Even the casual studertt of Chinese conditions will immediately re~ cognize two fatal defects in such a plan, namely, the universal lack of an adequate public water supply, and the compelling necessity for conservation of all available materials for restoring to the soil those elements of which it has been bed during centuries. of eultivation, Excepting only in the arid and semi-arid regions, it is probable that every town and city in China can ba furnished with a publi supply of drinking water of infinitely better quality than is now available, and at a cost that will not prohibitive, All the people of China fare entitled to have as much good water for drinking and bathing as they actually need; and it can generally be obtained by means of artesian or driven wells. Frequently a supply of pure water can be secured at a reasonable depth below the surface of the ground—far enough, however, to ensure its being free from contamination. This could be delivered either to public hydrants or to residences—in many' cases to both, a charge being made for special delivery, but the supply from the faydrants being free for everybody, subject to suitable regulations to [prevent waste, In-communities of any size,.the cost of those driven wells should be home by the inhabitants thereof; but, in villages where the people are poor, the said cost should be assumed by the Prov Government. In case a supply of artesian water cannot be found at.a reasonable depth, it would be necessary to utilize surface water from an adjoining stream, of course after proper _purifieation, because it is almost impossible to find in the streams of China, at places where water is needed for drinking, a supply sufficiently pure.
Under the present financial conditions of this country it would not. be feasible to provide, as in America, Jail the water needed for domestic purposes, street washing, garden rigation, ete., but a reasonable expenditure of money should suffice for drinking and personal ablution purposes only.
A Complex Question water carriage may be the means available for the transportation of sewage, and while has the advantages of convenience Jand freedom from objectionable odours, it is certainly not the best system for adoption in China, The question of sewage disposal is a complex one, even in Western countries; but the complexities are so multiplied in China as to re it worthy of the best engineering talent of the country. Foreign engineers can be of some assistance in the study of certain phases of the problem, but they cannot bring to s solution a past experience with identical conditions. Sewerage works have been in use in other localities, however, that may indicate lines of investigation which can be followed with profit.
For instance, the entire sewer system of the city of San Antonio, Tex Is discharged into a shallow depression, cresting an artificial pond, known as Mitchell's Lake. The sewage is drawn from this lake, under contract, by private individuals, who sell it for the combined purposes of irrigation and fertilization. The system has two serious disadvantages—first, the stench from the lake is an abomine. tion, and, second, the pool forms an cal Ureeding ' ground for the Anophiles mosquito, These insects tuted to exist there in immense swarms, and the malaria they carried all the neighbouring yn, until that eminent and bacteriologist, Dr. Charles A. R, Campbell, a practising physician' of San Antonio, after many years of study, experimenting at his own expense, and hard personal work, managed to keep down the hordes of the insects by the propagation of their natural enemy, the bat, in a house specially designed for the accommodation of those little animals. The history of his most interesting experiments is given in a book of his, entitled "Bats, Mos-quitees, and Dollars."
An Ialian Model Again, in Italy, a "Digesting Cell" has been developed as a result of th studies of Dr. Guiseppe Beccai which may serve as the basis of a scheme of sewage disposal for and towns in China. Tt was described in some detail in a report of "Engineering. Foundation," entitled "Hamus from Garbage—Tnoffensive Waste Disposal." From that paper the following excerpt has Deen made:—"for generations, men have sought relat to the' sell some. of the futsiment taken from it."ia the main, Ian's organic wastes have been lost. {poeta from communities Indeed nites destroyed. Often they Been removed long, distances only Relence and engineering have. offere chute streams, harbours, oF idle land
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.