this chapter, of trees
suitable for street planting, which may be also some guide in this
respect.

In high gales of wind the surveyor may be expected to endeavour to save
valuable trees in a public park from being blown down. This may
sometimes be effected by a judicious application of chains or ropes, but
the better plan is to keep all trees well pruned and as free as possible
from “top hamper” and undue leverage from overhanging limbs.

On the pruning of trees and the removal of large limbs I must refer my
readers to a most admirable little book recently published in America,
being a translation from the celebrated ‘Treatise on Pruning Forest and
Ornamental Trees, by A. des Cars,’ which enters most fully into the
subject, and being of great practical value, should be studied by anyone
who has anything to do with the care of forest or other trees.[219]

With regard to the planting of trees along the sides of streets, our
French neighbours are much in advance of us.[220] It is true that in
this country, owing to the much larger consumption of coal as a domestic
fuel, there is more soot in the air, but it is erroneous to suppose that
trees will not thrive well in England. No doubt the moisture of our
climate causes the soot or “blacks” to adhere to the leaves and limbs of
the trees, but for that reason deciduous and not evergreen trees should
be selected for planting in towns, and these, if well chosen and
carefully planted, will most undoubtedly fully repay their first cost
and maintenance by the additional beauty to the street, the agreeable
shade they cast, and their generally healthful action on the population.

In selecting trees to plant along the sides of the streets or roads in
any towns, it is well to bear in mind that the following qualities are
necessary:--

The tree must be hardy; it must not be affected by a long-continued
drought; heat must not wither it nor make it look rusty; it must be able
to withstand dust, smoke, soot, foul air, and the insidious attacks of
insects, and be able to recover from any malicious or accidental injury
it may receive.

The tree must be of rapid growth, and develope a straight, clean stem
with shady foliage. It must be graceful either in full leaf or when bare
as in winter; its roots must not require too much room, and they must be
able to withstand the effects of pollution or rough treatment.

Although the foregoing list of requirements may seem rather formidable,
yet amongst the trees whose names now follow there will be found some
which meet many, if not all of these requirements, and which, if
properly planted with all reasonable care, may be expected to thrive if
planted at the sides of the streets in any town in this country.

LIST OF TREES SUITABLE FOR PLANTING AT THE SIDES OF STREETS.

  Western Plane.
  Lime.
  Maple.
  Horse Chestnut.
  Elm.
  Tulip tree.
  Lombardy Poplar.
  Ash.
  Willow.
  Beech.
  Birch.
  Oak.
  Sycamore.
  Copper Beech.
  Pawlonia.
  Ailantus Glandulosa.
  Laburnum.
  Lilac.
  Almond.
  Peach.
  Hawthorn.
  Acacia.
  Double Cherry, etc.

Of the above list the western plane for many reasons is the most
desirable. Its freshness when it bursts into green buds is well known,
and it is proverbial for its hardiness.

The lime was at one time the most popular tree for this purpose, but it
has several defects, the most notable being that its leaves wither
before the summer is over, and the tree assumes a lifeless look at a
time when most shade and freshness are required of it.

Of the remainder of the trees I have enumerated some are slow in growth,
which is a considerable drawback; others are not wholly free from being
affected by cold winds in the spring or by lice in the winter, and the
assistance of an expert is very necessary in selecting trees for this
important purpose.

Whatever trees are selected, the following precautions should be taken:

The young tree should have been well nourished in its nursery before
removal, and should on no account be planted in the street until its
stem is nearly 10 feet in height and about 3 inches in diameter. The
stem should be clean and straight, and the whole tree symmetrical.

The great difficulty in this country is to obtain sufficient numbers of
trees of the exact size and description, when it becomes necessary to
plant out a street. They have often to be imported, when it is found
that they are frequently unsuited both for soil and climate, besides
being very costly; thus many failures have arisen in consequence. To
obviate this necessity in Paris the Government have for many years
instituted and maintained special nurseries where trees are grown for
this purpose alone, these nurseries being situated at Passy, the Jardin
Fleuriste, and Petit Buy, no less than 115 men being constantly employed
in the work. Some further particulars will be given presently on the
cost of this work.

The trees thus nourished and selected should be planted in the autumn,
for there is a well-known saying that “a tree planted before Christmas
can be _ordered_ to grow; if planted after Christmas it must be _asked_
to do so”; and there is no doubt that if trees are planted too late in
the season great difficulty in getting them to grow is generally
experienced.

The excavated pits must be well drained, and filling the bottom of the
pit with rubble is a good plan. The further the tree can be planted from
the kerb the better, so as not only to give it a larger body of soil,
but to lessen the risk of killing the tree by the pollution of the
ground with gas from a defective main, and also excess of moisture from
the channel gutters. The distance apart of the trees is a matter of
choice. In Paris this is only 16 to 18 feet, but I think half a chain
(33 feet) is quite close enough; it economises trees and gives plenty of
room for the limbs of each tree to spread, and the intermediate
lamp-posts, watering hydrants, or other standards are not crowded out.

Each tree should have a cast-iron grating around its roots similar to
the following drawing:--

[Illustration]

This should be about 4 feet square. It prevents the ground getting hard
about the trees, and permits air and water to enter to the roots. It
also makes it easy to give any attention to the trees that they may
require when young, such as manuring, digging, &c.

The tree should also be protected with a slight iron grill or railing to
prevent mischievous persons from cutting their names on the trunk,
climbing up into the tree, or breaking off its branches whilst still
young. The following sketch shows the description of grill necessary,
which is light, cheap, and at the same time effective.

[Illustration]

The following interesting particulars of the manner in which street
planting of trees is conducted in Paris will be useful, and are given
_in extenso_:[221]

“When the boulevarde is marked out and levelled, if the soil is of bad
quality, as is nearly always the case, trenches are dug in the footway
from one end of the boulevarde to the other. The width of this trench is
usually about 6 feet, and its depth 4 or 5; and before filling it in
drain-pipes are laid along the sides made with lapped joints so that the
roots shall not enter between them. The trench is then filled with good
garden earth, raising it a little higher than the level so as to allow
for settling. In this ground the trees are planted about 6 yards apart.
They should be carefully chosen with perfect roots, and moderately
pruned. Formerly the stem was cut at about 9 feet from the ground, but
this had the bad effect of preventing the top of the tree from being
straight, and the practice has been given up. The trees are next staked
and tied with wire over a neat wad of straw, which prevents all injury
to the stem. A protecting cage, neither heavy nor very expensive, is
placed round the tree to prevent accidents; and if the weather be at all
dry at the time of planting, the trees are copiously watered.”

The cost of planting a tree in the Paris boulevarde is thus given:[222]

                                                      fr. c.

  15 cubic metres of excavation at 4 francs          =60·00
  15 cubic metres of vegetable mould at 4 francs     =60·00
  Training poles about 5 metres in height            = 1·50
                                                     ------
                                                     121·50
  Average deduction of 15 per cent. resulting from
  letting by tender                                   18·23
                                                     ------
                  Price by contract                  103·27
  Pipe drainage and materials                         11·15
  Watering appliance (average)                         2·50
  Cast iron grating round the base                    46·69
  Transport of tree from nursery                       2·00
  Planting, including stakes                           3·00
  Iron basket (to protect stem)                        8·70
  The tree                                             5·00
  Labour for planting                                  1·69
                                                     ------
                                                     184·00

The maintenance of each tree costs 1·58 francs.

The total cost, therefore, of each tree capitalised reaches about 8_l._,
and its life is said not to exceed twelve years.

Before closing this chapter it is well to advert to the evident
importance that the legislature attach to the planting and preservation
of trees along the sides of the public streets in this country and their
desire to protect them, as the following clause of the Public Health Act
1875 will show. “. . . Any person who, without the consent of the urban
authority, wilfully displaces or takes up, or who injures the pavement,
stones, materials, fences, or posts of, _or the trees_ in any such
street shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds, and to a
further penalty not exceeding five shillings for every square foot of
pavement, stones, or other materials so displaced, taken up, or injured;
he shall also be liable in the case of _any injury to trees_ to pay to
the local authority such amount of compensation as the court may award”
(38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 149).

It is a great source of regret that mischievous persons can be found who
by their wilful malice injure the trees planted at the sides of streets
out of the public funds and with great expense and trouble.

  [215] By the “Commons Act 1876,” powers were given to acquire and lay
  out commons for purposes of public recreation, etc.

  [216] Upon this latter point _Vide_ 24 & 25 Vic. c. 61, s. 21.

  [217] As a preservative against the malicious disfigurement of wooden
  seats, I have seen the following inscription placed upon some seats in
  an old public park, “Never cut a friend,” and it had apparently the
  desired effect.

  [218] As an instance of the size and importance works of this
  description may assume, the Bois de Boulogne, Paris, is an example. It
  covers an area of 2000 acres, of which one half is forest, one quarter
  is grass, one-eighth roads, and about 70 acres is water. One of the
  most beautifully arranged public parks in this country is Sefton Park,
  Liverpool, where the most perfect arrangements of lawns, plantations,
  lakes and drives, have been carried out.

  [219] ‘A Treatise on Pruning Forest and Ornamental Trees,’ by A. des
  Cars, translated from the 7th French edition, with an introduction by
  Charles S. Sargent, etc. Published by A. Williams and Co., Boston,
  U.S.A., 1881.

  [220] In Paris in the year 1880, there were 90,000 trees in the
  streets, besides 20,000 more in the cemeteries. (_Vide_ Report of Mr.
  Till, the Borough Surveyor of Birmingham, 20th December, 1880.) There
  are also upwards of 8000 seats in public places; the trees and seats
  costing nearly 100,000_l._ per annum to maintain.

  [221] _Vide_ ‘The Parks, Promenades, and Gardens of Paris,’ by W.
  Robinson, F.L.S., 1869, p. 128.

  [222] _Vide_ ‘L’Architecte,’ 20th November, 1880, p. 370.




CHAPTER XXVIII.

PUBLIC ABATTOIRS.


The following is the clause of the Public Health Act 1875 which empowers
an urban authority to establish public slaughter-houses (or
“abattoirs“[223] as they are sometimes called) for the purposes of the
district they govern:

“Any urban authority may, if they think fit, provide slaughter-houses,
and they shall make bye-laws with respect to the management and charges
for the use of any slaughterhouses so provided.

“For the purpose of enabling any urban authority to regulate
slaughter-houses within their district, the provisions of the Towns
Improvement Clauses Act 1847, with respect to slaughter-houses, shall be
incorporated with this Act.[224]

“Nothing in this section shall prejudice or affect any rights, powers,
or privileges of any persons incorporated by any local Act passed before
the passing of the Public Health Act 1848, for the purpose of making and
maintaining slaughter-houses” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 169).

The great necessity for the establishment of one or more public
slaughter-houses in any town can only fully be realised by persons who
will take the trouble to inspect those which are private; they are
generally placed near the shops of the butchers for the sake of
convenience, the result being that they are situated in the central
portions of the town and are thus surrounded by closely packed
dwellings. The private slaughter house often consists of a stable or
shed which has been converted into an ill-designed slaughter-house,
badly paved, with imperfect drainage; they are frequently not
sufficiently lighted, ventilated or drained, and are utterly unfitted
for the purposes for which they are used.

Their position also is often so badly chosen that the children in the
vicinity resort there to see the animals killed, and the poor beasts
have in some cases to be driven through a narrow passage into the
slaughter-house itself, where, trembling at the sight and smell of the
blood and carcasses of its dead companions, it remains tethered until
its turn comes to fall a victim to the blow of the slaughter-man: a blow
which sometimes has often to be repeated before its object is attained,
owing to the bad light and cramped surroundings of the place.

As these slaughter-houses are generally rented by the butcher using them
at large rentals (such accommodation being scarce), it is not to be
expected that he will spend much money to improve property which is not
his own; but notwithstanding the loss of weight incurred by the animal
to be slaughtered thus fretting and sweating in its terror, the damage
to the meat by its being dressed in the same locality with the live
beast, steaming and smelling in the vicinity, and the exorbitant rents
demanded, still there are great objections always raised by butchers in
towns to the establishment of public slaughter-houses. These objections
are based by them on the following grounds:

They contend that the carriage of the meat from the slaughter-house to
their shop deprives them of some of their profits; that slaughtering
their animals in the presence of other butchers leads to disparaging
remarks and trade jealousies, and that they sometimes are robbed of fat,
tools, &c.

These arguments are groundless if the public abattoir is properly
designed, is in a suitable locality, and is well managed.

There are no powers by which butchers can be compelled to abandon
private slaughter-houses, and use those provided by the urban authority,
so long as the bye-laws of the authority are not infringed; but as the
law stands at present, private slaughter-houses may be licensed (10 & 11
Vic. c. 34, ss. 125, 126) or registered (10 & 11 Vic. c. 34, s. 127),
and the only manner in which they could be closed (which would then
compel the butcher to use the public abattoir) would be by putting the
129th section of the same Act in force, which states that the justices
before whom any person is convicted of killing or dressing cattle
contrary to the provision of the Act, or of the non-observance of any
bye-law or regulation of the local authority, in addition to the penalty
may suspend _the licence_ for any period not exceeding two months; or in
the case of the owner of any _registered_ slaughter-house may forbid for
any period not exceeding two months, the slaughtering of cattle therein.
For a second or other subsequent like offence, in addition to the
penalty the justices may revoke the licence or absolutely forbid the
slaughtering of cattle in the particular house or yard. In such an event
the local authority may refuse to grant any _licence_ whatever to the
person whose licence has been revoked, or on account of whose default
the slaughtering of cattle in any _registered_ slaughter-house has been
forbidden.

With reference to the establishment anew of the business of a
slaughterer of cattle in London, the following particulars required to
be deposited by the applicant with the Metropolitan Board of Works will
be useful.

A plan of the premises and sections of the building drawn to a scale of
¹⁄₄-inch to the foot and showing the proposed or existing arrangements
for drainage, lighting, ventilation, and water supply, with a key plan
of the locality, have to be deposited, as well as replies to the
following questions:

(1.) State what place for the accommodation or poundage of the cattle
about to be slaughtered is provided; if such place has an entrance way
for the cattle otherwise than through the slaughter-house; if separated
from the slaughter-house by a brick partition with a door; and also what
provision is made therein for watering animals.

(2.) State if slaughter-house and its poundage is within 20 feet of an
inhabited building; and if it has any entrance opening directly on a
public highway.

(3.) State if the entrance to the premises is apart from and independent
of any shop or dwelling-house; if from a street at the side or rear; and
also the height of the entrance gates.

(4.) State the dimensions of the slaughter-house, length, breadth,
height to eaves, and construction of the roof; and give similar
information about the poundage.

(5.) State if slaughter-house and poundage are drained by glazed pipes
communicating with public sewer, or how; how drains are trapped; and if
gratings have openings greater than three-eighths of an inch across.

(6.) State if floors are below level of outside road or footway, and if
paved with asphalte, or flag-stone set in cement, or how.

(7.) State how walls of slaughter-house are constructed, and if they are
covered with hard smooth and impervious material to a height of at least
4 feet; and, if so, state what material is used, and to what height it
is carried.

(8.) State how slaughter-house and poundage are lighted, if with
lantern, sky, or side-lights, or otherwise.

(9.) State how ventilated, if by openings, windows, louvre boards, or
otherwise.

(10.) State what provision is made for water-supply, the capacity of the
cistern, and at what height it is placed above floor level.

(11.) State if any watercloset, privy, urinal, cesspool, or stable, is
within, or communicates directly with the slaughter-house.

(12.) State if any rooms or lofts are constructed, or proposed to be
constructed, over the slaughter-house.

(13.) State if the premises will be provided with all the necessary and
most approved apparatus and tackle for the slaughtering of cattle.

Having thus far dealt with private slaughter-houses, I will now turn to
the question of the provision of public establishments of the kind by
the urban authority, for it is usually the duty of the town surveyor to
advise his corporation upon such a matter.

First, as to the site of the proposed public abattoir, this depends
greatly upon what sites are at the command of the town; it should if
possible be near the cattle market to prevent the passage of animals
through the streets, not only on account of the great public
inconvenience, but also the loss of weight to the animal[225] and the
heated and bad state into which its blood becomes from the exercise, and
the violent blows of the drovers’ sticks.

The site would be isolated and yet not too far from the shops of the
butchers, or the cost of carriage of the meat will be considerable; it
is almost needless to say that it should be easily and effectively
drained, and the more air with which it can be surrounded the better. It
is imperative that the entrance for the live beasts should be separate
from the exit of the dead meat, and the approach roads to the site
should not be narrow.

In laying out the site every town surveyor must use his own judgment,
but the following plan on which the site of the excellent public
abattoir at Manchester is laid out may serve as some guide for this
purpose, although of course this establishment is on a very large scale
indeed, and is in connection with a carcass market more than 500 feet
in length:

[Illustration: PLAN OF MANCHESTER SLAUGHTER-HOUSE.]

In designing an abattoir on a large scale provision for the following
accommodation should be considered.

(1.) _Lairs for cattle and pens for sheep._

These should be separated from the slaughter-house by a smaller
temporary lair in which the beast whose turn has come can be fastened to
the halter by which he is dragged into the slaughter-house, the sides of
the door-way being lined with iron for this purpose. The paving of the
lairs may be of asphalte, but care must be taken that near the door of
slaughter-house, the paving is of pitchers or something that is not at
all slippery, as here the frightened beast often struggles and draws
back when he sees the “engines of destruction” in the slaughter-house,
and smells the blood of those who have gone before.

The lairs must be thoroughly well drained, lighted, and ventilated, and
troughs for hay and water placed for each beast, for although the
animals are not expected to remain long in the lairs before being
killed, still it is very important that they should be well and kindly
treated, and rest, so that they may obtain their normal condition before
being killed.

A door easily closed should shut off the lair from the slaughter-house,
as it is open to question, if animals do not see with fear the hapless
fate of their comrades; for this and other obvious reasons the animals
must on no account be permitted to pass through the slaughter-house to
reach the lair.

The lairs should be well lighted artificially, as a great deal of
slaughtering is conducted before and after daylight.

(2.) _The slaughter-houses._

These may be separate or in one long building used in common by the
butchers; both systems have their advantages and disadvantages.

The long building has the advantage of greater economy in erection and
of management, as one inspector can see from end to end of it. Where
also a large site is not available greater advantage can be taken of a
slaughter-house erected on this plan, as several butchers can slaughter
in turn; the lairs, however, must be kept separate. The butchers do not
like this plan, but prefer privacy, and a great deal of “horse play” is
sometimes indulged in by the slaughtermen at work in a large building.
The method of payment for the use of a slaughter-house of this
description cannot well be by rent, but by head of animal slaughtered,
and this is open to the objection of possible fraud. It is necessary
also to have separate slaughter-houses for the sheep and the pigs.

Whether the slaughter-houses are constructed separately or in one long
building, the detail requirements are much the same.

The pavement of the floor should be placed on concrete and it should be
constructed of some material that is easily cleansed, is impervious to
moisture, and is not slippery either wet or dry. It must also be of
sufficient durability, and be strong enough to bear the weight of the
dead-meat carts which have to back in over it under the beams carrying
the carcasses, should there be no dead meat market in connection with
the slaughter-house as at Manchester, Dundee, &c.

The requirements of such a floor are met by good natural compressed or
mastic asphalte. The necessary holes for the reception of the flaying
sticks used in many parts of England can be easily managed by inserting
either small brass sockets specially made, or more simply by pieces of
gas-pipe cut into lengths of about an inch set tight in the asphalte.

The walls of the slaughter-house must be of sufficient strength to carry
the beams or girders of the overhead hoisting gear, as well as some tons
of hanging carcasses, as will presently be explained.

The inside of these walls must be lined to a height of about 6 feet
above the floor line with some material which is impervious and easily
cleansed. Glazed white tiles or bricks are sometimes used for this
purpose, but are apt to get chipped or broken, and I have found that
asphalte, although dark in colour, answers the purpose admirably, and is
much cheaper.

With regard to the drainage of the slaughter-house, this should, if
possible, be so arranged that there are no gratings or gully-pits in the
house itself. The floor should fall about 1 in 30 from the lairs to the
cart doors, so that everything should pass outside into a gutter in
which the necessary gratings and gully-pits can be arranged. If this is
thought to be objectionable, pits with double gratings, the lower one
being only a plate with perforated holes, can be placed in the
slaughter-house so as to prevent any solid matter whatever from entering
the drains, and these pits can be united by short drains with gully-pits
outside. The double grating should in any case be inserted, as by this
means all solid matter is kept out of the drains: a very important
consideration.

The cart doors should be made sliding, and not hinged, or great
inconvenience will be experienced, and they must be made wide enough for
the carts to back in easily.

In some slaughter-houses the killing ring to which the beast is attached
whilst the blow from the poleaxe is given[226] consists of a strong
horse-shoe shaped piece of iron projecting about 24 inches from the wall
at a height of about 18 inches, and having a ring in the top curve,
thus--

[Illustration]

whilst in others the killing ring is on the floor, thus--

[Illustration]

and in others an iron pillar standing up from the floor is used, which
is considered the best plan, as the beast should stand in a natural and
easy position at about a right angle from the feller.

The lighting of the slaughter-house should be effected from the roof, as
a good and steady light is essential to the men engaged in this
business. An awkward cut may seriously damage good beef or mutton. Care
must, however, be taken to exclude the glare of the sun, and the
ventilation should be carefully arranged by louvres easily manipulated.

Water should be plentifully laid on at a good pressure, so as to ensure
thorough flushing, &c., and the necessary taps should be recessed in the
walls, as everything in a building of this description should be kept as
flush as possible, or it will be damaged. In some slaughter-houses hot
water is laid on, and this is a great boon to the butchers and much
appreciated by them.

Gas must of course be laid on, as much slaughtering takes place during
the night.

The machinery for hoisting the beasts and slinging the carcasses
requires to be effective, simple, and very strong, as it is subjected to
the roughest treatment, and such machinery has been patented and is
erected by Messrs. John Meiklejon and Son, of Dalkeith, on very
reasonable terms.[227]

This machinery hoists the beast by simply pulling on an endless chain.
It remains suspended at any height, and can be equally easily lowered.
The divided carcass can be placed upon hooks at any point along the
girders above without being touched, and it can be taken off again and
lowered on to a man’s shoulders or into the cart direct, and in fact,
speaking from my own experience, this machinery is very perfect.

The carcasses of the sheep are hung by hand upon hooks projecting from
rails which are placed at a convenient height around the walls of the
slaughter-house.

In some abattoirs the sheep slaughter-houses are distinct from those
used for killing beasts, and this method has many advantages.

Before proceeding to describe the further requirements of an abattoir or
group of slaughter-houses, I think the following plan will be of use to
show the arrangement which I have described with regard to lairs and
slaughter-houses:--

[Illustration: PLAN

SECTION THROUGH A.B.]

The following plan shows the arrangements adopted in the Metropolitan
Cattle Market slaughter-houses:

[Illustration: METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET SLAUGHTER-HOUSES.]

(3.) _The condemned meat department._

This should consist of a lair for suspected cattle, a lair and
slaughter-house for the condemned cattle similar to that already
described, and a condemned meat store: this being the place where not
only all the diseased animals’ carcasses are temporarily stored pending
destruction, but also any meat of sound beasts that may have gone bad
after killing, &c. The whole of the meat thus placed in the condemned
store must be taken to the boiling-down house, where it is destroyed by
being boiled down to fat, which is disposed of for various trade
purposes.

The following description of the method employed for this purpose at the
Deptford Foreign Cattle Market will here be of use:[228]

“There are several killing houses for diseased cattle, and excellent
apparatus for boiling down condemned meat. For this purpose two boilers
are suspended from a strong platform through which they pass, and the
bottoms of them are several feet above the floor. They are each 4 feet 6
inches in diameter and 10 feet in length under platform. At the bottom
the cylinder tapers to 2 feet 8 inches in diameter. Under this there is
a semispherical bottom to the boiler hinged and kept shut by a
back-weighted lever and screws. On the top of each there is a
semispherical cover and safety valve.

“There is an iron crane and windlass for lifting off and on the covers.
After the boilers are charged with diseased meat the covers are made
secure and steam let into them near the bottom. There is a cock in the
bottom of each for running off the liquid at certain stages into a trap
grating in the floor under it, and conducted into a cement cistern
outside of the boiling-house, from which it is periodically removed.
Whether any use is made of the tallow produced I am not informed. The
bones when removed are quite porous, of a very white colour, and nearly
as light as cork. I presume that they will be sold for being converted
into bone manure. I understand these large boilers are not very often
used, and that a small close galvanized iron cylinder, 2 feet 9 inches
in diameter, and 2 feet 6 inches high, placed 15 inches above the
ground, having cock at bottom, steam pipe at side, and portable lid,
does most of the work very efficiently.”

(4.) _The pig-killing department._

This should be separate from the ordinary slaughter-house, as the styes
for pigs must be differently arranged to the cattle lairs, and a boiler
house is necessary, as boiling water must be had for scalding and
dressing the carcasses. Special iron troughs with false bottoms have
been arranged by Messrs. Meiklejon, which greatly facilitate this part
of the butcher’s work, and simple hoisting apparatus over these troughs
lifts the carcase in and out, and carries it off to the cooling or
hanging room, which must of necessity be separate from the killing and
scalding rooms. Drainage, lighting, ventilation and floors should be
similar to those described for the slaughter-houses, and plenty of lime
wash can be used with advantage here as well as in the main
slaughter-house.

(5.) _The blood house._

The blood of the slaughtered animals, which formerly was allowed to run
away, has been found to contain a most valuable aniline dye, and for
this purpose it is now collected and taken to the blood-houses, where in
order to obtain this dye it is necessary to place the blood in shallow
tins, where it is warmed by steam-pipes, the liquid is then drawn off,
which is the albumen from which the dye is extracted, the residuum left
in the trays is of the consistency of jelly, and is sold for manure.

(6.) _The tripery._

This is provided in large abattoirs for the purpose of preparing the
tripe and feet of the slaughtered animals, and in the Glasgow public
slaughter-houses this is effected by the corporation free of charge by
special machinery adapted for the purpose.

(7.) _The tallow market._

Where tallow is melted down, and moulded in shapes for manufacturers’
uses.

(8.) _The hide store._

This is where the hides and sheep skins are weighed and temporarily
stored, sometimes in connection with this are--

(9.) _Sale rooms_; for the hides, skins of sheep, &c., and tallow.

In addition to the above requirements may be mentioned,

(10.) _A superintendent’s dwelling-house and office._

(11.) _A gate keeper’s dwelling-house and office._

(12.) _A weighing machine and office._

(13.) _A convenient room_ for the meetings of the committee of the
corporation having charge of the slaughter-house.

(14.) _Waiting rooms_ for dealers, drovers, slaughtermen, and butchers,
&c.

(15.) _Store-rooms and a joiner’s workshop._

(16.) _Stables and shedding_ for the horses and carts of the jobbers and
butchers, &c.

(17.) _Lofts for straw and hay_; the former should be provided free by
the corporation, the latter on payment of so much per diem for each
beast.

(18.) _The necessary urinal and w. c. accommodation._

With regard to the provision to be made for storing the dung and waste
refuse from public slaughter-houses, I am strongly of opinion that there
should not be any fixed receptacle for such matters, but that covered
carts should be provided, which could stand in convenient positions and
be removed every day, a fresh and clean cart being substituted at once
for the one removed; by this means all nuisance is avoided.

Speaking of public abattoirs, in a recent lecture on Industrial
Nuisances, Dr. C. W. Chancellor, of the Maryland State Board of Health
U.S.A., gives some advice on the management of slaughter-houses. He
says: “During the process of slaughtering as much care as possible
should be taken to prevent the discharge of blood or other animal matter
upon the floor of the slaughter-house, upon the surrounding earth, or
into an open stream. The contents of the viscera should, with the blood,
offal and other garbage, be placed in impervious, covered, moveable
receptacles, constructed of galvanized iron or other non-absorbent
material, and removed from the premises without undue delay. Where hides
or skins are necessarily retained for a day or two before they can be
removed, they might without injury be advantageously brushed over on the
fleshy side with a solution of carbolic acid or some other antiseptic.
Fat should be freely exposed to the air in a cool place. As soon as the
slaughtering is completed the whole slaughter-house, floor and walls,
should be thoroughly washed. All the vessels and implements used in the
slaughtering should be kept clean and sweet. Deodorizers may sometimes
be used with advantage.”

There can be no doubt that whereas private slaughter-houses are
frequently a most injurious nuisance to the neighbourhood in which they
are placed, owing to their situation and construction, and a visit to
one of them is likely to give a strong impetus to vegetarianism, the
public abattoir, on however large a scale, if properly constructed and
managed, need be no nuisance whatever, and every town in the kingdom
should endeavour to obtain one, not only on account of the nuisance
caused by private slaughter-houses, but for the incentive which is given
to butchers to abstain from slaughtering diseased or unwholesome
animals, the prevention of cruelty, and the material benefits derived in
a proper establishment for the best methods of dressing the meat.

  [223] The word “abattoir” is a French word from “abattre” to fell, it
  is used in this country to designate a group of slaughter-houses.

  [224] The clauses referred to are contained in 10 & 11 Vic. c. 34, and
  are ss. 125, 126, et seq.; they refer to the registration, licensing
  and management of private slaughter-houses, and need not be commented
  upon here.

  [225] An ordinary beast is said to lose 3 cwt. in weight in a journey
  from Edinburgh to London.

  [226] The pole-axe should be of the American pattern, which has a head
  hollow and very sharp round the periphery. The practise is, after the
  blow is struck and the animal felled, to plunge a thin cane into the
  wound, which passes down the spine, causing instantaneous death whilst
  the animal is lying stunned.

  [227] The following is from the patent specification of this
  machinery:

  “Letters patent to John Meiklejon, of Westfield Iron Works, Dalkeith,
  in the County of Mid-Lothian, Scotland, for the invention of new or
  improved machinery and appliances to be used in hoisting, removing,
  dividing, and hanging on hooks, taking off these hooks again, and
  loading carcasses and other bodies in abattoirs, carcass and meat
  markets, and other places.”

  “The machinery and appliances above referred to enable the operations
  above named to be performed without the necessity of the butchers
  touching the meat. Also enables carcasses to be conveyed from
  abattoirs to carcass market on a travelling hoist (hereafter
  described), same being provided with rows of fixed jointed hooks or
  loops, attached to rails on which the hoist runs, so that the
  travelling hoist is enabled to hang the carcasses or bodies on to such
  hooks or loops. Also enables a butcher to hang a carcass on any of
  these hooks or loops, and pick them off again, and load on a vehicle,
  without moving or touching any of the other carcasses hanging on the
  other hooks. Also enables all operations to be performed, from
  hoisting when killed to loading when sold or removed from market.”

  [228] _Vide_ ‘Report on the New Cattle Market and Abattoirs proposed
  to be erected at Carolina Port, Dundee,’ by William Mackison, F.R.I.B.
  A., &c.




CHAPTER XXIX.

MARKETS.


Under certain conditions urban authorities are empowered to provide
markets in their district by the following clause of the Public Health
Act 1875:

“Where an urban authority are a local board or improvement
commissioners, they shall have power, with the consent of the owners and
ratepayers of their district, expressed by resolution passed in manner
provided by Schedule III. to this Act, and where the urban authority are
a town council they shall have power, with the consent of two thirds of
their number, to do the following things, or any of them, within their
district:

“To provide a market place, and construct a market house and other
conveniences, for the purpose of holding markets:

“To provide houses and places for weighing carts:

“To make convenient approaches to such market:

“To provide all such matters and things as may be necessary for the
convenient use of such market:

“To purchase or take on lease land, and public or private rights in
markets and tolls for any of the foregoing purposes:

“To take stallages, rents and tolls in respect of the use by any person
of such market:

“But no market shall be established in pursuance of this section so as
to interfere with any rights, powers, or privileges enjoyed within the
district by any person without his consent” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s.
166).

In many towns, markets both for cattle and general merchandise have been
already established, and the duties of the town surveyor are simply to
execute the necessary alterations and maintenance of the buildings in
connection with them, but there may be occasions on which he has to
advise his corporation upon the acquisition of land for the purpose of
laying it out as a cattle market, and afterwards the erection of the
necessary pens and buildings, and a few remarks upon the subject may be
of some service.

The site for a cattle market should be selected, if practicable, near to
a railway station, so as to avoid as much as possible the dangerous and
objectionable practice of driving cattle and sheep through the streets,
and for the same reasons it should be near the public slaughter-houses
if there are any in the town. Plenty of space should be provided in the
market for the cattle to move about in, for it must be remembered that
many of them which are sent to market are unused to the bustle of a
town, and are wild and untractable, and have never in their lives been
subjected to either penning or tethering.

The site must be easily and effectively drained, it should be somewhat
isolated with respect to neighbouring buildings, the more air that can
be got to sweep through it the better.

The accommodation necessary in a cattle market must vary considerably
with the requirements of the district, but the following list may be
given for selection:

(1.) Pens or lairs for fat beasts.

(2.) Pens or lairs for store cattle.

(3.) Pens or lairs for cows with calves.

(4.) Pens or lairs for calves.

(5.) Pens for sheep.

(6.) Pens or styes for pigs.

(7.) Covered sheds or stables for horses.

(8.) A space for showing horses off.

(9.) Sheds for agricultural implements.

(10.) Shops for the display of seeds, ropes, tarpaulins, sacks, etc.

(11.) Accommodation for auctioneers.

(12.) Lodges and offices for the superintendent or gate keeper.

(13.) A weighing machine and office.

(14.) A corn exchange (this is sometimes provided in the general
market).

The entrance to a cattle market may with advantage be provided with
double sets of gates, with a space between in which flocks of sheep or
herds of cattle can be temporarily penned; a wicket gate in the second
set of gates will enable the toll collecter to count the number of
animals easily as they pass through into the market.

The paving of the market should be of granite pitches, as it is
essential that it should not be slippery, or the cattle, which usually
arrive in a very excited condition, will fall and injure themselves;
this description of paving is also fairly impervious, and is easily
cleansed.

The paving of the lairs and pens may, however, be of asphalte.

For the cattle there may be enclosures for loose bullocks as well as
divisions in which the cattle are tethered; these divisions and
enclosures may be constructed of brick walls about 4 feet 6 inches in
height, or posts and rails of wood and iron, strongly fastened iron
rings about 4 feet apart are necessary to which the beasts must be
tethered.

The paving must be kept high towards the head of the beast in order to
show him off to the greatest advantage.

Large painted signboards should be fixed over the entrance of each
compartment, to designate to which class it belongs, in order to avoid
confusion or mistake. There should be drinking troughs for all cattle,
and hydrants should be fixed all about the market, so that it can be
thoroughly flushed and washed down.

The sheep-pens can be constructed with iron or wood posts and rails with
the whole of one side opening as a gate, they should be about 3 feet in
height, and the floor should <DW72> up from the point at which the
purchaser will stand in order that the sheep at the far end of the pen
may not appear diminutive.[229]

The gates of the sheep-pens should be strongly stayed, as they make most
convenient seats on which the drovers and heavy farmers sit whilst they
drive their bargains.

With regard to the dimensions of the pens and lairs, the following sizes
are suggested as sufficient spaces for different animals, in the modern
bye-laws, emanating from the Local Government Board in 1877, with
respect to markets:

        For every horse             8 feet by 2 feet.
        For every ox or cow         8   „  „  2   „
        For every mule or ass       5   „  „  1 feet 6 inches.
        For every calf              5   „  „  1   „  3   „
  For every sheep, goat or pig (of medium size) 4 feet superficial.

The pens for calves and the styes for pigs should be covered, and their
floors should be about 3 feet 6 inches above the general level of the
market, as animals of this description are generally brought in carts,
and they could thus be easily moved out and in.

These pens and styes must of course be thoroughly well drained and
ventilated.

With regard to the weighing machine, this should be of the best
manufacture, and be of sufficient size to weigh a large wagon. It is
better to have what is called a “self contained” iron foundation, and
pit for the weighbridge rather than one of masonry. A convenient size
for this weighbridge would be 15 feet in length by 12 feet in breadth.

With reference to the rest of the provisions I have enumerated, they
require no special comment, but must necessarily be left to the
discretion of the town surveyor and the wishes of his corporation.

Markets for general merchandise are usually handsome buildings, which
are erected in the most central positions of the town; they contain:

(1.) The corn exchange (this is sometimes erected in the cattle market).

(2.) The fish market.

(3.) The dead meat market (this is sometimes erected in connection with
the public slaughter-houses).

(4.) The game and poultry market.

(5.) The fruit, vegetable and flower market.

(6.) The butter, eggs and cheese market.

(7.) The miscellaneous goods market.

(8.) Public conveniences.

(9.) Offices and dwelling for the clerk of the market.

(10.) Committee room for the market committee.

The floor of the market should be on a level as much as is practicable
with the adjacent streets; steps up or down are objectionable for the
public, and galleries or upper floors should also be avoided unless the
available area of the site is limited.

The interior of the building should be lofty, and it must be thoroughly
well ventilated; the great fault with nearly all existing markets is the
cutting draught to which buyers and sellers are usually subjected.

Plenty of light is essential, but the rays of the sun should be
excluded by frosted glass or other contrivance, or the goods exposed for
sale will be damaged.

The floor should be of asphalte or other similar material; it is
surprising what a “mess” is always made in a market.

The stalls must be so arranged as to show to best advantage the goods
offered, and plenty of “gangway” should be left between them for the
passage of the public.

Fish stalls should be constructed of iron, slate or similar material,
plenty of water being provided in this department; fish-washing troughs
filled with running water are very desirable, and a fountain can be
introduced with pleasing effect.

Butchers’ stalls should be of thick wood to resist the chopping, and
plenty of standards and rails provided with iron hooks must be fixed
above them.

A great number of moveable iron “offal boxes” should be placed in
different parts of the market, which must be cleared at least once a
day, and the market should be frequently flushed and cleansed with water
from hydrants fixed in different parts of the building.

Many other points will no doubt suggest themselves to town surveyors,
who have the important work of designing either cattle or general
markets to undertake, but the few suggestions which have been given may
be of some use.

  [229] The following is a description of the manner in which the sheep
  are penned in the cattle market of la Villette at Paris:--“The
  enclosures or pens are all of iron, those for the sheep have a centre
  railing 3 feet 3 inches high, and cross railings 1 foot 9 inches high;
  the former with three horizontal rails and vertical rods, and the
  latter two horizontal rails and vertical rods. There is a distance of
  15 feet betwixt the high railings, which is divided into three by iron
  posts 21 inches high. The first row of these posts is placed at a
  distance of 3 feet from the low cross railing at the passage, the
  second row 18 inches from the first, the third 3 feet from the second,
  and so on. The sheep are placed in line side by side as close as they
  can stand, with their heads up to the low rail. A moveable hurdle of
  wood is then set on edge between the sheep in rear and the iron posts
  just described. A passage of 18 inches is left clear, and then another
  row of sheep and another passage, and so on. In this manner a great
  number of sheep are put into little space, in such a way as all can be
  examined with the greatest ease.” (_Vide_ ‘Report on the New Cattle
  Market and Abattoirs proposed to be erected at Carolina Port, Dundee,’
  by W. Mackison, F.R.I.B.A., &c., Town Surveyor, Dundee).




CHAPTER XXX.

CEMETERIES.


Amongst the many duties that a town surveyor has to perform is sometimes
included that of laying out land for a large burial ground or cemetery,
and its management after construction. Power is given to all local
authorities to become burial authorities by the Public Health Interments
Act 1879, and so strongly is the need felt for what is called extramural
interment, that the Local Government Board may compel a local authority
to provide and maintain cemeteries. Power is also given for the
compulsory purchase of land for this purpose (see sections 175, 176, of
the Public Health Act 1875), and the cemetery may be placed either
within or without the district over which the local authority exercise
their jurisdiction, and many other privileges are granted in order to
encourage the acquisition of land so far removed from habitations as to
make the burial ground as sanitary as the practice of burying human
bodies can be made.

Land once consecrated or used for burial cannot afterwards be sold or
used for secular purposes, except of course by an Act of Parliament;
“footpaths may, however, be provided in a consecrated but disused burial
ground, and the ground may be planted, so as in effect, though not
nominally, to make it a public garden.”[230]

A cemetery must not be constructed within 200 yards of any dwelling
house, without the consent in writing of the owner, lessee, and occupier
of such house; but there is no prohibition upon anyone to prevent their
building a house close to a cemetery after it has been established.[231]

Chapels may be built in cemeteries for the performance of the burial
services, and the grounds may be laid out and embellished as the local
authority may deem fit. The cemetery must be enclosed by walls or other
sufficient fences or iron railings 8 feet in height; it must be properly
sewered and drained, but such drainage must not flow into any “stream,
canal, reservoir, aqueduct, pond or watering place.”[232]

Cemeteries are divided into consecrated and unconsecrated portions by
bond stones or other suitable marks; a chapel must be built upon the
consecrated portion, although it does not seem to be compulsory to do so
upon the unconsecrated portion.

The selection of a proper site on sanitary and other grounds for a
cemetery is one of the greatest importance, and a town surveyor, or
anyone who has this duty to perform, cannot do better than keep the
following words of the well-known sanitary engineer Mr. Eassie before
him:[233]

“A well-chosen cemetery is one whose soil is dry, close, and yet porous,
permitting the rain and its accompanying air to reach a reasonable
depth, and so expedite decay. The formation is also well covered with
vegetable mould, which assists in neutralising any hurtful emanations,
and encourages the growth of shrubs. The subsoil is also of such a kind
as to need no under draining, and such as will prevent the water lodging
in any grave or vault. It will also stand exposed to the north or north
east winds which are dry, and which do not hold the putrefactive gases
in solution, like the moist south or south westerly winds.”

“An improperly chosen graveyard may be said to be one where the soil is
dense and clayey, and impervious to moisture. It will be insufficiently
drained, necessitating the use of planks to walk upon in wet weather. It
will be too close to the abodes of the living, too small to permit
proper planting, the graves covered, it may be with flat stones which
prevent the passage downwards of the air and rain, and surrounded
moreover by high walls which exclude the fresh air. The ground will be
stony and insufficiently covered with vegetable soil. No natural outfall
will exist, and the drainage water must be pumped up, the bare idea of
which is horrible. It will be near also to water-bearing strata, or to a
reservoir. Long before decomposition has taken place owing to the
smallness of the site, and the impossibility of obtaining any more land
except at high building prices, the organic matter hidden out of sight
will be far too large in proportion to the area.”

Dr. Parsons, in a memorandum prepared by him on the “Sanitary
Requirements of Cemeteries” and published by the Local Government Board
in their eleventh annual report, says:

“The soil of a cemetery should be of an open, porous nature, with
numerous close interstices, through which air and moisture may pass in a
finely divided state freely in every direction. In such a soil decay
proceeds rapidly, and the products of decomposition are absorbed or
oxidised. The soil should be easily worked, yet not so loose as to
render the work of excavation dangerous through the liability to falls
of earth. It should be free from water or hard rock to a depth of at
least 8 feet. If not naturally free from water, it should be drained if
practicable to that depth: to this end it is necessary that the site
should be sufficiently elevated above the drainage level of the
locality, either naturally, or, where necessary, by filling it up to the
required level with suitable earth.”

“Loam, and sand with a sufficient quantity of vegetable mould, are the
best soils; clay and loose stones the worst. A dense clay is laborious
to work and difficult to drain; by excluding moisture and air it <DW44>s
decay, and it retains, in a concentrated state, the products of
decomposition, sometimes to be discharged into graves opened in the
vicinity, or sometimes to escape through cracks in the ground to the
surface. A loose, stony soil, on the other hand, allows the passage of
effluvia.”

And with reference to the site to be chosen for a cemetery he further
states:

“Nevertheless, in view of the evils which in former times have
undoubtedly arisen from the practice of intramural sepulture, and also
because the erection of houses near a cemetery interferes with the free
play of air around and over it, it is desirable that the site of the
cemetery should be in a neighbourhood in which building is not likely to
take place, and also that so far as practicable a belt of ground should
be reserved between the graves and the nearest land on which a house may
be built, in order to obviate to some extent the risk of contamination
of ground-air and subsoil water with decomposing matters. This is
especially necessary where houses are constructed with cellars. It is,
therefore, highly desirable that interments should not be made up to the
extreme edge of the cemetery, and it would be possible without great
waste of space to reserve in all cases a strip of ground free from
interments, 15 to 30 feet in width, around the whole cemetery on the
interior of the boundary fence. This strip would afford room, on the
inside for a gravel or asphalte walk to give access to all parts of the
cemetery, and on the outside next the fence to a belt of shrubs or
trees, the rootlets of which, penetrating the soil, would arrest and
assimilate any decomposing matters percolating to the exterior of the
cemetery. Obviously a cemetery should not be placed on elevated ground
above houses, where the soakings from it may percolate to the sites and
foundations of the dwellings below. . . .”

“Sites are of course unsuitable which are liable to be flooded or to
landslips, or which are in danger of being washed away, or encroached
upon by streams or the sea. Very steep sites are not desirable. The
cemetery should be accessible by good roads from all parts of the
district.”

As to the unsuitability of clay as a soil for cemeteries, Louis Créteur
in “Hygiene in the Battle Field” says, that the bodies of soldiers slain
during the Battle of Sedan were buried in chalk, quarry rubble, sand,
argillite, slate, marl, or clay soils, and the work of disinfection
lasted from the beginning of March till the end of June. In rubble the
decay had fully taken place, but in the clay the bodies kept well, and
even after a very long time the features could be identified.

With regard to the amount of land necessary for a cemetery, Dr. Parsons
calculates that about a quarter of an acre of land for every thousand of
the population of the community to whom the cemetery belongs, is the
“usually estimated minimum,” but this is far too small a proportion even
for a cemetery possessing every advantage, and he further states, “The
desirability of providing more than this bare minimum of space is
obvious, and is generally recognized.” It must be remembered that as a
rule, quite one-sixth of the total area of a cemetery is taken up by the
roads, paths, ornamental grass or beds of flowers and shrubs, the
chapels, mortuaries, lodges, &c., and sufficient width should be allowed
between each grave space to permit every grave being reached without
trampling on others: a standard of 110 burials per acre has sometimes
been taken, but this appears to me to be rather a small one.

In laying out ground for a cemetery, the following are some points that
require careful attention:

(1.) The position of the entrance or entrances; there should if possible
be only one, as a lodge is necessary at each, which entails expense.

(2.) The best position for the lodge or lodges, the chapels and
mortuary.

(3.) The direction of the roads in the cemetery: these must be wide
enough for the hearses and mourning coaches, and there must be
convenient places provided for turning round.

(4.) The direction of the paths:[234] these and the roads should be as
straight as possible, so as to economise available burial ground, paths
should be sufficiently wide to allow an entrance to be made in them to
the adjoining vaults or walled graves, these being frequently covered
with a massive tomb or ledger very difficult to remove. The vaults and
walled graves, being of a better class, are generally put in the borders
of the burial ground, close to the paths.

(5.) In some soils deep and careful drainage is necessary. This should
be carried out with ordinary drain pipes laid at a depth of at least 10
feet, and so communicating with each other and the grave spaces, that
even in a clay soil each grave as it is sunk should be found free from
water.

(6.) Surface drainage, especially of the roads and paths, is also
necessary.

(7.) Provision must be made for the disposal of the soil excavated from
the graves, as very little punning or ramming of the soil thrown in
after a burial should be permitted, and thus there is always a large
quantity of material to be otherwise disposed of.

The cemetery must be divided into Church or consecrated ground,
Dissenters’ ground, and Roman Catholic ground, in such proportions as
may be found to suit the particular requirements of the locality in
which the cemetery is placed.

These divisions must again be subdivided into sections according to the
class and description of the proposed grave, and each of these
subdivisions and grave-spaces must be accurately marked with a
distinguishing letter and number, so that on reference to a plan and a
register book, any person’s grave may be easily found, however long a
time may have elapsed since the interment took place, and although no
headstone or mark over the grave is there. It is needless to say, that
the plan of the cemetery has to be most carefully prepared, and the
ground equally carefully set out, to prevent any chance of error
occurring, or serious consequences might result. It may be well to
remark that no body can be removed after burial without an order from
one of Her Majesty’s principal Secretaries of State, or by faculty from
the Bishop in consecrated ground.[235]

The following description of the different sections necessary in a large
cemetery may here be of use, the fees chargeable for the privilege of
burying in each section advancing with the letters appropriated to the
sections.

_Section A._ This is appropriated to workhouse paupers or very poor
persons only,[236] the depth[237] of the grave may be limited to 6 feet,
and the size should be 9 feet by 4 feet; only coffins made of wood
should be allowed in this section.[238]

_Section B._ This is of a slightly superior class to the last, the
depth and size may however be the same, but a larger fee can be charged,
and the position of the section with reference to the paths should be
better and more convenient.

_Section C._ This is again superior to either of the former sections.
Extra depth and size may be allowed, and the position should also be
better.

_Section D._ In the previous sections only “common” graves as they are
called should be allowed. In this section either walled graves, vaults,
tombs or common graves may be placed, the common graves may be of extra
depth and size, the space for a vault may be 8 feet 6 inches by 6
feet.[239]

This section should be exclusively the borders of the paths and other
spots easily accessible and prominent to view.

_Section E._ This is the best section. No common graves should be
allowed in it, and the spaces allotted for burial may be isolated and of
various sizes according to agreement and payment. Here costly tombs and
monuments are erected, the position of the section being generally near
the chapels.[240]

In all the above sections it is necessary to provide for the burial of
children: these require smaller space and in some instances they can be
buried with their mother, but in separate coffins. Unfortunately it is
necessary to allow rather a large percentage of available space for the
interment of children, as the infant mortality in this country is so
excessive.

In connection with the question of the plan and the sections for
burial, it may be well to give the following rules and regulations for
the management of a cemetery:


_Cemetery Rules and Regulations._

(1.) All charges for interment, monuments, and gravestones must be paid
at the time the order is granted; no kind of work allowed to be done, or
any corpse brought on the ground without the production of an order.

(2.) Certificates of death to be produced (showing the name of the
parish, &c., and all other requisite information) on paying the fees.

(3.) Two days’ notice to be given for interment in graves, (exclusive of
Sunday,) and three days if a vault or brick grave be required. In
default, an extra charge will be made for working by night.

(4.) The time when the funeral procession will be on the ground to be
named in the notice. An extra fee of        will be charged when the
funeral procession is        minutes later than the time appointed, and
       for every        minutes afterwards.

(5.) The hours of interment are from      A.M. to      P.M. from
Michaelmas to Lady-day, and from      A.M. to      P.M. from Lady-day to
Michaelmas.

(6.) All brick or stone work in the graves, and all foundations and
fixing of memorials, or planting, shall be under the supervision and
control of the local authority or their appointed agent.

(7.) No grave or vault shall be re-opened by other persons than members
of that family without the written consent of the parties interested and
of the local authority. An extra fee for the interment of strangers will
be charged at the discretion of the local authority.

(8.) In all unbricked graves, coffins of wood only shall be used. No
interment will be allowed nearer the surface than four feet for an
adult, or three feet for a child under 12 years. Every coffin in a
bricked grave or vault to be separately entombed in an air-tight manner.

(9.) No palisades or iron railings to exceed      feet in height, except
with the special consent of the local authority; and no palisades, or
enclosure of any description will be permitted to a grave until a
headstone or tomb has been erected.

(10.) A drawing of every monument or gravestone to be submitted for
approval, and a copy of the intended inscription, if it contains more
than name, age, and date. Inscriptions to be arranged so as to face the
paths as far as practicable. Any question which shall arise touching the
fitness of any monumental inscription, placed in any part of the
consecrated portion of the ground, shall be determined on appeal by the
Bishop of the Diocese.

(11.) All graves and vaults, monuments, gravestones, fencing or other
enclosures, to be kept in repair by the persons interested in their
preservation. If suffered to go out of repair and become unsightly, the
local authority will remove them altogether, and they will not be
allowed to be replaced without the consent of the local authority.
Graves will be kept in order by the local authority for a fee of
per annum.

A plan of the ground, showing each grave space, is kept at the office of
the surveyor to the local authority and may be seen without charge.

The public are admitted to the cemetery, on weekdays, from 7 A.M. to 8
P.M. from Lady-day to Michaelmas, and from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. from
Michaelmas to Lady-day. On Sundays, from 2 to 8 P.M. in summer and 2 to
5 P.M. in winter.

All further information may be obtained at the office.

The local authority forbid any gratuity being received by their
servants.

The local authority reserves a right, from time to time, to make any
alteration in the foregoing charges and regulations.

In connection with the above rules, a scale of fees of the charges for
interments must be prepared as well as for headstones, foot-stones,
ledgers, and tombs, or for enclosing any grave with kerbing,
iron-railings, posts and chains, &c.

The practice of allowing persons to plant small shrubs and trees upon
the graves of their friends, should be deprecated, as not only do they
tend eventually to make a cemetery look untidy but they are placed so
close to the graves that when they grow up their roots often split open
a vault or walled grave, and even damage valuable tombstones.

Trees which are suitable for cemeteries, and which would thrive even in
a town atmosphere, are the weeping willow, cypress, yew, cedar, juniper,
birch, ash, weeping elm, and a considerable number and variety of
drooping and other deciduous trees. These should, however, be planted
under the control of the local authority, as otherwise a cemetery would
soon be overrun by them.

The regulations issued by the Secretary of State for the Home Department
in January 1863, for burial grounds provided under the Burial Acts, may
be of use for reference, and are given _in extenso_:

(1.) The burial ground shall be effectually fenced, and, if necessary,
under-drained to such a depth as will prevent water remaining in any
grave or vault.

(2.) The area to be used for graves shall be divided into grave spaces,
to be designated by convenient marks, so that the position of each may
be readily determined, and a corresponding plan kept on which each grave
space shall be shown.

(3.) The grave spaces for the burial of persons above 12 years of age
shall be at least 9 feet by 4 feet, and those for the burial of children
under 12 years of age, 6 feet by 3 feet, or if preferred, half the
measurement of the adult grave space, namely, 4¹⁄₂ feet by 4 feet.

(4.) A register of graves shall be kept in which the name, age, and date
of burial in each shall be duly registered.

(5.) No body shall be buried in any vault or walled grave unless the
coffin be separately entombed in an air-tight manner; that is, by
properly cemented stone or brickwork, which shall never be disturbed.

(6.) One body only shall be buried in a grave at one time, unless the
bodies be those of members of the same family.

(7.) No unwalled grave shall be re-opened within 14 years after the
burial of a person above 12 years of age, or within eight years after
the burial of a child under 12 years of age, unless to bury another
member of the same family, in which case a layer of earth not less than
1 foot thick shall be left undisturbed above the previously buried
coffin; but if on reopening any grave the soil be found to be offensive,
such soil shall not be disturbed, and in no case shall human remains be
removed from the grave.

(8.) No coffin shall be buried in any unwalled grave within 4 feet of
the ordinary level of the ground, unless it contains the body of a child
under 12 years of age, when it shall not be less than 3 feet below that
level.

For further information upon the subject of the Interments Act 1879 and
much useful information in connection with cemeteries, I refer my
readers to ‘Notes and Practical Suggestions upon the Interment Act
1875,’ by T. Baker, Esq.

I cannot close this chapter upon cemeteries without a few words upon a
subject which is analogous, cremation; and although I am aware that this
is a debateable question, still it is impossible for me to be silent, as
from my official experience on the practice of burial, I am so deeply
convinced that cremation should be substituted for it for very many
weighty reasons, that I feel it is necessary for me to give them.

They are as follows:

(1.) Nothing can be more unsanitary or dangerous to the living than the
burial of the dead. This has been enlarged upon over and over again by
men who have well studied the subject and are competent to give an
opinion and to that opinion I add my testimony.

(2.) Nothing can be more loathsome and degrading to the dead bodies of
our friends or more revolting to our feelings, than the horrible
practice of placing the remains of those we love in the soil of a common
churchyard or cemetery, to be devoured with other bodies by worms.

(3.) In placing a dead body under ground we can never be sure how long
the remains will be left undisturbed, a new street or railway will soon
destroy all traces of its resting place,[241] and even the law only
allows a grave to remain undisturbed for a short 14 years.

(4.) In the event of friends or relations dying abroad their remains
cannot be sent home for burial except at great expense, cremation would
reduce the body to a few beautiful silvery ashes which could easily be
brought home and secured on arrival in a suitable and safe
position.[242]

(5.) Cremation is the most respectful and beautiful manner for the
disposal of dead bodies, and need not alarm (on religious grounds[243])
any more than the practice at sea of lowering the dead bodies overboard
to be eventually eaten and digested by marine animals.

(7.) Cremation would settle at once and for ever the vexed question of
burial in consecrated or unconsecrated ground, and all the unseemly
quarrels which have taken place in connection with it from time to
time.

(8.) The great extent of land that is now wasted in public burial
grounds and cemeteries.[244]

There is no reason, even if cremation should take the place of burial,
why the fees for clergymen and others should not remain as at present,
and the unpleasant assistance of the British-ghoul, the undertaker, with
his long face at the ceremony and still longer bill afterwards, could
easily be dispensed with.

The opponents of cremation urge that it would be more expensive than
burial, and consequently out of the reach of the poorer classes, and
also that it would cause so much difficulty in detecting cases of
poisoning, that it would tend to encourage persons to poison others who
happened to be in their way, or objectionable to them, and thus crime
would go unchecked.

If these are the only objections they are easily to be overcome.

First, by constructing public crematories, where for a few shillings a
day sufficient heat could be maintained to consume almost any number of
bodies, whilst the present great expense of maintaining large cemeteries
with their attendant guardians and other costs would be dispensed with;
and

Secondly, by instituting a scientific and independent enquiry as to the
cause of every death which occurs. This is so much required at the
present day for the sake of the public health, that even if cremation is
never introduced it should be at once enforced, so that those who have
charge of the public health could have exact and reliable knowledge of
the causes of all the deaths throughout the United Kingdom, and thus
obtain such valuable information as would greatly assist in the daily
fight to subdue and overcome deaths from preventable causes.

  [230] _Vide_ ‘Fitzgerald’s Public Health Act,’ p. 130, 3rd edition.

  [231] _Vide_ ‘Fitzgerald’s Public Health Act,’ p. 131, 3rd edition.
  Foot note to clause x. Cemetery Clauses Act 1847.

  [232] Cemetery Clauses Act 1847, s. 20.

  [233] _Vide_ ‘Cremation of the Dead,’ by William Eassie, C.E. &c. &c.,
  p. 50.

  [234] The roads and paths in a cemetery require to be carefully made,
  in order that they may be available during any weather.

  [235] 20 & 21 Vic. c. 81, s. 25.

  [236] The following is a description of the manner of burying the
  poorer people in the cemetery of Pere la Chaise, near Paris. (_Vide_
  ‘The Parks, Promenades, and Gardens of Paris,’ by W. Robinson, F.L.S.,
  &c., p. 109.) “A very wide trench or fosse is cut wide enough to hold
  two rows of coffins placed across it, and 100 yards long or so. Here
  they are rapidly stowed in one after another, just as nursery
  labourers lay in stock ‘by the heels,’ only much closer, because there
  is no earth between the coffins, and wherever the coffins, which are
  very like egg-boxes, only somewhat less substantial, happen to be
  short so that a little space is left between the two rows, those of
  children are placed in lengthwise between them to economise space; the
  whole being done exactly as a natty man would pack together turves or
  mushroom spawn bricks.”. . . Let us hope that whatever else may be
  “taken from the French,” we may never imitate them in their cemetery
  management.

  [237] Depth of burial varies from 6 to 10 feet, but there must be 4
  feet of earth upon the top of the last coffin if an adult, 3 feet if a
  child.

  [238] A proper grave should be dry when opened, and have a sufficiency
  of soil over the coffin to absorb any gases of decomposition; it
  should allow an adjoining grave to be opened without collapsing, and
  should if possible dispense with the necessity of shoring or close
  timbering the sides, and should allow sufficient space for a headstone
  to be placed over it.

  [239] In a tomb or walled grave, the coffin should be enclosed in an
  air-tight case, by means of a stone cemented down which must never
  again be moved; or concrete may be used. It is a good plan to put some
  charcoal with the coffin to absorb any gases of decomposition in case
  of the vault opening accidentally at any future time, and in order to
  guard against such an occurrence it is better to leave at least 2 feet
  of earth on the top of the grave below the surface of the ground in
  walled graves.

  [240] “No body shall be buried in any vault under any chapel of the
  cemetery or within 15 feet of the outer wall of any such chapel.”
  (_Vide_ s. 39, Cemetery Clauses Act 1847.)

  [241] In a beautiful out-of-the-way valley in Wales, there is a pretty
  village with a quiet churchyard far from the “busy haunts of man,” yet
  here it is found necessary to disinter all the bodies, as this
  churchyard will soon be 30 feet under the surface of the water of an
  immense reservoir now being constructed to supply the living with
  drinking water, and it would not be right to leave the bodies there.

  [242] The body of Lord Balcarres was (as is now history) removed from
  the mausoleum in his own grounds, and only recovered after a most
  painful interval; this desecration could not have happened had his
  body been cremated and the ashes suitably secured.

  [243] I believe it was Lord Shaftesbury whose remark on this point
  was, “What would have become of the blessed martyrs, if destruction by
  fire was to annul their chances of resurrection?”

  [244] The metropolis alone has in addition to the numerous burying
  grounds near its parish churches, &c. (many of which have been,
  however, dug up and destroyed), the average of which it would be
  difficult to determine, the following cemeteries, which may be called
  extra mural:

  Woking Cemetery                   500 acres
  Ilford and Leytonstone Cemetery   168  „
  Norwood and Nunhead Cemetery       40  „
  Highgate Cemetery                  40  „
  West London at Brompton            40  „
  Abney Park Cemetery                32  „
  Kensal Green Cemetery              18  „
  Victoria Cemetery                  ----
  Tower Hamlets Cemetery             ----
  Colney Hatch Cemetery              ----




CHAPTER XXXI.

MORTUARIES.


As the Public Health Act 1875 contains several clauses bearing upon
mortuaries, a few words upon this subject will not be altogether
inappropriate.

The great and terrible evils arising from the practice of keeping
corpses in inhabited rooms by the poorer classes were pointed out by Mr.
Chadwick in the year 1843[245] and the following clauses upon this
subject and the necessity imposed upon the local authority to provide
proper mortuaries are contained in the Public Health Act 1875:

“Any local authority may, and if required by the Local Government Board
shall provide and fit up a proper place for the reception of dead bodies
before interment (in this Act called a mortuary), and may make bye-laws
with respect to the management and charges for use of the same; they may
also provide for the decent and economical interment, at charges to be
fixed by such bye-laws, of any dead body which may be received into a
mortuary (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 141).

“Where the body of one who has died of any infectious disease is
retained in a room in which persons live or sleep, or any dead body
which is in such a state as to endanger the health of the inmates of the
same house or room is retained in such house or room, any justice may,
on a certificate signed by a legally qualified medical practitioner,
order the body to be removed, at the cost of the local authority, to any
mortuary provided by such authority, and direct the same to be buried
within a time to be limited in such order; and unless the friends or
relations of the deceased undertake to bury the body within the time so
limited, and do bury the same, it shall be the duty of the relieving
officer to bury such body at the expense of the poor rate, but any
expense so incurred may be recovered by the relieving officer in a
summary manner from any person legally liable to pay the expense of such
burial.

“Any person obstructing the execution of an order made by a justice
under this section shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five
pounds” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 142).

From these clauses it would appear that a mortuary or mortuaries are an
absolute essential in every town, although it does not appear necessary
to have a separate mortuary for any “body of one who has died of any
infectious disease,” but it may be taken to the mortuary which has been
provided for the reception of dead bodies generally. It may also be
assumed that bodies may be viewed by a coroner’s jury in the mortuary,
although a post-mortem examination cannot be made in it, as by the
following section:

“Any local authority may provide and maintain a proper place (otherwise
than at a workhouse or at a mortuary) for the reception of dead bodies
during the time required to conduct any post-mortem examination ordered
by a coroner or other constituted authority, and may make regulations
with respect to the management of such place; and where any such place
has been provided, a coroner or other constituted authority may order
the removal of the body to and from such place for carrying out such
post-mortem examination, such costs of removal to be paid in the same
manner and out of the same fund as the costs and fees for post-mortem
examinations when ordered by the coroner (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 143).”

It will be observed that the above clause apparently forbids a
post-mortem room being provided at the mortuary, although this would
appear to be the most appropriate situation for it, and indeed such a
room is frequently provided at or near the mortuary. The reason for this
prohibition, especially as it is associated with a workhouse, is
evidently to overcome the prejudice which would exist in the minds of
the ignorant that the fact of taking a body to a mortuary necessitated
dissection: a practice which is looked upon with much disfavour by such
persons.

Mortuaries in this country generally consist of one of the following
descriptions:

(1.) Elaborate groups of buildings, comprising mortuary chapel,
coroner’s room, post-mortem room, dead house, waiting rooms, &c., and
the necessary care-taker’s rooms, and offices.

(2.) Mortuaries in connection with infectious hospitals.

(3.) Mortuaries in connection with general hospitals.

(4.) Mortuaries at cemeteries or licensed burial grounds.

(5.) Dead-houses provided by the sanitary authority.

In arranging for the erection of a dead-house or mortuary in any town,
the surveyor may find the following particulars and suggestions of some
use to him:

A mortuary must be provided in the grounds or near all cemeteries that
are in active operation, but in addition to these, others ought to be
erected in central positions of the town, so that bodies can be easily
conveyed there, not only with a view to meet the objections mentioned in
the opening of this chapter, but also to avoid the unseemly practice at
present so largely in vogue of taking any cases of sudden death,
suicide, accidental drowning, violence or accident, &c., that may occur,
to the nearest public house, there to await identification and the
coroner’s inquest.[246]

It has been computed that for every 50,000 of the population of any
town, a mortuary should be provided.

In Frankfort mortuaries have been for some years in existence; they are
simple buildings, with a separate room for each corpse, intended not
only to prevent bodies from being kept in private houses, but also to
lessen the chance of any person being buried alive. The following is a
plan of one of these institutions:

[Illustration: PLAN OF A GERMAN LEICHENHAUS OR DEAD-HOUSE.]

To prevent the chance of burying any person alive, each corpse as it is
placed in its little dead-house has a ring placed upon its finger; this
ring is attached to a string which is in communication with a bell which
hangs in the attendant’s room, who is there night and day, a window
communicates with each dead-house, so that on the alarm being given he
is at once ready to render assistance.

In Paris, as is well known, all bodies that are found are placed in the
“Morgue” behind “Notre Dame,” where they are publicly exhibited, thus
assisting identification, although the exposure of bodies in this
manner is not very attractive.

In preparing designs for a group of buildings such as are set forth in
the first on the list which I have given, the following requirements
should be considered:

_The Mortuary Chapel_ should be of such dimensions as are suitable for
the requirements of the district, bearing in mind that if an epidemic of
a fatal character was to unfortunately break out, it could either
provide accommodation for the extra strain upon it or be capable of
being easily extended. It should be designed so as to combine the
characteristics of a chapel with the most perfect sanitary
arrangements.[247] The walls should be of stone and are better lined
with cement or glazed tiles, and everything should be kept as flush as
possible so as to avoid projections on which dust could accumulate, the
whole being easily and readily cleansed and disinfected. The floor may
be of asphalte or other impervious material, and be well drained, great
care being of course taken to exclude rats.

The ventilation must be perfect, the building should always be of low
temperature even in the hottest days of summer. All the group of
buildings should, if possible, be surrounded by a free belt of air.
Their position should be isolated with respect to other buildings, and
of course it is highly necessary that they should be as far away as
possible from any dwelling-houses, a disused burial ground being
sometimes selected as a convenient site. The furniture of a mortuary
chapel should consist only of trestles or of brackets against the walls
upon which to rest the shells containing the corpses.

_The Dead-house_ should be a room smaller than the mortuary chapel, but
its construction may be the same. It is here that all bodies should be
brought uncoffined for the purpose of awaiting identification, or
preparatory to post-mortem examination, or of bodies of those who have
died from dangerous contagious maladies, and rendering immediate removal
necessary; these are placed upon slabs provided for the purpose, which
may be of slate, zinc, or other suitable material. In conjunction with
the dead-house should be

_The Post-Mortem Room_, which requires plenty of light; it must also,
like the mortuary chapel and dead-house, be thoroughly ventilated and
drained and be easily cleansed. Its furniture must consist of the
necessary post-mortem table of slate, zinc, or wood covered entirely
with lead: this table must slightly dish towards the centre and be
drained into a pail or on to a grating. Plenty of water is essential,
conveniently laid on, and the room must be fitted with good arrangements
for gas or other means of artificial lighting. Some method is also
necessary for the purpose of heating water whenever it is required.

_The Coroner’s Court_ may be simply a large room with convenient
seatings and tables for the coroner and his jury, accommodation being
also provided for the press, witnesses, &c. with the necessary retiring
rooms and offices.

In addition to the above requirements the following accommodation should
also be provided:

_A caretaker_ or _resident attendant_ should have accommodation at or
near the main group of buildings.

_A Laboratory and Weighing Room_ should also be provided in connection
with the post-mortem room; and a _Store Room_ for spare shells and
disinfectants, &c.

If possible also it is well to provide a _Hearse House_; and in
connection with the mortuary establishment, the disinfecting of bedding,
clothing, &c., which have become infected, should also if possible be
carried on.

Before, however, proceeding to discuss the question of disinfection I
will give the following drawing of a mortuary chapel, &c., as proposed
by the late Dr. W. Hardwicke, the well-known Coroner, in a valuable
paper upon the subject of Public Mortuaries which he read before the
Royal Institute of British Architects in the year 1869:

[Illustration]

I am, however, not aware that any public mortuary even of this size has
yet been actually carried out in this country, greatly as they are
needed.

With reference to the question of disinfection, which as I stated can be
conveniently taken in connection with that of mortuaries, the following
is the clause of the Public Health Act 1875 which deals with it:

“Any local authority may provide a proper place, with all necessary
apparatus and attendance, for the disinfection of bedding, clothing or
other articles which have become infected, and may cause any articles
brought for disinfection to be disinfected free of charge (38 & 39 Vic.
c. 55, s. 122). See also 38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, ss. 120 and 121.”

The first duty here involved is to provide a proper place for this
purpose, and this place cannot be better than that of the mortuary, so
as to centralize as much as possible the spots to which infection has to
be carried, and the necessary attendant can also here be found, as well
as convenient places to put the hand carts, &c., presently described.

The next duty is to provide the necessary apparatus, which is now done
almost exclusively by the action of heat. This is sometimes effected by
building brick-work chambers which can be heated up to about 350° Fahr.
after the doors are closed, by means of coal or coke furnaces. Within
these chambers are moveable horses on which are placed the articles to
be disinfected: these are exposed to the necessary heat for varying
times according to the nature of the articles, the horse is then drawn
out, when the articles should be thoroughly washed with a disinfecting
soap and returned to their owners. Great care is necessary in this
operation to ensure evenness of heat, as otherwise the clothes, bedding,
&c., may be scorched and injured, and the local authority will then have
to make compensation.

A more convenient form of disinfecting machine, and one that is less
costly to work and more even in its temperature, is one that can be
heated by gas, this is sometimes effected by the use of an iron box with
counter-balanced lid into which the articles are put, heat being applied
by means of gas jets burning underneath. A more elaborate and effective
method has however been patented, and is now manufactured by Messrs.
Goddard and Massey of Nottingham, which is known as Dr. Ranson’s system.
The following drawing shows the arrangement of this machine, and some of
the advantages claimed for it are as follows:

Its heat is maintained automatically within certain limits in all parts
of the chamber, and has great drying power, which is important, as
securing from the long period of time at which this steady heat can be
maintained, that penetration into bedding and other bad conductors which
is so desirable to secure the necessary destruction of all disease germs
or chances of after inoculation:

[Illustration]

There can be no doubt that where a machine is not required to be
constantly at work gas is the cheapest and most convenient heat-producer
that we have.

It is of course necessary that the infected bedding and clothing should
be fetched from the owners’ houses in such a manner as will lessen the
risk of spreading infection as much as possible, and for this purpose it
is necessary for the local authority to keep a covered hand-cart which
should be lined with tin and closed hermetically. It should be
sufficiently large to take a mattrass, and be of light construction, so
that one man can draw it when full.

Before concluding my remarks on disinfection, it is well to state that
plenty of carbolic acid should be kept in a mortuary. Sheets saturated
with carbolic acid are used to wrap around the dead bodies of infected
persons, and sawdust saturated with carbolic acid is also freely used,
besides large quantities of that excellent disinfectant, “Sanitas.”

  [245] _Vide_ ‘A Supplementary Report on the Results of a Special
  Enquiry into the Practice of Interments in Towns,’ by Edwin Chadwick,
  1843.

  [246] There is no law that can compel any one to receive a dead body
  into his house.

  [247] It is important to remove the idea of a “parish dead-house,”
  otherwise its object will be defeated, as persons will object to allow
  the bodies of their deceased friends to be taken to it.




CHAPTER XXXII.

BORROWING UNDER THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD.


There are a number of clauses in the Public Health Act 1875, which
empower a local authority to borrow money on the credit of the rates for
the purpose of “defraying any costs, charges and expenses incurred or to
be incurred by them in the execution of the Sanitary Acts.” (_Vide_ 38 &
39 Vic. c. 55, s. 233).

The exercise of these powers of borrowing are subject to the following
regulations:

(1.) Money shall not be borrowed except for permanent works.[248]

(2.) The sum borrowed shall not exceed at any time, including all
outstanding debts, the assessable value for two years of the district.

(3.) Where it exceeds the value of one year, the Local Government Board
will not give their sanction until one of their inspectors has held a
local enquiry.

(4.) The money cannot be borrowed for a longer time than 60 years, and
it must be paid off within that time.

(5.) Certain regulations as to sinking funds, &c. (_Vide_ 38 & 39 Vic.
c. 55, s. 234 _et seq._)

The power to borrow money thus granted to local authorities has
undoubtedly given a considerable stimulus to the execution of important
sanitary works which could not be carried out if they had to be paid for
out of the current rates. It is also a fair and equitable arrangement
that permanent works should be paid for by those that reap the benefit
of them, and it is now so arranged that the money borrowed is repaid
within a certain specified time by equal annual payments, in order that
the ratepayer of the present shall not be unduly taxed for the benefit
of posterity.

No regular or fixed times have been settled by the Local Government
Board over which they will allow the repayment of loans to be spread,
but it appears that the duration of the proposed works somewhat guides
the length of time allowed, as will appear from the following list which
I have prepared from the eighth Annual Report of the Local Government
Board:

  Description of Work.                  Number of Years.

  Purchase of land                          50  to 60
  Sewage disposal                           30  „  50
  Sewerage works                            30  „  50
  Water supply                              20  „  50
  Fire brigade purposes                     30 and 60
  Market Purposes                           30  „  60
  Plan of district                          20  „  30
  Lamps for public lighting                 10  „  20
  Artizans and Labourers’ Dwellings Act     50
  Erection of hospital                      30
     „     „  public baths                  30
     „     „  slaughter-houses              30
     „     „  buildings at sewage farm      30
  A public park                             50
  Cemeteries                                30
  Gas supply                                30
  Street improvements                       15  to 30
  Paving[249] and channelling               15  „  20
  Stables, urinals, enginehouse             20
  Construction of a new road                20
  Disinfecting apparatus                    20
  Mortuary and weighing machine             15
  Steam road roller                         10

Whenever a local authority decide to make application to the Local
Government Board for power to borrow money for any proposed improvements
or works within their district, it is the duty of the town surveyor to
prepare the necessary drawings and obtain the required information in
order to fill in the forms which are supplied from the Local Government
Board office.

With reference to this important part of his duty, I cannot do better
than give the following Suggestions as to the Preparation of Plans of
Proposed Works, by Robert Rawlinson, C.B., C.E., &c. (Chief Engineering
Inspector to the Local Government Board), prepared by him in 1878:

“It will in all cases be necessary, upon application being made for
sanction to a loan, for the execution of works, that plans (or tracings
of the plans), sections, estimates in detail and specifications be
submitted with the application, accompanied by information as to the
population at the two last periods of the taking of the census, the
rateable value of the district, and the amount of outstanding loans.”

“Such plans or tracings may be used for showing lines of main sewers,
drains, water-pipes and gas-mains. The lines of main sewers and drains
should have the cross sectional dimensions of the sewers and their
gradients distinctly marked (written and figured) upon them. The
dimensions of water and gas pipes should also be shown in figures or by
writing.”

“N.B.--No general map should be submitted which is drawn to a scale of
less than 6 inches to a mile, except when the inch ordnance map is
used.”

“Maps upon which sewerage works or water works are to be shown, or for
street improvements, should be not less than the ordnance scale of
¹⁄₂₅₀₀th.”

“The sections should be drawn to the same horizontal scale, and to a
vertical scale of 20 feet to 1 inch.”

Any detailed plan for the purposes of house drainage, paving, the
purchase of land &c., should be “constructed to a scale of not less than
10 feet to a mile, and upon this plan should be exhibited all houses and
other buildings, bench marks, the levels of streets and roads, of
cellars, of the sea at high and low tide level, and the summer and
flood levels of rivers. 3 feet by 2 feet will be a convenient size for
the sheets of this plan.”

“Enlarged detail plans and sections of sewers, side entrances,
man-holes, sewer sluices, sluice valves, water-pipe joints, and similar
details, should be to a scale not less than 8 feet to 1 inch, and for
some details 4 feet to 1 inch.”[250]

“As it may occasionally be desired to carry out works piecemeal, with a
view to save the time which would be occupied in the preparation of a
complete plan from actual survey, it will be sufficient in the first
instance to furnish any available general plan of streets and roads,
with the surface levels and those of the deepest cellars figured in feet
and inches, and the proposed scheme of works shown (or sketched)
thereon, after which the works can proceed in sections. It should be
understood, however, that a complete plan of the entire district must be
proceeded with, so that when the works are finished, the sanitary
authority and this Board may possess a proper record of them.”

And again, Mr. Rawlinson in the same year, at a meeting of the
Association of Municipal and Sanitary Engineers, writes as follows:

“Plans should be neatly and clearly drawn, the cross sectional
dimensions and the gradient being written on the _plan_ of sewers; there
should be a title and scale on each plan, as also on each sheet, and the
date with the name of the engineer or surveyor clearly written so as
easily to be read; this as a rule should be in the right-hand corner.
Many names are so written that experts cannot read them, and plans are
frequently sent out having no title, nor any scale, nor any name.”

“Plans of details, such as side entrances, man-holes, flushing chambers,
and sewer ventilating arrangements, should be at 4 feet to an inch,
larger works may be at 4, 10 to 20 feet to an inch. Clear understandable
and measurable details are desirable . . . I have much trouble in
looking over defectively prepared plans and crude ill-understood and
ill-digested schemes as they are submitted to the Local Government
Board, for approval and sanction to a proposed loan. One great fact
connected with the Board must not, however, be overlooked. It is not an
office of works, it does not undertake to devise neither does it make
itself responsible in any degree for the plans or for the estimates
which may have been sanctioned. Each engineer and each local authority
must both devise and execute the local works, and the district must
alone be responsible for the local expenditure. The Board neither
dictates as to works, nor superintends works, but reserves the power of
refusing sanction to a proposed loan, and of requiring full explanations
as to failures in the works, or as to expenses over estimates before
sanctioning a supplemental loan. The reason that the Board declines
responsibility ought to be clearly manifest; plans and details may be
the best possible, but the ultimate result depends on daily local
supervision, and this the Board does not give; neither local action nor
local responsibility is superseded.”

Speaking on this point at the first meeting of the Sanitary Institute of
Great Britain held at Croydon in 1879, Captain Douglas Galton, C.B.,
says:[251]

“Where a loan is applied for, the plan upon which the money is to be
spent is submitted for Government approval. The Government only lends
the money after the approval of the proposed scheme of expenditure by
one of their inspectors.”

“The Local Authorities of the towns to be drained cannot therefore be
responsible for the plan selected, for the Local Authorities must alter
their plans to suit the views of the inspector. The responsibility of
the engineer is diminished, because he may be compelled to modify his
plan in a manner in which he may not thoroughly approve, and the
inspector has no responsibility in the matter, because, after having
approved of the general scheme, he has no control over the details or
the execution of the work, nor can he be in any way held responsible, if
the result were a failure.”

  [248] The Local Government Board have held a steam roller, a steam
  fire-engine, a disinfecting apparatus, and lamp columns to be
  permanent works.

  [249] For asphalte pavements twelve years have been allowed.

  [250] “Details may be drawn to any scale larger than the dimensions
  named. Engraved or lithographed diagrams, if clear and distinct, will
  be accepted. A new plan of any town or district cannot be used for
  main sewering, water supply, gas supply, pavements, footwalks, and
  other purposes without spoiling it; consequently it had better be
  retained as a standard and be zincographed, there may then be copies
  for all local purposes. The zinc plates to be the property of the
  local authority.”

  [251] _Vide_ ‘Transactions of the Sanitary Institute of Great
  Britain,’ vol. i. p. 116.




CHAPTER XXXIII.

CONTRACTS.


Contracts being principally a legal question, it is not my intention to
say much on the matter.

In the Public Health Act 1875 will be found the following clauses:

“Any Local Authority may enter into any contracts necessary for carrying
this Act into execution (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 173).

“With respect to contracts made by an Urban Authority under this Act,
the following regulations shall be observed (namely):

“(1.) Every contract made by an Urban Authority whereof the value or
amount exceeds fifty pounds shall be in writing, and sealed with the
common seal of such authority:

“(2.) Every such contract shall specify the work, materials, matters or
things to be furnished, had or done, the price to be paid, and the time
or times within which the contract is to be performed, and shall specify
some pecuniary penalty to be paid in case the terms of the contract are
not duly performed:

“(3.) Before contracting for the execution of any works under the
provisions of this Act, an Urban Authority shall obtain from their
surveyor an estimate in writing, as well of the probable expense of
executing the work in a substantial manner as of the annual expense of
repairing the same; also a report as to the most advantageous mode of
contracting, that is to say, whether by contracting only for the
execution of the work, or for executing and also maintaining the same in
repair during a term of years or otherwise:

“(4.) Before any contract of the value or amount of one hundred pounds
or upwards is entered into by an Urban Authority ten days’ public notice
at the least shall be given, expressing the nature and purpose thereof,
and inviting tenders for the execution of the same; and such authority
shall require and take sufficient security for the due performance of
the same:

“(5.) Every contract entered into by an Urban Authority in conformity
with the provisions of this section, and duly executed by the other
parties thereto, shall be binding on the Authority by whom the same is
executed and their successors, and on all other parties thereto and
their executors, administrators, successors or assigns to all intents
and purposes: Provided that an Urban Authority may compound with any
contractor or other person in respect of any penalty incurred by reason
of the non-performance of any contract entered into as aforesaid,
whether such penalty is mentioned in any such contract, or in any bond
or otherwise, for such sums of money or other recompense as to such
Authority may seem proper” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 174).

In reading the numerous foot-notes that follow the above clauses in
Glen’s ‘Law of Public Health and Local Government,’ it will be seen that
contracts with corporations have been held to be very different from
ordinary ones between individuals or companies. All contracts should be
by deed under the seal of the corporation, or “there is no safety or
security for anyone dealing with such a body on any other footing,” and
this applies also in “respect of any variation or alteration in a
contract which has been made.”

“A committee of the corporation has no power to enter into any contract”
(38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 200).

A member of a corporation may not be “concerned in any bargain or
contract” entered into by the corporation, although this would not
vitiate the contract (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, sch. 11, clause 64), neither
may an officer of the corporation be “concerned or interested in any
bargain or contract” (38 & 39 Vic. c. 55, s. 193).

It is, of course, necessary before any contract can be entered into,
that the town surveyor should prepare the specification, schedule of
prices and drawings where necessary; this entails a considerable amount
of work.

In addition to ordinary specifications for works, the town surveyor has
often to prepare specifications and schedules for the supply of the
following goods:

  Ironmongery.
  Paints, etc.
  Disinfectants.
  Castings.
  Coals.
  Harness.
  Fodder.
  Road metal.
  Paving.
  Clothing.
  Stationery.
  Horse hire.

and a host of other things too numerous to mention.

A well-written, clear, and comprehensive specification is a most
difficult thing to write, but it should be “common sense” from beginning
to end, any legal phraseology being left to the town clerk to introduce
in his “deed” as required by the Act.

For sewer and drain work lump sum contracts are often undesirable: it is
better to work according to a schedule of prices, and periodical
measurements.

It must not be forgotten that in all contracts the contractor seeks to
make a profit out of the work; if there is no intermediate contractor
this profit goes to the ratepayers. In most sanitary works also the men
employed by the local authority are more skilled in that particular
class of work than the chance men employed by a contractor, and for this
and many other reasons, administration by the local authority is in most
cases preferable to contracts.[252]

Where tenders have been invited by advertisement or otherwise, the
successful person should be written to, apprising him of the fact, and
requesting him to call, sign the necessary specification, deeds, and
drawings; an intimation should also be made to the unsuccessful
competitors that their tenders have not been accepted.

In conclusion, let me thank the authors of the following books for the
useful information which I have gained in perusing them for the purposes
of this work, and, let me add, they can be studied with advantage by
every “Town Surveyor”:

  ‘American Sanitary Engineering,’ by E. S. Philbrick.

  ‘Annales des Ponts et Chaussées,’ published in Paris.

  ‘Annual Reports of the Local Government Board,’ published in London.

  ‘A Practical Guide for Inspectors of Nuisances,’ by F. R. Wilson.

  ‘A Treatise on Roads,’ by Sir H. Parnell.

  ‘Cremation of the Dead,’ by W. Eassie.

  ‘Experience sur le tirage des Voitures,’ by M. Morin.

  ‘Healthy Dwellings,’ by D. Galton.

  ‘Health of Towns Commission,’ sundry reports.

  ‘Law of Public Health and Local Government,’ by W. C. and A. Glen.

  ‘Local Board Manual,’ by Owen Harris.

  ‘New Mode of Constructing Streets,’ by J. Edgworth.

  ‘Plumbing and House Draining,’ by W. P. Buchan.

  ‘Practical Treatise on Roads,’ by A. Penfold.

  ‘Repair of Main Roads,’ by W. H. Wheeler.

  ‘Roads and Streets,’ by D. Kinnear Clark.

  ‘Roads, Streets, and Pavements,’ by Q. A. Gillmore.

  ‘Roads and Roadways,’ by G. W. Willcocks.

  ‘Remarks on the Present System of Road Making,’ &c., by John Loudon
  McAdam.

  ‘Sanitary Engineering,’ by Baldwin Latham.

  ‘Sanitary Engineering,’ by Bailey Denton.

  ‘Sanitary Work,’ by Charles Slagg.

  ‘Suggestions as to the Preparation of District Maps and of Plans for
  Main Sewerage, Drainage, and Water Supply,’ by Robert Rawlinson, C.B.,
  &c.

  ‘Street Pavements,’ by G. F. Crosby Dawson.

  ‘Steam Road Rolling,’ by Fred. A. Paget.

  ‘The Parks, Promenades, and Gardens of Paris,’ by W. Robinson.

  ‘The Public Health and Local Government Act,’ by J. Vesey Fitzgerald.

  ‘The Interments Act 1879,’ by T. Baker.

  ‘The Plumber and Sanitary Houses,’ by S. S. Hellyer.

  ‘The Maintenance of Macadamised Roads,’ by Thomas Codrington.

  ‘The true system of Wood Pavement,’ Anonymous.

  ‘The Surveyor of Highways,’ by Alex. Glen.

  ‘Tree Pruning,’ by A. des Cars.

  Various papers in the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil
  Engineers.

  Various papers in the Proceedings of the Sanitary Institute of Great
  Britain.

  Various papers in the Proceedings of the Association of Municipal and
  Sanitary Engineers and Surveyors.

  Various papers from the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society.

  Various papers from the Reports on the Application of Science and Art
  to Street Paving.

  Various reports by Mr. Haywood, Engineer to the Commissioners of
  Sewers of the City of London.

  Various reports by Mr. Till, Surveyor of Birmingham.

  Various reports of Commissions, etc.

  [252] Mr. Parry, C.E., Borough Surveyor of Reading, says, “My
  experience of such works is that town authorities can obtain both
  labour and materials cheaper than contractors, and with efficient
  supervision the work costs less money.” (_Vide_ ‘Proceedings of the
  Association of Municipal and Sanitary Engineers and Surveyors,’ vol.
  iv. p. 89.)




INDEX.


  Abattoirs, 328
  Abrasion of stone, 48
  Accidents to horses, 31
  Accommodation in Cattle Market, 345
  Acland, Dr., on the surveyor, 4
  Acquisition of sewers, 252
  Acreage of sewage farms, 265
  Action of earth on sewage, 266
  Additions to old buildings, 210
  Advantage of plants for sewage, 270
  Advantages of asphalte, 99
  ---- public abattoirs, 343
  ---- separate system, 261
  ---- steam rolling, 70
  ---- wood paving, 89
  Alleys and courts if cleansed, 238
  Allotting numbers, 154
  Alteration of old building to new, 209
  American footpath, 114
  ---- paving, 77
  ---- road rolling, 65
  Analysis of asphalte, 97
  Angell Lewis on the surveyor, 6
  Angles of roads, 30
  Annihilation of sewer gases, 277
  Application to borrow, 376
  Appointment of surveyor, 1, 3, 10, 18
  Arc lights, 144
  Area of cemeteries, 354, 363
  ---- sewers, 253, 254
  Artificial asphalte, 117
  ---- stone pavements, 116
  Artizans’ dwellings, 284, 291
  Ashpits, 226
  Asphalte, Mac Adam, 46
  ---- mastic, 107
  ---- roadways, 96
  Asphaltic wood pavement, 82
  Automatic flushing, 262
  Aveling and Porter’s roller, 68
  Awnings over paths, 184

  Bargains. See Contracts
  Bars opening outwards, 178
  Bayley’s hydrostatic van, 245
  Best stones for pitchers, 75
  Bitumen, 96
  Bituminous concrete, 78
  ---- mixture, 79
  ---- roadways, 46
  Binding for roads, 62
  Blinds over paths, 184
  Blood-house, 341
  Books on drainage, 315
  ---- useful, 384
  Borrowing, 375
  Borders for paths, 320
  Bottles and brickbats, 225
  Bottoming roadways, 37
  Breakages in pipe sewers, 258
  Breaking stone, 48, 51
  Breaking-up streets, 157
  Brick footpaths, 116
  Bridges over streets, 33
  Broad irrigation, 265
  Brown’s street watering, 243
  Buildings, dangerous, 188
  ---- projections of, 176
  ---- new, 206
  ---- setting back, 175
  Buddle hole, 128
  Bullock lairs, 346
  ---- rollers, 60
  Burial fees, 356
  ---- in clay, 354
  Burners, gas, 140
  Burning refuse, 233
  Butchers, 329, 334
  Byelaws for new streets, &c., 206

  Cage for trees, 325
  Caithness flagging, 112
  Caldrons, 107
  Candle power, 136
  Canvassing, 19
  Capacities of surveyor, 5
  Carcel power, 136
  Carey’s wood pavement, 83
  Cart for scavenging, 230
  Cast-iron name plates, 151
  Cattle lairs, 333
  Cattle Market, 345
  Causes of breakages in pipes, 258
  Cellar coverings, 180
  ---- door projecting, 176
  ---- dwellings, 295
  Cemeteries, 350
  Channelling, 123
  Chapel mortuary, 369
  Chapels in cemeteries, 351
  Charcoal sewer ventilators, 275
  Chemical treatment of sewage, 268
  Chesterfield lighting, 129
  Chicago roads, 38
  Chimney shafts, 190
  ---- ---- ventilators, 275
  Chloride of calcium for watering, 247
  Choice of street names, 152
  Chokages in pipe sewers, 260
  Cisterns, objectionable, 302
  Clarke’s apparatus, 240
  Clay slate, 49
  Cleansing of streets, 234
  ---- private courts, &c., 238
  Climate and trees, 321
  Clinkers, 225
  Closing polluted well, 301
  ---- slaughter-houses, 330
  Coal plates, 182
  Coefficients of road metal, 51
  Collection of house refuse, 228
  Combined system of sewerage, 261
  Committees, 23
  Common line of frontage, 177
  Compensation for setting back, 175
  Composition of sewer gas, 278
  Compressed asphalte, 96
  Concrete, 78
  ---- footpaths, 113
  ---- pipes, 254
  Condemned meat, 339
  Connection with main sewers, 305
  Construction of asphalte roads, 98
  Contour of roadways, 43
  Contract with Gas Company, 132
  Contracts, 381
  ---- for scavenging, 249
  ---- surveyor must not be interested in, 3, 382
  Conversion into new building, 210
  Cost of asphalte, 101
  ---- chemical treatment, 264
  ---- electric light, 145
  ---- kerbing, 125
  ---- maintenance of macadamised roads, 34, 41
  ---- melting snow, 241
  ---- pipes, 254
  ---- scavenging, 248
  ---- tree planting, 326
  ---- watering, 244
  ---- wood pavement, 91
  ---- working steam rollers, 61, 63
  Core hard, 39
  Coroner’s court, 370
  Cremation, 361
  Crops for sewage farm, 265
  Croskey’s wood pavement, 82

  Damage to roads, 161
  ---- trees, 327
  Dangerous buildings, 188
  ---- crossings, 33
  Deacon on streets, 76
  Dead-house, 367, 369
  Declaration of public streets, 204
  Defacing numbers or names, 149
  Defects in dwellings, 295
  Defective cellar covers, 181
  ---- drains, 310
  Definition of new building, 208
  ---- sewer, 252
  ---- street, 149, 205
  Demolition of premises, 285
  Deposit of plans of streets, 210
  Depth of sewers, 253
  Diameter of drains, 315
  Diary of water-cart, 247
  Dimensions of lairs and pens, 347
  Disadvantages of steam rolling, 72
  Diseased meat, 339
  Disinfection, 371
  Disposal of refuse, 232
  ---- road scrapings, 237
  ---- sewage, 263
  Distance of lamps, 135
  ---- trees, 324
  Division of cemeteries, 355
  ---- England, 2
  Doors opening outwards, 178
  Down pipes, 183
  Drainage, 303
  ---- definition of, 303
  ---- of cemeteries, 351
  ---- slaughter-house, 335
  Drain-cleaning rods, 260
  Drains under houses, 316
  Draught on roads, 29
  Dry systems, 263
  Drying sludge, 269
  Dust-bins, 226
  Dusty streets, 234
  Duties of surveyor, 5, 7, 11, 20
  Dwellings and cemeteries, 350
  Dynamos, 141

  Earth as a sewage filter, 266
  Easements, 182
  Eaves shuting, 183
  Effect of traffic, 27
  Elasticity of asphalte, 104
  Electric lighting, 129, 140
  Enamelled name plates, 152
  Entrance to cattle market, 346
  Erection of hoardings or scaffolds, 187
  Escape from fire, 218
  Euston pavement, 77
  Evasion of Building Acts, 209
  Examination of surveyor, 14

  Fees for burials, 356
  Fences, 320
  Filling-in over pipes, 317
  Filters for sewage, 267
  Filtration of sewage, 266
  Fire protection, 218
  Fitness of stone, 48
  Flagging, York, 110
  ---- Caithness, 112
  ---- blue lias, 113
  Flag poles, 177
  Flints, 50
  Float observations, 265
  Flushing courts and alleys, 238
  Footpaths, 106
  ---- and snow, 241
  Force required on roads, 30
  Forms of Notice. See Notice
  Foundation of macadamised roads, 39
  French burial, 356
  Frontage of streets, 174
  Fryer’s destructor, 233
  Fuel for rollers, 61
  Furnaces as sewer ventilators, 276
  Furniture of mortuary, 369

  Gales and trees, 321
  Galton on borrowing, 379
  Garden refuse, 225
  Gas-burners, 140
  ---- lighting, 130
  Gates opening outwards, 178
  Gauge of stone, 52
  General markets, 348
  German dead-house, 368
  Germ theory, 271
  Glass name tablets, 152
  Gneiss, 49
  Good house drainage, 315
  Goux system, 233
  Gradients of house-drains, 316
  ---- roads, 30
  ---- sewers, 253
  ---- for rollers, 62
  Granite, 49
  ---- foot-pavement, 117
  ---- kerb, 124
  Grass, 320
  Grating for trees, 324
  Gravel footpaths, 121
  ---- 50
  Grave spaces, 360
  ---- yards, 350
  Green and Son’s roller, 69
  Grill for trees, 325
  Gritted asphalte, 108
  Ground floor, 208
  Grouting, 79
  Gulley gratings, 126

  Hammer-broken stone, 52
  Hand or hose watering, 244
  Hard core, 39
  Harrison’s wood pavement, 83
  Hayward on snow, 239
  Hayward’s pavement lights, 181
  Heads of scavenging, 224
  Healey’s boilers, 80
  Health of district, 288
  Henson’s wood pavement, 83
  Hide store, 341
  Highways, surveyor of, 20
  Hoardings, 187
  Hoisting machinery, 337
  Horse-shoes, 27
  House, definition of, 311
  ---- drainage, 303
  ---- refuse collection, 228
  ---- ---- disposal, 232
  ---- ---- destruction, 233
  ---- ---- removed, 223
  Houses unfit for habitation, 284
  Hydrostatic van, 245

  Illuminating power, 135
  Imperishable stone-paving blocks, 104
  Importation of trees, 322
  Improper water supply, 300
  Improved wood pavement, 81
  Improvement of courts and alleys, 287
  ---- streets, 174
  ---- private streets, 193
  Incandescent lamps, 144
  Inclination of roads, 30
  Individuals breaking-up streets, 169
  Industrial dwellings, 290
  Inertia of load, 32
  Ingredients used for precipitation, 269
  Inlets for fresh air into sewers, 273
  Inspection of drains, 305, 314
  ---- buildings, 217, 219
  Insufficient w.c. accommodation, 297
  Interception or dry systems, 263
  Intermittent filtration, 266
  Intersection of sewers, 254
  Iron name plates, 151
  Irrigation, 265

  Joints of pipe drains, 316
  Junction of drains, 307
  ---- sewers, 254

  Keeping sewers clean, 251
  Kerbing and channelling, 123
  Killing rings, 336

  Labourers’ dwellings, 284, 291
  Lairs for cattle, 333, 346
  Lamp-posts, 134
  ---- ---- as sewer ventilators, 274
  Land necessary for cemetery, 354
  Latrines, 282
  Laying out a cemetery, 354
  Leaky drains, 309
  Leaves as refuse, 225
  Letters for names, 152
  Lias flagging, 113
  Licence to break-up street, 172
  Lieurner system, 262
  Life of brooms, 235
  ---- carts, 231
  ---- paving stones, 76
  ---- wood, 88
  Lighting of slaughter-house, 336
  ---- streets, 129
  Ligno mineral pavement, 83
  Limestone, 49
  Lime-tree, 322
  Line of frontage, 177
  Lining of slaughter-house, 335
  List of borrowing powers, 376
  ---- chemical processes for sewage, 268
  ---- duties of surveyor, 5, 21
  ---- persons called surveyors, 4
  ---- road metal, 49
  ---- shrubs, 320
  ---- trees, 322
  ---- useful books, 384
  Liverpool scavenging, 235
  Lloyd’s wood pavement, 82
  Locomobiles, 107
  Loose stones on road, 45

  Macadamised roadways, 34
  Machinery for electricity, 141
  ---- in slaughter-house, 337
  Machines for sweeping, 234
  ---- stone-breaking, 53
  Management of cemetery, 358
  Manchester abattoir, 333
  ---- pavement, 78
  Manholes for sewers, 253
  Manufacturers’ refuse, 253
  Markets, 344
  Mastic asphalte, 107
  Materials of sewage filters, 267
  Mechanical subsidence of sewage, 267
  Meetings of committees, 23
  Melting snow, 240
  Merit, test of, 14
  Metal road, 48
  Meters for public lamps, 133
  Method of appointment, 18
  Methods of disposal of sewage, 264
  ---- lighting, 131
  ---- numbering, 153
  ---- sewerage, 261
  ---- sewer ventilation, 276
  Minton’s name plates, 151
  Model bye-laws, 207
  ---- lodging-houses, 291
  Metropolitan slaughter-house, 339
  Money, receipt of, 3
  Mortuaries, 365
  Mount Sorrel, 75
  Mowlem’s wood pavement, 83
  Muddy streets, 234

  Names of committees, 23
  Naming and numbering streets, 149
  Necessity for kerb, 123
  ---- slaughter-house, 328
  Newcastle lighting, 147
  New streets and buildings, 206
  Nicholson’s wood pavement, 84
  Norwich wood pavement, 84
  Notices to repair private streets, 198
  ---- of assessment of cost of ditto, 201
  ---- of defective drainage, 313
  ---- for breaking-up streets, 158
  ---- cellar coverings, 181
  ---- for dangerous building, 190
  ---- defective shuting, 183
  ---- doors and gates opening outwards, 179
  ---- insufficient w.c. accommodation, 298
  ---- numbering, 155
  ---- overhanging trees, 185
  ---- permission to break-up streets, 172
  ---- to construct sewers on private lands, 256
  ---- to erect buildings, 214
  ---- to open slaughter-house, 321
  ---- signature of, 313
  Number of graves in cemetery, 354

  Objections to asphalte, 100
  ---- macadamised roadways, 44
  ---- steam rolling, 72
  ---- York flagging, 110
  Observations of tides, 265
  Obstruction in streets, 174
  Obstructive buildings, 286
  Old tins, 225
  Opening graves, 356, 361
  Open space at back of buildings, 218
  ---- ventilating shafts, 272
  Ornamental shrubs, 320
  Outfalls of sewers, 265
  Overhanging trees, 185

  Paget on steam rolling, 71
  Pail system, 234
  Pails, 263
  Painted names, 151
  Painting urinals, 282
  Pamphlet on steam rolling, 65
  Papers, examination, 16
  Paris lighting, 135
  ---- roadways, cost of, 41
  ---- tree planting, 326
  Parks, 318
  Parry on contracts, 383
  ---- watering, 244
  Party walls through roofs, 218
  Paths in cemeteries, 355
  Partially separate system, 262
  Paving of Cattle Market, 346
  ---- lairs, 333, 346
  Pebbles, 50
  Pedestrian traffic, 33
  Pens for sheep, 333, 346
  Permission to break-up streets, 172
  ---- construct cellar, 182
  Persons called surveyor, 4
  Pig killing, 340
  Pinned roadways, 36, 39
  Pipe drains, 315
  ---- sewers, thickness, &c., 258
  ---- ---- diagrams, 259
  Pitch boilers, 80
  Pitched pavements, 73
  Plan for breaking-up streets, 160
  Plans of new streets or buildings, 210
  ---- of house drains, 317
  ---- for borrowing, 377
  ---- slaughter-house, 338
  Plane tree, 322
  Plants for sewage, 270
  Plaster not house refuse, 225
  Plates, name, 151
  Playgrounds, 318
  Pleasure grounds, 318, 350
  Paving of slaughter-house, 334
  Pole-axe, 336
  Polluted water supply, 291
  Porch, 176
  Portable dust-bins, 227
  Position of sewer, 254
  Post-mortem room, 370
  Powers to close slaughter-houses, 330
  Power to borrow, 375
  ---- make contracts, 381
  Precipitation of sewage, 268
  Preservation of wood, 86
  Private lands and sewer, 255
  ---- roads improvements, 204
  ---- slaughter-houses, 329
  ---- street improvements, 193
  Privies, 263
  Processes of chemical treatment, 268
  Projections, 176
  Proportions for asphalte, 109
  Prosser’s wood pavement, 85
  Protection of surveyor, 6, 8
  Pruning trees, 321
  Public abattoirs, 328
  ---- conveniences, 280
  ---- dust-bins, 228
  ---- lighting, 131
  ---- mortuaries, 365
  ---- works, 376
  Punctuality, 24

  Qualities of road metal, 49, 51
  Quantity of land for sewage farm, 265

  Rain-water pipes as ventilators, 274
  ---- ---- shutes, 183
  Rate collecting by surveyor, 3
  Rawlinson on borrowing, 377
  Receipt of money, 3
  Refuse, disposal of, 232
  ---- from manufactories, 253
  ---- receptacles, 229
  ---- trade and garden, 225
  Register of drains, 317
  ---- graves, 360
  Regulation of traffic, 33
  Regulations of cemeteries, 358, 360
  ---- connections with sewers, 305
  Regulations for breaking-up streets, 171
  Reinstating trenches, 162
  Removal of snow, 239
  ---- house refuse, 223
  Removing projections, 176
  Requirements of artizans’ dwellings, 291
  ---- drains, 317
  ---- roadways, 25
  Remuneration of surveyor, 7
  Reports, 24
  ---- on duties of surveyor, 10
  Resistance of wheels, 31
  Roads, private, improvement of, 204
  ---- in cemeteries, 355
  Roadway, specifications of, 35, 36
  Road metal, 48
  ---- ---- list of, 49
  ---- ---- specification of, 57
  ---- ---- weight of, 56
  ---- repairs, 66
  ---- rolling, 60
  ---- Roman, 73
  Ruts in roads, 45

  Safety in traffic, 31
  Sale rooms, 341
  Sanctuaries, 33
  Sandstone, 50
  Sanitary Institute of Great Britain, 14
  Scaffolds, 187
  Scavenging, 221
  ---- cart, 230
  Sea-water for watering, 247
  Section of roadway, 43
  ---- footpaths, 121
  Sections of cemetery, 356
  Security to be entered into, 3
  Selection of trees, 321, 322
  Separate system, 260, 262
  Setting back buildings, 175
  ---- kerb, 124
  Sewerage, 251
  Sewerage, system of, 253
  Sewer through private lands, 255
  Sewered, 195
  Sewage and plants, 270
  ---- crops for, 265
  ---- disposal, 263
  ---- filtration, 266, 267
  ---- irrigation, 265
  ---- mechanical subsidence, 267
  ---- precipitation, 268
  ---- screening, 267
  ---- value of, 265
  Sewer gas, 277
  ---- ventilation, 271
  Shafts for ventilation, 273
  Shed, 176
  Sheep pens, 333, 346
  Shiel’s composite pavement, 85
  Shone’s system, 262
  Shop blinds, 184
  Shrubs projecting, 176
  ---- 320
  ---- in cemeteries, 360
  Shutes, 183
  Shutter projecting, 176
  Sight rails, 257
  Sign projecting, 176
  Site for abattoir, 332
  ---- of Cattle Market, 345
  ---- for cemetery, 351
  Size of cellar covers, 181
  ---- drains, 316
  ---- graves, 356
  ---- pitchers, 74
  ---- rooms, 294
  ---- trees, 323
  Slaughter-houses, 328, 334
  Slaughtering, 342
  Slippery roads, 32
  Sludge, treatment of, 269
  Snow, removal of, 239, 241
  ---- on footpaths, 241
  Soil for cemetery, 352
  Soot on trees, 321
  Specific gravity of road metal, 49
  Specifications of roadway, 35, 36
  Specification for asphalte, 103
  ---- flagging, 110
  ---- for breaking-up streets, 161
  ---- of wood pavement, 94
  ---- road metal, 57
  ---- scavenging, 249
  ---- tar pavement, 118
  Stalls in markets, 349
  Stanford’s joint, 257
  Step projecting, 176
  Stone breaking, 48
  Store for hides, 341
  Stowe’s wood pavement, 84
  Street, breaking-up, 155
  ---- cleansing, 234
  ---- definition of, 149, 205
  ---- lighting, 129
  ---- lines, 174
  ---- private, improvements, 193
  ---- trees, 318
  ---- watering, 242
  Streets, new, 206
  Stringent bye-laws, 219
  Subjects requiring attention, 21
  Subways, 168
  Sugg’s regulator, 133
  Supervision of new buildings, 217
  Surface water over paths, 186
  Subsoil water, 261
  Surveyor, office first legalised, 1
  ---- appointment of, 1, 3, 10, 18
  ---- and private streets, 194
  ---- as rate collector, 3
  ---- duties of, 5, 7, 11, 20
  ---- examination of, 14
  ---- entry of, to see if new building, 209
  ---- may be also inspector of nuisances, 3
  ---- must not be interested in contracts, 3
  ---- of highways, 20
  ---- protection of, 6, 8
  Sweeping machines, 234
  Syenite, 49, 75

  Tables of cost of roadways, 41
  Table of scavenging, 236
  ---- watering, 246
  Tallow market, 341
  Tar paving, 118
  Telegraphs under or across roads, 164
  Telford, Thomas, 35
  Tell-tale on water-cart, 247
  Temporary obstructions, 192
  Testimonials, 18
  Test for asphalte, 97
  ---- brooms, 235
  ---- of good drains, 316
  ---- merit, 14
  Thames Embankment, lighting, 147
  Tides and outfalls, 265
  Tins as refuse, 225
  Title of surveyor, 4
  Town surveyor. See Surveyor
  Traction on roads, 28
  Trade refuse, 225
  Traffic, 25
  Tram track, 80
  Trap for drain, 317
  Trappean rock, 49
  Treatment of sludge, 269
  ---- wood, 86
  Trees, 318
  ---- in cemeteries, 360
  ---- overhanging, 185
  Trenches cut in roads, 161
  Toughness of stone, 48
  Tripery, 341
  Troughs for pig-dressing, 340

  Unhealthy areas, 288
  Urinals, 280
  Useful books, 384
  Use of steam rollers, 61

  Vacancy in office of surveyor, 10
  Value of sewage, 265
  Vans for watering, 245
  Vault or cellar coverings, 180
  ---- ---- under-path, 182
  Velocity in sewers, 254
  Ventilation of house drain, 317
  ---- mortuaries, 369
  ---- sewers, 271
  Vigilance of drain inspection, 309
  Visit of scavengers, 230

  Walls of cemeteries, 351
  ---- mortuaries, 369
  Wall projecting, 176
  ---- slaughter-house, 335
  Water and asphalte, 105
  ---- companies and streets, 157
  ---- for slaughter-house, 337
  ---- over footpaths, 186
  ---- supply to dwellings, 300
  W.C. accommodation, 280, 297
  ---- in factories, 299
  Watering streets, 242
  Wear of paving stones, 76
  Wearing effect of traffic, 27
  Weather on stone, 48
  Wheels, resistance of, 31
  Weighing machines, 348
  Weight of asphalte, 96
  ---- road metal, 56
  ---- rollers, 67
  ---- snow, 239
  Widening streets, 174
  Width of roadways, 32
  Window projecting, 176
  Wires for electricity, 141
  Wooden name plates, 152
  Wood paving, 81
  ---- treatment, 86
  ---- wear of, 88

  Yards behind buildings, 218
  York flagging, 110


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  -- Gunnery, Projectiles, etc. -- Weights, Measures, and Money --
  Trigonometry, Conic Sections, and Curves -- Telegraphy -- Mensuration
  -- Tables of Areas and Circumference, and Arcs of Circles --
  Logarithms, Square and Cube Roots, Powers -- Reciprocals, etc. --
  Useful Numbers -- Differential and Integral Calculus -- Algebraic
  Signs -- Telegraphic Construction and Formulæ.


_Spons’ Tables and Memoranda for Engineers_; selected and arranged by J.
T. HURST, C.E., Author of ‘Architectural Surveyors’ Handbook,’ ‘Hurst’s
Tredgold’s Carpentry,’ etc. Fifth edition, 64mo, roan, gilt edges,
1_s._; or in cloth case, 1_s_. 6_d_.

  This work is printed in a pearl type, and is so small, measuring only
  2¹⁄₂ in. by 1³⁄₄ in. by ¹⁄₄ in. thick, that it may be easily carried
  in the waistcoat pocket.

  “It is certainly an extremely rare thing for a reviewer to be called
  upon to notice a volume measuring but 2¹⁄₂ in. by 1³⁄₄ in., yet these
  dimensions faithfully represent the size of the handy little book
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  blank pages for memoranda--is, in fact, a true pocket-book, adapted
  for being carried in the waistcoat pocket, and containing a far
  greater amount and variety of information than most people would
  imagine could be compressed into so small a space. . . . . The little
  volume has been compiled with considerable care and judgment, and we
  can cordially recommend it to our readers as a useful little pocket
  companion.”--_Engineering._


_Analysis, Technical Valuation, Purification and Use of Coal Gas._ By
the Rev. W. R. BOWDITCH, M.A. _With wood engravings_, 8vo, cloth, 12_s_.
6_d_.

  Condensation of Gas -- Purification of Gas -- Light -- Measuring --
  Place of Testing Gas -- Test Candles -- The Standard for Measuring
  Gas-light -- Test Burners -- Testing Gas for Sulphur -- Testing Gas
  for Ammonia -- Condensation by Bromine -- Gravimetric Method of taking
  Specific Gravity of Gas -- Carburetting or Naphthalizing Gas --
  Acetylene -- Explosions of Gas -- Gnawing of Gaspipes by Rats --
  Pressure as related to Public Lighting, etc.


_A Practical Treatise on Natural and Artificial Concrete, its Varieties
and Constructive Adaptations._ By HENRY REID, Author of the ‘Science and
Art of the Manufacture of Portland Cement.’ New Edition, _with 59
woodcuts and 5 plates_, 8vo, cloth, 15_s_.


_Hydrodynamics_: Treatise relative to the Testing of Water-Wheels and
Machinery, with various other matters pertaining to Hydrodynamics. By
JAMES EMERSON. _With numerous illustrations_, 360 pp. Third edition,
crown 8vo, cloth, 4_s_. 6_d_.


_The Gas Analyst’s Manual._ By F. W. HARTLEY, Assoc. Inst. C.E., etc.
_With numerous illustrations._ Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._


_Gas Measurement and Gas Meter Testing._ By F. W. HARTLEY. Fourth
edition, revised and extended. _Illustrated_, crown 8vo, cloth, 4_s._


_The French-Polishers Manual._ By a French-Polisher; containing Timber
Staining, Washing, Matching, Improving, Painting, Imitations, Directions
for Staining, Sizing, Embodying, Smoothing, Spirit Varnishing,
French-Polishing, Directions for Repolishing. Third edition, royal 32mo,
sewed, 6_d._


_Hops, their Cultivation, Commerce, and Uses in various Countries._ By
P. L. SIMMONDS. Crown 8vo, cloth, 4_s._ 6_d._


_A Practical Treatise on the Manufacture and Distribution of Coal Gas._
By WILLIAM RICHARDS. Demy 4to, with _numerous wood engravings and 29
plates_, cloth, 28_s._

  SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS:

  Introduction -- History of Gas Lighting -- Chemistry of Gas
  Manufacture, by Lewis Thompson, Esq., M.R.C.S. -- Coal, with Analyses,
  by J. Paterson, Lewis Thompson, and G. R. Hislop, Esqrs. -- Retorts,
  Iron and Clay -- Retort Setting -- Hydraulic Main -- Condensers --
  Exhausters -- Washers and Scrubbers -- Purifiers -- Purification --
  History of Gas Holder -- Tanks, Brick and Stone, Composite, Concrete,
  Cast-iron, Compound Annular Wrought-iron -- Specifications -- Gas
  Holders -- Station Meter -- Governor -- Distribution -- Mains -- Gas
  Mathematics, or Formulæ for the Distribution of Gas, by Lewis
  Thompson, Esq. -- Services -- Consumers’ Meters -- Regulators --
  Burners -- Fittings -- Photometer -- Carburization of Gas -- Air Gas
  and Water Gas -- Composition of Coal Gas, by Lewis Thompson, Esq. --
  Analyses of Gas -- Influence of Atmospheric Pressure and Temperature
  on Gas -- Residual Products -- Appendix -- Description of Retort
  Settings, Buildings, etc., etc.


_Practical Geometry and Engineering Drawing_; a Course of Descriptive
Geometry adapted to the Requirements of the Engineering Draughtsman,
including the determination of cast shadows and Isometric Projection,
each chapter being followed by numerous examples; to which are added
rules for Shading, Shade-lining, etc., together with practical
instructions as to the Lining, Colouring, Printing, and general
treatment of Engineering Drawings, with a chapter on drawing
Instruments. By GEORGE S. CLARKE, Lieut. R.E., Instructor in Mechanical
Drawing, Royal Indian Engineering College. 20 _plates_, 4to, cloth,
15_s._


_The Elements of Graphic Statics._ By Professor KARL VON OTT, translated
from the German by G. S. CLARKE, Lieut. R.E., Instructor in Mechanical
Drawing, Royal Indian Engineering College. _With 93 illustrations_,
crown 8vo, cloth, 5_s._


_The Principles of Graphic Statics._ By GEORGE SYDENHAM CLARKE, Lieut.
Royal Engineers. _With 112 illustrations_. 4to, cloth, 12_s._ 6_d._


_The New Formula for Mean Velocity of Discharge of Rivers and Canals._
By W. R. KUTTER. Translated from articles in the ‘Cultur-Ingenieur,’ by
LOWIS D’A. JACKSON, Assoc. Inst. C.E. 8vo, cloth, 12_s._ 6_d._


_Practical Hydraulics_; a Series of Rules and Tables for the use of
Engineers, etc., etc. By THOMAS BOX. Fifth edition, _numerous plates_,
post 8vo, cloth, 5_s._


_A Practical Treatise on the Construction of Horizontal and Vertical
Waterwheels_, specially designed for the use of operative mechanics. By
WILLIAM CULLEN, Millwright and Engineer. _With 11 plates._ Second
edition, revised and enlarged, small 4to, cloth, 12_s._ 6_d._


_Aid Book to Engineering Enterprise Abroad._ By EWING MATHESON, M. Inst.
C.E. The book treats of Public Works and Engineering Enterprises in
their inception and preliminary arrangement; of the different modes in
which money is provided for their accomplishment; and of the economical
and technical considerations by which success or failure is determined.
The information necessary to the designs of Engineers is classified, as
are also those particulars by which Contractors may estimate the cost of
works, and Capitalists the probabilities of profit. _Illustrated_, 2
vols., 8vo, 12_s._ 6_d._ each.


_The Essential Elements of Practical Mechanics; based on the Principle
of Work_, designed for Engineering Students. By OLIVER BYRNE, formerly
Professor of Mathematics, College for Civil Engineers. Third edition,
_with 148 wood engravings_, post 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._

  CONTENTS:

  Chap. 1. How Work is Measured by a Unit, both with and without
  reference to a Unit of Time -- Chap. 2. The Work of Living Agents, the
  Influence of Friction, and introduces one of the most beautiful Laws
  of Motion -- Chap. 3. The principles expounded in the first and second
  chapters are applied to the Motion of Bodies -- Chap. 4. The
  Transmission of Work by simple Machines -- Chap. 5. Useful
  Propositions and Rules.


_The Practical Millwright’s and Engineer’s Ready Reckoner_; or Tables
for finding the diameter and power of cog-wheels, diameter, weight, and
power of shafts, diameter and strength of bolts, etc. By THOMAS DIXON.
Fourth edition, 12mo, cloth, 3_s._


_Breweries and Maltings_: their Arrangement, Construction, Machinery,
and Plant. By G. SCAMELL, F.R.I.B.A. Second edition, revised, enlarged,
and partly rewritten. By F. COLYER, M.I.C.E., M.I.M.E. _With 20 plates_,
8vo, cloth, 18_s._


_A Practical Treatise on the Manufacture of Starch, Glucose,
Starch-Sugar, and Dextrine_, based on the German of L. VON WAGNER,
Professor in the Royal Technical School, Buda Pesth, and other
authorities. By JULIUS FRANKEL; edited by ROBERT HUTTER, proprietor of
the Philadelphia Starch Works. _With 58 illustrations_, 344 pp., 8vo,
cloth, 18_s._


_A Practical Treatise on Mill-gearing, Wheels, Shafts, Riggers, etc._;
for the use of Engineers. By THOMAS BOX. Third edition, _with 11
plates_. Crown 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._


_Mining Machinery_: a Descriptive Treatise on the Machinery, Tools, and
other Appliances used in Mining. By G. G. ANDRÉ, F.G.S., Assoc. Inst.
C.E., Mem. of the Society of Engineers. Royal 4to, uniform with the
Author’s Treatise on Coal Mining, containing 182 _plates_, accurately
drawn to scale, with descriptive text, in 2 vols., cloth, 3_l._ 12_s._

  CONTENTS:

  Machinery for Prospecting, Excavating, Hauling, and Hoisting --
  Ventilation -- Pumping -- Treatment of Mineral Products, including
  Gold and Silver, Copper, Tin, and Lead, Iron, Coal, Sulphur, China
  Clay, Brick Earth, etc.


_Tables for Setting out Curves for Railways, Canals, Roads, etc._,
varying from a radius of five chains to three miles. By A. KENNEDY and
R. W. HACKWOOD. _Illustrated_, 32mo, cloth, 2_s._ 6_d._


_The Science and Art of the Manufacture of Portland Cement_, with
observations on some of its constructive applications. _With 66
illustrations._ By HENRY REID, C.E., Author of ‘A Practical Treatise on
Concrete,’ etc., etc. 8vo, cloth, 18_s._


_The Draughtsman’s Handbook of Plan and Map Drawing_; including
instructions for the preparation of Engineering, Architectural, and
Mechanical Drawings. _With numerous illustrations in the text, and 33
plates (15 printed in colours)._ By G. G. ANDRÉ, F.G.S., Assoc. Inst.
C.E. 4to, cloth, 9_s._

  CONTENTS:

  The Drawing Office and its Furnishings -- Geometrical Problems --
  Lines, Dots, and their Combinations -- Colours, Shading, Lettering,
  Bordering, and North Points -- Scales -- Plotting -- Civil Engineers’
  and Surveyors’ Plans -- Map Drawing -- Mechanical and Architectural
  Drawing -- Copying and Reducing Trigonometrical Formulæ, etc., etc.


_The Boiler-maker’s and Iron Ship-builder’s Companion_, comprising a
series of original and carefully calculated tables, of the utmost
utility to persons interested in the iron trades. By JAMES FODEN, author
of ‘Mechanical Tables,’ etc. Second edition revised, _with
illustrations_, crown 8vo, cloth, 5_s._


_Rock Blasting_: a Practical Treatise on the means employed in Blasting
Rocks for Industrial Purposes. By G. G. ANDRÉ, F.G.S., Assoc. Inst. C.E.
_With 56 illustrations and 12 plates_, 8vo, cloth, 10_s._ 6_d._


_Surcharged and different Forms of Retaining Walls._ By J. S. TATE.
_Illustrated_, 8vo, sewed, 2_s._


_A Treatise on Ropemaking as practised in public and private
Rope-yards_, with a Description of the Manufacture, Rules, Tables of
Weights, etc., adapted to the Trade, Shipping, Mining, Railways,
Builders, etc. By R. CHAPMAN, formerly foreman to Messrs. Huddart and
Co., Limehouse, and late Master Ropemaker to H.M. Dockyard, Deptford.
Second edition, 12mo, cloth, 3_s._


_Laxton’s Builders’ and Contractors’ Tables_; for the use of Engineers,
Architects, Surveyors, Builders, Land Agents, and others. Bricklayer,
containing 22 tables, with nearly 30,000 calculations. 4to, cloth, 5_s._


_Laxton’s Builders’ and Contractors’ Tables._ Excavator, Earth, Land,
Water, and Gas, containing 53 tables, with nearly 24,000 calculations.
4to, cloth, 5_s._


_Sanitary Engineering_: a Guide to the Construction of Works of Sewerage
and House Drainage, with Tables for facilitating the calculations of the
Engineer. By BALDWIN LATHAM, C.E., M. Inst. C.E., F.G.S., F.M.S.,
Past-President of the Society of Engineers. Second edition, _with
numerous plates and woodcuts_, 8vo, cloth, 1_l._ 10_s._


_Screw Cutting Tables for Engineers and Machinists_, giving the values
of the different trains of Wheels required to produce Screws of any
pitch, calculated by Lord Lindsay, M.P., F.R.S., F.R.A.S., etc. Royal
8vo, cloth, oblong, 2_s._


_Screw Cutting Tables_, for the use of Mechanical Engineers, showing the
proper arrangement of Wheels for cutting the Threads of Screws of any
required pitch, with a Table for making the Universal Gas-pipe Threads
and Taps. By W. A. MARTIN, Engineer. Second edition, royal 8vo, oblong,
cloth, 1_s._, or sewed, 6_d._


_A Treatise on a Practical Method of Designing Slide-Valve Gears by
Simple Geometrical Construction_, based upon the principles enunciated
in Euclid’s Elements, and comprising the various forms of Plain
Slide-Valve and Expansion Gearing; together with Stephenson’s, Gooch’s,
and Allan’s Link-Motions, as applied either to reversing or to variable
expansion combinations. By EDWARD J. COWLING WELCH, Memb. Inst.
Mechanical Engineers. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._


_Cleaning and Scouring_: a Manual for Dyers, Laundresses, and for
Domestic Use. By S. CHRISTOPHER. 18mo, sewed, 6_d._


_A Handbook of House Sanitation_; for the use of all persons seeking a
Healthy Home. A reprint of those portions of Mr. Bailey-Denton’s
Lectures on Sanitary Engineering, given before the School of Military
Engineering, which related to the “Dwelling,” enlarged and revised by
his Son, E. F. BAILEY-DENTON, C.E., B.A. _With 140 illustrations_, 8vo,
cloth, 8_s._ 6_d._


_Treatise on Valve-Gears_, with special consideration of the
Link-Motions of Locomotive Engines. By Dr. GUSTAV ZEUNER. Third edition,
revised and enlarged, translated from the German, with the special
permission of the author, by MORITZ MÜLLER. _Plates_, 8vo, cloth, 12_s._
6_d._


_A Pocket-Book for Boiler Makers and Steam Users_, comprising a variety
of useful information for Employer and Workman, Government Inspectors,
Board of Trade Surveyors, Engineers in charge of Works and Slips,
Foremen of Manufactories, and the general Steam-using Public. By MAURICE
JOHN SEXTON. Second edition, royal 32mo, roan, gilt edges, 5_s._


_The Strains upon Bridge Girders and Roof Trusses_, including the
Warren, Lattice, Trellis, Bowstring, and other Forms of Girders, the
Curved Roof, and Simple and Compound Trusses. By THOS. CARGILL,
C.E.B.A.T., C.D., Assoc. Inst. C.E., Member of the Society of Engineers.
_With 64 illustrations, drawn and worked out to scale_, 8vo, cloth,
12_s._ 6_d._


_A Practical Treatise on the Steam Engine_, containing Plans and
Arrangements of Details for Fixed Steam Engines, with Essays on the
Principles involved in Design and Construction. By ARTHUR RIGG,
Engineer, Member of the Society of Engineers and of the Royal
Institution of Great Britain. Demy 4to, _copiously illustrated with
woodcuts and 96 plates_, in one Volume, half-bound morocco, 2_l._ 2_s._;
or cheaper edition, cloth, 25_s_.

  This work is not, in any sense, an elementary treatise, or history of
  the steam engine, but is intended to describe examples of Fixed Steam
  Engines without entering into the wide domain of locomotive or marine
  practice. To this end illustrations will be given of the most recent
  arrangements of Horizontal, Vertical, Beam, Pumping, Winding,
  Portable, Semi-portable, Corliss, Allen, Compound, and other similar
  Engines, by the most eminent Firms in Great Britain and America. The
  laws relating to the action and precautions to be observed in the
  construction of the various details, such as Cylinders, Pistons,
  Piston-rods, Connecting-rods, Cross-heads, Motion-blocks, Eccentrics,
  Simple, Expansion, Balanced, and Equilibrium Slide-valves, and
  Valve-gearing will be minutely dealt with. In this connection will be
  found articles upon the Velocity of Reciprocating Parts and the Mode
  of Applying the Indicator, Heat and Expansion of Steam Governors, and
  the like. It is the writer’s desire to draw illustrations from every
  possible source, and give only those rules that present practice deems
  correct.


_Barlow’s Tables of Squares, Cubes, Square Roots, Cube Roots,
Reciprocals of all Integer Numbers up to 10,000._ Post 8vo, cloth, 6_s._


_Camus (M.) Treatise on the Teeth of Wheels_, demonstrating the best
forms which can be given to them for the purposes of Machinery, such as
Mill-work and Clock-work, and the art of finding their numbers.
Translated from the French, with details of the present practice of
Millwrights, Engine Makers, and other Machinists, by ISAAC HAWKINS.
Third edition, _with 18 plates_, 8vo, cloth, 5_s._


_A Practical Treatise on the Science of Land and Engineering Surveying,
Levelling, Estimating Quantities, etc._, with a general description of
the several Instruments required for Surveying, Levelling, Plotting,
etc. By H. S. MERRETT. Third edition, _41 plates with illustrations and
tables_, royal 8vo, cloth, 12_s._ 6_d._

  PRINCIPAL CONTENTS:

  Part 1. Introduction and the Principles of Geometry. Part 2. Land
  Surveying; comprising General Observations -- The Chain -- Offsets
  Surveying by the Chain only -- Surveying Hilly Ground -- To Survey an
  Estate or Parish by the Chain only -- Surveying with the Theodolite --
  Mining and Town Surveying -- Railroad Surveying -- Mapping -- Division
  and Laying out of Land -- Observations on Enclosures -- Plane
  Trigonometry. Part 3. Levelling -- Simple and Compound Levelling --
  The Level Book -- Parliamentary Plan and Section -- Levelling with a
  Theodolite -- Gradients -- Wooden Curves -- To Lay out a Railway Curve
  -- Setting out Widths. Part 4. Calculating Quantities generally for
  Estimates -- Cuttings and Embankments -- Tunnels -- Brickwork --
  Ironwork -- Timber Measuring. Part 5. Description and Use of
  Instruments in Surveying and Plotting -- The Improved Dumpy Level --
  Troughton’s Level -- The Prismatic Compass -- Proportional Compass --
  Box Sextant -- Vernier -- Pantagraph -- Merrett’s Improved Quadrant --
  Improved Computation Scale -- The Diagonal Scale -- Straight Edge and
  Sector. Part 6. Logarithms of Numbers -- Logarithmic Sines and
  Co-Sines, Tangents and Co-Tangents -- Natural Sines and Co-Sines --
  Tables for Earthwork, for Setting out Curves, and for various
  Calculations, etc., etc., etc.


_Saws: the History, Development, Action, Classification, and Comparison
of Saws of all kinds._ By ROBERT GRIMSHAW. _With 220 illustrations_,
4to, cloth, 12_s._ 6_d._


_A Supplement to the above_; containing additional practical matter,
more especially relating to the forms of Saw Teeth for special material
and conditions, and to the behaviour of Saws under particular
conditions. _With 120 illustrations_, cloth, 9_s._


_A Guide for the Electric Testing of Telegraph Cables._ By Capt. V.
HOSKIŒR, Royal Danish Engineers. _With illustrations_, second edition,
crown 8vo, cloth, 4_s._ 6_d._


_Laying and Repairing Electric Telegraph Cables._ By Capt. V. HOSKIŒR,
Royal Danish Engineers. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._


_A Pocket-Book of Practical Rules for the Proportions of Modern Engines
and Boilers for Land and Marine purposes._ By N. P. BURGH. Seventh
edition, royal 32mo, roan, 4_s._ 6_d._


_Table of Logarithms of the Natural Numbers, from 1 to 108,000._ By
CHARLES BABBAGE, Esq., M.A. Stereotyped edition, royal 8vo, cloth, 7_s._
6_d._

  To ensure the correctness of these Tables of Logarithms, they were
  compared with Callett’s, Vega’s, Hutton’s, Briggs’, Gardiner’s, and
  Taylor’s Tables of Logarithms, and carefully read by nine different
  readers; and further, to remove any possibility of an error remaining,
  the stereotyped sheets were hung up in the Hall at Cambridge
  University, and a reward offered to anyone who could find an
  inaccuracy. So correct are these Tables, that since their first issue
  in 1827 no error has been discovered.


_The Steam Engine considered as a Heat Engine_: a Treatise on the Theory
of the Steam Engine, illustrated by Diagrams, Tables, and Examples from
Practice. By JAS. H. COTTERILL, M.A., F.R.S., Professor of Applied
Mechanics in the Royal Naval College. 8vo, cloth, 12_s._ 6_d._


_The Practice of Hand Turning in Wood, Ivory, Shell, etc._, with
Instructions for Turning such Work in Metal as may be required in the
Practice of Turning in Wood, Ivory, etc.; also an Appendix on Ornamental
Turning. (A book for beginners.) By FRANCIS CAMPIN. Second edition,
_with wood engravings_, crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._

  CONTENTS:

  On Lathes -- Turning Tools -- Turning Wood -- Drilling -- Screw
  Cutting -- Miscellaneous Apparatus and Processes -- Turning Particular
  Forms -- Staining -- Polishing -- Spinning Metals -- Materials --
  Ornamental Turning, etc.


_Health and Comfort in House Building, or Ventilation with Warm Air by
Self-Acting Suction Power_, with Review of the mode of Calculating the
Draught in Hot-Air Flues, and with some actual Experiments. By J.
DRYSDALE, M.D., and J. W. HAYWARD, M.D. Second edition, with Supplement,
_with plates_, demy 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._


_Treatise on Watchwork, Past and Present._ By the Rev. H. L. NELTHROPP,
M.A., F.S.A. _With 32 illustrations_, crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._ 6_d._

  CONTENTS:

  Definitions of Words and Terms used in Watchwork -- Tools -- Time --
  Historical Summary -- On Calculations of the Numbers for Wheels and
  Pinions; their Proportional Sizes, Trains, etc. -- Of Dial Wheels, or
  Motion Work -- Length of Time of Going without Winding up -- The Verge
  -- The Horizontal -- The Duplex -- The Lever -- The Chronometer --
  Repeating Watches -- Keyless Watches -- The Pendulum, or Spiral Spring
  -- Compensation -- Jewelling of Pivot Holes -- Clerkenwell --
  Fallacies of the Trade -- Incapacity of Workmen -- How to Choose and
  Use a Watch, etc.


_Spons’ Engineers’ and Contractors’ Illustrated Book of Prices of
Machines, Tools, Ironwork, and Contractors’ Material; and Engineers’
Directory._ Third edition, 4to, cloth, 6_s._


_Algebra Self-Taught._ By W. P. HIGGS, M.A., D.Sc., LL.D., Assoc. Inst.
C.E., Author of ‘A Handbook of the Differential Calculus,’ etc. Second
edition, crown 8vo, cloth, 2_s._ 6_d._

  CONTENTS:

  Symbols and the Signs of Operation -- The Equation and the Unknown
  Quantity -- Positive and Negative Quantities -- Multiplication --
  Involution -- Exponents -- Negative Exponents -- Roots, and the Use of
  Exponents as Logarithms -- Logarithms -- Tables of Logarithms and
  Proportionate Parts -- Transformation of System of Logarithms --
  Common Uses of Common Logarithms -- Compound Multiplication and the
  Binomial Theorem -- Division, Fractions, and Ratio -- Continued
  Proportion -- The Series and the Summation of the Series -- Limit of
  Series -- Square and Cube Roots -- Equations -- List of Formulæ, etc.


  JUST PUBLISHED.

  In super-royal 8vo, 1168 pp., _with 2400 illustrations_, in 3
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  A SUPPLEMENT
  TO
  SPONS’ DICTIONARY OF ENGINEERING,
  Civil, Mechanical, Military, and Naval.
  EDITED BY ERNEST SPON, MEMB. SOC. ENGINEERS.

The success which has attended the publication of ‘SPONS’ DICTIONARY OF
ENGINEERING’ has encouraged the Publishers to use every effort tending
to keep the work up to the standard of existing professional knowledge.
As the Book has now been some years before the public without addition
or revision, there are many subjects of importance which, of necessity,
are either not included in its pages, or have been treated somewhat less
fully than their present importance demands. With the object, therefore,
of remedying these omissions, this Supplement is now being issued. Each
subject in it is treated in a thoroughly comprehensive way; but, of
course, without repeating the information already included in the body
of the work.

The new matter comprises articles upon

  Abacus, Counters, Speed Indicators, and Slide Rule.
  Agricultural Implements and Machinery.
  Air Compressors.
  Animal Charcoal Machinery.
  Antimony.
  Axles and Axle-boxes.
  Barn Machinery.
  Belts and Belting.
  Blasting.
  Boilers.
  Brakes.
  Brick Machinery.
  Bridges.
  Cages for Mines.
  Calculus, Differential and Integral.
  Canals.
  Carpentry.
  Cast Iron.
  Cement, Concrete, Limes, and Mortar.
  Chimney Shafts.
  Coal Cleansing and Washing.
  Coal Mining.
  Coal Cutting Machines.
  Coke Ovens.
  Copper.
  Docks.
  Drainage.
  Dredging Machinery.
  Dynamo--Electric and Magneto-Electric Machines.
  Dynamometers.
  Electrical Engineering, Telegraphy, Electric Lighting and its
  practical details, Telephones.
  Engines, Varieties of.
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  Fans.
  Founding, Moulding and the practical work of the Foundry.
  Gas, Manufacture of.
  Hammers, Steam and other Power.
  Heat.
  Horse Power.
  Hydraulics.
  Hydro-geology.
  Indicators.
  Iron.
  Lifts, Hoists, and Elevators.
  Lighthouses, Buoys, and Beacons.
  Machine Tools.
  Materials of Construction.
  Meters.
  Ores, Machinery and Processes employed to Dress.
  Piers.
  Pile Driving.
  Pneumatic Transmission.
  Pumps.
  Pyrometers.
  Road Locomotives.
  Rock Drills.
  Rolling Stock.
  Sanitary Engineering.
  Shafting.
  Steel.
  Steam Navvy.
  Stone Machinery.
  Tramways.
  Well Sinking.


  NOW COMPLETE.

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  SPONS’ ENCYCLOPÆDIA
  OF THE
  INDUSTRIAL ARTS, MANUFACTURES, AND COMMERCIAL
  PRODUCTS.

  EDITED BY C. G. WARNFORD LOCK, F.L.S.

  Among the more important of the subjects treated of, are the
  following:--

  Acids, 207 pp. 220 figs.
  Alcohol, 23 pp. 16 figs.
  Alcoholic Liquors, 13 pp.
  Alkalies, 89 pp. 78 figs.
  Alloys.
  Alum.
  Asphalt.
  Assaying.
  Beverages, 89 pp. 29 figs.
  Blacks.
  Bleaching Powder, 15 pp.
  Bleaching, 51 pp. 48 figs.
  Candles, 18 pp. 9 figs.
  Carbon Bisulphide.
  Celluloid, 9 pp.
  Cements.
  Clay.
  Coal-tar Products, 44 pp. 14 figs.
  Cocoa, 8 pp.
  Coffee, 32 pp. 13 figs.
  Cork, 8 pp. 17 figs.
  Cotton Manufactures, 62 pp. 57 figs.
  Drugs, 38 pp.
  Dyeing and Calico Printing, 28 pp. 9 figs.
  Dyestuffs, 16 pp.
  Electro-Metallurgy, 13 pp.
  Explosives, 22 pp. 33 figs.
  Feathers.
  Fibrous Substances, 92 pp. 79 figs.
  Floor-cloth, 16 pp. 21 figs.
  Food Preservation, 8 pp.
  Fruit, 8 pp.
  Fur, 5 pp.
  Gas, Coal, 8 pp.
  Gems.
  Glass, 45 pp. 77 figs.
  Graphite, 7 pp.
  Hair, 7 pp.
  Hair Manufactures.
  Hats, 26 pp. 26 figs.
  Honey.
  Hops.
  Horn.
  Ice, 10 pp. 14 figs.
  Indiarubber Manufactures, 23 pp. 17 figs.
  Ink, 17 pp.
  Ivory.
  Jute Manufactures, 11 pp., 11 figs.
  Knitted Fabrics--Hosiery,
  15 pp. 13 figs.
  Lace, 13 pp. 9 figs.
  Leather, 28 pp. 31 figs.
  Linen Manufactures, 16 pp. 6 figs.
  Manures, 21 pp. 30 figs.
  Matches, 17 pp. 38 figs.
  Mordants, 13 pp.
  Narcotics, 47 pp.
  Nuts, 10 pp.
  Oils and Fatty Substances, 125 pp.
  Paint.
  Paper, 26 pp. 23 figs.
  Paraffin, 8 pp. 6 figs.
  Pearl and Coral, 8 pp.
  Perfumes, 10 pp.
  Photography, 13 pp. 20 figs.
  Pigments, 9 pp. 6 figs.
  Pottery, 46 pp. 57 figs.
  Printing and Engraving, 20 pp. 8 figs.
  Rags.
  Resinous and Gummy Substances, 75 pp. 16 figs.
  Rope, 16 pp. 17 figs.
  Salt, 31 pp. 23 figs.
  Silk, 8 pp.
  Silk Manufactures, 9 pp. 11 figs.
  Skins, 5 pp.
  Small Wares, 4 pp.
  Soap and Glycerine, 39 pp. 45 figs.
  Spices, 16 pp.
  Sponge, 5 pp.
  Starch, 9 pp. 10 figs.
  Sugar, 155 pp. 134 figs.
  Sulphur.
  Tannin, 18 pp.
  Tea, 12 pp.
  Timber, 13 pp.
  Varnish, 15 pp.
  Vinegar, 5 pp.
  Wax, 5 pp.
  Wool, 2 pp.
  Woollen Manufactures, 58 pp. 39 figs.


  London: E. & F. N. SPON, 16, Charing Cross.
  New York: 44, Murray Street.




  Transcriber’s Notes


  Depending on the hard- and software used and their settings, not all
  elements may display as intended; some of the larger tables are best
  viewed on a wide screen in a wide window.

  Inconsistent spelling, hyphenation, lay-out and use of accents and
  thousands separators have been retained except as listed below.

  The (inconsistent) use of spaces, underscores, hyphens etc. to
  indicate blanks where names, data etc. need to be inserted has not
  been standardised.

  page 4, Dr. Ackland: possibly Henry Acland.

  page 137, 855 décicarcel-cubes: probably the decimal point is missing.

  page 372, Ranson’s: should possibly be Ransom’s (cf. Table of
  Contents) or vice versa.

  Index: not all items are given in alphabetical order, this has not
  been corrected.


  Changes made:

  Footnotes have been moved to the end of each chapter.
  Some obvious minor punctuation and typographical errors have been
  corrected silently.
  Vide has been standardised to _Vide_.
  Some tables have been re-arranged or split to fit the available space.
  page  xv: Leichenhauser changed to Leichenhaus
  page   1: c. 63 _s._ 37 changed to c. 63 s. 37
  page  14: closing quotes removed from after ... instructions thereon.
  page  16: opening quotes removed from before Syllabus of Subjects ...
  page  38: closing quote removed from after ... finished pavement.
  page  52: Ellisons changed to Ellison’s
  page  85, footnote [73]: Henry Allnut changed to Henry Allnutt
  page  93: 5 0 changed to 5·0
  page 137: décicarcel-tubes changed to décicarcel-cubes
  page 164: closing quote removed from after ... is broken up.
  page 184: nor exceeding changed to not exceeding
  page 233: depot changed to depôt as elsewhere
  page 247, footnote [172]: Beaumé changed to Baumé
  page 322: Oilantus changed to Ailantus
  page 334: (2.) added before _The slaughter-houses._
  page 357: footnote anchor [227] inserted
  page 368: LEICHENHAUSER changed to LEICHENHAUS
  page 371: closing quote added after ... ss. 120 and 121.
  page 379: closing quotes added after ... nor any name. and after ...
            one of their inspectors.
  catalogue page 11: Lord Lindsay changed to LORD LINDSAY as other
            authors
  catalogue page 15 and 16: several list items moved to new lines as the
            other list items.





End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Municipal and Sanitary Engineer's
Handbook, by H. Percy Boulnois

*** 