strated here to-day.
The letters appear frequently among the decorations of the museum
buildings, especially in the refreshment rooms and the Ceramic gallery,
where long inscriptions in glazed terra cotta form ornamental friezes. The
alphabet has also been engraved to several sizes, and is used for the
initial letters in the various official books and art publications
relating to the museum, which are published by the Science and Art
Department.--_Building News._

* * * * *

OLD WROUGHT IRON GATE.

[Illustration: OLD WROUGHT IRON GATE]

This gate forms the entrance to Scraptoft Hall, a building of the
eighteenth century, now the seat of Captain Barclay, and which stands at
about five miles from Leicester, England.--_The Architect._

* * * * *

BRIEF SANITARY MATTERS IN CONNECTION WITH ISOLATED COUNTRY HOUSES.[4]

[Footnote 4: Read before the Boston Society of Civil Engineers, April 1884
_Journal A. of E. Societies_.]

By E.W. BOWDITCH, C.E.

I am unable to tell you what is generally considered the best practice,
for I am not sure there are any definitely established rules; therefore I
can only explain _my_ ways of doing such work, which, though I try to make
as complete and at the same time as simple as possible, I know to be far
from perfect.

Plumbing and drainage work has grown up unconsciously with my landscape
gardening, and not finding any texts or practice that seemed wholly
satisfactory, I have been forced to devise new arrangements from time to
time, according to the requirements of the case in hand.

To give all the details of house plumbing this evening, or any _one_
evening, would be impossible, for lack of time, and not worth while even
if there was time, as much of it would prove matter of little or no
interest. I will confine my remarks, therefore, to certain elements of the
work where my practice differs, I believe, essentially from that of most
engineers, and where perhaps my experience, if of no assistance to other
members of the Society, may excite their friendly criticism in such a way
as to help me.

There are two kinds of country places that I am liable to be called upon
to prescribe for:

_First._ A new place where nothing has been arranged.

_Second._ An old place where the occupants have been troubled either by
their outside arrangements or by fixtures or pipes within.

Under the first head let us su