ens, the contents being removed weekly
instead of being left to accumulate for months. At first the new system
was far from perfect, and met with much opposition, notwithstanding the
certainty of its being a more healthy plan than the old one; but
improvements have been made, and it is now generally confessed that the
pans and tubs are the right things in the right places. The number of
pans in use in 1874 was 3,845; in 1875, 7,674; in 1876, 15,992; in 1877,
22,668; in 1883, 37,287, equal to a collection of 1,900,000 pans per
year. The sanitary force now numbers 622 men, who, in addition to the
above, removed in 1883, from tubs, middens, &c., 128,966 loads of ashes.
The chief depot for this accumulation of refuse and rubbish is at the
Corporation's wharf, in Montague Street, where over L52,000 has been
laid out in buildings and machinery for its due disposal. At first,
nearly two thirds of the mass had to be taken by canal into the country,
where it was "tipped," the expense being so heavy that it entailed a
loss of about 6s. 6d. per ton on the whole after allowing for that part
which could be sold as manure. Now, however, the case is different.
Extensive machinery has been introduced, and the contents of the pans
are dried to a powder, which finds a good market; the ashes, &c., are
used in the furnaces for the drying process, and the residue therefrom,
or clinkers, forms a valuable substance for roadmaking or building
purposes, &c., in the shape of concrete, paving flags, mantelpieces,
tabletops, and even sepulchral monuments being constructed with it, so
that in a short time the receipts will, it is expected, more than
balance the expenditure in this department of local sanitary work. The
pollution of the river Tame in past years led to continuous litigation
until the year 1877, when, as the result of an exhaustive inquiry, it
was determined to form a United Drainage District Board, with powers to
construct and maintain intercepting sewers sufficient for carrying the
drainage of the whole district, comprising Aston, Aston Manor, Balsall
Heath, Birmingham, Handsworth, Harborne, King's Norton, Northfield,
Perry Barr, Saltley, and Smethwick. The first meeting of this Board was
held December 6, 1877, when it took over the sewage farm at Saltley
belonging to the Corporation (about 262 acres), the plant and stock, &c.
Up to the present time (end of 1884), nearly half a million sterling has
been spent by the Board, whose "farm