Town excreta, its utilization : London sewage, shall it be wasted? or economised? : being a plan for the collection and treatment of the faecal matter of towns, for purifying the sewers and rivers, and removing the chief impurities which render them dangerous to the health of communities : with especial and immediate reference to the metropolis, the River Thames, and the Board of Works' main drainage scheme / by Charles F.O. Glassford.

  • Glassford, Charles F.O.
Date:
1858
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Town excreta, its utilization : London sewage, shall it be wasted? or economised? : being a plan for the collection and treatment of the faecal matter of towns, for purifying the sewers and rivers, and removing the chief impurities which render them dangerous to the health of communities : with especial and immediate reference to the metropolis, the River Thames, and the Board of Works' main drainage scheme / by Charles F.O. Glassford. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    Previous to entering upon the details of the plan I have to propose for utilizing the excreta, and purifying the river, I think it null be advantageous to say a few words on the popula- tion of the metropolis, and on the amount of excrementitious matter to be dealt with :— I.—The Population of London. The following table, which I have extracted from the large volume lately published on the Main Drainage, shows at a glance the actual numbers of the population of the sub-districts in 1851, and also the assumed number to which the population will increase. Table showing the Districts and sub-Districts into which the Metropolis is divided, the area in acres to Population in 1851, the number per acre, and the number per square mile, together with the assumed number to which the Population will increase. Population in 1851. Assumed Number to which the Population will increase. Names of the Sub-districts in London. Area in Acres. No. per Acre. No. per square mile. Actual Number. Total. No. per Acre. No. per square mile. Actual Number. Total. West districts 10,387 36 23,040 376,427 45 28,800 469,674 North ,, 13,533 36 23,040 490,396 63 40,320 871,385 Central ,, 1,839 214 136,960 393,256 217 138,880 399,256 East ,, 5,797 84 53,760 485,522 106 67,840 614,910 South ,, 43,695 14 8,960 616,635 28 17,920 1,222,864 Totals 75,251 31 19,840 •• 2,362,236 47 30,080 3,578,089 The population in 1851 amounted to 2,362,236, and if to this we add the same ratio of increase that occurred between 1841 and 1851, viz. 21 per cent., we shall obtain for the year 1861—or 3 years hence—a population of 2,858,305. This shows an annual average increase of 49,606 for each of the 10 years following 1851, so that the actual population for this year, 1858, would be upwards of 2,700,000. II.—The quantity of Excreta per individual. Mr. Lawes, in the paper already referred to, has at very great care and trouble collected together the results of every previous experimenter upon this subject, and the following is the sum- mary of excrements voided per 24 hours :—