I will only slightly touch upon wells and drinking-water because it is impossible to exhaust such an important and interesting subject in a letter; but I do wish to observe, that every householder should know exactly where his well is situated, if he has one.

People are little aware how soon drinking-water is spoilt by a small leakage of surface-water, or drain-water into it; e. g., an additional drain is thought desirable, an ordinary bricklayer is sent for, who puts it in for you, not knowing that your well is in close proximity to it, or if he knows its situation you are not informed of it; the consequence may be and often is most disastrous. Cases such as this are common through persons hiring houses (on a lease, for instance), and who like to see the premises dry quickly after rain: they do not know and do not trouble themselves to ascertain where their wells are, but have extra drains put in without thought; their drinking-water is spoilt; the sequel is too certain and the evil often only found out when too late.

To effectually deal with the sewage of large towns so as to remove and actually to convey away noxious matters from our very midst without the use of the present water system is a great difficulty, and the prospect of any radical change of the present system in London, for instance, seems an impossibility, on account of the gigantic network of sewers already provided and in use.

Nevertheless, I will proceed to mention a few grave objections with the hope of an amelioration of some of them, by better attention to details in respect to the more efficient ventilation of sewers and the prevention of the ingress of evil-smelling, if not of poisonous, gases into our houses. The worst form of sewer-gas is generally formed and found in the side drains, or branches, which are led up to our houses, and the contents of these are all but stagnant when the main sewers are filling. Remove, therefore, where possible, from the interior of your houses, all inlets into the drains leading to the sewers. But it may be said that in the majority of cases this cannot be done without destroying the drainage altogether; the answer is, such cases are, comparatively speaking, few. Take drains from cellars, for instance; how seldom they are of real service compared with the great danger of their presence. Cellars can be cleaned down without necessitating a trap and drain into the sewer. Deal with the cleansing of a cellar-floor the same as is done with a boarded floor, by wiping up the water and drying the floor as well as may be.

Asphalte is very good for cellar-floors, and very cleanly. Nasty traps in your cellars and basement, containing in themselves a quantity of stagnant dirty water communicating with the sewer, the gas from which can easily be forced into your house, are a grave form of evil. To cure this source of disease, simply dispense with the traps and drains and wipe your floors clean. By some thought and contrivance it will be found that very many connections with the sewers can be avoided.

Waste pipes, again, in cisterns connected with the soil-pipe and sewer, should be dispensed with, and means to prevent occasional overflows of water when the badly fitting common ball-taps stick, should be provided for in another direction. Waste-pipes in cisterns connected with sewer-drains are out-spoken examples of the stupidity which, with an utter disregard to sanitary laws, persists in such suicidal arrangements. Surely there is great inconsistency in raising alarms about the impurity of London water, whilst at the same time it is not unfrequently contaminated with a poison through the waste-pipes in cisterns which no filter can remove. Where connection with the sewers is actually necessary (as in water-closets), ventilate the soil-pipe by a vertical continuation of it to such a height as circumstances will permit.

Water-closets should not be in the midst of our houses at all but projected outwards with a lobby or anteroom, as before alluded to. But it is quite surprising how few junctions with the sewer-drains in houses are absolutely necessary. Every internal junction dispensed with is a step in the right direction; get all connections, where possible, outside your houses, because sewer-gas forced out into the open air is soon robbed of its noxious powers, but its escape into the interior of your house is as bad as a murderer entering it. A very sly insidious felon is sewer-gas!

The dry-earth system is most excellent and effective, but the cost of bringing dry earth round and of removing that used, in populous places would be heavy, and the intrusion and in convenience apparently great; time however will show whether this system cannot be developed without such drawbacks. Moule's dry-earth system is most in use. Goux's absorbent closet system is equally effective, having been tried and adopted for the North Camp at Aldershot, and even in so large a town as Halifax.

Dry-earth commodes, also, for sick chambers are very useful.

As compared with the water-closet system, the earth-closet has several advantages. It is cheaper in its original cost, it requires less repair, it is not injured by frost, it is not liable to damage through hard substances being thrown into it, it greatly diminishes the quantity of water required by each household. My own experience is in favour of the earth system, if carried out under proper authorities. It is deserving of every consideration, but its merits at present are not sufficiently understood by the public to interfere much with the poisoned water system. Formidable sums of money are being spent in draining towns so as to lay on sewer-gas by means of pipes to our very bedroom doors. Is this right? Will not the water system be superseded?

Cleanliness, after all, is the great natural disinfectant; look well, therefore, to all sources of water supply, impure water-butts, sinks, and particularly dustbins: remove frequently all possible sources of nuisance and accumulations of impurities; also, last but not least, get rid of any damp mouldy paperhangings and the festering paste behind them, if you have any such sources of fever on your premises.

There is an important lesson to be learnt by all of us. Every householder should make himself acquainted with so much of sanitary science as will enable him to preserve the health of his family. To secure health, sanitary laws must be understood and carried out. A family cut down by preventable sickness cannot be considered a fortunate one; and it is just as necessary to learn something of sanitary laws to provide against this, as it is to provide the common necessaries of life.