HL Deb 27 February 1865 vol 177 cc735-6
THE EARL OF ESSEX

said, that on Friday night he had been somewhat misunderstood. What he wished to express on that occasion was his decided conviction that if sewage was to be usefully employed in agriculture it must be applied in large quantities to small areas, and not in small quantities to extended areas. The latter system required considerable expense to be incurred for pipes, labour, and steam power, and the results would be invariably poor and meagre; while the other system at a small cost, would give a most satisfactory return. His experience proved that where the sewage was in a proper condition, and the land in a fit state to receive it, it was difficult to estimate the large quantity of the manure that might be employed with advantage.