On the drainage of London and other large cities / by John McCosh.

  • McCosh, John, 1805-1885.
Date:
1874
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the drainage of London and other large cities / by John McCosh. 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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    () the houses of the inhabitants, unquestionably the cause of mucli sickness and mortality. The most feasible, in fact the only remedy proposed is disinfection: but till the chjmiist is able to analize a cubic foot of drainage gas, and prove that it contains, or does not contain the germs of Typhus, Scarlet or Intermittent Fever, of Smallpox Measles or Cholera, disinfectants thrown into drains must be as delusive, as throwing a harpoon into a lake in hopes of killing some particular tish. That these germs are all as different as Oxygen, Hydrogen and Nitrogen (the con- stituent parts of the atmosphere) Ave are justified in con- cluding but that any disinfectant such as Chlorine, (the one in general use) can neutralise them all, our knowledge of aerial Chymistry will not allow. Even men of science are obliged to confess that they Imow not Avhat may be the ultimate elements of disease, whether ethereal as a per- fume, impalpable as motes in the sun, or imponderable as caloric or electricity, whether impregnating the system through the skin like the pollen of a flower; through the lungs, along with the air we breathe like intoxica- ting gas: or through the stomach along AAuth the food we eat, like a poison. All that they are assured of is that these first principles exist in sewage and in sewage gas, which for want of a better name they call Malaria or Miasma. The obvious prophylactic is therefore to remove both the one and the other to a safe distance as soon as possible. It may be taken for granted, that on all ordinary oc- casions the scAvage of the London Maindrains never oc- cupies more than one half of the tunnel, and that the upper part is open continuously from one end to the other. It is probable that after a heavy fall of rain the drains might be filled Avith Avater and for a feAv hours prevent the out