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Attention has been paid to improving the ventilation of both
public and private sewers. The Sanitary Committee have had the
matter of the ventilation of house drains under consideration,
suggestions and regulations have been drawn up, with a lithographed
plan explanatory of the same. (See Min., p. 283, par. 15.)
An experiment as to ventilation was tried in the Wells Road
sewer and its ramifications; open ventilators were constructed and
pipe ventilators were erected, surmounted with Banner's Patent
Cowl. These ventilators were additional to those already in
the sewers and collateral branches. The object of the experiment
was to ascertain to what extent Banner's Patent Cowl extracted
the foul air or gas from the sewer. I made some very careful
experiments with an amemometer made on purpose. To give a
table showing the result of each experiment I have made would
take up too much space, and as I experimented in the larger
sewers at Greenwich, in conjunction with officers of the Engineer's
Department of the Metropolitan Board of Works, I have had a very
good chance of going thoroughly into the matter. The result of my
experiments is that the Patent Cowl, as made at present, is more
applicable to the ventilation of house drains and pipe sewers than
large brick sewers, and that it requires a force of wind moving at
the rate of about four miles an hour to make the Cowl work
properly. I consider the experiments I made prove I was right in
having the open ventilators in the Wells Road as well as pipe
\ entilators. (See Min., p. 252, par. 11).
I have no hesitation in saying the atmosphere of the Wells
Road Sewer is greatly improved since the additional ventilators
were put in, and I expect I shall have instructions to ventilate the
whole of the deficiently ventilated sewers upon the same principle
adopted in the Wells Road Sewer. I am glad to say the 51
ventilators put in the sewer in Penge last year appear to have