RURAL SANITATION Submit YOUR problems in Sanitation to WASHINGTON STATE BOARD OF HEALTH 950 HENRY, BLDG. SEATTLE, WN.GOVERNMENT PUBllCATIONS SECTION SPECIAL BULLETIN JUL 23 2008 U. OF WASH. LIBRARIES ISSUED BY The Washington State Board of Health FOR THE Use of the Farmers of the State This Bulletin will be Mailed to any Citizen of the State Upon Request Address All Communications to THE WASHINGTON STATE BOARD OF HEALTH 930 Henry Building SEATTLE, WASHINGTON OLYMPIA, WASH. FRANK M. LAMBORN PUBLIC PRINTER 1916INTRODUCTION A study of death rates throughout the country shows that, while deaths among city dwellers have been materially decreased, deaths in the rural population have not been decreased. Not only has the death rate among our farmers not been reduced, but the prevalence of preventable diseases has not been materially reduced in our rural districts. This condition of affairs is probably due to the fact that the city dweller has had the large share of attention in public health efforts. Legislation shows a distinct tendency towards favoring the city dweller in public health matters. For instance, cities are given broad authority in the matter of protecting their water suppLy, but where is there a law that prohibits a farmer from polluting his neighbor’s spring? Every incorporated hamlet, no matter how small, has its local health officer who is supposed to, and sometimes does, look after the sanitary conditions in his town. But where does the farmer come in? County health officers are provided for, but, Mr. Farmer, has your county health officer ever visited your farm; has he ever told you how you might protect your health by simple, inexpensive measures ? Has he ever examined your well water to determine whether or not it is pure? No, he has not; simply because the county health officer is paid a salary that would not cover the cost of the gasoline required to visit the farms in the county once a year, and, in addition, in the majority of cases, he is made county physician and required to treat the sick paupers of the county, a matter of little interest to the farmer, as the large majority of paupers are town dwellers. The only time you, as farmers, even see a health officer, is when the city health officer comes to inspect your dairy for the benefit of the city dweller.4 How does it happen that your county health officer is underpaid and has the duties of county physician saddled on to him? Ask your County Commissioners, the men you elect, about this. The appointment of the county health officer and the county physician, and designating their salaries, is entirely in the hands of the County Commissioners. But, let me tell you, Mr. Farmer, you will never have a reduction in your death rate or a reduction in your preventable diseases until the legislators of your State, the men you elect, provide for whole-time health officers, trained men who will devote their time to the prevention of disease in your county. In the general scheme of our government, National and State, the farmer has not been neglected. Much has been accomplished in the matter of teaching farmers what constitutes good soil, good seed, good animals, good tools, and good housing and care for animals and tools ; but very little has been done in the matter of teaching the farmer how to care for his children, how to secure strong, healthy men and women, how to prevent sickness among his people as among his flocks and herds. A number of bulletins have been issued and several books have been published on rural sanitation, but it appears to us that these books are intended more for what we might term the “Agriculturist” than for the true farmer, the term “Agriculturist” being defined as one who makes his money in the city and spends it in would-be farming. You can secure these pamphlets and books and after reading them you will probably picture how, some future day, you may be able to put in the improvements indicated. It is our intention at this time to give to you a few ideas as to how sanitary conditions may be improved on the farm and at an expense within the reach of any farmer. T. D. Tuttle, M. D., Commissioner.WATER SUPPLY The farmer has four principal sources of water supply; namely, creeks, springs, driven or dug wells, and irrigating ditches—cisterns are a part of one of these supplies. CREEKS. Creeks or rivers form a large part of the water supply in every community and, as such, should be protected from contamination. However, as a matter of fact, they are not protected and most of them are contaminated. Not only are they used as outlets for our city sewers, but the farmer uses them as a dumping ground for his manure and dead animals, and often installs an individual “sewer” by placing his toilet so that the creek will serve as receiving vault,55 with- 4th Reservoir House from which the VInfection came 3d Reserve Welsh Hill a fooo Fig. 1. Showing how a single typhoid patient infected the water supply of a city. out regard to how his neighbor’s water supply is affected thereby. The influence of a single toilet on a stream is wTell illustrated in the typhoid outbreak in Plymouth, Pa., where the excreta from a single patient so contaminated the stream that 1,100 cases of typhoid fever resulted in a city of 8,000 inhabitants. (See Fig. 1.) The theory that a stream will purify itself in five or seven miles, or such a matter, has long since been exploded. Typhoid6 fever germs will live for more than one week in running water and the faster a stream flows the farther they will travel. Toilet located so as to contaminate a stream Avoid contaminating the water of the stream on which you live. If you use the water for domestic purposes, follow up the stream and see if there is a source of infection on its banks. (See Figs. 2, 3 and 4.) Your State Board of Health is ready to make bacteriological examinations of the water for you and tell you whether it is good for domestic use. A chemical examination will not determine the fitness of water for domestic purposes. You, as farmers, understand the importance of bacteriology of the soil and that chemical examinations do not give you the information with regard to them, neither will chemical analyses give you information with regard to bacteriological conditions of the water, and it is the bacteria and not the chemical constituents in water that cause disease.7 SPRINGS. A spring is simply ground water that has found an outlet on the surface of the ground. The water is usually clear, sparkling, and of an agreeable taste. The appearance of the water is no guarantee of its purity, as very frequently the best appearing water will be highly contaminated with animal matter and disease producing germs. Fig. 3. Toilet located so as to contaminate an irrigation ditch. Toilet located at X. Whether the water of a spring will be free from contamination will depend on the source of the water, the character of the ground through which it flows, whether the ground constitutes a good filter material, and opportunities of contamination in the course of flow through the ground. If the water comes from a contaminated source and flows through a free channel in the ground or through a stratum of open gravel, it will be contaminated at the spring. If the water comes from a pure source but in the course of flow undergroundFig. 4. Showing how irrigation ditches become contaminated.the seepage from a privy, cesspool or other contaminating source enters it, the spring will be polluted. (See Fig. 5.) On the other hand, if the water comes from a contaminated source and flows for a sufficient distance through sand, sandstone or other efficient filter material, the water of the spring will be pure. The water of a spring may be pure as it leaves the ground but become contaminated by surface drainage into the spring basin. The spring should be walled so as to securely prevent contamination by surface drainage. Walls on three sides with a stairway on the fourth, makes a very pleasing picture but is a dangerous situation, as surface drainage will flow down the steps into the spring and contaminating matter carried on the feet will be washed into the spring. The danger in assuming that all clear water coming out of the ground is free from contamination is illustrated by the following instance. A number of young lads were playing at mining. They had dug some three or four feet into the bank of a draw when they encountered a “spring.” The water was clear, cool and of good flavor. The boys, heated from their efforts, drank freely of the water. Six of them developed typhoid fever. Investigation showed that the source of the water was a cesspool about one hundred yards from the “spring” and that the water passed through an open gravel stratum that furnished no filtration whatever. As it is impossible to determine from appearances whether the water of a spring is free from contamination, you have provided a means by which you may settle the question. You have10 provided for a State Board of Health Laboratory and this office is ready at any time to examine your domestic water for you. If you will write to the State Board of Health, 930 Henry Building, Seattle, Wash., you will be furnished with a sterilized bottle and directions for taking a sample and how to forward. You will also be supplied with a question blank, and it is important that these questions be answered in order that we may properly interpret the bacteriological findings. Do not expect a reply by return mail, as it takes about two weeks to complete an examination. Fig. 6. Deep and shallow wells. WELLS. Wells are, to some extent, springs, in that they tap a flow of water and thus make an artificial outlet. They may be dug or driven. Wells are also designated as “shallow” or “deep” wells. These terms do not apply to the number of feet a well extends into the ground. A well fifty feet deep may be a shallow well while one thirty feet deep may be a deep well. (See Fig. 6.) The distinction between deep and shallow wells is that a deep well penetrates an impervious stratum and receives its water supply from below such stratum, while the shallow well does not penetrate an impervious earth stratum. Deep wells areFig. 7. A poorly finished well, permitting Fig. 8. The same well as shown in Fig. 7 contamination by surface drainage. but with defects corrected. rarely contaminated while it is unusual to find a shallow well free from pollution. To the average owner, his well is like his pet dog, “the best on earth.5' To suggest that the water of that well may be contaminated would be to “tread on holy ground.” The fact is that most of our wells are too “holythey have too many holes through which pollution may enter; they have holes in the top, in the sides and in the bottom, and yet, like the pet dog, the defects are not seen. Wells are subject to contamination in the same manner as are springs, that is, by surface drainage and by seepage. The probability of contamination by surface drainage will depend on the location of the well and the character of the curbing and covering. (See Figs. 7 and 8.) Seepage contamination will depend on the character of the surrounding soil and the direction of the flow of underground water.12 It is evident to anyone that the drainage from a privy located on the slope above the well may enter the well unless a proper curb and cover is provided. However germs from a privy vault may find their way into a well when the privy or cesspool is located on the slope below the well. If the level of the water in the well is below the level of the privy vault, seepage from the privy may enter the well even though the top of the Pig. 9. Showing how a cesspool or privy located on the slope below a well may contaminate the well. Fig. 10. Showing crack in impervious strata permitting seepage contamination. well be higher than the privy. This is clearly shown in Fig. 9. Again, the flow of the ground water may be in a direction opposite to that of the slope of the surface, and seepage entering the ground at a point below the top of the well may enter the underground stream at a distant point and be carried back to the well. Sometimes we meet with situations that are very puzzling from a study of surface conditions, but a study of the underground material makes it very simple. As an illustration: two f-yV L ' M rW 1 ' *1 V CRACK IN ■; PRIVY ii^FFP13 wells are located at points equally distant from a surface toilet; both wells are in a hard, impervious clay; one well is found contaminated, the other pure. The surface indications cannot explain this situation, but a study of the underground conditions shows a crack or fault in the clay leading to the contaminated well through which the contents of the privy pass as innocent of any filtration as if it had passed through a tile sewer, while no crack is found leading to the uncontaminated well. (See Fig. 10.) The only way of knowing whether your well water is pure is by bacteriological examination, and as contamination may occur at any time, such examinations should be made at least once each year, and if the well is in a suspicious location the examination should be made at frequent intervals. CISTERNS. A cistern is simply a reservoir. If it is tight and protected from surface drainage, the purity of its water will depend entirely on the purity of the water put in the cistern. In a few instances in this State cisterns are filled with rain water, but such cases are so rare at present as not to merit consideration. In almost all instances we find our farmers filling their cisterns from irrigating ditches. We have examined water from a large number of irrigating ditches and, without exception, have found such water to show abundant evidence of contamination. This condition one would naturally expect, as the water, in a majority of cases, carries contaminating matter when it is taken from the river, and as irrigating ditches pass through thickly populated farming districts, more and more pollution is added to the water. It is therefore essential that all water put into cisterns from irrigating ditches be purified in some way before it is safe for human consumption. Filtration is the most practical method to purify the water from ditch or stream. By filtration we do not mean that the water shall pass through a little gravel or charcoal so as to remove the dirt that is evident to the eye. Apparent dirt14 is not the dangerous element in water. Muddy water passed through a gravel or charcoal filter, may come out perfectly clear and yet be swarming with disease germs. A filter, in order to be effectual, must remove disease producing bacteria. In order to accomplish this the water must pass through a filter material that will catch and retain the germs. An effective filter of moderate size will not permit a rapid flow of water, so that sufficient time must be allowed to fill the cistern. We find advertised numerous so-called “filters” through which the water flows rapidly. Most of these “filters” would catch a fish if one happened to get into it, but they are almost as efficient in removing germs as a fisherman would be if he attempted to fill his fish basket from a stream by using his bare hands to catch the fish. Charcoal, so long lauded as an efficient filter material, has no more germ removing qualities than has gravel of the same size as the particles of charcoal. We submit herewith a sketch of a simple, inexpensive filter, suitable for filtering water from irrigating ditches or streams for farm use. (See Fig. 11.) This filter is built en-/met tirely of concrete. The inlet and outlet pipe may be iron, wood or tile. The filter chamber is filled with about s i x inches of coarse gravel, then eight or ten inches of fine gravel, then twelve to fourteen inches of good clean sand and over this a few inches of fine gravel. The water enters a sedimentation tank and from there passes upward through the filter and thence to the cistern. The openings in the bottom of the filter chamber are LONGITUDINAL SECTION Fig. 11. A practical filter for farm use.15 made by placing half inch bolts or pegs in the concrete and knocking them out after it has set. The cover in the illustration is a concrete slab, but a quite efficient cover may be made from two-inch matched lumber well painted. The gravel and sand must be removed and replaced by fresh once each year, and if the water is turbid it must be renewed more frequently. Finally, it must be remembered that the purity of a water supply cannot be determined by any other method than a thorough bacteriological examination. The appearance of a water is no criterion of its purity. Disease germs cannot be detected by the eye, by taste or by smell. A badly polluted water may be perfectly clear, it may be absolutely free from any odor, it may have a most pleasant taste, and it may show comparatively pure on chemical examination, and still be a disease producing water. <THE DISPOSAL OF HUMAN EXCREMENT “The disposal of human excrement on the farm is the most simple thing on earth; the men have the barn and the women the privies.55 Yes, and the flies have both and the dining room, too. However, the farmer who found the disposal of excrement on his farm such a simple proposition did not belong to the successful class, but to that class who does not know whether his cows return a profit or a loss, and lets his manure lose 25 per cent of its value while he waits for a convenient time to haul it to the fields. He is not the class of farmer any State wants, and he is not the class you want to associate with. As a matter of fact, the disposal of human excrement on the farm is not a simple matter by any means. The location of the toilet must be given careful consideration. It must be convenient of access for both the men and the women of the household, and by “household” I mean the hired help as well as the members of the family. A privy that is located in an inconvenient place will not be used by the men, and night visits of either sex will fall short of the appointed place. The privy must be so located that by no possible chance can the contents of the vault reach the well, spring or other water supply, by surface wash or by seepage through the ground. In order to have the toilet at an accessible point, it may be found impracticable to so locate it as to prevent possible seepage to the well. As we do not, in the majority of instances, know the direction of flow of our ground water, we cannot locate our toilet so as to know that seepage will not reach our well. Both of these objections are easily overcome by building a toilet from which there is no seepage. To do so is not a difficult or expensive undertaking. A sanitary toilet can be built at a very small cost and cared for with little effort. The toilet must not only be conveniently located but it must be the most comfortable place on the farm for answering nature5s calls. It must be kept as clean as possible at all times. On17 farms employing a number of men at any season, it will prove a paying investment to have a separate toilet for the men. Hired men do not like to use the toilet which, they think* is provided for the ladies. If your farm is not provided with proper toilet facilities, typhoid fever is bound to be the ultimate result on your place. By far the large majority of cases of typhoid fever in Washington in 1915 originated in the country. Many of these were reported from cities, but a study of the case-histories shows that they were infected while visiting or working in the country. Not only is this true of typhoid, but of all bowel troubles that result from getting human excrement into the mouth. It is evident to anyone that, if human excrement is deposited indiscriminately about a farm or the toilet is open to ingress and egress of animals and insects, this excrement is going to be carried about on the feet of domestic animals, fowls, people and flies, and when thus distributed it invariably comes into contact with food and thence to the mouth. In order that human excrement may cause typhoid fever it must have come from some person who has or has had typhoid fever. The discharges of a person who has had typhoid invariably contain the disease germs for some time after the patient has recovered, in some instances the infection continues for months and occasionally for years. Hence, we find that typhoid ordinarily makes its first appearance on a farm at harvest time, and by harvest time we mean when the crops are gathered, be they hay, grain, hops, fruits or what not, for at such seasons many men are employed, one or more of whom may have had typhoid and be carriers of infection, which, through improper toilet facilities, is transmitted to you and yours. The disposition of the excreta of the harvest, the threshing, the hop-picking and the fruit-picking crew is, if any different, more important to you than the disposal of the excreta from your own family; hence, the advisability of the special toilet for employees and the location of such a toilet at a conveninet point for the use of the men. Remember that the urine as well as the stools contain typhoid germs.18 THE SANITARY TOILET. The farmer usually balks at the words “Sanitary Toilet,” as he immediately pictures an enamel bowl, automatic flush tank, sewers and all the other attachments found in a large city bathroom and as available to the average farmer as a push button to call the harvest hand to dinner. However, a sanitary toilet does not imply any fancy trimmings whatever. What could be more simple than the sanitary pail shown in Fig. 12. And yet, this simple device contains every essential feature of a strictly sanitary toilet; it is fly-proof, prevents animals or fowls reaching the contents, and prevents seepage into any water supply. All the materials necessary for the construction of the sanitary toilet can be found on your farm and if your fourteen-year-old boy cannot construct it he had better go to work in an automobile repair shop, for he is certainly not much of a mechanic. The tank (A) is made from a five gallon oil can, by cutting out the top. It slides under the seat (B) on the strips (F), which are adjustable so that the pail can be raised to a close fit against the under side of the seat. The cover, or lid, (E) is so arranged that it is self-closing. The frame is made of 2-inch by 2-inch and 1-inch by 3-inch lumber and is entirely open. The seat and cover are made of 114-inch boards. It can be easily moved about and is safe anywhere. 3c7/7//27/y/ / The daily addition of a small amount of dry earth and a little common lime to this toilet will eliminate any offensive odors. Your boy can build it for nothing out of material available on any farm, or you can have it built at a cost of not exceeding $3.10. Why not provide a few for your harvest crews? Fig. 12. This is as truly a sanitary toilet as is the most complete.19 To the sanitary toilet just described we add a house. The house is not a sanitary feature but is built to secure privacy. In tig. 18 we illustrate the bucket or pan toilet. This is simply the primitive sanitary toilet with the house added. The house may be as simple or as extravagant as your o V fancy may dictate. In Fig. 14 we present the framework for the pail or bucket privy, as designed hy Dr. C. W. Stiles of the U. S. Public Health Service. For this, the following material will suffice: One scantling, 6 by 6 inches, 8 feet long; 1 scantling, 4 by 4 inches, 12 feet long; 5 scantlings, 2 by 4 inches, each 16 feet long; 2 boards, 1 by 9 inches, each 9 feet long; 3 boards, 1 by 10 inches, each 7 feet long; 15 boards, 1 by 12 inches, each 12 feet long; 12 boards, % by 3 inches, each 16 feet long; 2 pounds of 20-penny spikes, 6 pounds of 10-penny nails, 2 pounds of 6-penny nails; 7 feet of wire screen, 15 mesh, copper, 12 inches wide; 4 hinges, 6 inch strap style, for front and back doors; 2 hinges, 6 inch “T” or 3-inch “butts” for cover; 1 coil spring for front door. The framework should be constructed according to the plan printed above, and the timber listed above should be cut as follows, to correspond with the lettered pieces of the frame in the illustration: (A) Two pieces, 6 by 6 inches, 4 feet long. (B) One piece, 4 by 4 inches, 3 feet 10 inches long. (C) Two pieces, 4 by 4 inches, 3 feet 4 inches long. Fig. 13. The pan or bucket sanitary toilet."nrt« Fig. 14. Substantial framework for a sanitary toilet.21 (D) Two pieces, 2 by 4 inches, 7 feet 9 inches long. (E) Two pieces, 2 by 4 inches, 6 feet 7 inches long. (F) Two pieces, 2 by 4 inches, 6 feet 3 inches long. (G) Two pieces, 2 by 4 inches, 5 feet long. (H) One piece, 2 by 4 inches, 3 feet 10 inches long. (I) Two pieces, 2 by 4 inches, 3 feet 4 inches long. (J) Two pieces, 2 by 4 inches, 3 feet long. (K) Two pieces, 1 by 6 inches, 4 feet 7 inches long. The end of “I(” should be trimmed after being nailed in place. (L) Two pieces, 1 by 6 inches, 4 feet long. As the pail privy requires more frequent attention than the average farmer feels he can give, we present in Fig. 15 the “Trough Privy.” Again the house may be as you like, the essential portion here is the trough or box. This is made of 2-inch by 14-inch lumber, well matched so as to make the box thoroughly water tight. To the bottom of the box are nailed two pieces of two by fours wTith rounded ends to act as skids, and the whole given a good coat of tar paint. The box is provided with a ring fastened to the skids by a wire rope so that a team can be readily attached when the box is removed for cleaning. Finally, two pieces of 2x6 are placed on the ground under the toilet seat, properly spaced to act as runners for the skids and so elevated as to bring the top edges of the box into contact with the seat. Fig. 15. Showing a practical farm toilet.22 The privy vault can never be safe unless the vault is made of cement or other absolutely impervious material, but we again remind you that you can never know where the seepage will reach or what influence it will have on your health. The old practice of digging a hole in the ground and putting a house over it, and when this hole is full moving the house to another, is an insanitary and dangerous practice. The privy with an impervious vault, as shown in Fig. 16, is difficult to clean and will not be kept in as good condition as either the bucket or box toilet. Finally let us urge that no matter whether your toilet be simple or extravagant, it must prevent domestic animals and fowls from reaching the contents, it must be fly-proof, and it must prevent the possibility of seepage into any water used for domestic purposes. Having provided a sanitary toilet, remember that it is neither an ornament or an heirloom, but is something that is intended\ for use by every member of your household every day, and you, as head of the house, should see that it is used. DISPOSAL OF NIGHT SOIL. The disposal of privy contents (night soil) is a serious problem, serious to the city, for the sewer outlet is a problem,serious to the small town where sewers have not been provided, and serious to the farmer. The old order “take that out and dump it somewhere” is a dangerous order. The farmer should select a suitable place on his farm where night soil can be buried without possible danger of contaminating a water supply. When such a spot is located, every particle of night soil should be taken there and buried at least one foot underground. This is not a difficult undertaking, especially with the trough or box vault, and when it is properly done you may feel confident that you are safe from infection with excreta borne diseases on your farm. Remember that no automatic sanitary toilet for the farm has been invented. Having provided a sanitary privy on your farm, it must be given sufficient attention to insure its being kept in a sanitary condition.DISPOSAL OF SEWAGE WHEN PRESSURE WATER IS AVAILABLE. In this mountainous country, many of our more simple farm homes are provided with pressure water systems. Such homes have flush toilets and the owner is confronted with the same problem, only on a smaller scale, of sewage disposal as is a city. Raw sewage cannot, with safety, be deposited in any stream used as a source of water supply by any individual or group of individuals. Remember the Plymouth typhoid disaster. “Do your neighbor as you would have him do you, but do it first.” The most practical method of sewage disposal on the farm is the sub-surface irrigation system. This method is applicable only in localities having a light sandy loam soil not less than two feet in depth, and porous enough to absorb the liquid distributed to it. The system must be so located as to avoid seepage into any well or spring used as a source of water supply. A sub-surface sewage disposal system consists of a septic tank, a syphon chamber and a distributing system. In the septic tank the solid matter in the sewage becomes liquefied. This is accomplished through the agency of certain bacteria. It is not advisable to go into detail in this pamphlet as to how this is accomplished, but it must be understood that in order to accomplish the desired end, namely, liquefication of all solid matter, the surface of the sewage in the tank must not be disturbed, hence, the necessity of baffle boards to direct the flow through the tank so as not to disturb the surface. The syhon chamber is necessary to secure efficient action of the soil as a filter. If the flow to the distributing system is slow, the soil nearest the tank becomes fouled, whereas, through the medium of the syphon the flow becomes interrupted, the amount discharged forces it to all parts of the system and the soil is allowed to drain between doses. In some instances, where the family is unusually large, or where the soil is “tight,” it isnecessary to provide a gate chamber (see Fig. 21), so that one portion of the distributing system may “rest” while the other portion is in operation. The Septic Tank. The sewer pipe leading from the house to the septic tank (See (E) Fig. 17), should not be less than 4 inches in diameter, laid to a grade of not less than one foot to the hundred feet, made of glazed tile and all joints securely closed with cement. The sewer should enter the tank through a rounded elbow, the mouth of elbow should extend not less than six inches below" the level at which the sewage will stand in the tank. Figure IT shows a good type of septic tank and syphon chamber. The sewer enters the tank through the inlet pipe (E) which is the end of the sewer line from the house. From the tank the sewage, after having undergone the liquefying process, passes over the wreir (D) into the syphon chamber (B). For a family of eight people the septic tank should be four feet wmde, six feet long and five feet deep. The depth of the26 liquid in the tank should stand at four feet. The bottom of the straight part of the intake pipe (E) and the top of the weir (D) should be four feet from the bottom of the tank, all inside measurements. The syphon chamber (B) should be 3 feet wide, two feet six inches deep and two feet long. The syphon used in the illustration is a “Miller Three-Inch Automatic Syphon’’ and is of ample size for the average farmer’s household. The necessity of the syphon has been stated above. Details for setting the syphon, which can be procured through dealers in plumbing material, will accompany this instrument. The walls and floors of the septic tank and syphon chamber should be seven inches thick and built of concrete made of one part cement, three parts sand and five parts clean gravel or crushed stone. The top should be made of concrete, six inches thick and thoroughly reinforced. Manholes (H) should be provided for both septic tank and syphon chamber. Iron covers may be secured or properly shaped concrete blocks may be formed for covers. The baffles (C, C) should be 5 inches thick and made of reinforced concrete. They should extend at least one foot below the level at which the sewage will stand in the tank. The spetic tank and syphon chamber do not purify the sewage, they simply liquefy it and prepare it for the filter bed. The effluent from the syphon chamber should be conducted to the filter bed through a 4 inch glazed tube, joints sealed with cement, and laid on a grade of not less than one foot to each one hundred feet. The effluent is distributed in the sub-surface system, as shown in Fig 18. If the soil is composed of coarse sand with good subsoil drainage, about 160 feet of distributing pipe will suffice. The distributing pipe is composed of 3-inch agricultural tile. This should be laid in an 8-inch ditch, twelve inches deep, with a grade of from two to three inches to the hundred feet. All joints should be left open and covered with a bit of tar paper or broken tile to prevent dirt falling into the pipes. (See Fig. 19.) The tile leads should be placed about six feet apart.28 If the soil is composed of very fine sand or contains a large per cent of loam, or if the subsoil drainage is poor, or if an unusually large amount of sewage is to be disposed of, the double sub-irrigation system, shown in Fig. 20, should be used. This system requires double the amount of agricultural tile, and, in addition, a division manhole. In this system the sewage is allowed to flow for six or seven days into one half of the system and then switched to the other half for a like period, thus allowing half of the filter bed to “rest.” The double system gives better results than does the single. The sewage is changed from one half of the system to the other by a simple board gate that is slipped down in front of the outlet of the division chamber leading to the portion of the system to be rested. (See Fig. 21.) The cost of such a system will vary in different localities and according to the distance the distributing system is located from the house. However, a statement of material required will give you an idea of the cost in your locality; cement, 9^2 barrels ; sand, 5 cubic yards; clean gravel, 6% cubic yards. Reinforcing iron should not cost to exceed $1.50; three-inch automatic syphon will cost about $18.00 at Chicago; 160 to 320 feet 3-inch agricultural tile; 4-inch glazed tile, sufficient to reach from the house to tank and from tank to distributing system. You can safely count on the entire system costing from one hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars. Cess Pools. A cess pool is, as a rule, a snare and a delusion. If they drain freely they are polluting your water supply or that of your neighbors. If they do not drain freely they are of no benefit and become stench producers. The cess pool has the same standing in sanitary districts as has the old-fashioned open pit-toilet.THE FLY ON THE FARM Sure, the fly is 011 the farm and he is there to stajr, but he stays more on some farms than he does on others. Even if the fly does stay on the farm you don’t need to eat it nor to eat with it. We presume that you have provided a sanitary toilet, now that you have heard what a really simple thing it is, and have thereby deprived the fly of his chief source of danger. While you have thus clipped his wings, as it were, so far as pertains to his collecting the germs of typhoid on your farm, nevertheless, you have not made a pleasant companion of him. Why not invite him to stay out of your house? Wire screens are inexpensive and easily put in. Do not fool with extension screens. Watch the flies go into a fly trap and then look at the line where the two parts of an extension screen come together, and you will be inclined to kick the thing out. If you feel that wire screens are too expensive for you, get some mosquito netting and tack it over your windows and over frames to fit the doors. Now you have your screens in, but how the flies do swarm around them! Sometimes Mrs. Farmer says some real forcible things about them. Then she goes to the chicken incubator and smiles at the collection of fluffy balls on the floor. If she had gone on to your fly incubator and maternity hospital and had realized how much better work it was doing for the flies than hers was doing for the chickens, you would have heard just how good-for-nothing you are anyway, and from one who knows. Do not imagine that moving an old manure pile is going to get rid of the flies on your farm, for it is not, but it will help. You intend to move that manure pile soon; in fact you know your land needs it, but when? Isn’t it a fact that you forked that manure into the wheelbarrow and carted it out to the manure pile? Wasn’t your manure spreader standing there all the time? And now you say you are going to fork that manure30 again and put it into the spreader. That’s right, handle it three times when once would do, and then call yourself a manager. Why not run the spreader into the barn each morning, put the manure into it and take it to the field with you, instead of hitching up an empty wagon to ride to the field in? And that is not all; the manure pile has been there several months now and has hatched several billion flies (they made the heifer kick you last night), the manure in that pile has lost from 25 per cent to 30 per cent of its efficiency as a fertilizer while it was piled up there, it is hardly worth hauling away now. You tested your cows last spring and found some that were eating more than they produced. You beefed those cows. Why not test yourself and see if you are not wasting more energy than those cows were. Try handling your manure once and let that one handling put it on the field where it is needed, save that loss in fertilizer that is now feeding flies to make your cows kick and your wife irritable, and you will find the flies are staying on your farm less than they were. Your State Board of Health stands ready to help you in every way within its power. We are short-handed, but the eight hour law does not apply to us. Let us join hands to the end that Washington may show New York that the farm can be as sanitary as any city on earth.