With the idea that if the solid part of the excreta could be separated from the liquid and kept comparatively dry the offensiveness would be much diminished, and deodorization be unnecessary, a method for getting rid of the liquid portion by what is termed the Goux system has been in use at Halifax. This system consists in lining the pail with a composition formed from the ashes and all the dry refuse which can be conveniently collected, together with some clay to give it adhesion. The lining is adjusted and kept in position by a means of a core or mould, which is allowed to remain in the pails until just before they are about to be placed under the seat; the core is then withdrawn, and the pail is left ready for use. The liquid which passes into the pail soaks into this lining, which thus forms the deodorizing medium. The proportion of absorbents in a lining 3 in. thick to the central space in a tub of the above dimensions would be about two to one; but unless the absorbents are dry, this proportion would be insufficient to produce a dry mass in the tubs when used for a week, and experience has shown that after being in use for several days the absorbing power of the lining is already exceeded, and the whole contents have remained liquid. There would appear to be little gain by the use of the Goux lining as regards freedom from nuisance, and though it removes the risk of splashing and does away with much of the unsightliness of the contents, the absorbent, inasmuch as it adds extra weight which has to be carried to and from the houses, is rather a disadvantage than otherwise from the manurial point of view.
The simple pail system, which is in use in various ways in the northern towns of England, and in the permanent camps to some extent at least, and of which the French "tinette" is an improved form, is more economically convenient than the dry earth system or the Goux or other deodorizing system, where a large amount of removal of refuse has to be accomplished, because by the pail system the liquid and solid ejections may be collected with a very small, or even without any, admixture of foreign substances; and, according to theory, the manurial value of dejections per head per annum ought to be from 8_s._ to 10_s._ The great superiority, in a sanitary point of view, of all the pail or pan systems over the best forms over the old cesspits or even the middens is due to the fact that the interval of collection is reduced to a minimum, the changing or emptying of the receptacles being sometimes effected daily, and the period never exceeding a week. The excrementitious matter is removed without soaking in the ground or putrefying in the midst of a population.