"Bob Hobden" wrote in message ...
"David Hill" wrote
".......... We had one of those when I was a kid - an Elsan? I thought we
fed it formaldehyde and crap not Jeyes fluid. It was an improvement on the
earth closet that the previous owner of the house used .........."

The old Elsan toilet used to use Elsanol, specially made, but now it is
Elsan perfumed .

Properly used an Earth closet works better than anything and is hygienic
and
odour free, as I said, used Properly.

Works exactly like a cat litter tray in fact. You do your business and then
chuck some very dry earth on it to cover it, kills the smell and starts the
decomposing process.
I've seen it said that it was a much better system (for the environment) and
cleaner than the flush toilet. Mr Crapper has a lot to answer for.

Dorothy Hartley's excellent _Food in England_ even has an appendix
telling you how to make one. I call that stylish in a cookery book.

Some book I read recorded the response of an old Welsh farmer to a
suggestion that he should have an indoor lavatory installed: "I don't
want any of your dirty English habits here!"

Mike.