The sanitation of a country house

LIBRARY

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.

Class

or THE

UNIVERSITY i

•KV - OF

THE SUMMER CAMP.

(Sec page 84;

Frontispicc^

The Sanitation of a
Country House

BY

DR. HARVEY B. BASHORE
t»

Inspector for State Board of Health of Pennsylvania
Author of "Outlines of Rural Hygiene"

"Eldest-born of powers divine,
Blessed Hygeia, be it mine
To enjoy what thou canst give,
And henceforth with thee to live !"

— COWPER

TJOUtb Sixteen irilustratione

FIRST EDITION

FIRST THOUSAND

NEW YORK

JOHN WILEY & SONS
LONDON : CHAPMAN & HALL, LIMITED

OF TV'E

Copyright, 1905
BY

HARVEY B. BASHORE

PRINTED BY ROBERT DRUMMOND, NEW YORK

To
parents,

who have done so much for me,

this little volume

is most affectionately

dedicated.

PREFACE.

WHILE municipal hygiene has made
much progress during the last hundred
years, the rural districts still cling to
their old-fashioned ways, still trust in
Providence and the "old oaken
bucket."

When we find that our summer re-
sorts on seashore and mountain some-
times bring sickness instead of health,
that our springs and our brooks may
bear the germs of disease; when we
find that there are rural localities which
have more typhoid fever per popula-

vi Preface.

tion than our great cities, that there
is actually less danger of getting ty-
phoid fever in New York City than in
a good many country places; when
we find that cities are spending millions
for filter plants and yet receive twenty-
five per cent of their typhoid from
the country; when we find all this and
more, too, to be actual facts, is it not
worth while to think about sanitary
reform?

To make the country as healthy as
the city — contradictory as it may seem
— is the aim of this work.

WEST FAIRVIEW, May i, 1905.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE

I. THE LOCATION i

II. THE HOUSE 13

III. THE WATER-SUPPLY 29

IV. THE DISPOSAL OF WASTE 47

V. THE SURROUNDINGS 71

VI. THE SUMMER CAMP 84

vii

V OF THE

UNIVERSE I

OF

w

Sanitation of a Country
House.

CHAPTER I.

THE LOCATION.

WHEN one comes to build a house
in the city he is more or less restricted
by the requirements of the city; and
the kind of neighborhood, business and
social advantages are weighty points.
The sanitary conditions surrounding his
house are little under his own hand;
the city authorities look after such
things with the paternal care of patri-
archal times. He buys a lot in the
locality selected and builds thereon his

2 Sanitation of a Country House.

house, facing the street of course,
whether it is east or west, north or
south. Over the adjoining buildings he
has no control — they may overtop his
own and keep out the sun, they may
prevent him from having a fine view
across a neighboring river, but for this
there is no remedy; he must confine
himself to his own narrow lot. He has,
however, the consolation that there are
some compensations to be derived from
this state of affairs; for example, the
network of sewers, and trenches of
various kinds, keep soil drainage good,
and save him the troubles that might
arise from an otherwise damp soil. The
city also sees to it that he has good (?)
water and that his household wastes
are quickly disposed — got out of sight
at least.

When it comes to a country house the

The Location. 3

whole thing is changed: the owner alone
is responsible for every condition in and
around his premises, and can select at
the beginning a location favored by
proper sanitary conditions. But in
order to be able to do this one must
have some knowledge of the sanitary
methods of house-building.

In the first place, the general topo-
graphical features of the proposed site
must be taken into consideration, and
individual taste counts for much in
such a case. There are certain points
which should be held in mind; for
instance, one would hardly select a
narrow valley, a low meadow, or the
north side of a high hill for a dwelling-
place. Common sense has taught us
that a slight elevation, having proper
surface drainage, with protecting hills
or woods on the north, is far more pref-

4 Sanitation of a Country House.

erable; and then if we add a stretch of
water — lake, river, bay, or ocean — to
the foreground of the east or south, we
would have a pretty fair location as far
as the surface is concerned.

Whatever the location, it is well,
very well indeed, to pay considerable
attention to the outlook from the pro-
posed site, for fine scenery is not to be
despised as a sanitary measure. A fine
view from one's dining-room window
certainly acts as an aid to digestion, if
it does nothing more.

If there is no natural barrier on the
north, this deficiency may be made up
by planting a grove of evergreens, spruce
or pine or fir, which will keep off the
cold winds better than anything else;
then a grove of trees makes a fine recrea-
tion-ground, which furnishes wholesome
pleasure to man, woman, or child.

The Location. 5

The preferred direction which a
house should face, as I have indicated,
is more or less southerly in the country
east of the Mississippi, on account of
the prevailing westerly winds of this
region, and the necessity for getting as
much sunlight as possible in the great-
est number of rooms.

After one has a good idea of the
surface conditions of the projected site,
some study should be expended on the
character of the subsoil and rock of the
place; the principal sanitary factors
in this connection being the water and
air in the soil, their relations to each
other and to the surface. The water
in the soil is divided for sanitary study
into the ground-water and the ground-
moisture.

The ground-water — the first worth
considering — is that underground sheet

6 Sanitation of a Country House.

of water which completely fills all the
interstices of the soil; its height is
readily told by the height of water
in neighboring wells. This water is in
constant motion to the nearest water-
courses, and also rises and falls with
the changing seaons. The ground-
water, unless very near the surface,
has not much effect on a building site
except when it comes to procuring
drinking-water from wells; then it
becomes of cardinal importance and is
treated in this relation in a future
chapter.

The other item, ground-moisture, is
that moisture which is in the upper
layers of the soil — above the ground-
water level — due to the interstices con-
taining both air and water; and it is
this which causes damp and unhealthy
foundations. This dampness of the soil

The Location. 7

is derived mostly from surface-waters
percolating from above, and tends to
rise by capillary action and hydro-
static pressure. Ground-moisture is
directly proportional to the absorptive
power of the soil and inversly as its
permeability; consequently it is evident
that by increasing this permeability
we can diminish the dampness: and
this is what we do by trenching and
tiling. This undue dampness is, as has
been mentioned before, supposed to be
a potent factor in the causation of
rheumatism, and it has also been claimed
that there is a relationship between
soil-dampness and phthisis. Although
we know that this disease is due to a
specific germ, it is quite likely that
damp dwellings may so prepare the
individual as to less easily withstand
the inroads of the germs.

8 Sanitation of a Country House.

The ground-air is interesting to the
sanitary house-builder in two phases,
namely, its composition and movement.
It is made up partly of gases arising
from decomposition and putrefaction
processes which are continually going
on in the soil, especially in that which
is contaminated with organic waste;
and the resultant gases diffuse rapidly
through the surrounding locality.
Carbon dioxide, which is one of the
gases formed, is always greater in
ground-air than in the atmosphere,
while oxygen, on the other hand, is
decreased and nitrogen remains about
the same. In addition to the gases
there are certain amounts of ammonia,
hydrogen, ammonium sulphide, and
marsh-gas which go to make up ground-
air; and thus differing greatly in compo-
sition from the atmosphere, it is surely

The Location. 9

not suitable for breathing purposes. In
addition, too, we are not certain that
it does not, at times, contain disease-
germs.

The second disturbing factor of the
ground-air — its movement — is of con-
siderable importance. It has been
found that the wind blowing against
the surface soil sets this underground
air in motion; likewise, too, any change
in the ground-water level will occasion
fluctuations in the air above. During
a heavy rain, for example, the surface-
waters flowing downward press upon
the ground- air and compress it. Under-
neath a dwelling, if the cellar is not
properly protected, there is an area of
diminished pressure, and consequently
the ground-air pours into the cellar
and thence into the house above. In
winter, during heavy frost, similar con-

io Sanitation of a Country House.

ditions exist, when the frozen ground is
more or less impervious; and then the
warm, unfrozen, and porous part under-
neath the house readily facilitates the
ascent of the air below.

With this knowledge of the ground
air and water it becomes evident that
there is a great difference in the various
soils when it comes to building a house.
A clay soil, such as is found in the al-
luvial deposit of our river valleys and
seacoast, and that resulting from the
decomposition of limestone and certain
other rock, is almost impermeable, and
having considerable absorptive power
and being capable of holding much
moisture, it is consequently damp; it is
also cold on account of its low specific
heat and constant evaporation. For
these reasons there is a great tendency
to rheumatic complaints in people

The Location. 1 1

living on such a soil. It has been found,
however, that much of this soil danger
may be reduced by efficient subsoil
drainage, for as the water is withdrawn
from the soil more air is admitted and
greater dry ness follows.

When we come to the various beds
of sandstone, gravel, and shale just
the opposite condition exists, namely,
a warm, dry, and porous soil. Natural
drainage is so good and the ground-
water so low that scarcely any prepa-
ration is necessary in order to get a
dry foundation. On the other hand,
such soils, being so very porous, are
liable to contamination by water and
air from neighboring cesspools and
privies, and consequently the usual
care is needed in this respect, especially
if polluted soil exists anywhere near
the place. Other soils may need other

1 2 Sanitation of a Country House.

lines of investigation, but the fore-
going illustrate the method of procedure.
Suffice it to say that each and every
location should receive individual
study with reference to its own pecu-
liarities and possibilities.

CHAPTER II;

THE HOUSE.

AFTER the site for a dwelling has
been selected, the first thing is its
preparation, which consists in taking
measures to reduce to a minimum the
deleterious influences of the ground-
moisture and ground-air mentioned in
Chapter I. In the beginning, then, in
order to prepare a place for building
it is necessary to drain thoroughly the
subsoil about the foundation. This is
readily done by digging trenches sur-
rounding the proposed foundation of
such a depth as to reach a foot or two

below the bottom of the wall and hav-

13

14 Sanitation of a Country House.

ing an outlet in some lower level or
stream. The trenches should be filled
for a foot or so with broken stone, or
a course of drain-tiles may be laid at
the bottom. Probably filling with
broken stone for half the depth and
then covering with a layer of ashes is
the most effective method. It has the
advantage of being very cheap, for
stones and ashes can be got almost
anywhere in the East, at least, for
the asking. The surface drainage, too,
must receive considerable attention;
sufficient grading being done so as to
remove all water as rapidly as pos-
sible.

After this work follows the founda-
tion proper. The common way of mak-
ing this is simply to dig the cellar the
required size and depth and build the
wall around this excavation, and in

The House. ' 17

some very dry, porous soils such a
crude method seems to give a fair
foundation; but in most soils and in
most places other preparation is needed.
It is better to have a free space between
the outside of the wall and the sur-
rounding earth, and this space should
be packed with well-beaten clay, as
recommended by the late Col. Waring.
Better, or rather in addition, the outside
of the wall should be coated with pitch
and a damp-proof course, consisting
of a layer of pitch and slate, should
be laid in the wall above the ground-
line. (Fig. i.)

In the next place, the cellar floor
should receive our attention. This may
be made with a layer of well-beaten
clay, which is almost impervious to air
and water, or a layer of bricks covered
with melted pitch and then cemented

1 8 Sanitation of a Country House.

or covered with concrete. A founda-
tion with its cellar and the area about
it prepared in this way insures the
occupants of the house against any
trouble from the soil, and is well worth
the extra trouble and expense incurred.
Such is the method for construct-
ing the new foundation, but a good
many houses have not been built in
this manner, and are sadly defective
with their wet and mouldy cellars.
Yet much can be done that will improve
such a building and make it more
habitable. In the first place, the sur-
rounding drainage should be improved
by means of the trench described above,
and this alone will generally give
great relief. An additional security
is gained by digging away the earth
for several feet from the outside of
the wall, and then leaving this open

The House. 19

for an air-space, or, better, coating the
wall with pitch and filling in next to
the wall with puddled clay. The cellar
floor should be treated, just as in a new
building, to a layer of bricks, pitch,
and concrete.

In the construction of the house
it is desirable, from a sanitary point
of view, to have it so arranged that
the greatest number or all of the rooms
receive sunlight part of the day, as
there is no disinfectant nor deodorant
equal to sunlight, none so cheap and
none to make up its absence. This
arrangement can, of course, only be
readily made when one has plenty of
room, but there are a good many houses
— country houses in a sanitary sense
— which are built on suburban lots,
and consequently the owner cannot
have the same choice of position; yet

20 Sanitation of a Country House.

by proper planning even the suburban
lot can be made to yield very good
results to the prospective builder.
Take as an example the case of a lot
facing the street or road on the north.
The usual way to build on such a lot
is, and always has been, to have the
front of the house face the road
(Fig. 20). This, however, gives the least
possible amount of sunshine and light
to the principal rooms in the house,
while the kitchen and back rooms get
the most of it. As it is impossible
to turn the lot around and have it
face the right direction, we must do
the next best thing and turn the
house around, as shown in the second
part of the plan (Fig. 26). The oc-
cupants of a house built after this
method cannot see the dusty road
so easily, but it is a good deal better

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The House. 23

and healthier to face a beautiful back
yard than any road or street.

The material of which a house is
built depends generally on economic
conditions. Brick and stone are more
desirable, of course, than wood, less ex-
posed to currents of air and changes of
temperature, and in some localities do
not cost much more. Just at present,
in most of the Eastern cities, brick is
as cheap as, if not cheaper than, wood,
and in the future the increasing scarcity
of wood will necessitate the use of
these other materials or perhaps the
use of concrete, which is gaining much
favor as a building material. Brick
and stone houses, on the other hand,
are likely to become damp, unless
the walls are double; that is, the
plaster must never be put directly
on the wall, but an air-space must

24 Sanitation of a Country House.

be left by " furring' ' (as the build-
ers say) the lath away from the
wall by strips of wood which leave
a small interval between the lath
and wall.

The heating of a country house
differs in no wise from that of a city
house; hot air, hot water, and steam
being the three principal methods.
In addition to the furnace, it is desir-
able to have open fireplaces, not only
for heating during spring and fall,
when the days are damp and chilly
and the furnace is not in operation,
but for the cheerfulness it adds to a
room and, in addition, for its value
as a ventilator; for nothing save a
rotary fan is comparable to an
open fire for getting the foul air
out of a house, and a room which
contains one never gets the peculiar

FIG. 3. — THE OLD FRANKLIN.

OFTHE \k
If UNIVERSITY }

Of

The House. 27

odor so characteristic of deficient ven-
tilation.

In some places where wood is becom-
ing almost too scarce and too expensive
to use in an ordinary fireplace, the
old-fashioned Franklin stove, or "Penn-
sylvania fireplace" as Franklin him-
self called it, is a worthy substitute,
on account of the great saving of fuel.
The designer says: "The use of these
fireplaces in very many houses, both
of this and the neighboring colonies,
has been and is a great saving of wood
to the inhabitant. Some say it saves
five-sixths, some say three-fourths, and
others much less. I suppose two-
thirds or one-half is saved. My room
is twice as warm with one-fourth the
wood as formerly used." If it was
necessary in Franklin's day to econo-
mize fuel, it is a hundred times more

28 Sanitation of a Country House.

necessary now, and I predict as the
years go by that the "old Franklins "
will have a place with those who love
a wood fire.

CHAPTER III.

WATER-SUPPLY.

THE water-supply of a country house
is probably its most important point
from a sanitary view, for it is by this
means that typhoid fever is generally
transmitted, even in the milk-supply
from the farm. While the city dweller
is almost absolutely dependent on
municipal management for the water
which he uses, in the country, on the
other hand, the whole subject rests on
the care or carelessness of the individ-
ual householder. On this individual
care, consequently, rests very often the

responsibility as to the presence or

29

30 Sanitation of a Country House.

absence of typhoid fever in a certain
place, and the undue prevalence of
this one disease in the rural districts
may well excite caution and forethought
in the prospective rural dweller.

The common sources of water-supply
for country houses are the neighboring
springs, streams, lakes, and wells, all
of which may be very good or very
bad, depending on local conditions,
A spring, like many other things in
this world, is just as good as its sur-
roundings. If it happens to be situated
on an uninhabited and uncultivated
upland it will likely yield a pure water,
and if near enough and constant enough
may furnish the most available supply,
especially if it is at such an elevation
that it can be used by a gravity
system.

Since springs are only overflows of

Water-Supply. 3 1

the ground-water, their condition is
dependent on the geological character
of the strata through which the water
passes. In a region in which the strata
have been upturned and broken there
may be a seepage of pollution from
places little suspected, unless one is
thoroughly conversant with the place.
Out of a series of fifty-two wayside
springs examined several years ago,
only sixteen yielded absolutely unpol-
luted water. While most of the remain-
ing thirty-six yielded a water which
was not really dangerously polluted, it
illustrates especially how great is the
necessity for using care.

In a limestone region, on account
of the many underground seams and
tunnels which transmit water with
great facility, without the filtering
properties of the soil, pollution and

32 Sanitation of a Country House.

infection may travel for miles. In such
a region there are always many beauti-
ful springs, but they need watchful
care and study before one can be sure
of the purity of the water.

Lakes, rivers, and small streams are
other available sources of water, but
local conditions must be thoroughly
studied before resorting to these for
a supply. Other things being equal,
the larger the body of water the more
likely it is to be safe, on account of
the great dilution of any possible con-
tamination. A case of typhoid fever
on the banks of the Susquehanna or
the Delaware does not amount to very
much as a source of danger, but the
same case on some small rivulet may
become a focus for spreading disease.

The ' ' babbling brook ' ' is not always
the thing of purity it seems to be, for

FIG. 4. — THE UPLAND BROOK — "PURE AND UNDEFILED-.'

Water-Supply. 3 5

it has been the means of starting many
an epidemic. It is only when such a
brook comes from an uninhabited up-
land that it is pure and safe, and even
then the consumers of the water should
control its gathering-grounds if they
expect to keep the water pure. It is
well to remember that the price of
pure water, wherever you go, is ever-
lasting and unremitting vigilance. In
Fig. 4 is shown a photograph of one
of these upland brooks, as it flows
through a wild ravine of ancient pines
and hemlocks; babbling and gurgling
over falls, forming cascades and pools,
sparkling in the sunlight, it seems
like the elixir of life to the thirsty
wayfarer.

The headwaters of this same brook
show quite a different picture, for it
meanders through tilled fields and over

36 Sanitation of a Country House.

filthy highways. On its drainage area
there are, too, five dwellings, and in
three of them typhoid fever has been
a real and recent scourge.

Unfortunately this is the tale of
many an upland stream, and the
only safe way, before one gives much
thought to a stream as an available
source of water-supply, is to see the
other end to its " uttermost parts."

Another source of water for the rural
dweller is the well, and with this, too,
special care is necessary. The danger
of the ordinary shallow well is known
to every one, but there seems to be an
idea that a deep well always yields
good water. Still, while a deep well
is more likely to yield good water than
a shallow one, the fact that a well is
deep is no proof of its purity.

I would like to add an additional

Water-Supply . 37

word of caution about the ordinary
shallow well, for of late the abandoned
farm with its ancient well has begun
to figure as a place for country homes.
The country people love these "old
wells." If you question, the answer
is: "Why, of course, nobody ever got
sick from our well." I once came
across just such a well. Three genera-
tions back this old well had furnished
water for the same family, and no one,
in truth, ever became sick from it. At
last the old folks died, and the second
generation started on their way with
a large family of sons and daughters;
still no one became sick. The third
generation became men and women,
and still resided at the old homestead.
Then at last, after so many years,
the old well began its deadly work.
One after another of the family was

38 Sanitation of a Country House.

stricken with typhoid fever until four
were ill at one time, and that home
will never be the same it once was,
for there are two vacant places; and
this old well, which before had "never
made any one sick," proved, on ex-
amination, to be grossly polluted.
Examination of these farm-wells has
been progressing in most parts of the
country, and the unfitness of this
source of supply is a striking feature,
whether we take it in Canada or
in Florida, in Pennsylvania or in
California.

In considering wells one should re-
member that the geological character
of the strata has much to do with the
purity of the water, and right here it
is necessary to recognize the fact that
every deep well is not an Artesian
well. Artesian wells are those which

Water-Supply. 39

pierce geological basins, but geological
basins do not exist everywhere, and
while a well might be a thousand feet
deep in the upturned and contorted
strata of the Apalachian plateau, it
would really not be an Artesian well.
Such deep wells as do pierce these
regions of upturned strata are especially
prone to pollution, on account of the
great facility with which drainage
follows lines of rock cleavage. In a
region like this a well might be easily
infected from some distant source, and
increasing the depth of the well, which
is frequently done, may possibly in-
crease the danger by opening up new
channels from the increased area of
drainage. Only a careful study of a
place will give positive results as to the
reliability of a well-water. Better it is
to study the locality at first than to

40 Sanitation of a Country House.

sink several hundred dollars and then
find the water polluted.

The purification of a water-supply
is not of much interest to the dweller
of a country house, for he is nearly
always able to obtain a supply already
pure. There is one item of this subject
worth some attention, however, and
that is the growth of algae, which is
likely to occur in the purest water. This
green scum, while probably not detri-
mental to health, gives the water
a peculiar, fishy flavor which makes
it very unpleasant for drinking. For-
tunately we have a cheap and efficient
remedy for the treatment of this con-
dition, which consists in making a
dilute solution of copper sulphate in
the water affected. The usual method
of doing this is to immerse in a spring,
pond, or reservoir a coarse sack con-

Water-Supply. 41

taining an amount of copper sulphate
sufficient to make a strength of about
1/4,000,000 — something like one grain
to sixty gallons. I know of a man
who had piped water to his place from
a mountain spring, and shortly after-
wards found that algae were growing
plentifully in the water and stopping
up the pipe. He treated the spring with
copper as above described, and obtained
relief in twenty-four hours.

So much for the question of pure
water — a question needing no considera-
tion, were it not for the almost uni-
versal defilement of the soil about
our springs and watercourses, brought
about solely by human carelessness and
neglect. That such is the case is very
lamentable, and that such could be
easily remedied is apparent to every
one. John Ruskin has so well depicted

42 Sanitation of a Country House.

this state of affairs in England — a
condition the like of which we our-
selves are fast approaching — that it
seems worth while to quote him with-
out reserve. ' 'Twenty years ago/'
says the distinguished author, " there
was no lovelier piece of lowland scenery
in South England, nor any more pathetic
in the world, by its expression of sweet
human character and life, than that
immediately bordering on the sources
of the Wandel, and including the low
moors of Addington and the villages
of Beddington and Carshalton, with
all their pools and streams. No clearer
or diviner waters ever sang with con-
stant lips of the hand which 'giveth
rain from heaven' ; no pastures ever
lightened in springtime with more
passionate blossoming; no sweeter
home ever hallowed the heart of the

Water-Supply. 43

passer-by with their pride* of peaceful
gladness, fairhidden, yet full-confessed.
The place remains nearly unchanged
in its larger features; but with
deliberate mind I say, that I have
never seen anything so ghastly in its
inner tragic meaning as the slow steal-
ing of aspects, of reckless, indolent,
animal neglect, over the delicate sweet-
ness of that English scene; nor is
any blasphemy or impiety, any frantic
saying or godless thought, more appalling
to me, using the best power of judgment
I have to discern its sense and scope,
than the insolent defiling of those
springs by the human herds that drink
of them. Just where the welling of
stainless water, trembling and pure,
like a body of light, enters the pool
of Carshalton, cutting itself a radiant
channel down to the gravel, through

44 Sanitation of a Country House.

warp of feathery weeds, all waving,
which it traverses with its deep threads
of clearness, like the chalcedony in
moss-agate, starred here and there
with white grenouillette; just in the
very rush and murmur of the first
spreading currents, the human wretches
of the place cast their street and house
foulness; heaps of dust and slime, and
broken shreds of old metal, and rags
of putrid clothes; which, having neither
energy to cart away nor decency enough
to dig into the ground, they thus shed
into the stream, to diffuse what venom
of it will float and melt, far away, in
all places where God meant those waters
to bring joy and health. And, in
a little pool, behind some houses farther
in the village, where another spring
rises, the shattered stones of the well,
and of the little fretted channel which

Water-Supply. 45

was long ago built and traced for it by
gentler hands, lie scattered, each from
each, under a ragged bank of mortar,
and scoria, and bricklayer's refuse, on
one side, which the clean water never-
theless chastises to purity; but it
cannot conquer the dead earth beyond;
and there, circled and coiled under
festering scum, the stagnant edge of
the pool effaces itself into a slope of
black slime, the accumulation of in-
dolent years. Half a dozen men, with
one day's work, could cleanse those
pools and trim the flowers about their
banks, and make every breath of sum:
mer air above them rich with cool
balm, and every glittering wave me-
dicinal, as if it ran, troubled only of
angels, from the porch of Bethesda.
But that day's work is never given,
nor, I suppose, will be; nor will any

46 Sanitation of a Country House.

joy be possible to heart of man, for-
evermore, about those wells of English
waters.' '

How truthfully this description, with
a slight change of names, would suit
our own springs and pools!

CHAPTER IV.

WASTE DISPOSAL.

IN taking up the study of waste
disposal it is necessary to remember
that "out of sight, out of mind/' is not
hygiene. The use of his senses long
ago impelled man to put away his
waste products, and this was the first
step in the evolution of waste disposal.
The use of reason — the second step —
born by the labor of countless centuries
of costly mistakes has taught us that
these wastes must, in addition to being
put away, be turned into harmless
compounds before we can call the
work complete. Though this seems

47

48 Sanitation of a Country House.

very simple in theory, in practice,
on account of the complicated conditions
of modern civilization, we often fall
far short of the ideal.

In most country houses water under
pressure is available, and when this is
so water-carriage of excreta is certainly
desirable, necessitating thereby the
use of water-closets and plumbing, just
as in the city. Then there follows,
of course, the use of the sewer and
the great question of sewage disposal.
If one is situated near the sea or on
a tidal river, the easiest method is
to run the sewage directly into this.
It is not admissible, however, to run
raw sewage into a fresh-water stream
or lake. This is, nevertheless, fre-
quently done, and it has a bad moral
effect on the rural citizen, who is by
no means overburdened with sanitary

Waste Disposal. 49

devices. Of course, some of our great
fresh-water streams seem to have been
given over to sewage by the cities along
their banks, and the country resident
living on such a stream could hardly
be blamed for using it for his own
sewage disposal.

When it comes to the smaller streams
and lakes such a plan is wholly inad-
visable, and some form of disposal
plant becomes necessary.* Intermit-
tent sand filtration is a method which
disposes of sewage satisfactorily and
gives an effluent which can be turned
safely into any stream however small.
A plant of this sort, though used ex-
tensively in various small towns, is
only advisable for certain houses where

* I have purposely omitted mention of the ordinary
cesspool — a relic of medieval shiftlessness and careless-
ness for which no excuse can be offered.

50 Sanitation of a Country House.

the character of the soil or the topog-
raphy makes it difficult to use one
or the other method of irrigation-
surface or subsoil — either of which is
an ideal plan of disposal for nearly all
isolated houses.

In surface irrigation the sewage
is simply distributed over cultivated
land, where it is rapidly absorbed and
the filth disposed of by the numerous
bacteria of the soil. By this method
(Fig. 5) the sewage from the house is
first sent to a settling-tank, or rather
an intercepting-chamber, where the
solid material is decomposed and ma-
cerated into very small particles; from
this the liquid passes into a flush-tank,
from which it is discharged by an
automatic siphon into surface gutters,
and from these allowed to spread over
the ground or run into furrows between

Waste Disposal. 53

growing vegetables or grain. The
intermittent flow of sewage, which is
brought about by the use of the siphon,
is a desirable feature for the efficient
working of this plan, especially in
winter.

Surface disposal of sewage in this man-
ner is perfectly satisfactory and creates
no nuisance. In some instances, how-
ever, due to lack of suitable location,
subsurface irrigation might be more de-
sirable. The house arrangements in this
case are the same as for a surface plant
except that the foul liquid, after leaving
the flush-tank, flows into open-jointed
drain-tiles laid under the ground near
the surface — within eight or ten inches
at least. This last is important, for
the reason that the filth-destroying
bacteria are vastly more numerous
near the surface. In putting up a

54 Sanitation of a Country House.

plant like this the flush-tank should
have a capacity of something like fifty
(50) gallons for each person, and in
good absorptive soil about one hundred
(100) feet of two-inch tile for each
fifty (50) gallons capacity of tank.

There is yet another method simpler
and less costly than those described,
provided land is abundant and the
house at a considerable distance from
other dwellings. In this method the
settling- and flush-tanks are eliminated
and the sewage is turned directly from
the house to the land, flowing from
the sewer into shallow trenches, be-
tween which corn, vegetables, or trees
may be planted. In order not to
overtask the land at any one place
the trenches should permit of being
blocked at various points so as to
divert the sewage into different trenches

Waste Disposal. 57

A wintry climate does not interfere
with the working of these various
sewage farms, for the sewage, more
or less warm, readily cuts its way
through snow and ice and gradually
filters through the soil beneath.

With the sewage disposed of, there
yet remain certain other waste products
to be gotten rid of — garbage from the
kitchen, rubbish of various kinds, and
ashes. The disposal of these products
becomes easy if the various kinds are
collected and kept separate. A good
way is to have a series of receptacles
for the different materials, as I have
shown in the photograph (Fig. 6), and
a certain place for each one. The
paper, rags, rubbish, etc., for which
flour-sacks, supported by iron racks,
are used, might be still further sub-
divided, according to circumstances.

58 Sanitation of a Country House.

Another, perhaps better way of collect-
ing, is to have the receptacles arranged
in one place, instead of being scattered
here and there about the premises; for
example, in a large box placed at the
back of the house near the kitchen
door, so as to be readily accessible. Such
a box is shown in Fig. 7; and while
this one was only made for four sepa-
rate compartments, it can be easily
constructed with as many as may be
desired.

Now as to the ultimate disposal of
household waste. The garbage is best
got rid of by earth burial — simply
put into a shallow furrow in a field
and covered with a little earth. If
the vegetable-bed is near the kitchen,
a good way is to have a hole in the
bed and practice daily disposal of the
garbage. Every evening the garbage

FIG. 7. — Box FOR WASTE-RECEPTACLES.

FIG. 8. — GARDEN-BED SHOWING COVER FOR GARBAGE-HOLE,
DRAINS, ETC.

Waste Disposal. 63

should be covered with earth; and, in
addition, a tight board lid should cover
the hole during the summer months
(Fig. 8), else the place may become
a breeding-place for flies and degenerate
into a nuisance. Screening the hole,
which I have tried, will not be sufficient,
for the little fruit-flies, which are very
likely to choose such a breeding-place,
will creep through a screen of the
smallest mesh.

The non-combustible part of the
rubbish, such as bottles, tin cans,
scraps of metal, etc., can usually be sold
to the junk-dealer; and the combus-
tible part, if not salable, should, of
course, be destroyed by fire. Ashes
can be used in almost any place for
filling, making paths, or for a foundation
under pavements, than which there is
nothing better, the engineers say.

64 Sanitation of a Country House.

We have now to consider that class
of country houses — generally of the
smaller kind — where a sewerage system
is not available, and for such we have
to adopt an entirely different plan for
the disposal of excreta, namely, that
known as the "dry" method. This calls
for the use of a galvanized-iron pail
and a seat exactly like that of an ordi-
nary water-closet (Fig. 9). At the side
of the seat is a box for holding the
absorbent, which consists of sifted coal-
ashes or dry earth. After use a little
of the absorbent is scattered in the
pail, and when the pail is filled it is
emptied on cultivated land — a field or
a vegetable-bed. If the pail is emptied
near the house, a little earth should
be raked over the pile, and in a short
time — a week or two in summer, with
corresponding increase in cold weather

UNIVERSITY!

Waste Disposal. 69

— all evidence of filth will have disap-
peared. Thus simple is the "dry"
closet, an arrangement which, if taken
proper care of, is perfectly cleanly,
inodorous, and sanitary.

When the dry method is used we
will have certain waste waters from
the bath and kitchen sink to dispose
of, and this is best done by some form
of surface-drain suspended over the
vegetable-bed. The one shown in the
photograph (Fig. 10) is made of a
six-inch galvanized roof-gutter pierced
every twelve inches by one-fourth-
inch holes. This allows the filthy water
to be distributed evenly over the ground
without forming puddles and mud-
holes. The disposal of garbage, ashes,
and rubbish is conducted in the same
way as described previously.

A vegetable-bed may not seem a

70 Sanitation of a Country House.

very large piece of ground to receive
the waste from an entire family, but
the waste-destroying properties of tilled
soil is very great indeed. The bed
shown in Figs. 8 and 10, only sixteen
by twenty feet in size, has received
all the waste — dry-closet contents,
kitchen offal, and slop- waters — from a
family of four for the last ten years,
and has destroyed all this filth without
offense to sight or smell, and in addition
has made the bed one of exceeding
fertility.

CHAPTER V.

THE SURROUNDINGS.

PROPER attention to the grounds
around a country house is desirable
not only for the sake of attractiveness,
but on account of the sanitary benefit
derived. Uncut grass, dense foliage^
decaying weeds and wood will spoil the
appearance and lower the sanitary con-
dition of almost any place. Trees, of
course, are desirable for shade about a
house, but should be trimmed high. It is
a good plan to have a lawn immediately
around the house, for a well-kept lawn
is the most sanitary earth covering

known, preventing excess of moisture

71

72 Sanitation of a Country House.

by evaporation and absorption, and
promoting purity of the soil by the
action of the growing grass.

Though the majority of country
dwellings have the front and exposed
part of the grounds in very fair condi-
tion, there is very often a back yard
or kitchen-garden which offers striking
contrast to the rest of the premises
and calls for more care and thought
than is usually bestowed upon it. With
the waste collected and disposed of as
suggested in a former chapter, there
is no reason why a back yard should
not be in as good condition as any
other part of the grounds. The vege-
table-bed, though not unsightly if well
cared for, can be surrounded, if one
so desires, by a hedge of bushes or
a trellis covered with vines. Such a
bed should always be thoroughly cul-

The Surroundings. 73

tivated, kept free of all decaying
vegetables and weeds, and when the
proper time arrives should be cleaned
and the rubbish destroyed by fire.

It is perhaps a good thing, in many
places, to reserve a part of the stable-
yard or kitchen-garden for rubbish
which cannot immediately be disposed
of, such as tree trimmings and the like;
although the ideal method does not
presuppose such a condition, but calls
for immediate disposal. Unfortunately
most of our terrestrial methods only
approach the ideal, and we do the best
we can under existing conditions. Even
if it does become necessary to retain
some of the waste on the premises
for a time, this can be kept in such
a condition as not to become a nuisance
nor offensive; but to have such waste
scattered everywhere, and perhaps

74 Sanitation of a Country House,

have in addition an open pail or two
containing water and breeding thou-
sands of mosquitoes, as I have shown
in the photograph (Fig. n), is surely
inadmissible.

The outbuildings require a word,
especially the stable, which, on account
of being a great fly-breeding place,
should be as far as possible from the
house. That flies do sometimes transmit
disease — notably typhoid fever — there
is no longer a doubt, and their elimina-
tion, or rather diminution, is eminently
desirable. Absence of the stable would
be one of the most effective ways, but
stables are necessary, and the best we
can do is to diminish as much as
possible their fly-producing properties.
There are practically two ways of doing
this. The first consists in using a closet

How THE BACK YARD OUGHT TO LOOK.

FIG. ii. — How THE BACK YARD FREQUENTLY DOES LOOK.

The Surroundings. 77

or pit which is thoroughly screened, as
a receptacle for the manure. Another
method is to cart the manure every
day to the field for fertilizing.

This carting of stable manure im-
mediately on to the field — a procedure
which has been followed by a friend of
mine for the last sixteen years — is, by
the way, desirable not only from hy-
gienic motives, but from an economic
view; for the nitrogen of the manure,
instead of being wasted in the stable-
yard, gets into the soil just where it is
needed. Probably a combination of
the two methods would be more satis-
factory, such as keeping the manure,
for example, in a screened pit or closet,
or a covered wagon, for several days
and then removing to the field when
convenient.

After prompt and careful manure

78 Sanitation of a Country House.

disposal from the stable the next
sanitary requisites are simply cleanli-
ness, fresh air, and sunshine; in fact
they are just as desirable in the
stable as in the house. Hard- wood
stalls, iron feed-racks, and concrete
floors are all very well, but ordi-
nary pine stalls which can be white-
washed several times a year, with a
hard-clay floor, answer probably almost
as well. Paramount considerations, how-
ever, are general cleanliness and fresh
air. I know of a so-called model
stable, which is indeed a model in
every respect except that there is
only a little over 400 cubic feet of
air-space allowed each horse, while
it is conceded by sanitarians that a
healthy horse requires just about 1500
cubic feet of air-space — almost four
times more than this model stable

The Surroundings. 79

grants. Even more necessary is it for
cows to have sufficient air-space on
account of their tendency to tubercu-
losis and the danger of consequent milk
and meat infection. Yet I have before
me the report of a recently completed
dairy-barn, costing $8000, which al-
lows only 780 cubic feet of air-space
for each cow. Is it any wonder that
there is so much bovine tuberculosis?

Drainage of the grounds about a
country house is another eminently
desirable thing. Marsh land especially
should be drained or excavated into
ponds, and streams should have firm
banks devoid of weeds and high grass;
all this on account of mosquitoes.
Unless some such precautions are taken
mosquitoes are likely to be a great
pest in some country places. If they

80 Sanitation of a Country House.

were only a pest, we might be silent
on the subject, but it is known without
question that one family of mosquitoes
— the Anopheles — transmits malaria,
and this happens to be just the kind
that live and breed in the country.
Drainage, the introduction of small
fish into ponds and pools, and treat-
ment with kerosene are the methods
used at present in mosquito warfare.
In Fig. 12 is shown the photograph
of a small stream which flows through
a country place, in the little rock-
pools of which, at certain times, I
have found countless numbers of the
larvae of Anopheles. In such a stream
the fight against mosquitoes requires
care and judgment. Every rain floods
this brook, and of course with each
flood the larvae in these pools are
drowned and carried away; however,

pIG I2t A WASTE-LAND BPOOK, SHOWING MOSQUITO-BREED-
ING POOLS.

The Surroundings. 83

if no flood occurs for eight or ten days,
considering that no fish live in the
pools, it is likely that the existing
larvae would transform into full-fledged
mosquitoes. So the only remedy dur-
ing a drouth is to travel up and down
this brook and spray kerosene on each
pool — a labor which is by no means
as great as it may seem.

In the South another family of mos-
quitoes transmits yellow fever, and the
efficiency of the methods used in Cuba
during American occupation is well
known to every one. Inasmuch as
mosquitoes of all kinds cling more or
less closely to the place of their birth,
individual action counts for much in
isolated country houses.

CHAPTER VI,

THE SUMMER CAMP.

CAMP life is beginning to be so great
a factor in American life that it deserves
a little attention from sanitarians,
inasmuch as one frequently hears of
sickness being attributed to this source.

Just as I am writing this I notice
a report of an increased amount of
typhoid fever in all sections of New
York State, and the health authorities
investigating it have found that a large
proportion of the sufferers are those
who have passed their summer holiday
in the country. With reports like this

frequently appearing there can be no

84

The Summer Camp. 85

question but that camp life, in many
cases, has been and is a source of danger
if one is careless in regard to the usual
sanitary rules.

We are apt to think that everything
in the woods is so fresh from the hand
of the Maker that sanitary care is
unnecessary; every spring and every
brook seems to be pure and undefiled.
If we could only drop into the "forest
primeval/ ' such would indeed be the
case; but the fact is that wherever
you go some one else has been there
before.

I recall an incident in point which
occurred to a friend of mine who was
tramping through the wilds of Canada
north of Lake Ontario. One day coming
across a grave he remarked to the
guide that he didn't suppose people
died here. "Yes, they do, and of

86 Sanitation of a Country House.

typhoid fever and diphtheria/' was the
answer.

Let us investigate first the permanent
camp which is occupied summer after
summer. This, like any other habita-
tion, evidently needs some care to
keep clean. It will not be sufficient
to throw waste materials just outside
the door, for this is not only unsightly
but tends gradually to cause pollution
of the soil, air, and water, the very
things one expects to avoid in going
to the country. Tin cans, waste paper,
, and offal littering the virgin soil around
a beautiful camp are even more jarring
to one's sensibilities than when scat-
tered about the village alley. There
is, fortunately, no complicated system
of waste disposal in the camp as in
the city. All combustible rubbish
should be burned and the non-com-

The Summer Camp. 87

bustible — of which there will not likely
be much — should be buried. All
putrescible waste — that is, garbage —
should be put into a regular garbage-
hole and covered every evening, at
least, with earth. This hole can be in
some unfrequented place, or behind
some cluster of bushes or trees, so as
not to detract from the beauty of
the place nor offend one's senses.

The only other waste to be consid-
ered, and by far the most important, is
human excrement; for man's waste prod-
ucts become poisons when again taken
into the system. The best way, and
the only proper way, to dispose of this
is by a dry closet somewhat after the
form mentioned in a previous chapter:
it need not, however, be elaborate
in order to be effective. The one
shown in the photograph (Fig. 13) is

88 Sanitation of a Country House.

made of rough slabs and in the crudest
manner, yet it is perfect in its sanitary
appointments, vastly better than many
a city water-closet. I have frequently
had friends inspect this, and they
invariably remarked that the distin-
guishing odor was that of the cedar
shingles used in constructing 'it. The
earth used in the pail is taken directly
from the field a few yards away, and
the contents of the pail are emptied
on the same field only a short distance
from the camp, yet after this is covered
with a little earth one can pass the
spot without knowing it.

In regard to the water-supply of a
camp it is only necessary to emphasize
what was said in Chapter II. It is
not safe to drink from every brook
or spring one comes to. A good rule
is always to see the other end first, or

FIG. 13. — THE SANITARY ARRANGEMENTS FOR A PERMANENT

CAMP.

The Summer Camp. 91

at least have knowledge of its entire
drainage-basin, whether spring or brook.
The case referred to on page 27 is typ-
ical of the existing condition of many
cf our small watercourses. Everything
else being equal, springs and brooks
having no human dwellings on their
drainage areas are practically safe.
When I say dwellings, I mean only
temporary camps, especially ' ' labor
camps/' for they are at times even
worse than permanent dwellings as a
focus of infection.

Sometimes the natural water-supply
of the camp is so far away that it be-
comes necessary to have some supply
nearer. In a certain camp where it
was not desirable to go to the expense
of using a ram, a good supply for wash-
ing and cooking was obtained by
utilizing the rain-water collected from

92 Sanitation of a Country House.

the roof in a barrel (Fig. 14). While
this rain-water is not as palatable
as spring-water for drinking, it is
splendid, on account of its softness, for
cooking and washing, and is thoroughly
sanitary. Of course the barrel must
be screened so as to furnish no breeding-
place for mosquitoes.

The temporary camp of a week or
so, it is needless to state, does not
require the same sanitary precautions
as a permanent camp; yet a hole for
garbage is a very desirable thing, and
may save trouble for those who come
after. A dry closet, such as described
for a permanent camp, is not to be
thought of, but a very good substitute
is a sink such as is used by armies
in the field: simply a short trench
in the ground and a support, as shown
in the photograph (Fig. 15). Such

FIG. 14. — AN INEXPENSIVE AND SANITARY METHOD FOR COL-
LECTING RAIN-WATER.

pIG jcj. — THE SANITARY ARRANGEMENTS FOR A TEMPORARY

CAMP.

The Summer Camp. 97

an arrangement, hidden by a clump
of bushes, covered frequently with
earth, and not placed near a water-
course, is perfectly satisfactory from
a sanitary point of view. If even
this is too much trouble, there yet
remains the "method of Moses/' which
has stood the test of some three thou-
sand years, and can still be recom-
mended: "And thou shalt have a pad-
dle upon thy weapon; and it shall be,
when thou wilt ease thyself abroad,
thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt
turn back and cover that which cometh
from thee" (Deut. xxiii. 13).

For the water-supply of a temporary
camp all the rules hold good that were
laid down for other water-supplies.
There is one additional point, how-
ever, that is worth mentioning. If
the circumstance should arise when one

98 Sanitation of a Country House.

must use the water from some sus-
picious stream, it is well to practice
the plan used by the natives of India,
who dig little holes in the sand of the
shore until they get below the water
level. These holes soon fill with clear
water, which, having filtered through
the surrounding sand, is vastly safer
than the raw water of the stream.

INDEX.

Algse 4°

copper treatment of 4°

Artesian wells 38

Ashes, disposal of 57> 63

"Babbling brook," the 32

Camp, permanent 86

waste disposal in 86

dry closet for 87

water-supply of 88

rain-water for 91

Camp, temporary 92

sanitary precautions for 92

water-supply of 97

Canada, experience in 85

Cellar floor 17

Cellars, wet, to improve 18

99

i oo Index.

PAGE

Cesspool, the 49

Clay soil 10

Country house, heating of 24

site for 3, 4, 13

sunlight in 20

surroundings of 71

water-supply of 29

Dairy barn 79

Delaware River 32

Diphtheria 86

Drain, surface 69

of roof -gutter. 69

Dry closet, construction of 64, 87

disposal of contents of 64, 88

Excreta, disposal of 48

dry method for 64

Farm wells 37

Flies 63,74

Foundation, Col. Waring on 17

damp-proof course for 17

drains for 13

external packing for 17

making a 14, 17

pitch used in 17

Franklin stove 27

Index. 101

PAGE

Garbage, disposal of 57

Geological basins 39

Geological beds 1 1

Gravel beds 1 1

Ground-air 8

composition of 8

movement of 9

Ground-moisture 6, 7

origin of 7

lowering of 7

and rheumatism 7

and phthisis 7

Ground-water 5

level of 6

Heating 24

by Franklin stove 27

House, construction of 19

on suburban lot 20

material for 23

Intermittent nitration 49

Irrigation plant, plan of 50, 53

Irrigation, subsurface 53

Kitchen-garden 72

Lakes 32

102 Index.

PAGE

Malaria 80

Moses, method of 97

Mosquitoes 79, 80

Anopheles 80

Mosquito warfare, methods of 80

"Old wells" 37

Outbuildings 74

Pennsylvania fireplace 27

Phthisis 7

Plateau, Appalachian 39

Rain-water, storage of 91

Receptacles for collecting waste 57

Rivers 32

Rubbish, disposal of 57

non-combustible 63

combustible 63

Ruskin, John, quoted 41

Sandstone, beds of n

Sewage, surface irrigation of 50

subsurface irrigation of 53

Shale, beds of 1 1

Site, preparation of 13

Springs 30

Index. 103

PAGE

Stable, the 74, 77

Stable, air-space of 78

Stable manure, the disposal of 77

Susquehanna River 32

Typhoid fever 29, 74, 84, 86

Upland brook, the 35

Vegetable bed 69, 72

waste-destroying properties of 70

Waste disposal 47

Waste, receptacles for collecting 57

Waste-water, disposal of 69

Waring, Col, on foundations 17

Water-supply, sources of 30

purification of 40

Wells 36

Artesian 38

deep 38

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