PLUMBING AND STEAM FITTING. The word derived from the Latin plumbum (lead), as originally used, meant to seal or repair with this metal, but the term as now used, in its broadest sense, means the pipes, connections, fixtures, etc., used for the purpose of supplying water, gas, hot water, steam or hot air from outside places to the interior of a building, or of carrying these throughout the building; and also for the pur pose of drainage. All the ancient nations ern, ployed lead pipes to some extent; water was universally conveyed through them when the pressure was too great for earthenware pipes; and the Romans used them in their aqueducts in crossing ravines or valleys where the con struction of bridgework was difficult or im possible.
The improvement in plumbing fixtures was remarkably slow, and has taken place within the last 78 years. The trade of plumbing was practically unknown prior to that time, but upon the completion of the Croton Aqueduct in 1842, more substantial and durable pipes and fittings became necessary, a condition which ultimately led to the establishment of manu factories of plumbers' supplies. At first these concerns were engaged almost exclusively in the manufacture of lead pipe, sheet lead or iron pipe, which were the principal articles used by the plumber, but to-day lead has been largely replaced by other metals, and we find that the plumber and the gas, steam and water fitter use lead, copper, brass and various styles of plated pipe, and that the use of vitrified clay or sewer pipe has been almost entirely abandoned, ex cept for connecting the house and street sewer age systems. The grade of work done by the plumber has made a very material advance, the work being done largely by licensed plumbers, and in many cases under the direct supervision of expert inspectors employed by the city. In nearly all large cities plumbing is governed by rules and regulations, carried into effect by the department of the city government appointed for that purpose, and it is the duty of such de partments to enforce the regulations which de fine the class of work to be done, the sizes of the various kinds of pipes to be used, the class of fixtures, etc. Such work usually comes tinder the supervision of the building, or the sewerage and water supply departments. The service pipe, which connects the system of supply pipes in a building with the main in the street, is generally laid by the water depart ment.
For many years the entire plumbing system of the ordinary dwelling consisted of a sink with hot and cold water faucets over it, and connected with the water-back and boiler at tachments of the range. This was followed by the installation of the bath-tub—an unsightly affair, consisting of a wooden box lined with lead. This was in time replaced by the cast
iron tub, then the copper-lined tub, both of which were superseded by the modern porce lain bath-tub, which is of cast-iron with a porce lain finish. The fixtures supplied by the plumb ing trade are almost innumerable. • Faucets, cocks and valves are provided for each place where water is drawn; laundry tubs, provided with hot and cold water pipes, are installed in the kitchen; marble, cast-iron or steel wash bowls are placed in the bathrooms or sleeping rooms of a dwelling; and shower and foot barhs are provided when desired.
The main feature of the plumbing in a modern dwelling lies in the water-closet and the system of pipes which carry off fouled water. In this division of plumbing more care and in genuity have to be exercised by the plumber than in any other line of the trade, for it is with this division more than any other that the question of general public health is concerned. Hence this branch of work is often called sanitary plumbing. Sewage is a constant menace to health and it is the carrying off of refuse upon which the manufacturers have turned their inventive facilities. Though water dosets have been in use as long as have bath tubs no special attention was paid to their im provement in construction till 1775, when the first patent was taken out in England by a watchmaker, named Alexander Cummings. This was of the siphon-trap style, and in 1778 was followed by a closet with a valve which worked on a hinge at the bottom of the bowl, the invention of Joseph Bramah. In 1792 an other patent was granted for a valve closet supplied with a tank, the hopper of which was flushed by pressure on the seat. From that time the inventions were many and various, until at the present time we have valve closets, pan closets, plunger closets, hopper closets, cistern closets, siphon closets and latrines. 'The old fashioned pan closet, used almost universally many years ago, was one of the most unsanitary of all the plumbing fixtures in use, and because of its filth and stench has been generally dis carded. It consisted of a metal pan which worked on hinges, and when let down emptied the contents into the discharge pipes. Then came the valve and plunger closets, which were later superseded by the siphon closets. The valve closet takes its water from the main service pipe, whereas the cistern closet receives its supply of water in the tank from the main, and it is then discharged in the bowl by pull ing a hanging chain attached to a lever, which raises the valve in the cistern.