intended to remain permanently in position and to be constantly charged with water.

This was a most important advance in the design of fire-plugs, since it gave us a hydrant that in mild climates might remain ready for instant use. Its valve was placed at the bottom of the stand-pipe near the level of the top of the main pipe, and it introduced a drip, or waste, that opened by action of a spring as the main valve closed, so that all water remaining above the main valve in the stand-pipe at once drained off, provided the spring was still in order. This model of hydrant, which was admirable in many respects for use in southern cities, was for many years followed generally in the construction of similar apparatus in other of the larger American cities. The nozzles of these hydrants were generally placed about two feet above the ground surface, so that they might be above obstructions of mud, snow and ice, and they were generally housed by a covering box of iron or wood, that was removable to afford access to the valve-rod key.

Such was the hydrant, varying but slightly as made by different manufacturers, in general use throughout the United States, when the "Mathew's Hydrant" was first introduced.

Among the many objections to the old style of hydrants, as manufactured in several cities, and the difficulties attending their use, in northern and middle State cities especially, we may mention the following as inseparable from their faulty construction: