In a message dated 8/6/2007 2:57:17 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:

At  the
Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury, MA, residents in both the 18th  and
19th centuries also allowed "dumps" of ceramics and glass to build up  to be
used for drainage, in one case in a privy, in another in a  fence-ditch.  In
the latter case the sherds and glass fragments  probably also 


Yes, let us not forget French drains. I often heard old farmers say they  dug 
French drains or long trenches from their kitchen or wash rooms and filled  
the hole with broken things in the yard to capture and slow "black water" out  
into the yard. This included soapy water, food remains, and all sorts of  
organics. As recently as the 1970s, I dug a French drain for a redwood hot tub  
and filled the trench with broken concrete, bricks, and plaster statuary. I even 
 marked the bottom with a sheet of carbon scratched with the date and my  
name.
 
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.



************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at 
http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour