ns. The other objection is that the small pipe generally
used in a house does not deliver water fast enough for effective
flushing.

It is common, therefore, to put in, just back of or above the closet, a
small copper-lined wooden tank which holds about three gallons and which
can be discharged rapidly through a one-and-a-quarter-inch pipe. This
tank with fittings costs about $10, and in a great many cases is
probably unnecessary. It has the advantage, however, of allowing a small
flow to enter the tank whenever emptied, to be automatically shut off by
a float valve when filled. If the house has a tank supply or if the
pressure is strong enough to insure a positive flow at all times, there
can be no objection in a single family, where the flushing action will
be insisted on by the mistress of the house in the interests of
cleanliness, to making a direct connection between the closet and the
house supply pipe. An automatic shut-off bibb would then be used on the
water-pipe, allowing the water to flow freely as long as the bibb was
opened, but closing automatically when released.

CHAPTER X

_SEWAGE DISPOSAL_

The subject of sewage disposal for a single house in the country does
not at all present the elaborate problem that is suggested when the
disposal of sewage of a city is under discussion. In the first place,
the amount of sewage to be dealt with is moderate in quantity; and in
the second place the area available on which the sewage may be treated
is in almost all cases more than ample for the purpose. Nor is there the
complication that arises with city sewage, due to the admixture of
manufacturing wastes. The material to be handled is entirely domestic
sewage and varies only according to the amount of water used in the
house, making the sewage of greater or less strength according as less
or more water is used. Sewage from a single house differs only in one
respect disadvantageously from city sewage, namely, in the fact that the
sewage, not having to pass through a long length of pipe, comes to the
place of disposal in what is known as a fresh condition; that is, no
organic changes have taken place in the material of which the sewage is
composed.

_Definition of sewage._

The great bulk of sewage is water, and, in quantity, the amount of
sewage to be cared for is about equal to the amount of water consumed
in the household, although this will depend somewhat on the habits of
the family. If, for examp