not yet
complete. On the sandy and arid plain of Genevilliers, situated in the
first loop of the Seine, beyond Clichy, the experiment of fertilizing
with this drainage was commenced in 1869. At present, the ground thus
under cultivation includes some seven hundred and ninety-five
_hectares_,--about two and a half acres each,--of which six belong to
the city of Paris and constitute the model garden. The remainder is held
by private individuals, who pay a rental of from four to six hundred
francs the hectare. The distribution of the sewage is effected by agents
of the administration in regular rotation, in three zones. In 1896, each
hectare absorbed thirty-seven thousand and sixty-seven cubic metres. All
varieties of vegetables are grown, and this land, on which were raised
formerly only meagre crops of rye and potatoes, is now a flourishing
garden.

A second agricultural establishment at Acheres, farther on, on both
sides of the Seine, was inaugurated in 1895, the larger portion of which
is held by individuals, but as each hectare of land can absorb not more
than forty thousand cubic metres annually, it has been found necessary
to seek additional _champs d'epuration_. These have been secured by the
municipality at Mery and les Gresillons and in their neighborhood, still
farther westward, and the completion of these is promised for the summer
of 1899. In the model garden of Asnieres, all varieties of culture are
practised, the sewage is carried in trenches into the cultivated land in
such a manner as to bathe only the roots of the plants. The extremely
winding course taken by the Seine west of Paris renders it necessary
for the conduits conveying this drainage to cross the river three times
before reaching Acheres, as may be seen by reference to the map. From
the _usine elevatoire_ of Clichy it is carried under the Seine by a
siphon, four hundred and sixty-three metres in length; the aqueduct
crosses the river again near the usine de Colombes, opposite Argenteuil,
on a steel bridge, and again near Herblay, by another siphon. In 1897,
on the total surface, a thousand hectares, under cultivation, there were
spread seventy million cubic metres of sewage.

After many and long debates, carried on both in the Conseil Municipal
and the Chamber of Deputies, the much-discussed question of _Tout a
l'egout_ was disposed of by a law passed on the 10th of July, 1894, by
which the proprietors of all houses situated in streets provide