The public cleansing trade, I have before said, consists of as many
divisions as there are distinct species of refuse to be removed, and
these appear to be four. There is the _house_-refuse, consisting of
two different kinds, as (1) the wet house-refuse or “slops,” and
“night-soil,” and (2) the dry house-refuse, or dust and soot; and there
is the _street_-refuse, also consisting of two distinct kinds, as (3)
the wet street-refuse, or mud and dirt; and (4) the dry street-refuse
or “rubbish.”
I now purpose dealing with the labourers engaged in the collection and
removal of the last-mentioned kind of refuse.
Technologically there are several varieties of “rubbish,” or rather
“_dirt_,” for such appears to be the generic term, of which “rubbish”
is _strictly_ a species. Dirt, according to the understanding among
the rubbish-carters, would seem to consist of any solid earthy matter,
which is of an useless or refuse character. This dirt the trade divides
into two distinct kinds, viz.:--
1. “Soft dirt,” or refuse clay (of which “dry dirt,” or refuse soil or
mould, is a variety).
2. “Hard-dirt,” or “hard-core,” consisting of the refuse bricks,
chimney-pots, slates, &c., when a house is pulled down, as well as the
broken bottles, pans, pots, or crocks, and oyster-shells, &c., which
form part of the contents of the dustman’s cart.
The phrase “hard-core”[32] seems strictly to mean all such refuse
matter as will admit of being used as the foundation of roads,
buildings, &c. “Rubbish,” on the other hand, appears to be limited, by
the trade, to “dry dirt;” out of the trade, however, and etymologically
speaking, it signifies all such _dry_ and _hard_ refuse matter as is
rendered useless by wear and tear[33]. The term _dirt_, on the other
hand, is generally applied to _soft_ refuse matter, and _dust_ to
_dry_ refuse matter in a state of minute division, while _slops_ is
the generic term for all _wet_ or _liquid_ refuse matter. I shall here
restrict the term rubbish to all that dry and hard refuse matter which
is the residuum of certain worn-out or “used-up” earthen commodities,
as well as the surplus earth which is removed whenever excavations are
made, either for the building of houses, the cutting of railways, the
levelling of roads, the laying down of pipes or drains, and the sinking
of wells.