The elaborate experiments which were carried out by Winslow and Phelps on the purification of the sewage of Boston led to the conclusion that the septic tank treatment affords no particular advantage. On the contrary they say: Since November, 1906, when the distribution system was put in order, crude sewage has been treated on one of our trickling beds with perfect success. The effluent from this filter was less frequently putrescible than that from the bed which received septic effluent. On the whole, then, it may be said that apart from the advantages that may also be obtained by simple sedimentation (four hours or less), the septic tank has little to recommend it. The slightly increased digestion of sludge is in a large degree counterbalanced by the added difficulty of treating the septic effluent. The prevailing opinion among students of the sewage disposal problem is that there is no substantial gain from retaining sewage in tanks until decomposition has set it, but that on the contrary the practice is often distinctly disadvantageous as compared with mechanical sedimentation for a brief period.—JOURNAL OF THE A. M. A.