Scientific American Supplement, No. 821, September 26, 1891Various
Science
Scientific American Supplement, No. 821, September 26, 1891
Various
Science -- Periodicals
The "dry earth closet" of the philanthropic clergyman was found to work
well, and was acceptable to his parishioners. One reason why it was so
was because dry earth was ready to hand, or could be easily procured in
a country district where labor was cheap. But where labor was dear and
dry earth scarce, those who had to pay for the carting of the earth and
the removal of the deodorized increment found it both expensive and
troublesome.
But a modification of this dry earth closet, the joint contrivance of an
English church clergyman and his brother, "the doctor," residents of a
Canadian country town, who had heard of Moule's invention, is a good
substitute, and is within the reach of all. This will be briefly
described.
The vault was dug as for an ordinary closet, about fifteen feet deep,
and a rough wooden shell fitted in. About four feet below the surface of
this wooden shell a stout wide ledge was firmly fastened all around.
Upon this ledge a substantially made wooden box was placed, just as we
place a well fitting tray into our trunks. About three feet of the back
of the wooden shell was then taken out, leaving the back of the box
exposed. From the center of the back of the box a square was cut out and
a trap door fitted in and hasped down.
The tiny building, on which pains, paint, and inventive genius had not
been spared to make it snug, comfortable, well lighted and well
ventilated, was placed securely on this vault.
After stones had been embedded in the earth at the back of the vault, to
keep it from falling upon the trap door, two or three heavy planks were
laid across the hollow close to the closet. These were first covered
with a barrowful of earth and then with a heap of brushwood.
Within the closet, in the left hand corner, a tall wooden box was
placed, about two-thirds full of dry, well sifted wood ashes. The box
also contained a small long-handled fire shovel. When about six inches
of the ashes had been strewn into the vault the closet was ready for
use. No; not quite; for squares of suitable paper had to be cut, looped
together with twine, and hung within convenient reaching distance of the
right hand; also a little to the left of this pad of paper, and above
the range of sight when seated, a ten pound paper bag of the toughest
texture had to be hung by a loop on a nail driven into the corner.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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