Chapter I: Preface

Some portions of the following pages have already appeared in the monthly numbers of the _Sanitary Engineer_, and the complete work is now published with a view to assist Surveyors of Towns and others who are directly engaged in providing that house dustbins shall be regularly cleared, and streets kept clean; and also in the hope that it may be the means of drawing some public attention to the question, thus showing the householder something of what is being done for his welfare by Sanitary Authorities, and how each individual may assist in the good work, instead of, as is now frequently the case, inadvertently or purposely retarding the execution of some very necessary though unostentatious sanitary measures. I am not aware that any book, or even pamphlet, has yet been written on this subject, and I venture to believe that in these pages there may be found something to interest all readers.

H. P. B.

EXETER, _May, 1881_.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

SCAVENGING.

_Page_

Town Scavenging or Scavengering--Subject divided into 13
heads--Public Health Act, 1875, and its bearings upon
the question 1

CHAPTER II.

HOUSE REFUSE.

Definition of house refuse--The law on the subject--Whether
trade and garden refuse must be removed by the
scavenger--Statistics on this point--Disputes as to what
is trade, garden refuse, or house refuse--Suggestions to
settle the question--Other waste materials 5

CHAPTER III.

THE DUSTBIN.

The Public Health Act, 1875, on the subject of ashpits--The
model bye-laws and six clauses on the same subject--Position
of the dustbin in respect of the adjacent
dwelling-houses--Suggestions to burn some of the waste
products of a house--Objections to the _fixed_ ashpit
recommended by the Public Health Act--Suggestions for
improvements in this direction--Movable dust boxes
recommended 10

CHAPTER IV.

THE COLLECTION OF HOUSE REFUSE.

Three methods by which this is effected--The law on the
subject--Statistics on the subject--Lay stall accommodation,
objections, and advantages--Dirty habits of the
lower classes--A house to house visitation by the
scavengers the best system--If universal, great expense
incurred--The bell or signal system--Objectionable
character of temporary receptacles under this system--State
of streets in consequence--Suggestions for improvements--
Specially constructed conveyance and receptacles--Advantages
of this system both on sanitary and economical grounds--Delaying
the scavenger--The D signal--Convenient hours for the scavengers'
visits 17

CHAPTER V.

THE SCAVENGERS' CART.

Its form and construction--Description of the "tip cart"--Splashing
and dust therefrom--Other objections to this
form of cart on sanitary and economical grounds--Introduction
of many new forms of carts and waggons--General
description of improvements in their construction--Some
names of makers of sanitary carts and waggons 27

CHAPTER VI.

DISPOSAL OF HOUSE REFUSE.

Position of a town with respect to the surrounding district--
Sale of refuse to farmers and others the most ready and
economical means of disposal--Site of the refuse depôt--Loss
of bulk in the refuse at the depôt--Difficulty in
disposing of old tins, crockery, &c.--Replies from 90
towns on the question of disposal of house refuse--Condemnation
of practice of building over tipped house
refuse--Destruction by fire--Fryer's patent carboniser--Dealing
with house refuse on a gigantic scale at Manchester 31

CHAPTER VII.

STREET CLEANSING.

Prosperous appearance of a town--Danger of inhaling dust--The
law on the subject--Who ought to cleanse private
courts and alleys?--Statistics with reference to this point--Number
of times streets ought to be cleansed--Hand
labour or machinery--Durability of machines and hand
brooms--Materials of brooms--Construction of streets and
traffic affect the question of cleansing materially--Returns
prepared by the Superintendent of Scavenging, Liverpool--His
further remarks on the subject--Disposal of road
scrapings--Street cleansing in Paris--The use of disinfectants
in Paris 46

CHAPTER VIII.

SNOW.

The density of snow--The amount of snow to be removed in
an ordinary street in England--The removal of snow in
Milan--The removal of snow in Paris--Suggestions for
its removal in England--Clearing footways--The effect of
salt upon snow--Removal of snow in Liverpool 61

CHAPTER IX.

STREET WATERING.

Watering necessary on sanitary grounds as well as to prevent
damage from dust--Watering in London--Watering by
horse and cart--The points of importance to be considered
in connection with this service--The diary of a water
cart--Bayley's hydrostatic van--A description of this
machine--Its great advantages over the old-fashioned
water cart--Mr. Scott on the subject--A trial in Edinburgh--
Mr. Tomkins and Bayley's van--A comparative
table of effective work by one of these vans--Watering
streets by ponding water in channel gutters--Brown's
system of watering--Its advantages and objections--Watering
by hose and reels or by portable iron pipes--Watering
at Reading--Watering at Paris--Use of salt
water and other chemicals--Watering with disinfectants 73

CHAPTER X.

CONTRACTS _V._ ADMINISTRATION BY LOCAL AUTHORITY.

Opinions on this subject by surveyors of towns--The dust
contractor--A model specification of a contract for
removal of house refuse--The system of contracts for
such work condemned--Sanitation first, economy afterwards 86

CHAPTER XI.

_£ s. d._

The cost of scavenging--Difficulty in fixing any standard of
cost--Physical character of a town and other causes must
be taken into consideration--Statistics show very various
results--Average cost per head of population per annum
about one shilling--Is hiring horses cheaper than keeping
a stud?--Reasons in favour of the latter plan--Cost of
carts, horses, stables, land, &c.--Wages of scavengers
and carters--Depreciation of horse flesh and of plant--A
specimen estimate where a stud is kept--Another estimate
where teams are hired--Mr. Williams' returns as to cost--
List of questions on the subject of scavenging--Conclusion 90