present plant during the past six or eight years. The improvements being made now, have been estimated by the Water Board to cost in the neighborhood of $50,000.

We now come to the third remedy, purification by filtration. Filters, in which certain chemical and mechanical features are involved, have been in use for household, laboratory, and manufacturing purposes for many years. A careful examination into these features is sufficient to convince us that the practical solution of the water problem lies in this direction.

Among the many plans devised for the mechanical separation of water from organic matters held in solution, and inorganic matters held in suspension, the most primitive is that in use at London, England, to-day, where vast basins are filled with layers of stone, gravel and sand, through which the water percolates from the top, to galleries at the bottom, and flows off to distributing basins.

This process requires the placing of entirely new filtering material at stated intervals-as it soon becomes thoroughly permeated with the filth that is in the water.

Although the people of the Old World are slow to change their methods Mr. Bishop, about twenty years ago, advocated "settlingbasin filtration" of water by the chemical action of iron upon its organic and other soluble contents. Prof. Bischof's filter bed consisted of a top layer of sand, an intermediate mixture of granular iron and gravel, and a bottom layer of sand. The water issued at the rate of only seventy-five gallons in twenty-four hours, per square foot of filtering surface. The upper layer had to be scraped off and replaced with clean sand about every two weeks. The Bischof system was in operation at Antwerp on a large scale for some time, cleaning the water almost perfectly, but owing to the greatly polluted condition of the river, the iron had an abnormal amount of work to do, and the layer of gravel and iron was quickly choked by the dissolved impurities.

When the top layer was removed the gravel and iron particles were found thickly coated with a redish, slimy substances to the depth of six or eight inches, while deeper down the mixture was of an intense black.

Next came the Birchof-Anderson system, which was an attempted improvement to hasten filteration and prevent clogging of the iron part of the filter bed. The mechanism by which Mr. Anderson sought to accomplish this consisted of a horizontal revolving cylinder filled with iron filings through which the water should pass, and issue into the filter bed of sand with its soluable impurities disengaged and coagulated for filtration.

This treatment is said to remove much of the infusorial life, to reduce the amount of albuminoid ammonia in very foul waters, one-fifth to one-half; produce precipitation of the carbonates, and likewise secures an appreciable amount of softening.

It remained, however, for America to achieve the crowning triumph of success in water sanitation, through the late Isaiah

Smith Hyatt, of New Jersey. Mr. Hyatt's system has been perfected by John W. Hyatt, of New York, his son, and has for its object the clarifying and purifying of water by first coagulating the impurities and afterwards filtering it, two distinct principles. It is well known that the purification of water, by filtration only, has proved to be impracticable on a large scale, because it is impossible for any filter operating upon large volumnes of water to retain the fine silt held in suspension, and the organic matters held in solution. To over come this difficulty, Mr. Hyatt's invention is directed. The apparatus consists of tanks filled with gravel, sand and coke, with inlet and outlet pipes for the water, and air inlet value arranged to permit air to pass automatically to the inflowing water; and also an apparatus for automatically charging the water with the chemical reagent, or coagulant.

Provision is made for thoroughly washing and cleansing the filter bed as often as necessary, so that bright, clear water of standard purity is guaranteed by its use. For further informa tion upon this system of water purification see

49th Congress) Senate.

Extra Document,

{Extra

1st Session No. 154. In which will be found reports relative to filters for the water supply for the Capitol; also, report of the committee on Science and the Arts, to whom was referred the investigation of the Hyatt Pure Water System, recommending that the John Scott Legacy Premium and Medal be awarded to Isaiah Smith Hyatt, for that important in vention, which report will be found in the Journal of the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, for July.

G. I. GARRISON, M. D.

REPORT OF INSPECTION OF THE PENITENTIARY.

By the direction of the State Board of Health, I visited the Penitentiary at Moundsville on the 19th of August, 1887, for the purpose of inspecting its sanitary condition. I found the central portion of the building devoted to the use of the Warden, the guards and the general officers, in rather a dilapidated condition, out of repair generally. The furniture and carpets old worn and needing repair and renewal. There is a decided want of paint and white wash, the water closets and bath rooms out of repair, needing cleaning and cement, the sewer pipes are not in good condition as there is evidence of leakage, the traps in use are of old patterns and do not preclude the possibility of leakage, evidence of which is to be found in the presence of bad odors in this part of the building which has no direct connection with the prison. The water supply in the attic is inadequate, should there be at any time need for extinguishing fire. Under such circumstances the position of the warden's family in the top story with only one long stair case as a means of exit would be, to say the least, very precarious. The stand pipe into which the different sewer pipes in this building empty, though it extends to the roof, does not afford the draught necessary to carry off the different gasses admitted to it by the sewer pipes emptying into it. A current in it should be established by arranging for the constant discharge of spent steam through it by means of a pipe from the eugine house, which pipe should enter at the bottom of the stand pipe and should be constantly maintained. This I think would remove the bad odor about this part of the building. The prison was clean and in good order. The ventilation of the prison could be made good by the proper use of the windows, but there should be placed screens at both top and bottom of the windows, which whould deflect the current of air admitted to the floor. The ventilators placed on the top of the prison roof should be collected. into one or more stand pipes, which should be carried up as high, at least, as the roof of the main building for the constant escape

of gasses arising therefrom, as at present arranged, they will inevitably be wafted by the prevailing winds of summer into the windows in the upper stories of the main building to the detri ment of the health of its occupants. The work shops and grounds are generally in fair sanitary condition, but I think some improvement could be made in cleaning and deodorizing the water closets and urinals both in the shops and on the outside of the main building, also in the cementing the openings into the drains and sewers outside (1) (2) (3).

In conclusion, I would report what I have said as to teh need of general repair of the central portion of the building, and the need of a steam escape into the general sewer pipe, also the need of collecting into one or more stand pipes the gasses coming out of the ventilators on the top of the prison, which pipes should extend above the level of the windows in the central building.

The dining room and kitchen were found to be in very good sanitary condition.

The increased elevation of temperature as found in the upper cells as compared with the lower, should he be relieved by free exif for the air heated and contaminated in the lower portion. It is well to remember that all foul gasses are not light but many of them are heavy, and will rise only when heated or exposed to a draught.

The general sewage of the premises is good, and is delivered into Grave Creek, which empties into the Ohio River some distance below the point of intake of water for the institution. The water used is obtained from the Ohio River and is as good as the average water of that stream. There is a well on the premises from which some water for drinking purposes is obtained, but there is no reason to suppose that this water is inferior to the average well water of this section.

The Hospital was found in satisfactory condition.

REPORT OF VISIT OF INSPECTION TO THE INSANE ASYLUM.

By direction of the Board, I visited the Insane Asylum, at Weston, October 6th, 1887, with a view to the inspection of its general sanitary condition, but more especially to investigate a nuisance complained of in the discharge of its sewage into the river, and to suggest some remedy for the said nuisance, which is much complained of by the citizens of Weston and the vicinity.

I found the general sanitation of the Asylum good, and desire to express my hearty approval of the improvement made in substituting turned brick arches and well cemented floors for water closets in place of the old wooden floors which were always in bad condition. Soiled to saturation with the fluid and solid excreta of the inmates to the detriment and discomfort of the patients.

The ventilation is as good as possible under the circumstances. The arrangement for heating the wards and halls is very good except that in the intake of cold air in the basement to be warmed and sent into the wards and halls. The foul air of the building, which has been already used, is allowed access to the heaters, thus using in part the same air over and over again. Air from the wards and halls is allowed, through dust holes and other openings, to descend into the basement, from whence the supply of air for the heaters is obtained. Fresh, pure air from outside of the building alone should be used. A move in the right direction was the use of a wooden conduit from the outside for introducing pure air, but it was not sufficiently tight to exclude the air of the basement. The sewage of the Hospital is excellent. All the refuse and excreta being carried away from the building in a very satisfactory manner. The point of delivery into the river is twenty two feet below the lowest point of the drainage within the building, but the emptying into the river of sewage and excreta from an institution containing nearly a thousand persons, must of