The New York Herald Newspaper, May 11, 1872, Page 5

ov “GROTON WATER, Alarming Impurities of the People’s Beverage. AN ANALYSIS ORDERED | The Rivers and Resources of the City’s Reservoirs. — POISONOUS BRANCHES OF ce a NS The East and West Tributaries and Pestitential Swamps. oe tl WHAT THE PEOPLE DRINK. THE CROTON. A Millon Consumers Daily Swallow- ing Infectious Mattey. co: THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE COUNTRY. Description of Patterson Bog, Peach Pond, Lake Tonetta, White Lake end Croton River. RN Sra ee Se POSSIBILITY OF A FAMINE, See The Anchor Ice Barriers in Winter. SE EES HINTS FOR THE WATER BOARD. Marsh Soil and Disease-Bearing Matter Must Not Reach the Citi- zens’ Hydrants. eet ee ee Necessary Improvements tn Dutchess, Put- nam and Westchester Counties. For some months past complaints have been pour- ng in upon the city Sanitary Inspector from citl- Zens of the condition of the Croton water. Some People found a mouldy taste, they said, which was Most objectionable, while others discovered a dark color and bitterness in the water that sickened them. At first it was supposed these rumors of iva- purities in the Croton were started by discontented persons whose fancies led them to belief, but when the complaints coutinued to come in from almost every part of the city the health authorities deter- Mined it was time to look into the matter. Accord- ingly one of the members of the medical staff at- tached to the board was orcered to investigate the subject, and in due time a report was made to the Sanitary Committee to the effect that there was really some difficulty with the water. ‘This fact having been ascertained beyond a doubt, Commissioner Manierre, at the Jast meeting of fhe Board of Health, introduced a resolution asking that an analysis of the water be made by Professor Chandler and the result communicated to the Board, The resolution was UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED, and an amendment added to it by Dr. Stephen Smith, which gave $50 to the analyser to defray the firat expens: It was then decided in the Board that, in the event of Professor Chandler reporting the water to be ina dangerous state, he should be commissioned to follow up the subject until the source of the impurities was found, and then the Health authorities would apply aremedy. There can be no question that at the present time this is a most important subject; the city is absolutely teem- ing with filth; the warm weather has set in sud- @enly, and if, with ali this surface invitation to dis- ease, an impure water is given the people to drink, then there can be no doubt of the sweeping results upon the popula- tion. Smallpox and other contagious diseases go on steadily eating their way into the life of the city, and if all the ills attendant upon the consump- tion of bad water be added to the already aggr vated condition of affairs an epidemic wiil most certainly be the result. proposed by Professor Chandler is to procu Croton water from different parts of the city, sub- Ject each, portion to a separate examination, and then by a comparison of results determine the cause of the dificulty. mor arrive at any SATISFACTORY CONCLUSION from what he can discover by the water in the city and the reservoir it is the intention of the Board of Health that he shall continue the same system up the way of the currents and the lakes to find out | how and where the impurities commenced, It is | supposed by competent authorities thatthe weather is almost entirely the cause of the present state of the water. The winter just past, they argue, has | Deen a severe one without much snow or rain. The consequence Was that the ground had become so hardened the water could not flow through it, and | as it rose to the limit of the Jakes, not being able to | find an outlet through the ground, it rushed down | to New York on the surface, bringing with it de- ed vegetable and other matter. This filth be- came lodged in the reservoir until the supply decreased, and then, when the water in the rese voir became low, the infecting matter found its way | into the pipes. ‘As long as the water in the reser- volr was up tothe proper mark the impure ingre- dients did not find their way to the peopie, for the reason that the water running into the pipes was drawn from the surface or purest water just come into the reservoir, but as seon as the supply fell off the bad water flowed into the pipes and is there mow. Ofcourse this is buts theory and may really not be worth much, still it is A MORE EASY SOLUTION of the trouble than to suppose ~*~ really deadly Matter could have found its way into the pipes. One great support of the idea set forth in this the- ory 18 that in several localities complained of when the matter was reported to the Croton Water De- artment the fire plugs in that district were al- wed to flow, the bad water got rid of, and the | result was a new supply of good Croton. ‘This could mot be done all over the city, in consequence of the small quantity in the reservolr, but as soon as the proper amount rons into that receptacle the ‘authorities suy ft) will be done all over the city. In the meantime the people who are suf- fering Most from bad water tn their houses should report to the City Sanitary Inspector, who will then be in # position to take the proper steps to remove the danger. Professor Chandler will, i all proba- bility. send ina report before the next meeting of | the rd of Health, and in that case the HrRarp | ‘will give the public the result of the investigation | anvestigations into the Cause of ¢he Cro~ ton Impuritées, by 4 Herald Commis- sioner. CARMEL, Putnam County, April 19, 1872. Probably no other subject so much interests the people of New York city to-day as the all-impertant one of the water supply; and any new suggestions made at this time cannot but be gladly received by them, as well as by large numbers of the residests ct Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess countics, to whom, for obvious reasons, the condition of the works and the state of the water are matters of the greatest moment. The question whether the vast water demand of the constantly-growing metropolis will ever exceed the supply is one that has Jong exercised the minds of some of the best engincers in the country. Within the past few wocks fears have been freely expressed that a water famine at any time was imminent, and vari- ons plans and projects have been proposed looking wo the proveption of a calamity ty which an epi- ‘The manner of amatysis | In case this gentowan does | | waters of the East Branch, slowly, domie of smalipox Or Gholera would be as nothing. | untess something ia done to remove the diMfeulty it The writers on this subject—more especially the majority of thase who have taken the patns to elaborate upon new methods or to suggest at length vast tmprovements in the present system of supply--have sucezeded only in displaying thetr utter ignorance of existing facts; although, in justice to others, it may be admitted that they have some- times deviated into something ‘ike accuracy of statement. In the first place, they,do not seem to understand TRE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE COUNTRY through which the Croton River and ity many tib- utaries flow; nor have they considered ail the causes whieh at diferent pay tend to dimmish the supply of water, ‘Their projects, therefere, are based more upon hypothesis than upon statistical or philosophical facts, ¥ ‘The castern branch of the Croton River takes its rise in the town of Pawling, Dutehess county, thirty ines from the Croton Reservoir proper, or Croton Dam, in Westchester County, Here also rises the Ten Mile River, which rans northward and empties into the Housatonic, The East Branch flows south, or nearly so, and forms @ june- tion with the West Branch near Croton Pali, in Weatehester county, From its souree to the junction its conrse is serpentine, its current is sluggish, and the soil on either side is of a marshy mature. This marsh country varies in width from one-fourth to three-fourtis of a mile at different points, and is at all Limes and seasons nothing more than a filthy laboratory, in which Nature forever evolves aud mingles her most nosious gases, and from which she sends them forth over the pure water, and into the pure air on their errand of diseawe and death. A FOUNTAIN OF POISON, In the town of Patterson, in Putnam county, ts Patte! wainp, a fountain of stench and poison, which de ‘ves More than a passing notice. It covers an area of about one — thou- sand two hundred acres, and near the line dividing Putnam and Dutchess counties receives the limpid waters of the East Branch, absorbing them like a monstrous sponge and doling them out ia meagre drops thoroughly impregnated with «he odor and the poison of its mass of weedy corruption. When the scanty volume of water that is allowed to percolate through Patterson Swamp reaches the outlet it is impeded in its course by numerous sand bars, behind which the water lies almost motion In the summer season the los# by evaporation is very great, and as only the pure water is taken up the residue is all the more poisonous in proportion to its volume. To the sonthwest of Patterson Swamp is Tinckicy Pond, whose outlet is a sluggish stream called, very “Muddy Brook.” ‘The Pond is a part) is fed not only by the East Branch, but by nine other streams flowing in from all directions throngh a region of country whose soil is of vegetable formation, In the dry season, under the action of the sun’s rays, this soil assumes the appearance and character of Aponge, and absorbs at least one-third of the sup- ply of water that reaches it, Between the san and the spongy banks the greedy, thirsty bogs and swamps through whieh these’ streams pass, the quantity of water which, under favorable cireum- stances, should reach any given point south of the swamp—that is, before being increased by streams flowing throt firm soil—ia diminished almost sixty per cent; and what is left after this exceasive reduction is the very SUBLIMATION OF ALL THE FOUL ESSENCES that ooze and exhale from malarious awamp and morass. Fortunately for the health of the million people who drink Croton wat he poison that is swept down from Patterson Swamp and the appropriately, | various marshes that supplement it 1s diluted toa great extent by numerous streams that flow into the East Branch after it leaves the pestilential re- gion of Patterson, when its current increases in rapidity until it reaches Milltown. Here the flow is obstructed by two mill dams, and at Sodom, or Southeast Centre, by another. This last, althongh the pond created by it. 1s narrow, is yet an impor- tant aid in impeding the free flow of the water: for from the point just named the back-water surface extends fully three-quarters of a mile. One hundred aud sixty rods above this dam the ontlet of Peach Pond—which might be made a vaiuabie feeder to the Croton—-comes into the East Branch. From the dam to the point where Bor- den’s condensed milk factory stands—a distance of one mile—the stream winds its way through an ex- tensive tract of !ow meadow land. Here you find another dam throwing the water back half the way to Southeast Centre In dry seasons the pond is really of no service except. to feed the clondsand to nourish the low meadow banks which enclose it. In the heated term no Wi flows over this dam, and here the Kast et world actually I its identity were it not for the small leakage whic! ves to cover its bed ana to mark It as a water course. Two hundred rods below Borden’s factor; THE WATERS OF LABE TONETTA, near Brewster's station, come wandering in, having meandered lazily through a long mile of sunken mar? and slimy, spongy beds of pent. Here, on several occasions, the track of the Harlem Railroad has been literally swallowed up inthe quagmire for the distance of from forty to one hundred yards. To prove that the absorption of water by the porous soil is at least as great as I have estimated it, let me rem that in the summer of 1869 the quantity of water in the main channel (Fast Branch) was positively less than the quantity received from Peach Pond alone, two miies above. And you will remember that Peach Pond is not the only tributary of the East Branch north of the point I have indicated. What has become of the water poured down from the hills by more than a dozen str made to swell a river twice as the East Branch when at its best? the sun, acting upon au almost motionl formed by the da Tanswer that pss Water than his proper share, and that the greedy sponge- | beds of fen, morass, Dog and marsh have drunk up | the remainder, only dribbling it out in tts poisoned | | state when their multitudinons pores are saturated, and room must be made for the reception of fresh supplies. SOUTH FROM BREWSTER'S STATION, about three miles, we find Croton Falls, at which point the East and West branches of the Croton | jorm a junction, Between Brewster's and the Falls the current of the East Branch increases in rapidity and is checked only by two small dams, ‘The West Branch, from its source to the junction with the East Branch to form the Croton proper, flows for about sixteen miles through a country of varied character. It is fed by numberless springs and spring Jakes, which supply it with pure water; but it also draws liberally apon marshes in its course, and the poison, better di- luted, perhaps, than that which mingles with the but surely, finds its way to the Croton, and thence to the stomachs of the people of New York. While the impurities of marsh and fen and bog come down with but little diminution in their original quantity or degree of mortiferous foulness the volume of water that reaches Croton Falls i? the West Branch js singularly small—smaller, indeed, than that emptied into the Branch by any one of its | largest tributaries unaffected by absorbent marsh or bibulous quagmire. THE WEST BRANCH rises in White Lake, in the highlands of Putnam county. White Lake is a lovely body of purest water, and its flow is superior to that of any other Jake in Putnam county. Properly managed, it could be made @ most valuable contributor to the water supply; but recently a huge earthen embank- ment has been constructed across the outlet, about half a mile below the lake, and this throws the water back into a low, marshy basin, from which tt is drawn as the milling interests require. There is quite a good current below the‘ embankment, and this is angmented, within a distance of thre ters of a mile, by a clear stream from Dutcl county, Now for one mile the West Branch eddies and gurgles through soggy, marshy land, losing what purity it hae left after contact with the la above, and exchanging for it the noxious ingredients of nameless poisons. Within a short distance is the new reservoir, now partly con- structed. In the dry season the quantity of water that reaches this point is but little more than half of what the West Branch receives from White Lake. Here, too, another small stream flows ik, having distilled through marshes for ed ging part of its conrse, and become impregnated with fithy odors and mlasmatic seeds of fevers and agnes and other diseases which come to the body from decayed vegetable matter. This aud the other streams I have named are all that.can feed THE NEW CROTON RESERVOIR now being constructed near Boyd's Corners, tn Putnam county. When it is considered that this reservoir, upon which misions have been expended, and which will cost miltions more to complete, is intended to cover an area of from three hundred te four hundred acres, it is not dimicnit to foresee that unless the water courses and natural reservoirs which supply it are rendered more serviceable the work will be next to valueless. Trne, the reser- voirs may fill upin the spring time, when the an- chor ice in the swemps breaks up and allows the water, with its lozd of vegetable corruption, to flow in; but even then it will stand aaa si ant pool, the streams feeding it being Wy capable of sapplying the low for evapora- tion. Ht may be well£o explain here that anchor 4 ice is the result of the congelation of not only the surface, but of the whole saturated body of the swamp. It is called ‘‘anchor ice” because it hasa firm hold on the bottom. During the winter season’ the swamps in this region are #0 many beds of dirty ice, that prevent the Pepe of the inflowing water. ‘The cry was raised last ter that there was great danger of a water famine. ‘the water was found to be much lower than in any previous winter. About the Lat of March the sudden cokd snap had solidified the spongy soll of the swamps, the inflowing water was thrown back, and as fast as thrown back fro- zen, thas constantly bullding a BARRIBR AGAINST THE PROGKESS OF THR SUPPLY. ‘This Je likey to happen daring apy winter, and o yielding is the soil, | ns that could be | ‘oad and deep as | surface, has taken upinto the clouds much more | many | wt! not be many years before New York will wake some morning tO fMnd herself as destitute of water as if she were in the midst of an arid desert, and as heiples4 against the ravages of fire and disease a8 the peaks of the Acroceraunian mountains are against the strokes of the thunderbolt, From the reservoir dam the stream winds tn a southeasterly direction, taking in a tributary from two sinall lakes in Wie mountains, but dowing in its course towards Carmel through another swampy tract, and receiving near the village the Mthy ary ings of Dead Swamp. ‘tus fountain of malaria includes within its limits about 200 acres, and in all respects it 18 fully as noisome aud mephitic as Patterson Swamp on the Bast Branch, It receives and pots the water of Lake Glenida, whieh flows in from the southeast, and that of Whang Brook, Wiuch enters from the north, At its outict isa wortiless dam that throws the water back Into the corrupting pool, only to have ita poison augmented in quantity and ‘to allow the sun's rays to evapor- ate from ‘ity motionless surface what pure water it may atford to lend to the clouds, Below the dam a brook running from PINE POND SWELLS ‘THI TIDE with a volume of clear, Wholesome water, and the stream thus formed reaches the West Branch ata point between two and three iiles ivom the new Teservoir, Which, by the way, is Known throug!out Putnam county as the “Dry Reservoir’—a ni: wiueh | think will justly be applied to it for many years to come, ‘yhe West Branch, from the point where it re- ecives the waters of Dead Swamp to the Highway Bridge, near Gideon Lce’s residence, is so sluggish in its course as to be almost without motion, and in many places near cither, bank the water is stag- nant, or nearly 30. ‘This is due to the fact that a heavy bar crosses the stream near the Highway Bridge and effectually checks the current. As mo- tion is the very life of water, the importance of having all the bars removed from the channeis of the Croton and its tributaries cannot be over-esti- mates From the bridge the current of the West Branch 19 quite rapid, and becomes more and more so when it ia joined by the Middie Branch and two smaller sgreams, one trom Wixon Pond, the other from the frmous Lake Gilead. Middle Branch — rises in Dutehess county, and has but two tributaries, It is a very valuable adjunct of the Croton, but the numerous mill dams which obstruct it greatly impair its u fuln From ita junction with the Middie Branch to Croton Falls the West Branch moves through tow meadow land a distance of two miles, THE CROTON RIV! ROPER, in its course towards the main reservoir, or Croton Dam, takes in the Piticus River at Purdy’s Station, ‘oss River at Kato- Pium Brook at Golden's Bridge nah, and an iinportant stream f 4 pac and Kirke near the head of the reservoir. This last flows for half a amile from Lake Mahopac with a swift current, when it is joined by the ontlet of Kirke Lake. A short distance below the junction it enters and for two miles ery foot a region of pestilential swam of its progress the poison wit swamp holds in solution. So slow is the cur! of the stream through its marshy passage that at this point it has ever been known as the “Still Water,” .What [have said in regard to the condi- tion of the streams I have specilied will upply to the other tributaries of the Croton, only in a lesser degree; and I trust that the facts given will con- vince the most sceptical that evaporation and ab- sorption are the subjects whitch d nd the most careful consideration on the part of those who are entrusted with the duty of kceping New York supplied with an = abundant flow of good, pure water. Patterson and Dead swamps, and the scores of less extensive but no less ob- structive marshes which mar the beauty of the streams that supply us, first impede their flow, leav- ing their still surfaces at the mercy of the sun, and then absorb into their myriad po a large per- centage of their volume. — The water which escapes has become impregnated with the poison of the decayed and decaying soll, and has absorbed from the stench-laden atmosphere much of the deadly gases which have exhaled from the putrid) mar surface. Until titis water is washed by stream which has come down froma and undefiled and through a channel unobstru and uncorrupted it is a8 baneful to the stor ted as aconite and as foul to the organs of taste and smell as a compound solution of assafatida, WHAT I8 TO BE DONE? In the first place the numerous dame in the Dig taries of the Croton should be removed and the | short bends cat of Their channels should be widened where widening is necessary, and their | beds should be graded so as to give all the fall admitted by the topography of the country. Patterson Swamp, Dead Swamp and the quagmire atthe milk factory aqueducts should be laid; or, what is far preferable, for economical and sanitary reasons, these and all other swamps on the line of the water courses should be drained, one at a time, and then dug out to serve as natural reservoirs, or filled in with solid earth. This done, hundreds of acres of valuable land would be reclaimed, the pestilential odors from the swanfps would be scattered forever and the water flowing through the once slimy, oozy, poisonous mareh soil, bearing with it the seeds of dixcase, would be abundant, pure and wholesome. At present in the dry season the water, after being distilled in these swainps, assumes a wine matter of a greenish hue. from our hydrants that the dark tint sult of heavy rains im the north, washed the soil into the Croton; bu that the water is often discolored whe! which | Visible and tangible IMPURITY OF THE CROTON W. during a drought. The Water Bi employed Professor Chilton and other chemists to analyze the water, and the discovery was made that the dis- coloration was due to the presence, in large quan- tities, of a decomposed vegetable ‘fibre. It de. KR serves to be recorded that no effort was made to learn anything in regard to the source from “which this extraneous mat- le against its appear- nd is contended by dy that the | ter proceeded or to pro ance in future. It has been many who have made the subje water supply has at all times bee: t, and that it is even now unnecessary to force an in- crease by cutting down the lakes in Putnam county ‘They reason that there would never be any danger of a water famine if the supervision of the distri- | bution of water were governed by rules similar to those which regulate the distribution of gas, and which make it a matter of great INTEREST TO THE CONSUMER TO EXERCISE ECONOMY. Although itis true that the prevention of the excessive waste of water would do much to insure ainst a fuilure of strictest economy under existing circ stances, avail against at least a great scarcity when the population of the city has been increased | by twenty-five per cent. Mr. Greeley’s advice to the penniless workman was, “Economize.” The water consumer Will be adjured not to waste the precious fluid at a time when ail his hydrants dis- charge no more than sufficient water to slake th family thirst. We may build a doz more reservoi filed?’ IT wonld venture the assertion that the water poured into Patterson Swamp and Dead Swamp and there swallowed up and evaporated is | sumMctent in quantity to give every man, woman and child on Manhattan Island at least three-tenths of the average allowance of ninety gallons per diem. As it is, this vast quantity is lost, which, were the swamps removed, could be utilized. When the Croton water was first introduced into New York, in 1842, the Common Council ordered the publication of a book concerning the history of the great undertaking. In this memorial itis written “The average flow of the water stuce its introduc tion into the Croton Aqueduct fourteen million gallons daily, which gives a height | in the conduits of two feet four inches, Its capa- city for delivery is more than quadruple this quan- tity, and the supply is equal to the utmost ca- pacity.” A MILLION CONSUMDRS, | about three hundred and twenty thousand. There are now at least one million people who consume the Croton water, and yet the supply has not been increased in the proportion demanded by the in- creased population; nor does it need such increase at any season except by the means I have sug- ted. The reservoirs can be filled and kept fall yy the sources of supply that we already have; but we must sooner or later provide for the free and rapid flow of that snpply from fountain-head to cistern or suffer unheard-of inconvenience and misery as the penalty of our shortsightedness and criminal negligence. It is not to be questioned that reckless profligacy tm the use of water im New York is the rule and economy the exception, and this order of things should be changed. Under existing circumstances every consumer wastes the water as if the supply were inexhaustible. In many dwellings, in hotels, manu- factories and saloons the water is allowed to run continually. Large numbers of these establishments keep hose for sprinkling the streets and sidewalks and for cleaning the windows, managed by men and boys, who enjoy the sport and indulge in it to their hearts’ content, thus expending yearly millions,and millions of gallons needlessly. In the markets there is aconstant wastage. Every steamer and other vessel that comes into port draws upon the Croton, and the flow from Central Park finds its way ma the sewers into the river, while the altitude of this point 1s sufficient to allow of the carrying of the surplus water to points where it could be used. But it is useless to make further enumerations. The waste of water is enormous, and with the fact before us we need not wonder that with an obstructed sup- ply at one end and imprevidence at the other the ory is raised that a water sine is ni. A BRIEF RESUME. I shall close this letter, which embodies the re- sults of long and careful investigation, with a brief résumé of the points I have made. The swamps that dot the Croton regton, poisoning the water an isoning the air which the water should be ‘removed. If not removed they shoul be crossed aqueducts. The an know, had nine of these, some of jem sixty miles in h. ‘Their engineers and men of selence under: id appreciated the laws of evap- oration and absorption. They carried their aque- ducts to the very fountain-head, while ours have stopped far ghort, and our watercoarses filtrate through pestiferous swam} If small arched aqueducts had been constructed front the main spring lakes in Putnam, Dutchess and Westhester coun faking werely their natural fow and gou- Over | color, and carries away with it vast quantities of Itix the popular belief | langutdly, h when these Sorearenee are visible in water drawn | and the is the re have . upply, 1 do not see that | , but unless we depend upon the | clouds for water to supply them how can they be | has been about | This was when the population of the city was | néiwW YORK HERALD, SATURDAY, MAY 1], 1872.—TRIPLE SHEET. verging ata point near Mie Croton Dam and thea emptying into the wain aque , the project of the “Dry Reservoir’ ia the Highlands wouki never | have received a moment's consideration. There i | as much DANGER OF A WATER PAMINE | in winter a in en We have res ty had an evidence of th (he reason is obvie Whon the: | cola weathe ne the swainps v | supply bec frozen, and r Stantly increasing, blocked the tow of the water, | When the thaw came we had water enourh, bat tn- til the rai fell it was fithy with tie libre of de- cayod vegetoie maticr, There was mueh disens- | sion as to the cange of tie scarcity, and many theo. ries were advanved, but nobody seems to have goue | to the threshokd of ts Somme of theories | were ridicuious im the e me ,but the most laugh- 18 that of the wie nen OL the Water Bor 5 id that the pipes must be leaking! Ti pipes did not leak, but It aid, and L give it to your re ist received it, Net long: ago the water was shut off from the main reserveir, and for three days not a drop was al- lowed to reuch New York. Then a rps of work- men travelled through the aqueduct from end to end, and made a thorough inspection, Hardly a erack was found, and when their report the Water Bourd were as sadly bewi fore. 1 am-told that since 1470 the RB cided not to make use of the air chumber in th aqueduct, but to allow the space to be filled with | water, It was designed to carry 22,000,000 gations a | day, but now they are running 95,000,000, ‘The atr chamber, intended to collect the noxious gases: A send them out through the ventilators, is, there- fore, of no use, and New Yorkers are daily drinking more or less of the poison Which the water has ab- sorbed. THE SULTRY CYCLE. The City iweltcring in the Sammer’s Sun, ‘The first most cnervating and aggravating days of the heated term are upon ua—the days when the torrid excesses of July and August are as yet unre- | heved by the wirier apparel of the person. Peapic | are bot prepared just yet Lo“change their flannel. They cannot risk tie chances of colds and influenzas and rheumatism at the hands of the uneertain sum- mer goddess, ‘They veuture out in the cooi of the morning4n their heavy diagonals and their weighty head coverings, hoping, yet doubting, that the | Weather will be a little breezy. They swelter all | day under the inflnences of the sun that glared upon the whited pavements yesterday, and mentally re- | solve to don their summer outfit a8 soon as they get home. ‘The cooling shades of bight dampen their ardor for the moment, and with the renewed lease | of the day they go back to business with their heavy clothes on, Here and there, itis trne, a few progr © spirits may be seen with linen coats, or | black alpaca dusters and light pants, and | many, indeed, with the comfortable white hats | | which Greeley and the warm weather be | tween them have combined to call forth, It is | probable that no rallying has ever been so populs Chappaqua candidate nblem of any campaign asthe white hats of the bid fair to be. They are | | already In the fleld in full mutabers, and bid fair to | | remain until the early days of November, White vests are .in full bloom, Open collars, with the merest thread of a ncektie, are worn, as some alle- viation of the perspiratory distress of the season, Warm congratulations on events of political or family linportance are avoided with as much frigidity us possible, and even the cold shoulder is received with some degree of comfort. Among the people of leisure, who have money and time enough on their hands to take things coolly, there are varied devices for avoiding the effects of the wea Some of the young bloods of uptown pass the time in their bathtubs, and one oF two fainiles have clubbed for the construc- tion of a steam fan, which blows a delicious stream | of cool air upon the suffering mortality comprisi | the combination. Clara serve to cool the heated | brain of the jeunesse dorée, iced champagne to ci | his parched throat and soda water to distend | throughout his perspiring frame the refresh. |» cool “April showers. With | sensation of these arrangements to assist. his blood to a cool and calm temperament | is Delleved that the dashing young ge | leisure can agreeably enliven his e | until the more advanced days of the season and t | more pronounced decrees of fashion call him to | thoge moonlight rides to moons, those happy | promenades in the piazzas, those refreshing dips in | | the surf, those dashes along the beach and those | breezy sails upon the lake, with which his memory | and imagination alone have as y y business, ‘As it is With the summer clothes’ so it Is with the | watering places. It is too y to take to them, | and dreadfully uncomfortable to be without then, | On the streéts of the city all is lango a | meets friend, | Devilish hot, “is dropping rly rounded cnough to be intehigible friends touch the finger tips of friends, and exhanstedly pursue their drooping way. 10 truckmen, Whose cnergy in rebuke an | tion is acknowledged unrivalled, sit hours when th ° ke without having the strength to fling one epithet their opponent, thoroughly convinced that th cannot fully canvass the subjectin the present state | of the weatl | patch of shade is closely bugged by the | | ped n. Every awning has a lew seekers alte | Shade resting under it# friend; | Mometers on the sidewalks, ur degrees in the sun, are lo eof horror by the enervate pwd, and every | | man who hasn't a wet handkerchief or a cabbag | leaf in his hat hastily retreats in terror of sun- | Stroke to the nearest bit of shade. Crowds are not | popular. Everybody gets out of a crowd as soon | | as possible. ‘The little groups that surround the | print shops where Horace Greeley’s phi pre sented anew to a public that knows him already by | heart are really the only groups that hang together | long enough to know thoronglily how dreadfully un- comfortable a crowd is in this weathe: The cily seems to have lost all its energy. Even the stage horses travel With less of that speed and dash that was formerly their wont. ‘There is an air of half exhaustion, as if New York itself were a hulf ex- | hau | ‘The Park, the gardens, the picnicing grounds, the | excursion boats and the excursion cars are well | patronized resorts of the fauilies of leisure under | | this heat-oppressed régine, ‘The domestic heart | looks to Central Park for happiness; the East River | wardens, with their lager bier and their breczy urbors, are the Meccas of the level-headed fraus | and trauleins, while to the hard-worked shop girl | aud Bowery b’hoy Coney Islanc en with tts monte players and dice tuinblers, is paradise itselt. | On the docks the splintered timbers shine glaringly shelter, ‘The ther hich show nine <L upon with in the s ing waters pain the eye and the steam and smoke and dust agg manity | beyond endurance. Put on the excursion boats, ai- | ter they are once fairly under*way, the cool buy | breezes are as balm to the fevered spirit ‘The sudden recurrence of so heated a term 1s a | | matter of general speculation. Everybody is | | weather-wise, and says, “I knew we were going to | , bave a hot summer,” but whether these wiseacres | base their predictions upon the threatened heat of the political canvass or upon the excessive rigor of the past winter are matters into which it is too | warm to enter. | | Py rte isa statement showing the range of | the thermometer at 3 P. M. for each day since Sat- urday last, and for the corresponding days of last } year:— i 1s71. 3PM. | May 4... ‘ = 6 | May 5. ies ‘ ae May 6... ‘ . 1872. 3 | The Loves of Ferdinand and Augusta | Pulz—An Extraordinary Scene in a Po- | lice Court. Augusta Pulz, a fair German matron, had her tru- ant spouse, Ferdinand, arrested yesterday, for the sixth time. Ferdinand and Augusta have been | separated for some years past, on account, as alleged, of Ferdinand’s refusal to contribute | to the support of his family, consist. | ing of @ son and daughter. Mrs. Pulz | resides st No. 614 East Thirteenth street, and it has been the habit of Ferdinand when excited by drink to make araid upon the apartments of his aban- doned wife. Yesterday he made one of his usual | | demonstrations, in which Augusta was very ill- | used, and he was accordingly arrested and ar- raigned before Judge Scott, at Essex Market Court. | After hearing the wife’s compiaint the Justice reprimanded Ferdinand severely, and cautioned him against a repetition of such conduct in the future, remarking, at the same time, that a hus- band who failed to contribute towards the support of the household is not entitled to the felicity and comforts of matrimony. Ferdinand, Augusta, thetr Ophelia, a pretty German blonde, of about sixteen years of age, and of twelve, d but hardly had the ertes resounded from the street. Officers Kelly and Anderson rushed from the court room and found the whole fami! in astate of general demoraliza- and countercharges, Ferdi- and the children their mother against his assaults. They were “al it back to the court room; the mother ‘was seized with an attack of spasms; the son clung to his mother and protested against going with his father, who was endeavoring to coax him away. The daughter was, if possible, stij more violent th her demonstrations—fell on her knees, and invoked all manner or ee on her parent—until at = waitting Ws ba pe of as whole matter by comm ie nb months to Black- yells fi parent for bs tg Blacl | and | firteen, to be chose | asked whether or not it would be competent the crowded thoroughfares the jam of the crowds | the truth is | aud the nudging of elbows lack the energy of th there has been no rain in the Croton region, and that it loscs | Money impatiently waiting their presence in V its color immediately after heavy showers, It will | street drag themselve: be remembered that a few years ago there was | crowds and yield unresistingly to ¢ genera! alarm in the metropolis arising from the | elbow-jogging of less important peop business New Yorker. People with millions of all | listless!¥ along in the heated nd | the committes | let them do so. ) of de! | Central German, it. METHODIST CENERAL CONFERENCE. BL ccaabtate. | The Book Concern Trouble Temporarily Disposed | Gi—A Court of Inquiry Instituted—Coa- tinned {lnesy of Bishop Jones, Rev. Dr, Goode ted the devotional exercises yes- | terday morning in the Conference, Bishops Ames tm pson pre: alternately, ‘The journal was 2and after eral wnimportant amendments nade was adopted, Rev, A. 8. HUNT moved thatSaturaay, be f'xed for the reception of the remaiatn, delegates, Dr, A. M, OBEN Moved to suspend the rale the papers relating to the Rook Concern be from the secretary's table and Carried, Bishop S1wvs0N exphiined the condition of those papers before the house. The ortvinal motion was to refer them to the standing committoe on Boo Concern, Judge LAWRENCE moved an they be referred to a special comm of | by the delegations, who should have previously appointed one from cach delegation, from whom this special committee wonid be A substitute was offered by Dr. G. W. Clar special committee of one from each Annual Conf ence be appointed, to whom all matters relating to alleged frauds and mismanagement in the Book Concern shall be referred, Upon this substitute the vote would be taken first. * Rev. J. 8, Sma called for THE VOTE BY ORDERS, and asked the Episcopat decision on the point. This was given by Bishop Simpson, who rnied that a minister may call for the ministerial vote and a layman for the lay vote, and one-third of either order may carry the motion to order a separate vote, independent of the oth Smart aten A. M., travernal amen that ent X M appealed from this decision, moving to get tie | sense of the Conference on it as a precedent, The chair was sustained, and Mr. Smart withdrew his. call for a separate vote by orders, The vote was then taken on Judge Lawrence's paper, vote of 300 to 28, the motion fer a committee of fit teen was lost. Dr. Clark’s motion for one from exch Annual Conference was then adopted by a vote of 204 to 166, . before the commitice was appointed Dr. Suice struct the delegations in regard to their action. He wanted none but laymen appointed on this com- mittee. It was to be purely a busioess committee, and he thought laymen weie mueh better titted for the prospective duties of it than ministers. Bishop Snarson thought it would be linproper to give auch instructions, and the sense of the Confer- ence was decidedly opposed to it. Dr. Fosvenr inquired whether the members of the standing committee on Book Concern were eligible for this special committee, and the Bishop an- swered in the aiirmative. ‘A recess of ten minutes was then aliow the delegates to consult in nominations for this committee, uted to Aft complexion of the commitive alter it shall have he- gun its work, The C nee then def d to this spe bear upon the OF FRAUD AND MISMANAGEMENT + were al committee—namely, to be re only such CHAN in the Book Concern, and that all other mutters re- | there with his,sons and nephew: lating to the publishing interests go to the standing committee on Book Concern, to ine | } 5 . niinued Hospitality of the Saltan to His Amorican Guest * ot ne Model Farm of Mis Majosty—Tho Voteran’s Visit to the Pal and Summer It'osks of Abdul Asis Kaga—Places of int est of the Turkish Capital. orin, Aprit 18, 1 1 Audenreid and Ligue the honored g: G ral Sherman, Col tenant Grant continue to be the Snltan, it is said, howe leave for Cirenssia, viv (anefent Col It proceed, over the new ‘oad, to Titis, the capital of the Russian possessions in the Cancasus, Alter re- tter piace, and receiv. sia Pri svernor to a seaport of { the Russian eo: i@hkt and pas au is & long ‘aud ¢ Caspian sivamers touch for f whion of the Cast most totally void of interest General Sherman's route t great river Volga, especially if bh acsses the Asiatic: Fair of Nijnii-Novgorod, will be ed interesting. laid out for him: the route ry Bovel one, aud shows that General Sherman retains hia old taste for marehes in the rear, from “qaoun! —thus taking the Muscovites by stiprice, in their most valnerable part. Governor nd, by a | Curtin, Ue Minister of the United States at St. burg, ls expected to arrive here In a day or ) us to join and accompany General Sherman on his tour, | I | two, THE SULTAN’S REQUEST. General Sherman was to b eft Constantinople Jast Cuesday, but remained a few days longer at the special request of the Sultan, who sent him word that i! be could do so he would give him his own arge, powerfal and splendid yacht, called the ittianied (lnperial) to cerry him and his party to Sebastopol and other points of the Black Sea. So | marked on attention decided him, it is sald, to watt vernor Curtin, and it is now supposed that he main until next we In the meantime the Sultan. has not been unmindful of his American gucsts. Yesterday he seat two of his finest Euro- pean carriages, each with four horses and out- riders in his own live decorated with bells on ach of the should favor him A FAVOR situated some ten on the route to horses, with the request that they ith a visit to RM OF HIS MAJESTY, miles from Constantinople, Buyubdiri and the upper Bosphorus. This farm is rather a country palace, constructed after a model procured by the Sultan during lis travels in 1867 tn France or Austria. It is his favorite farm, where he keeps brood mares and Arab horses, for the pur- pose of improving the breed of his animals, Incon- nection With this, he has some ting Engiish and Swiss cows there, goats and sheep of the best breeds, and is doing much good in this manner*for his peasants and farmers, He often spends a day and, a8 in the immediate vicinity of the farm there is a fine woods, Judge MCALMONT wanted the papers which relate | called Hadim Korusa, he, in the fall and winter, to the financial condition of the Concern refe: the special committee, but his motion to that effee was not entertained, ed to | tries his hand at woodcock shootiag. The American "| Ministe: Mr. Ba and furmily, and Mr, Archibald '. BINGHAM thought there was a singut, nission. | li, Lowery, of New York; Mrs, and ‘iss Lowery, ct ie me that the report of the | accompanied General Sherma on this little agents, which had been previot senttothe stand- | oy. " P 6 Committee, be referred to the special committee | excursion. From this palace farm, thy also. Dr. REID did not deem this motion necessary, aud | moved to lay it on the table, Lost. Dr. HESTER moved that the special committee be empowered to send for persons and papers, and to make a thorough investigation and report to the Conte RY, Of Minois, did not think it necessary ave a summer's work here over this matter. Lanahan had made his statement before the Conference and presented his report, and the ports of the agents and romimittee and the Conference, and he thought that the narrower the compass and the closcr the con | mittee confined itself to the documents the soone would they dispose of this question, aud the and greater would be the peace secured to th Chace} Dr. KE. 0. HAVEN thought the design of the Con- ference in ‘appointing a special mittee wits to, investigate this whole Book cern matter, and if want to call for person question in its details during the vornmittce should have oniy to fraud and mismanagement But they cannot investigate this past, papers wh jaid before them. subject without the right to send for persous and pape He wanted afull, fair and impartial inves- tyzatio Dr. HARRIS, Lanahan’s rema ents’ reports coutained ks yesterday (Thursday), that the misstatements, Ww NOT CLERICAL ERRORS, BUT SUPPRESSIONS of facts. Lanahan, however, promptly dis- claimed having said any such thing, though a score gates in front of the orchestra amMrmed thot he did use substantially such expressions, and.the daily press so reported, After further debate the motion before the house was amended so as to send Dr, Carlton's report to the special committee, tee power to send for this state of the motion Dr. Foster vious question, W Dr. Foster the: ‘eturned mission- aries visiting the and the venerable Secretary of the Missionary Society, Rev. J. P. Durbin, D. D., be invited to seats on the platform, Carried, Mr. B. R. BONNER, of St. Louis, chairman of, the standing committee on Book Concern, and who is also a member of the special committee on the ‘onference, | Same, was directed to call the first meeting of the ecial committee, Dr. HUBBARD, of East Genesee, wanted Dr. Lana- han and the chairman of t tee to have the right of ten peremptory challenges before the special committee. Denied. Changes and substitutions were made on com- mittees; announcements were made, among them experts were before the | the Secretary, called attention to Dr. |!" and granting that commit. | horses # ersons and papers, and ou moved ihe pre- | one by Bishop Simpson, that, though Bishop Janes’ | illness is not of a serious character, he is not im- proving. The prayers of the brethren were asked for his recovery. The Conference then adjonrned, ‘The following is the SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON BOOK CONCERN. Alabama, A. 8. Lakin; Baltimore, William R. Wood. ward River, L. D. White; California, Ed. More; A. Faber DM York, W. Williams; Central G. Hagadorn; Cincinnati, J. W: aware, James A. J eo ye Ow: 4. ; * Pam: a FW. Evans; Kansas, W. Fate child; Kentucky, A. Schinkle; Lexington, M. W. Taylor Liberia, ©, A. Pittman; Lonisinna, L. 0. Matlack; Maine W, Deering: Michigan. J. W. Stone ti \e Minne: part, Sar th ) Northwest German, J. Brownfield ; Ohio, L Jeorge Abernethy; Philadelphia, txburg, A. Bradley; Providence, G Goodrich; St. Louis, B. R, Bon Jordozo; Southeast Indiana, J. ©. leve; Southwest German, R. Phay 4, virgsnia, W. M. METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART. The annual meeting of the association for elec+ tion of officers, &c., takes place at the Museum next Monday evening, when important matters will be discussed relative to the great building and its site in the Park, the architectural designs and the fu- ture plans and prospects of the Museum generally. On account of this meeting the gallery will be open on that evening only to members of the associa- tion. Meanwhile subscriptions to the fund will be received up to Monday noen. On May 18 the notable picture, by Turner, called “The Slaver,” which Mr, Johnston has recently pur- bs from Ruskin, will be placed in the gallery for NEW YORK ATHLETIO CLUB, ‘The regular monthly meeting of the New York Athletic Club took place last night at their club rooms, No. 6 East Twenty-eighth street, President Colonel William BE. VanWyck in the chair. The usual business being finished five new candidates were elected to membership in the club, The club boat house, at 131st street and Third avenue, is now 80 fall of boats—some thirty in namber—that the club intend to build two more boat houses—one the same size as the present one, and the other much larger, as a centre house, Two four-oared crews are now being got together for lively times this season. The running track is now in good order, apd the “outdoor aggrts” will soon commence, ley; Vermont Berkley; Washington, Kobinson; West Vieginia, 0. D. Hub: bard; West Wisconsin, J.B. Bothman; Wilmington, 2.M. | f Bates; Wisconsin, C. D. Pillsbury; Wyoming, W. H, Olin, | witan has had adne macadamized road made in the picturesque “Valley of Sweet Waters”—along which dows quite a little river (not quite so large as the Mississippi or the Ohé0-—down to the head of the Gol sing over the Sultan’s one- mile race course, At 1 xtremity of the valley is the imp summer paloce of Kias Hanch—i. é, | the “Sweet Waters”—and there the American party partook of reireshmouts sent on purpose for | them from the Sultan's present residence. The | whole aftair was most creditable to the fine feelings which dictated it, and greatly gratified his Ameri- } got | press them with the idea that if republicanisin has its niggardly simplicity, monarchy has its gallant id papers, | nospitalities. What the public get up in the United States the sovereign docs here, so that on this point the two kinds of sovereigntics meet for the same purpose. THE SULTAN’S STABLES. ‘The Sultan has two magnificent stables, each con- | taint most any number of carriages and horses, | arness as well as for the saddle, Among tho latter are horses from England, France, Germany, Italy, Austria and Russia—mostly presents from their respective sovereigns, M. Thicrs has not yet | sent any, but it is fully believed that when the res- | toration comes off amends will be made for the omission, The Sultan has, perhaps, the best stad of | Arabians in the world, and is not only very fond of horses, but also an excellent rider, His own saddle walked about to the sound of military music, $60 as to accustom them to it, ‘There are still many fine and interesting spots for General Sherman's inspection in and about Stam- boul. Palaces and summer kiosks are as plenty as huckleberries on the Bosphorus and in the many nooks and corners of the mounts and valleys bor- } dering on it. The General would be delighted were he to visit them in det and so be able to tell the | natives of his own New World of the progress made “on this line” by his Oriental host. He has, however, most unac tably proposed to slip away from | “fuss and feathers” and imperial display, and in- spect the famous Seven Towers, where, in other times and under other Sultans, Ambassadors were shut up, When the Sultans declared war against their sovereigns, so as to keep them out of the way of harm and f{rouble. There he read some sad inscriptions cut in the stone walls by these hapless tenants of the ‘Towers, for want of more intellectual and active em- ployment, telling the tale of their bondage and forced seclusion from all other pursuits. Along the old and decaying walls of the city of Constan- line the General arrived at the spot where the last of the Constantines (Paleologus) fell, on the outer wall, in mortal strife with the Janissarics of Sultan Mahmoud I. The walls are in the same condition inf which they were oft in 1492, the year in which Columbus made the discovery of the country from which General Sherman comes, The spot is therefore hal- | lowed sin the minds of all military men «as the death scene, the last farewell of a whole Christian people and nation. It is a deep ravine, in which Sultan Mahmoud LL. fired upon the defenders of the city, threw shot from the huge cannon made for him by a Hungarian genius. All that the Greeks could do in return was to assail him with missiles from Colapatts and Greek fire, No one knows where the last Em- | peror fell, His body was never found, and It is supposed that his remains were cast into some | common ditch with those of his people. His purple slippers (a sign of imperialism in those days, and not in these) tarned np in the possession of a Janis- sary, Who, itis supposed, pulled them off the ill- fated Emperor, so as to wear or seil them to the highest bidder. Close by the spot are Turkish monu- ments of a sepulchral order, erected over the heads | of the famous Albanian rebel, Ali Pacha, of Javina, and his sons and grandsons, decapitated in the days of Suitan Mahmoud IL, father of the present Sul- tan. There is no more picturesque drive than that along the old walls of Stamboul, They are mach ont of repair, it is true, and it is even said thata company has proposed to pull trem down and sell the materials jor the more modern purpose of paving: the streets of the city. The British Ambassador has, however, begged the Sultan to allow them to remain as a fitting monument of the past, At their extremity, near the Golden Horn, are the remains of the palace of the later Greek Emperors, called the Blacquen, familiar to the readers of the “Cru- sades” of Walter Scott, and the prison, called the Auema, in which it was usual to confine the uncles, nephews, &c., of the relgning Emperor, often put- ting out their eyes and emasculating them! Sad sight for General Sherman, Colonel Audenried and Lieutenant Grant, and a leason for ali aspirants high execative oflces!