top of the window, if there is an aperture, for the escape of heated and vitiated air above, on a level with the ceiling. In building fresh houses for the poor, these laws should be taken into consideration, and the improvements should be insisted on by those in authority. Cellars should be kept as such, and be used only as receptacles for coals, &c. There is no objection to underground kitchens, if they are used for that only, and not slept in,-such as in model lodging-houses, for instance; but in a house composed of separate, independent apartments, the cellars should not be habitable, as it would only lead to abuses.

We must now proceed to DRAINAGE: Supposing the main street-sewer to have been created-for with this we have nothing to do, as no house in London should be built until the main drain to the nearest trunksewer is formed,―supposing, then, this main drain to be in existence, we have to lead from each watercloset a pipe to this drain. The situation of waterclosets is important, for much harm arises from the obstruction caused by placing water-closets, or rather privies, at the end of a court or alley, common to the inhabitants, instead of one or more in each house. In the first place, it does not allow for that decency which should be the characteristic of all civilized society; 2ndly, it obstructs ventilation, and retains effluvia; and 3rdly, they are seldom sufficient in number for the wants of the inhabitants. Privies with cesspools, should entirely be done away with; there should not be one within five miles of Charing Cross; therefore of these I shall not speak: but of water-closets there should be an ample supply-one

to every eight, or ten of the inhabitants,-say one to every two families; these should be well ventilated, separately, and should not enter into the general ventilation of the house, but should communicate with the external air by a separate vent of their own, high up in the wall, for escape of vitiated air, and one over the door, for the ingress of fresh air; a good supply of water should be connected with each, which if not under the control of the inhabitants, should flush the pipes well at least every day.

Before leaving this subject, I must beg to call the attention of all in authority to the poisonous effects, to the suicidal plan of making the Thames, from which we obtain our chief supply of water, the main sewer of this mighty metropolis: I know that this question is now under consideration; I know that it has been so for years; I know that magnificent plans have been laid before Government; and I also know that there are two great objections to these being carried out, the first, the difficulty of disposal of the sewer contents; and, secondly, the enormous expense. The first is a real difficulty, for if immense intercepting trunk-sewers, running parallel with, and on each side of the river, be built, where are they to empty? if lower down the river, the benefit would not be commensurate with the expense. Until, therefore, some one will come forward and let us know what is to become of the sewage matter, the Government cannot interfere in the matter; but surely some of our great men-our chemists, our architects, and engineers, could together devise some system of removal, and general manuring of districts, around London, or even the

shipment of it in a dried state, as guano, to a distance. This is a great metropolitan, almost a great national question, and in spite of the all-engrossing theme-the war, should meet with due attention from the Government and City authorities.

The next most important subject is the SUPPLY OF WATER. This is so extensive a question, that we can hardly find room here for even the enumeration of its heads. The poor are so thoroughly acquainted with the value of a daily and sufficient supply of good water, that they would willingly pay for an extra supply, even by pinching in other ways. Improved cleanliness and health are the immediate effects of a supply of water to houses hitherto without it; and, in fact, without water we cannot have drainage, so that a daily flushing of the pipes and sewers is necessary for the removal of filth. There is no reason, except from the obstinacy of water companies, that there should not be a constant supply of pure water, on high pressure, to every house, at a very small expense; but the old companies are so powerful, and in some instances so extortionate, that very little is to be done with them, except we have some assistance from Government. Besides, the water as at present supplied in London is not so pure as it might be; much of it is taken from the Thames, not above the reach of the tide, and sent to our cisterns very imperfectly filtered, containing animal and vegetable matter to a very great extent, as may be easily proved by testing, and the microscope. From the evidence collected by the Health of Towns Commission, it appears that the water supplied to the

houses, in most towns, is insufficient for the wants of the inhabitants, and in very few is there pressure enough to allow of its use being applied to the extinction of fires without the aid of the fire-engine. In Philadelphia the houses have, day and night, a constant supply of good water; the housemaid, by the aid of a hose, can wash the pavement and front of the house, by the force of the power used; and by the application of a longer hose, a fire can be put out in any room immediately, by the inhabitants themselves. Such should also be the case in London; Hampstead and Sydenham are surely elevated enough for the purpose. In houses for the poor, there should be a sink and tap to each floor, with, if not a constant supply, at least a daily one of six or more hours; there should be a cistern to the water-closets, filled daily, self-acting if possible. Landlords who would do this, would pay themselves in a very short time, by the improved class of tenants, by their better health, and therefore ability to pay, and with more cheerfulness.

PURE WATER SUITABLE FOR DRINKING should contain no animal or vegetable substances; the various salts found in Thames water are not hurtful, except to a very few suffering from disease, who should drink distilled water. In river water, several forms of confervæ are found, as also a few animalculæ, but not to the extent usually shown publicly, by the aid of the oxy-hydrogen microscope, these animals being collected out of ponds surrounding London, as they require stagnant water, and collections of vegetable matter, for their nourishment. To purify water from these objectionable substances, the usual mode is to pass it through sponge,

sand, and charcoal. There are a great many excellent filters manufactured, but owing to their expense, they are not in general use. I propose, therefore, that a glass filter be made on the most simple possible principle, being merely a bent glass tube, filled with sand and charcoal. The sand, from experiments made by Signor Matteucci, frees to a certain extent the water from salts; it also catches and prevents passing all larger impurities; and ́from the water being forced up through the sand, the mechanically suspended matters subside, and do not pass over. The charcoal (I use vegetable, in preference to animal, on account of the slightly disagreeable flavour at first imparted to the water by the latter,) has the property of abstracting odorous and organic colouring matters from water; this is accomplished by the oxygen contained in the pores of the charcoal combining with these substances, rendering them inert: thus all impurities are arrested from passing over. The filter is to be hung upon the tap, and the water allowed to trickle from it, keeping the funnel part full, so as to have a certain amount of pressure. The purified water is to be collected from the spout for use. I think if this filter could be manufactured for two shillings or half-a-crown, that a very large sale might be effected; and that the poor, for whose advantage it is intended, would duly appreciate the value of such an article, as an addition to their comforts.

In reference to PUMPS, I must extract Mr. Simon's remarks, in his Report to the Court of Sewers, for the year 1852-53; merely premising, that all London pumps are not equally to be condemned, as some of