menu_book Chapter 83

section eighty three of london labour and the london poor volume two by henry mayhew this librivox recording is in the public domain recording by gillian henry of the cesspool and sewer system of paris part two from the account of the general refuse depositories of paris we pass to the particular receptacles or cesspools of the french capital the parisian cesspools are of two sorts one fixed or excavated cesspools two movable cesspools in early times the excavated cesspools or pits were constructed in the rudest manner and cleaned out more or less frequently or utterly neglected at the discretion of their owners as the city increased in size however and as the permeations necessarily taking place into the soil accumulated in the lapse of centuries the evil resulting was found to be of grave magnitude calling for prompt and vigorous interference on the part of the authorities it appears certain that prior to the year eighteen nineteen when a strict ordinance was issued on the subject the cesspools were very carelessly constructed for the most part they were far from water-tight and very probably were not intended to be otherwise

consequently nearly the whole of the fluid matter within them drained into the springs beneath the substratum or became absorbed by the surrounding soil nor was this the only evil the basement walls of the houses became saturated with the offensive permeations and the atmosphere more particularly in the interior of the dwellings tainted with their exhalations the movable cesspools for the most part consist simply of tanks or barrels which when full are removed to some convenient spot for the purpose of their contents being discharged this form of cesspool though not leading to that contamination of the substratum which is naturally induced by the fixed or excavated cesspool may occasion many offensive nuisances from carelessness in overfilling or in the process of emptying The movable cesspools are of two kinds.

The one, says Mr Rammel, extremely simple and primitive in construction, the other more complicated. The former retains all the refuse, both liquid and solid, passed into it. The latter retains only the solid matter, the liquid being separated by a sort of strainer and running off into another receptacle.

The advantage of this separating apparatus is that those cesspools provided with it require to be emptied less frequently than the others, the solid matter being alone retained in the movable part. The liquid portion is withdrawn from the tank into which it is received by pumping. The other kind of movable cesspool consists simply of a wooden cask set on end

and having its top pierced to admit the soil pipe. It is intended to retain both solid and liquid matter. When full, it is detached, and the aperture in the top having been closed by a tight-fitting lid secured by an iron bar placed across, it is removed, and an empty one immediately substituted for it. The movable cesspool last described is much more generally used than the other kind.

Very few are furnished with the separating apparatus. But the use of either sort, I am told, is not on the increase. The movable cesspools are found on the whole to be more expensive than the fixed, besides entailing many inconveniences, one of which is the frequent entrance of workmen upon the premises for the purpose of removing them, which sometimes has to be done every second or third day. Moreover, if the cask becomes in the

slightest degree overcharged, there is an overflow of matter. Indeed, the movable system of cesspools, it appears from further accounts, seems to be now adopted only in those places where fixed cesspools could not be altered in accordance with the ordinance, or where it is desired to avoid the first cost of a fixed cesspool. An ordinance of 1819 enacts peremptorily that all cesspools, fixed or excavated, then existing, shall be altered in accordance with its provisions upon

the first subsequent emptying, after the date of the enactment, or, if that be found impracticable, they shall be filled up. This full delegation of power to a centralised authority was the example prompting our late stringent enactments as to buildings and sewerage. The French ordinance provides also that the walls, arches and bottoms of the cesspools shall be constructed of a very hard description of stone, known as Pierre Mouillet, millstone. The mortar used is to be

hydraulic lime and clean river sand. Each arch is to be 30 to 35 centimetres, 12 to 14 inches, in thickness, and the walls 45-50 cm, 18-20 inches. The interior height not to be less than 2 metres, 2 yards 6 inches. A soil pipe is always to be placed in the middle of the cesspool. Its interior diameter is not to be less than 9 7 8 inches in potteryware piping, or 7 7 8 inches in cast iron. A vent pipe not less than 9 7 8 inches in diameter is to be carried up

to the level of the chimney tops or to that of the chimneys of the adjoining houses. This is, if possible, to divert the smell from the house to which the cesspool is attached. A principal object of the ordinance, it is stated in the reports, was to ensure the cesspools being thenceforth made watertight, so that further pollution of the substratum and springs might be prevented, and the provisions for its attainment have been very strictly enforced by the police.

The present cesspools are in fact watertight constructions, retaining the whole of the liquids passed into them until the same are withdrawn by artificial means. The advantage has its attendant inconveniences, and moreover has been dearly paid for. For independently of the cost of the alterations and the increased cost of making the cesspools in the outset, the liquids no longer draining away by natural permeation, the constant expense of emptying them

has enormously increased. In the better class of houses, where water is more freely used, the operation has now to be repeated every three, four or five months, whereas formerly the cesspool was emptied every 18 months or two years. An increased water supply has added to the evil, moderate even now as the extent of that supply is. It is estimated that in the better class of houses the daily quantity of matter, including the water necessary for cleanliness and to ensure the passage

of the solids through the soil pipe, passing into the cesspool from each individual amounts to 1.75 litres, 3.08 English pints. Foreign substances are found in great abundance in the cesspools, the large soil pipes permitting their easy introduction, so that the cesspool becomes the common receptacle for a great variety of articles that it is desired secretly to get rid off article 19 of the police regulations directs that knightman finding any articles in the cesspools especially such as lead to the suspicion of a crime or misdemeanour shall make a declaration of the fact the same day to a commissary of police

in all such matters the police regulations of france are far more stringent and exacting than those of england the cesspools vary considerably in foulness continues the report and it is remarkable that those containing the greatest proportion of water are the most foul and dangerous this is accounted for by the increased quantity of sulphurated hydrogen gas evolved and is more particularly the case when from their large size or from the small number of people using them much time is allowed for the matter to stagnate and decompose in them soap suds are said to add materially to their offensive and dangerous condition the foulness of the cesspools therefore would appear to be in direct proportion to the cleanly habits of the inmates of the houses to which they respectively belong where urine predominates ammoniacal vapours are given off in considerable quantities and although these affect the eyes of those exposed to them and the nightmen suffer much from inflammation of these organs no danger to life results the inflammation however is often sufficiently acute to produce temporary blindness and from this cause the men are at times thrown out of work for days together

note i did not hear any of the london nightmen or sewer men complain of inflammation in the eyes and no such effect was visible nor that they suffered from temporary blindness or were indeed thrown out of work from any such cause they merely remarked that they were first dazzled or dazed with the soil but the labour of the parisian is far more continuous and regular than the london knightman owing in a great degree to the system of movable cesspools in paris The emptying of the cesspools is the next point to be considered. No cesspool is allowed to be emptied in Paris, and no nightman's cart containing soil is allowed to be in the streets from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., from October 1st to March 31st, nor from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. from April 1st to September 30th. in the winter season the hours of labour permitted by law are ten and in the summer season seven out of the twenty-four while in london the hours of night work are limited to five without any distinction of season

these hours however only relate to the cleansing of the fixed cesspools of paris fixed or excavated cesspools are emptied into carts which are driven to the receptacles as far as regards the removal of night soil along the streets there are far more frequent complaints of stench and annoyance in paris than in london none of these cesspools can be emptied without authority from the police and the police exercise a vigilant supervision over the whole arrangements neither can any cesspool after being emptied be closed without a written authority after inspection by the director of health nor can a cesspool if found defective when emptied be repaired without such authority with regard to the movable cesspool it is reported the process of emptying is very simple though undoubtedly demanding a considerable expenditure of labour the tank or barrel when filled is disconnected from the soil pipe an empty one being immediately substituted in its place and the bung-hole being securely closed it is conveyed away on a vehicle somewhat resembling a brewer's dray

which holds about eight or ten of them, to the spot appointed as the depository of its discharged contents. The removal of movable cesspools is allowed to take place during the day. In opening a cesspool in Paris, precautions are always taken to prevent accidents, which might result from the escape or ignition of the gases. The general, not to say universal, mode of emptying the fixed or excavated cesspools

is to pump the contents into closed carts for transport. This operation is, says Mr. Rammel, performed with two descriptions of pumps, one working on what may be called the hydraulic principle, the other on the pneumatic.

In the former, the valves are placed in the pipe communicating between the cesspool and the cart, and the matter itself is pumped. In the latter, the valves are placed beyond the cart, and the air being pumped out of the cart, the matter flows into it to fill up the vacuum so occasioned.

The real principle is of course the same in both cases, the matter being forced up by atmospheric pressure. One advantage of the pneumatic system is that there are no valves to impede the free passage of matter through the suction pipe. Another, that it permits the use of a pipe of larger diameter. The cart employed for the pneumatic system consists of an iron cylinder mounted sometimes upon four, but generally upon two, wheels, the latter arrangement being found to be the more convenient.

Previous to use at the cesspools, the carts are drawn to a branch establishment situate just within the Barrière du Combat, where they are exhausted off air with an air pump worked by steam power. A 12-horse engine erected there is capable of exhausting five carts at the same time, the vacuum produced being equal to 28 3⁄8 inches, 72 cm, of mercury. A cart in good repair and upon two wheels will preserve a practical vacuum for 48 hours after exhaustion.

End quote. The total weight of one of these carts when full is about 3 tonnes and 800 weight. This is somewhat more than the weight of the contents of a London wagon employed in night soil carriage. Three horses are attached to each cart. When an opening into the cesspool has been effected, a suction pipe on the pneumatic principle is laid from the cesspool to the cart.

This pipe is 3 and 15 sixteenths inches in diameter and is in separate pieces of about 10 feet each, with others shorter, down even to one foot, to make up any exact length required. Two kinds are commonly used, one made of leather, having iron wire wound spirally inside to prevent collapse, the other of copper. The leather pipe is used where a certain degree of pliability is required, the copper for the straight parts of the line, and for determined curves, pieces struck

from various radii being made for the purpose. Guttapercha has been tried as a substitute for leather in the piping, but was pronounced liable to split, and its use was abandoned. So with India rubber in London. The communication between the suction pipe and the vehicle used by the nightman is opened by withdrawing a plug by means of a forked rod into the recess hollow of the machine, an operation tasking the muscular powers of two men. This done, the cesspool

contents rush into the cart, being forced up by the weight of the atmosphere to occupy the existing vacuum. This occupies about three minutes. The cart, however, is then but three fourths filled with matter, the remaining fourth being occupied by the rarefied air previously in the cart, and by the air contained in the suction pipe. The air is next withdrawn by the action of a small air pump, worked usually by two but sometimes by one man.

The air pump is placed on the ground at a little distance from the cesspool cart and communicates with it by a flexible India rubber tube, an inch in diameter. The air, as fast as it is pumped out, is forced through another India rubber tube of similar dimensions, which communicates with a furnace, also placed on the ground at a little distance from the air pump, the pump occupying the middle space between the cart and the furnace, the furnace and the pump being portable.

To ascertain when the vehicle is full, a short glass tube is inserted in the end of the airpipe, the end being of brass, and through this, with the help of a small lantern, the matter is seen to rise. The number of carts required for each operation, states Mr. Rammell, of course varies according to the size of the cesspool to be emptied, but as these contain on the average about five cart-loads, that is the number usually sent. Note. It must be recollected, to account for the greater quantity of matter between the cesspools

of Paris and London, that the French fixed cesspool, from the greater average of inmates to each house, must necessarily contain about three times and a half as much as that of a London cesspool. If the dwellers in a Parisian house, instead of averaging 24, averaged between 7 and 8, as in London, the cesspool contents in Paris would, at the above rate, be between 4 and 5 tonnes, as it is in London, for the average of each house. End note. In addition to the carts for

the transport of the night soil, a light-covered spring van, drawn by one horse, is used to carry the tools and so on required in the process. These tools consist of 1. an air pump when the work is to be done on the pneumatic system and of a hydraulic pump when it is to be done on the hydraulic system. 2. about 50 metres of suction pipe of various forms and lengths. 3. a furnace for the purpose of burning the gases. 4. wooden hods for the removal of the solid night soil.

5. Pails, a ladder, pincers, levers, hammers and other articles I have hitherto spoken of the pneumatic system of emptying the Parisian cesspools. The results of the hydraulic system are so similar, as regards time and so on, that only a brief notice is required. The hydraulic pump is worked by four men. It is placed on the ground in the place most convenient for the operation, and the cart is filled in the space of from three to five minutes.

A furnace is used. The furnace, says the report, consists of a sheet iron cylinder about nine inches in diameter, pierced with small holes, and covered with a conical cap to prevent the flame spreading. The vent pipe first communicates underneath with a small reservoir intended to contain the matter in case the operation should be carried too far. A piece is inserted in the bottom of this reservoir by unscrewing which it may be emptied. The furnace is sometimes fixed upon a plank which rests upon two projecting pieces behind the cart.

An indicator is also used to show the advancement of the filling of the cart. A glass tube and a cork float are the chief portions of the apparatus of the indicator. Towards the end of the operation, when the quantity of matter remaining in the cesspool, although sufficiently fluid, is too shallow for pumping, it is scooped into a large pail, and the end of the suction pipe being introduced, drawn up into the cart.

When the matter is in too solid a state to pass through the pipe, it is carried to the cart in hods, unless it is in considerable quantity. In that case, it is removed in vessels called tinettes, in the shape of a truncated cone, holding each about 3½ cubic feet. These vessels are closed with a lid and are lifted into an open wagon for transport. Of these two systems, the pneumatic is the more costly and is likely to be supplanted by the hydraulic. Each system, according to Mr.

Rammel is still a nuisance, as, in spite of every precaution, the gases escape the moment the cesspool emptying is commenced, and vitiate the atmosphere. They force their way very often through the joints of the pipes, and are insufficiently consumed in the furnaces. Mr. Rammel mentions his having twice, after witnessing two of these operations, suffered from attacks of illness. On the first occasion, the men omitted to burn the foul air, and the

atmosphere being heavy with moisture, the odour was so intense that it was smelt from the Rue de Port-Malne to the Rue Manard, more than 400 yards distant. The emptying of the cesspools is let by contract, the commune acting in the light of a proprietor. To obtain a contract, a man must have license or permission from the prefect of police, and such license is only granted after proof that the applicant is provided with the necessary apparatus, carts and so on, and also with a

suitable depot for the reception of the pumps, carts and so on when not in use. The stock and trade of a contractor is inspected at least twice a year, and if found inadequate or out of repair, the licence is commonly withdrawn. The gangs of nightmen employed by the contractors are fixed by the law at four men each, the number employed in London, but without any legal provision on the subject. The terms of these contracts are not stated, but they appear to have ceased to be

undertakings by individual capitalists, being all in the hands of companies, known as compagnies dividanges, filth companies. There are now eight companies in Paris carrying on these operations. More than half of the whole work, however, is accomplished by one company, the Compagnie Richer. The capital invested in their working stock is said to exceed 4,800,000 francs, 200,000 pounds. They now require the labour of 350 horses and the use of 120

vehicles of different descriptions. The construction of a cesspool in Paris costs about 18 pounds as an average. The houses containing from 30 to 70 inmates may have two and occasionally more cesspools. Taking the average at one and a half, the capital sunk in a cesspool is £27. Mr. Rammell says, Adopting these calculations of the number of cesspools to each house and their cost, and allowing only the small quantity of one and three quarter litres, 3.08 pints, of matter to

each individual, the annual expense of the cesspool system in Paris per house containing 24 persons will be, for interest at 5% upon capital sunk in works of construction, £1.07, for extraction and removal of matter, £5.11, total £6.18. The annual expense per inhabitant will be £5.09. The latter, then, may be taken as the average yearly sum per head actually paid by that portion of the inhabitants of Paris who use the cesspools. The following, among others before shown, are the conclusions arrived at by Mr. Rammel.

1. That with the most perfect regulations and the application of machines constructed upon scientific principles, the operation of emptying cesspools is still a nuisance, not only to the inmates of the house to which it belongs, but to those of the neighbouring houses and to persons passing in the street. two that the cesspool system of paris presents an obstacle to the proper extension of the water supply and consequently represses the growth of habits of personal and domestic cleanliness with their immense moral results and that in this respect it may be said to be inconsistent with a high degree of civilization of the masses of any community three that compared with a tubular system of refuse drainage it is an exceedingly expensive mode of disposing of the faecal refuse of a town End of section 83