1116

Lisrnore Castle (No. 28) : Southampton, Oct. 20th.-Det. Depot Cos.R.A.M.C. (F.H.).Manila (No. 30): Southampton, Oct. 20th.-Det. Depot Cos.

R.A.M.C*(I. H.).Nubia (No. 4) : Southampton, Oct. 21st.-No. 18 Co. R.A.M.C. (F.H.).Gascon (freight ship): Southampton, Oct. 21st.-No. 18 Co. R.A.M.C.

(Bearer Co.), No. 19 Co. R.A.M.C. (F.H.).Goorkha (freight ship): Southampton, Oct. 21st.-Det. No. 18 Co.

R.A.M.C. (Bearer Co.).Malta (freight ship): Southampton, Oct. 22nd.-Det. No. 18 Co.

R.A.M.C. (F.H.).Pavonia (No. 18): Southampton, Oct. 22nd.-No. 17 Co. R.A.M.C.

(Bearer Co.),Oriental (freight ship): Southampton, Oct. 23rd.-No. 11 Co.

R.A.M.C. (F.H.).Hawarden Castle (No. 29) : Southampton, Oct. 23rd.-No. 17 Co.

IR.A.M.C. (Bearer Co.). IA1l’í’Ctnia (No. 20): Southampton, Oct. 23rd.-No. 1 Co. R.A.M.C. I

(Bearer Co.). ,

Armenian (No. 25): Tilbury Docks, Oct. 23rd.-Det. No. 19 Co.R.A.M.C. (F.H.).Nomadic (No. 34): Albert Docks, Oct. 23rd.-Det. No. 9 Co. R.A.M. C.

(1st Cavalry Brigade F.H.). ).America (No. 32): Tilbury, Oct. 24th.-Det. No. 9 Co. R.A.M.C.

(Bearer Co.). :

No. 2 General Hospital starts on Oct. 29th (Netley) in Kildonan Castle,also No. 3 Station Hospital (Woolwich). On Oct. 21st No. 4 StationHospital (Edinburgh). On Nov. 2nd No. 2 Station Hospital (Chester).Personnel for two Hospital Railway Trains starts on Oct. 23rd.

It is stated that the Government have accepted theoffer of the Atlantic Transport Company, Limited, of thegratuitous use of their steamship Maine as a hospital ship inSouth Africa, including the free services of the officers andcrew of the ship.On page 1108 will be found a note upon the provision

that is being made to succour the wounded.

BACTERIA BEDS AND THE SHONE HYDRO-PNEUMATIC SYSTEM OF SEWERAGE

AT HAMPTON, MIDDLESEX.

THE collection of sewage and the treatment of sewage area conjoint problem which every community has to face andalthough the problem gathers further difficulty each succeed-ing year with increasing populations yet fortunately the pro-gress of sanitary science is rapid and such as is calculated toallay any anxiety on this head. In a leading article in

THE LANCET of Oct. 14th, p. 1024, we commented

upon the results of some remarkable and promisingexperiments conducted at the instance of the London

County Council at the sewage outfalls at Crossness by Dr.Clowes and Dr. Houston. In these experiments compara-

tively large volumes of sewage were placed upon coke bedsunder favourable conditions, with the result, as it was

found, that purification had largely been effected and a

satisfactory effluent obtained which there is reason to believewould not in any way pollute the lower reaches of theThames. The purifying action is due to the fact that in thecoke bed the action of specific bacteria is encouraged inburning up putrefiable matter or in effecting its oxidationinto inoffensive products. We said, as we had predictedseveral years ago, that the chemical treatment would be soonabandoned in favour of bacteriological processes, that thegreat problem of the satisfactory disposal of sewage hadvirtually passed from the domain of chemistry to that ofbacteriology, and, further, that the tendency of modernexperience was to show that chemical treatment must soonbe banished as a derelict method. Hardly had the resultsobtained in a ten months’ trial of the coke-bed method,as applied on an experimental scale to metropolitan sewageby the Chemist of the London County Council, been pub-lished, when it was announced that the formal opening ofthe sewerage aad sewage disposal works of Hampton wouldtake place. These works, oddly enough, have, as a matterof fact, been working for just ten months, and in this instal-lation again we have an evidence of the problem being solvedby bacteriological rather than by chemical aid. There isnot a chemical used at any stage in the process, no sludge isproduced, while an effluent is obtained transparently clear,and to the senses as satisfactory as drinking-water.The opening of the sewerage works at Hampton on Oct. 14th

by Sir F. Dixon-Hartland, M.P., Chairman of the ThamesConservancy Board, marks, in fact, but the beginning of

a new departure in the greatest problem in sanitaryscience, the collection of sewage and the disposal of

sewage in accordance with the highest requirements.of hygiene and rational procedure. The authorities ofthe urban district council of Hampton are to be con-

gratulated on so far having determined to grapple with a.problem in a spirit consistent with the teachings of modern.sanitary advance. The district of Hampton has presentedfurther certain engineering difficulties of a not trifiing kindand in consequence the recent undertaking has entailed theeexpenditure of a considerable sum of money. It has cost verynearly f.62,000. It is fair to state, however, that moje thana third of this amount has been expended upon the system ofconveyance, the construction of sewers, subsoil drains, man-holes, &c. The construction of the sewers alone was attendedwith considerable difficulty on account of the nature ofthe ground, the subsoil water being within three feetof the surface in the greater part of the district, and evenwithin 18 inches during winter. This appears to be due to,the peculiar formation of the clay bed, which (according to.the surveyor to the Hampton Urban District Council, Mr. JohnKemp, A.M.I.C.E.) forms a kind of basin or series of basinsinland, rising nearly to the surface, parallel with and close:to the Thames, where it comprises a ridge from east to west..Similar basins and ridges were found running parallel witheach other from north to south. The work was renderedstill more arduous by the presence in the principal streets of12 miles of trunk water-mains, varying in diameter from 30’to’ 42 inches. In addition to these were the small mains ofthe gas and water companies and surface-water drains. These

difficulties, however, have been overcome, the council havingdetermined to construct the sewers and accessories, brick

ejector stations, &c., departmentally and without the inter-vention of a contractor. Eventually the scheme was.

sanctioned by the Local Government Board in 1895. This.sanction permitted the adoption of the Shone hydro-pneumatic system, to which may largely be ascribed the fact.of the engineering difficulties having been successfully over-come. Eight separate automatic ejector stations have beenerected. The ejectors within these stations are automaticand receive the raw sewage as it flows down to them, andwhen they are filled the compressed air discharges thecontents into the iron sewage delivery pipe in less thana minute, and when this charge has escaped the apparatus is.ready for a second charge of sewage, which it similarlyejects, and so on continnously without the necessity ofattention. The ejectors are worked by compressed airby the Shone apparatus at the air-compressing station, whichis situated on the outfall site where the sewage is dis-charged upon the bacteria bed. The air is conveyed bysmall cast-iron pipes and the distance in one case is nearlytwo and a quarter miles, but there is no loss due to thetransmission of air by resistance which is noticeable by thepressure-gauge. The volume of compressed air conveyedalong the pipes is always equal to the volume of the sewageto be discharged by the ejector at the various stations. The

pressure of air required is quite small and not more .than18 inches over the atmospheric pressure. So much for the

system adopted at Hampton for the collection of the sewageprior to treatment and disposal.The bacteria beds have been designed by Mr. Dibdin,

formerly chemist to the London County Council, who in factinitiated the series of experiments recently described by Dr.Clowes to which we have alluded. The bacteria beds arebuilt in three terraces with five beds in each terrace. The

upper beds are 34 feet wide by 50 feet long by 4 feet deep,and are filled with clinker that has been rejected by a screenwith a half-inch mesh. The middle beds are somewhat largerthan the upper beds and they are filled with clinker whichhas passed through a half-inch mesh, the fine dust beingrejected. The lowest beds are again of an increased size anclare filled with still finer material which has been calledclinker sand. The sewage, as we have already said, is broughtto the outfalls by the Shone hydro-pneumatic system and isthere discharged through screens which retain large and un-dissolved materials. It then flows to the upper bed until thespaces between the clinkers are filled with sewage. The

, sewage is left standing in the coarse bed for about: an hour so as to afford the bacteria every facility for

attacking the putrefiable matter in the sewage. It isthen allowed to flow to the bacteria bed on the next

l terrace, and as the sewage flows from the coarse bedI fresh air takes its place in the filter and supplies the: bacteria with the necessary oxygen to maintain their

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. energy and vitality for the next charge. Each of thl15 beds is worked in this intermittent way, one hour bein!allowed for filling and one hour for standing when filled witlsewage, while one hour is taken up in emptying the bedsEach bed, it is important to note, is allowed to remair

empty and exposed to the air for from four to five hoursso that on an average each bed is worked three time;in 24 hours, which allows time in the intervals fo]the beds to become thoroughly aerated. The effluent ifraised by an air lift and it was formerly discharged directinto the Thames and its quality satisfied the officers of th(Thames Conservancy. The Local Government Board, how.ever, directed that the effluent water should not be allowedto flow into the Thames without being first raised and passedover the land. This involved the use of the effluent aeratorlift which was put down as being more satisfactory than anordinary steam-pump, besides effecting a final aeration of thedischarged effluent. As a matter of fact, it is stated that landirrigation rather than further purifying the effluent gives upsome organic matters to it and this is very clearly shown indifferential chemical analyses. As to the effluent from the lastbacterial bed it is quite brilliant, colourless, and inoffensive.A chemical analysis shows that the purification effected isenormous. There does not appear to be, however, anybacteriological account given of this effluent. It seems prettycertain that it would be teeming with bacteria, but with thosebacteria which would carry the purifying process even further.The question still remains whether, though chemically pure,an effluent which is alive bacteriologically is fit for dischargeinto a stream. We are inclined to the view that it is, sincepathogenic organisms do not appear to survive the energies ofthe myriads of nitrifying organisms. All the same we thinkthat the Hampton authorities should have been preparedwith a bacteriological statement of the quality of theeffluent. One other note we may make in regard to thecharacter of the effluent. It is shown in the chemicalanalyses given that after the effluent has passed over the landit takes up a very considerable quantity of saline ammonia,while the amount of organic ammonia is markedly increased.This fact seems to imply that the effluent was dischargedover land under cultivation. If this is so then some explana-tion of the effluent, after being passed over land, giving lesssatisfactory results in a chemical analysis would herein befound, and in that case it is a question whether the injunc-tion of the Local Government Board can on this evidence becondemned.We fully recognise the important steps which have been

taken by, and the excellent intentions of, the Hampton UrbanDistrict Council to adopt a satisfactory system of sewerageand sewage disposal, and we hope heartily that their energiesmay be attended with the success which they deserve.They must not, however, count every difficulty as being over-come. At present they appear to be dealing in the main withsewage of domestic origin ; they have yet to reckon, it maybe, with the discharge from factories, such as breweries,steam laundries, &c., the character of which may be such asto disturb the best working conditions of the bacteria beds.Then, again, we believe that the storm water is being seweredseparately. But we do not doubt that at length thebacterial process in its entirety with further practical ex-perience and study will be so shaped as to be equal to allkinds of refuse which i capable of being broken down intosimpler and inoffensive bodies. Only the evidence of longexperience can decide.The ultimate population provided for by this installation

is reckoned at 20,000. The present population-namely,6900-discharges about 70,000 gallons daily into the sewers,so that taking an average for the whole period during whichsewage has been discharged into the sewers of 35,000 ’’

gallons per day-that is, during the ten months under whichthe new beds have been working-the total quantity ofsewage treated would be 11,725,000 gallons. When thisfact is considered the healthy and inoffensive appearance ofthe beds is remarkable. Should the necessity arise at anytime of extending the bacteria beds, sufficient land hasbeen provided for the purpose, and in this part of thescheme no engineering difficulty of any importance may beanticipated.

BENEVOLENCE.-The Duke of Westminster hasdistributed among medical and other charities in Chesterand North Wales the fees received from visitors to EatonHall, amounting this year to 1255.

REPORT ON PRISON DIETARIES INSCOTLAND.

AN elaborate and interesting report on Prison Dietaries in.Scotland by Dr. J. Craufurd Dunlop, interim medical adviserto the Scottish Prison Commission, has just been issued as aBlue-book. Before preparing this report Dr. Dunlop wasinstructed "that the ordinary prison dietaries should, asregards the amount of nutriment, be in no sense penal," that,in fact, all prisoners should be sufficiently fed. Taking thisas a guiding principle Dr. Dunlop at the outset points outthat the system of regulating the diet according to the

length of the sentence-a system which has been in vogue for45 years-must be discontinued, as by that system short-sentenced prisoners are put on a sparse dietary. Scottish

prison dietaries are fundamentally the same as those sanc-tioned by the Secretary of State in 1854. These dietaries.were well chosen and are on the whole good, as is shown bythe fact that though several times scrutinised and reportedon since 1854 they have been modified only in comparativelysmall detail. Dr. Dunlop then shows that the ordinaryprisoner even when engaged in the most active of theclasses of prison labour has fewer hours of active labour andlonger hours of rest than the ordinary free labourer. Hetherefore concludes that the food requirements of a

prison labourer do not exceed those of a free labourer.After a careful explanation of the general food requirementsof the body Dr. Dunlop shows by a table indicating theopinions of various authorities the necessary energy value ofstandard diets per man. Using the standard of moderatework as that applicable to the ordinary prisoner it is shownthat the energy value of the food of a man under such con-ditions should amount to at least 3100 calories. The dietshould contain (1) at least 120 grammes of proteid; (2)carbohydrate not exceeding 550 grammes per diem ; and (3)fat amounting to 38 grammes in order to bring the caloricvalue up to the requisite amount. In heavy diets for severelabour the caloric standard should be brought up tothe required height by an increase in the proteid andfat.

Dr. Dunlop proceeds to show that extra allowance shouldbe made for men of extra size and for nursing mothers.The average woman requires rather less food than theaverage man. He quotes Atwater’s figures on this point andgives the female standard as follows: (1) proteid, 96grammes; (2) fats, 30 grammes; (3) carbohydrate, 440grammes ; and (4) an energy value of 2480 calories formoderate work. For juveniles 16 years is adopted as theage limit and the dietary fixed by Camerer is accepted.This is as follows: (1) proteid, 75 grammes; (2) fats,43 grammes; and (3) carbohydrate, 325 grammes. Theenergy value of this diet should be 2040 calories. For

prisoners doing little or no work and for prisoners unfit totake a full diet at time of reception some modification isnecessary. For prisoners with long sentences of ordinaryimprisonment Dr. Dunlop recommends some variation of theroutine in the diet. In the case of convicts the forms oflabour at which they are employed are the same as thoseengaged in by the ordinary prisoner. The following differ-ences, however, do exist. 1. The active day’s work of theconvict is longer; he works for eight hours, the ordinaryprisoner for five and a half hours, when out in the open airor in workshops. 2. The male convict prison being in anexposed situation a man there is more subjected to climaticinfluences than in any of the ordinary prisons, especially soif his work is in the open air. For these reasons it seemsnecessary that the male convicts should receive more foodthan ordinary prisoners, and on account of the length oftheir sentence the convict diet should be more varied andmore palatable than in the case of the ordinary prisoners.For even the most actively worked of the convicts, however,a moderately full diet for ordinary free labour is sufficient.In the case of criminal lunatics, since according to the rulesfor the government of prisons in Scotland they are to be"treated as patients under curative and alleviative treat-ment," the dietary scale must be generous and varied.Sick prisoners in Scotland are dieted according to thediscretion of the medical officer. In England the regula-tions contain three dietaries for use in the prison hospital.