SEWAGE DISPOSAL IN BENGAL.

Two years ago when Dr. Gregg, now Sanitary Commissioner for Bengal, was officiating in that capacity, lie issued an important circular letter to the different Municipalities under his jurisdic- tion, bringing UIlder their notice in a clear and concise manner the objections to the practice largely in vogue of disposing of night-soil in deep pits and trenches. He pointed out that a very long time elapses before the excreta can be completely absorbed by the soil and that in the meantime the sewage frequently reappears on the surface owing t? fermentation, and then gives off an offensive smell, which is most injurious to health. He moreover drew attention to the fact that long experience has shown that the safest and most profitable way of disposing of night-soil is by bury in* it in shallow trenches. Details were given as?to the size of the trenches and the manner of trenchina-, and by way of encouragement the good results obtained by the Hooghly Municipality were men- tioned. There it appears that Dr. Lidderdale, the then Sanitary Commissioner, was especially pleased with what had been done and expressed his satisfaction in the following terms: "I was very glad to see that two of the tr< ncliing grounds are cultivated very successful!}', and excellent crops of English vegetables, grain,

mustard, egg plant, plantains, beans, &c., raised. I have never seen finer cabbages before except in England."

After two years' experience, Dr. Gregg now adds to the testimony of the previous Sanitary Commissioner that of his own as to the advan-

tages accruing to the dry earth method of dis-

posal of night-soil. In a recent note on the best

means of disposing of night-soil, liquid sewage, and town refuse in Bengal towns, he states

that the conditions of success necessary for re-

moval by water are absent, and that in most towns of Bengal, the use of sewers and the removal of excreta by water is impracticable, because a good fall cannot be obtained, and during the hot weather months there is insufficient water.

These reasons against the water system are of a cogent nature, but it does not necessarily follow that every Municipality must on that

account fall back on the trenching system as

the best and only suitable means of disposing of sewage and refuse. A roseate view is taken

in the note of the advantages of the system, but the disadvantages and difficulties which spring 14) during the rainy season are not mentioned, though when large quantities of sewage have

to be dealt with, the state of the trenching grounds is often such as to cause those conversant with the practical and every-day working part of the system to very much

doubt its efficiency. Where high land is obtainable, and there is plenty of it and the soil is sandy and properly drained, and the sewage is not great in quantity,then a trench_

ing system especially if worked, as advised by Dr. Gregg, and with shallow trenches, may be a

great success ; but without these conditions the

trenchino- system is not only likely to fail, as it

has done in some parts of India and elsewhere, but also to become a decided nuisance. Neverthe-

less, Dr. Gregg may well urge that 110 system }'et devised is without its disadvantages, and that this one at least has the two-fold merit of cheap- ness and simplicity. In his recent note 011 the

subject, Dr. Gregg invites the attention of Muni- cipalities to the burial method, and gives as a typical instance of the satisfactory and even profitable manner in which the system can

be carried out the case of Iiowrah, one of the largest Municipalities in Bengal. No sewage system, Dr. Gregg remarks, would be practicable here, owing to there being no outfall except into the Rivei Hooghly, the water of which tb

370 THE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE. TDec. 1890.

Government for obvious reasons would not

allow to be polluted with sewage. The excre-

ta have therefore to be disposed of on the dry earth system, and Dr. Gregg gives a descrip- tion of the procedure adopted at Howrah, and of the advantages which the system pre- sents. These are so concisely given that we venture to transcribe them. " The whole of the

solid excreta are collected from closets in wooden

buckets, two of which are carried by each mehter and taken to .1 central depot where they are put into small iron waggons, and carried out by a steam tramway to the trenches. Liquid excreta are taken from the houses in barrel carts to other

depots where the fluid is disposed of by burial. The street refuse is also carried out to the trench-

ing grounds and also disposed of by burial. The

night-soil waggons are provided with iron lids, which are plastered down with glutinous mud as soon as the waggons are filled with ni^ht-

OO O

soil, which prevents unpleasant odours being given off during the passage of the waggons

through the town. " The great advantages of the dry earth

method of removing night-soil are? ls?.?That the excreta, &c., are entirely re-

moved from the neighbourhood of habitations. 2nd.?River pollution i3 avoided ; and 3rd, the

excreta are utilized foragricultural purposes to the benefits of the inhabitants of the town. Experi- ence has proved beyond a doubt that in towns

situated in agricultural districts, as all the towns in Bengal are, the earth or burial system of dis- posing of night-soil is decidedly the best, and, if

properly carried out, can be worked to great

advantage and with profit. A field thus manured is fit for the cultivation of vegetables and crops of various descriptions in three months after

the night-soil has been buried in it. * * * *

I would strongly advise all Municipalities in

Bengal to follow the example set by Howrah as to the disposal of night-soil, and not to think of dis- posing of it by the water method which, as

already stated, is unsuitable to and impracticable in Bengal." Without in any degree detracting from the

merits of Dr. Gregg's valuable note, we would

add that it should be borne in mind that there are conditions of success required for the

trenching system, as well as for the water

system, and if these be absent failure will be

the goal as much iu the one case as in the other.

Few localities are alike in every respect. The

nature of the soil, the facility for drainage, the amount of rainfall are important factors which

vary in different places, and which it is necessary for a municipality to consider before deciding on whether the trenching system should or

should not be adopted in any particu'ar dis- trict.