inches in diameter, carrying the sewage from the state normal school. This school has about 700 population, and a large addition to the school buildings is now being erected. Dr. Eugene Smith described to me quite fully the provisions for its sewerage. There are three water-closets for more or less private use in the older buildings. For general use ordinary vaults are provided and the contents removed as required. The kitchen and laundry wastes discharge through the mentioned iron pipe. For the new building it appears impracticable to provide any sewer using as its outlet the old outlet pipe, and the normal school authorities want to drain into the covered brook I have mentioned. This covered brook is a structure with stone side walls, no bottom but the earth and stone or plank cover. It is not adapted for a sewer and is quite unfit for such use by the normal school or by the village residents. Brockport is apparently a thriving, prosperous village. The health of its citizens is good. It has not had an epidemic of typhoid or other fevers. Its immunity, however, from these diseases is not due to its sewer system. It has none. But some of the conditions I observed are astounding as existing in a modern American town. An instance: A considerable livery stable on the main street and extending through to a back lane running parallel with the street is without drainage and the stable wastes gather and remain on the surace of the ground and on the lane, and the excess runs over onto the yard of a very good dwelling adjoining. This same land is lined with outhouses, the vaults of which are shamefully neglected, the contents exposed to the open air and sunlight. The wastes from sinks discharge directly into the lane in one or two instances. These things are in the heart of the town. In the residence portions the houses generally have ample grounds, and these nuisances are not so apparent. The ordinary vault prevails and the kitchen wastes are thrown on the ground in some obscure corner. Modern water-closets are rare, though the town has a good public water supply, not owned by the municipality. I was informed that the people generally use the public water, and such use to some degree accounts for the good general health of the people. But should a few cases of typhoid or other like diseases occur, it is extremely probable that they would rapidly multiply and their cause be assigned to the conditions described. In view of the sanitary necessities of the state normal school and the straits it is now in to meet them; heeding the expressed complaints of some of the physicians of the village; knowing the emphatic opinion of some of its citizens who want a different state of things, the village board of health and the village trustees should begin at once to provide a comprehensive system of sewers. The first step is to engage a competent engineer to make a survey of the village and prepare sewerage plans. The survey would reveal where the main outlet should be located, and its terminus would be the location of the sewage disposal works. The survey would enable the engineer to determine on the kind of sewage purification plan to use. A septic tank in connection with filtering beds seems applicable. No further legislation is needed for such sewerage plans and estimate of cost. However, since the normal school is very much interested, the state should bear some of the expense, and it may be that the authorities controlling the expenditures now being made in the new school buildings could apply some of the funds toward this purpose in conjunction with the board of trustees of the village. Such action was had in a similar case at Fredonia. With the estimates of cost in hand and the sewage needs of the normal school defined, the village authorities and those in charge of the school could secure next winter the legislation needed to provide the funds. The action which the State Board of Health should take in the premises might assume some such form as this: Whereas, Formal written complaints of the unsanitary condi tion of the village of Brockport relative to the disposal of its sewage wastes have been made to this Board, and not only the justice of the complaints has been shown by an examination and report by one of the Board's consulting engineers, Campbell W. Adams, but such a total lack of proper sanitary arrangements for a community as large as Brockport is shown to exist that, in the opinion of the State Board of Health, it is the immediate duty of the local board of health to take such action as the law provides to remove the causes of the complaints. And as this said report sets out the pressing needs of improved and adequate sewers for the Brockport normal school, a state institution, the state should assist and join with the board of trustees of Brockport in providing a complete and thorough remedy. Resolved, That a copy of Mr. Adams's report and of the action taken on it by this Board be transmitted by our secretary to the local board of health of Brockport, and also a copy to the superintendent of public instruction or the state authority having in charge the expenditure of the building funds of the normal school at Brockport. Very respectfully CAMPBELL W. ADAMS Consulting engineer ALBANY, December 3, 1900 W. B. PRENTISS, President Board of Health, Brockport, N. Y.: Dear Sir-In compliance with a resolution adopted at a meeting of this Board, held November 14, 1900, I enclose herewith copy of a report made by C. W. Adams upon his investigation of a complaint as to the unsanitary condition of the village of Brockport. The report of Mr. Adams was adopted as the report of the Board, and it is urged that your board take such action as may be necessary to comply with the recommendations made by Mr. Adams. A copy of Mr. Adams's report has also been sent to the state superintendent of public instruction. Very respectfully BAXTER T. SMELZER Secretary ALBANY, December 3, 1900 Hon. CHARLES R. SKINNER, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Albany, N. Y.: Dear Sir-I enclose herewith copy of a report made by C. W. Adams, one of the consulting engineers of this Board, upon his investigation as to alleged unsanitary conditions in the village of Brockport. I desire particularly to call your attention to that portion of Mr. Adams's report which refers to the lack of proper sewering facilities in the village, also to the sewerage needs of the normal school and the remedy for same as suggested by Mr. Adams. Very respectfully BAXTER T. SMELZER Secretary ALBANY, December 5, 1900 Hon. B. T. SMELZER, Secretary State Board of Health: Dear Sir-I am in receipt of your communication of the 17th inclosing the report of Campbell W. Adams relating to the sewerage of the village of Brockport. I have written to the authorities calling their attention to the situation making some suggestions in regard to the normal school sewerage, and forwarded your communication to the board of that school. I thank you for calling my attention to it. Yours respectfully CHARLES R. SKINNER State superintendent TOWN OF ROTTERDAM SCHENECTADY, May 12, 1900 Dr. ALEXANDER ENNIS, Health officer, Town of Rotterdam: Dear Sir-Agreeable to your communication of December 18, 1899, based on a letter addressed to you by Dr. Smelzer, secretary of the State Board of Health, dated December 16th, concerning an alleged unsanitary condition existing on and adjoining the premises of Henry Schuneman on upper State street just outside the limits of the city of Schenectady and in the town of Rotterdam, I beg to report that I have made an examination of the premises and the circumstances attending the case, with the following results: The premises in question comprise a house and large lot on the westerly side of State street, through which lot in the rear of the house lies the natural depression and drainage axis for that immediate territory. The extent of the drainage along this axis is not considerable because the drainage area is not very large and also because the upper surface soil in that region is rather porous and much of the drainage water passes off by percolation when the soil is in its ordinary and unfrozen state. During very wet weather and when the soil is frozen the drainage occurs over the surface, and it is at these times that the conditions complained of are the worst. The natural and in the past up to a few years ago the usual surface drainage has been along the clearly defined axis of drainage which passes through the land of Schuneman and across land now owned by J. Myers, of Schenectady, flowing in a northerly direction approximately parallel to State street, thence into a small stream entering the Brandywine pond. The evidence so far as I could secure it showed without contradiction that the drainage across Myers' land had always been in a well defined ditch, open and uncovered, until some four or five years ago, when Myers sold the lot adjoining Schuneman's premises to a Mr. Scheffling, who, desiring to grade and build |