The following valuable practical suggestions from an experienced architect (G. E. Pritchett, F.S.A., etc., etc.), I give in his own words, as conveyed in a letter to me.

Architects have opportunities where other persons have not of observing the action of drains; the evil consequences of their misconstruction; of their too frequent proximity to wells of drinking water through additions and alterations of buildings, or otherwise; of soakage from cesspools; of evaporation of water from so-called "traps," etc. The opportunities referred to must therefore be my apology for venturing to address you on this subject, and you are quite at liberty to make use of the hints in this paper if they are likely to be of any service to the community.

I will commence, then, my observations by the somewhat startling and unpleasant enquiry which should be put to every householder, "Where are your drains and cesspools situated?" This is a question very closely linked with the preservation of life and health as you are aware; yet, on this enquiry being made, many tenants at once admit, that they do not know, that they have no idea; that they have been in the house many years and are only aware, perhaps, of one drain from the scullery-sink which drips into a ditch or pond, or public sewer; that their fathers added a wing to the house, containing a large dining and drawing room, that there is at times a faint smell in these rooms, and the same unaccountable smell when a few friends visit them and when the shutters and curtains are drawn and good fires kept up; that the ladies are constantly troubled with headache, nausea, and lassitude; that the children are feverish at times, and death among them is not unknown! Could these householders only see the old brick barrel-drain and the foetid cesspool, with its outlet cut off perhaps, inclosed in this wing, and the rats and insects working their holes in it a very little distance below the unventilated floors, they would get out of the house as quickly as their legs could carry them.

If premises which have been added to from time to time are pulled down, and especially where a faint smell has been noticed, you may be greatly astonished to find a barrel-drain crossing the house, cut through or broken in before reaching the cesspool or outlet, and a mass of decomposing matter extending a considerable distance under the floors of the rooms, in consequence of the drain being stopped. This occurred without the knowledge of an unfortunate householder, who at times perceived a faint smell, but having got used to it disregarded it: having, however, lost a valuable life in the death of the mother of his young family, and having carried some of his children to her grave, he determined to pull down the rooms and build more airy ones, little thinking what he should discover. It was in this case the want of quality in the air more than of quantity that caused his losses.

My object in mentioning such cases is to rouse every householder to trace his drains to their outlets; let him see that they are clear, and that they have no holes in them, and that they are laid to a good fall.

If premises are your own do not mind spending a few pounds. If necessary take out the barrel-drains and put in socket-pipes, truly and well laid on concrete, covered with concrete and jointed in cement; this will keep out rats and vermin and worms, and prevent noxious gases collecting under your floors.

If your floors are not ventilated, see if this cannot be done.

If you are about to purchase or hire a nice-looking newly-built house, do not for a moment suppose or take for granted that the drains are "all right," for in many new houses the drainage is only run out a little way from the walls and not led anywhere, but left for someone to complete after his family has been struck down, and who, upon digging up his flower-beds and destroying the growth of his shrubs and everything else in pursuit of the drains, finds that they are choked, and full of worms and black stuff, and go nowhere.

Whether you occupy an old or a new house and premises, caution is equally necessary. Look at all your surface-gratings - whether in your paths, your stable-yard, your conservatories, porches, lobbies, or wherever they may be - with great suspicion, especially in dry weather. People will sometimes say to themselves when walking about premises, "Wherever does that smell come from?" little thinking that the water has evaporated from the traps. These surface drains should not be connected with sewer drains at all, but should have a separate service of pipes.

See where the rain-water descending pipes run to. Look well at the joints of these vertical pipes. If you notice discoloration of the paint at the joints, you may know at once that they are connected with some cesspool or sewer-piping. E.g., a gentleman had low fever among his children, but could not assign any particular cause for it; one of the rain-water pipes, however, ran up the walls of his house, within a couple of feet of the nursery windows; this pipe was painted stone colour, and the paint at and above the unstopped joints in this pipe was turned to lead colour. The question as to where the water from that pipe went to was put to him, and answered by "Nobody knows." On examining, it was found (as might have been conjectured) to go into an hermetically sealed cesspool. Every time rain fell and water went into this cesspool, the sewer gas found its way readily through the joints of this pipe, and as the nursery windows were kept open as much as possible after the rooms were warmed by the young life in them, there is very little doubt about the source or origin of the enteric fever.

As rain-water is valuable, have an underground tank to receive it, and an overflow pipe to it, separate from any sewer drain. Let the rain water pass through a small filter chamber, filled with shingle and charcoal, before entering the tank: this will take out flakes of soot and particles of leaves and vegetable matter; the water will then keep better.