History of Sanitation

86 HISTORY OF SANITATION the evils of the cesspool by introducing a large volume of water far exceeding in weight the actual excreta, water- logging the subsoil. The difficulty and expense of empty- ing the cesspools were increased. Cesspools were therefore connected to sewers by house drains. The channels in- tended to carry off rain water became sewers. “Sewers and house drains were constructed on no scientific princi- ple.* The walls were rough, irregular and porous. Natu- rally deposits took place in them; hand cleaning was con- sidered a normal incident to the history of the sewer, and irrespective of the volume of sewage to be conveyed, sewers were made large enough to admit the passage of a man to facilitate cleaning.” In 1852, the General Board of Health under the Public Health Act, made their first report to the British Parlia- ment, and advocated very strongly the introduction of smaller pipes in lieu of the large brick and stone drains then in use for house drainage. Prior to this date, the first report of the Metropolitan Sanitary Commission, Lon- don, appeared, which, while not to be taken as advocating exclusively the use of small pipes, yet pointed out the necessity of reducing the dimensions and altering the shapes of the old stone and brick structures. From this period, then, can be assumed the adoption and first use of earthenware pipes for house drains and public sewers. The construction of sewers in Paris dates from 1663, but the earliest of those still in use are not earlier than the beginning of this century. Before the great epidemic of cholera in 1832, the total length of sewers was not more than 21 miles. The sewers of Paris to-day aggregate over 750 miles in length, and constitute one of the sights of the city. According to Mason,f “They may be inspected without charge on the first and third Wednesdays of each month in summer, by writing for a permit to the Prefect de la Seine. Descent is commonly made near the Made- leine by a substantial stairway of stone, and the boats *Wanklyn and Cooper. +Water Supply,