--------------------------------------++---------------------------------------
FOOD. || EXCRETIONS.
------+--------------+----------------++------------+--------------+-----------
| Weight in a | Weight in a || | Weight in a |Weight in a
|fresh state in| fresh state || |fresh state in|fresh state
| grammes. | in pounds. || | grammes. | in pounds.
------+--------------+----------------++------------+--------------+-----------
| | lbs. oz. || | | lbs. oz.
Hay | 7,500 | 20 0 || Excrements | 14,250 | 38 2
Oats | 2,270 | 6 1 || Urine | 1,330 | 3 7
| ------ | ------ || | |
| 9,770 | 26 1 || | |
Water | 16,000 | 42 10 || | |
------+--------------+----------------++------------+--------------+-----------
Total | 25,770 | 68 11 || Total | 15,580 | 41 9
------+--------------+----------------++------------+--------------+-----------
Here it will be seen that the quantity of solid food given to the
horse in the course of the 24 hours amounted only to 26 lbs.; whereas
it is stated in the Report of the National Philanthropic Association,
on the authority of the veterinary surgeon to the Life Guards, that
the regulation horse rations in all cavalry regiments is 30 lbs. of
solid food; viz., 10 lbs. of oats, 12 lbs. of hay, together with 8 lbs.
of straw, for the horse to lie upon and munch at his leisure. “This
quantity of solid food, with five gallons of water, is considered
sufficient,” we are told, “for all regimental horses, who have but
little work to perform, in comparison with the draught horses of the
metropolis, many of which consume daily 35 lbs. and upwards of solid
food, with at least six gallons of water.
“At a conference held with the secretary and professors of the
Veterinary College in College-street, Camden-town,” continues the
Report, “those gentlemen kindly undertook to institute a series of
experiments in this department of equine physiology; the subject
being one which interested themselves, professionally, as well as the
council of the National Philanthropic Association. The experiments were
carefully conducted under the superintendence of Professor Varnell. The
food, drink, and voidances of several horses, kept in stable all day
long, were separately weighed and measured; and the following were the
results with an animal of medium size and sound health:--
“‘Royal Veterinary College,
Sept. 29, 1849.
“‘Brown horse of middle size ate in
24 hours, of hay, 16lbs.; oats, 10lbs.;
chaff, 4 lbs.; in all 30 lbs.
Drank of water, in 24 hours, 6 gallons,
or 48 lbs.
--------
Total 78 lbs.
Voided in the form of fæces 49 lbs.
--------
Allowance for nutrition, supply of
waste in system, perspiration, and urine 29 lbs.
(Signed)
“‘GEORGE VARNELL,
“‘Demonstrator of Anatomy.’”
Here we find the excretions to be 11 lbs. more than those of the French
horse experimented upon by M. Boussingault; but then the solid food
given to the English horse was 4 lbs. more, and the liquid upwards of 7
lbs. extra.
We may then, perhaps, assume, without fear of erring, that the
excrements voided by horses in the course of 24 hours, weigh, at the
least, 45 lbs.
Hence the gross quantity of dung produced by the 7,300,000 horses which
traverse the London streets in the course of the twelvemonth will be
7,300,000 × 45, or 328,500,000 lbs., which is upwards of 146,651 tons.
But these horses cannot be said to be at work above six hours each day;
we must, therefore, divide the above quantity by four, and thus we
find that there are 36,662 tons of horse-dung annually dropped in the
streets of London.
I am informed, on good authority, that the evacuations of an ox, in
24 hours, will, on the average, exceed those of a horse in weight by
about a fifteenth, while, if the ox be disturbed by being driven, the
excretions will exceed the horse’s by about a twelfth. As the oxen are
not driven in the streets, or detained in the market for so long a
period as horses are out at work, it may be fair to compute that their
droppings are about the same, individually, as those of the horses.
Hence, as there are 224,000 horned cattle yearly brought to London, we
have 224,000 × 45 lbs. = 10,080,000 lbs., or 4500 tons, for the gross
quantity of ordure dropped by this number of animals in the course of
24 hours, so that, dividing by 4, as before, we find that there are
1125 tons of ordure annually dropped by the “horned cattle” in the
streets of London.
Concerning the sheep, I am told that it may be computed that the
ordure of five sheep is about equal in weight to that of two oxen. As
regards the other animals it may be said that their “droppings” are
insignificant, the pigs and calves being very generally carted to and
from the market, as, indeed, are some of the fatter and more valuable
sheep and lambs. All these facts being taken into consideration, I am
told, by a regular frequenter of Smithfield market, that it will be
best to calculate the droppings of each of the 1,617,300 sheep, calves,
and pigs yearly coming to the metropolis at about one-fourth of those
of the horned cattle; so that multiplying 1,617,300 by 10, instead of
45, we have 16,173,000 lbs., or 7220 tons, for the weight of ordure
deposited by the entire number of sheep, calves, and pigs annually
brought to the metropolis, and then dividing this by 4, as usual, we
find that the droppings of the calves, sheep, and pigs in the streets
of London amount to 1805 tons per annum.
Now putting together all the preceding items we obtain the following
results:--
GROSS WEIGHT OF THE HORSE-DUNG AND CATTLE-DROPPINGS ANNUALLY DEPOSITED
IN THE STREETS OF LONDON:--
Tons.
Horse-dung 36,662
Droppings of horned cattle 1,125
Droppings of sheep, calves, and pigs 1,805
------
39,592
Hence we perceive that the gross weight of animal excretions dropped
in the public thoroughfares of the metropolis is about 40,000 tons per
annum, or, in round numbers, 770 tons every week-day--say 100 tons a
day.
This, I am well aware, is a low estimate, but it appears to me that
the facts will not warrant any other conclusion. And yet the Board of
Health, who seem to delight in “large” estimates, represent the amount
of animal manure deposited in the streets of London at no less than
200,000 tons per annum.
“Between the Quadrant in Regent-street and Oxford-street,” says the
first Report on the Supply of Water to the Metropolis, “a distance of
a third of a mile, three loads, on the average, of dirt, almost all
horse-dung, are removed daily. On an estimate made from the working
of the street-sweeping machine, in one quarter of the City of London,
which includes lines of considerable traffic, the quantity of dung
dropped must be upwards of 60 tons, or about 20,000 tons per annum,
and this, on a City district, which comprises about one-twentieth only
of the covered area of the metropolis, though within that area there
is the greatest proportionate amount of traffic. Though the data are
extremely imperfect, it is considered that the horse-dung which falls
in the streets of the whole metropolis _cannot be less than 200,000
tons a year_.”
Hence, although the data are imperfect, the Board of Health do not
hesitate to conclude that the gross quantity of horse-dung dropped
throughout every part of London--back streets and all--is equal to
one-half of that let fall in the greatest London thoroughfares.
According to this estimate, all and every of the 24,000 London horses
must void, in the course of the six hours that they are at work in the
streets, not less than 51 lbs. of excrement, which is at the rate of
very nearly 2 cwt. in the course of the day, or voiding only 49 lbs.
in the twenty-four hours, they must remain out altogether, and never
return to the stable for rest!!!
Mr. Cochrane is far less hazardous than the Board of Health, and
appears to me to arrive at his result in a more scientific and
conclusive manner. He goes first to the Stamp Office to ascertain the
number of horses in the metropolis, and then requests the professors
of the Veterinary College to estimate the average quantity of
excretions produced by a horse in the course of 24 hours. All this
accords with the soundest principles of inquiry, and stands out in
startling contrast with the unphilosophical plan pursued by the Board
of Health, who obtain the result of the most crowded thoroughfare, and
then halving this, frame an exaggerated estimate for the whole of the
metropolis.
But Mr. Cochrane himself appears to me to exceed that just caution
which is so necessary in all statistical calculations. Having
ascertained that a horse voids 49 lbs. of dung in the course of 24
hours, he makes the whole of the 24,214 horses in the metropolis drop
30 lbs. daily in the streets, so that, according to his estimate, not
only must every horse in London be out every day, but he must be at
work in the public thoroughfares for very nearly 15 hours out of the 24!