+----------------+--------------+-------+--------+--------------+
| | | | | Gross cost |
| | Area | Loads | Times | per 10,000 |
| | of |removed| swept | yards |
| Street. | carriage- |in one | in one | superficial |
| | way. | month.| month. | for each |
| | | | | cleansing. |
+----------------+--------------+-------+--------+--------------+
| | Yds. supr. | | | £ s. d. |
|Lord St. | 4,503 | 15 | 26 | 0 6 5½ |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
|North John St. | 3,287 | 17½ | 26 | 0 8 10½ |
| | | | | |
|Tithebarn St. | 5,150 | 38 | 26 | 0 11 2 |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
|West Derby Rd. | 11,980 | 35 | 13 | 0 9 4¾ |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
|Great Howard St.| 16,860 | 85 | 13 | 0 14 4½ |
| | | | | |
|Great Homer St. | 15,900 | 85 | 13 | 0 14 1 |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
|Kensington St. | 14,540 | 76 | 13 | 0 14 3¾ |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
|Stanley Rd. | 16,534 | 186 | 13 | 1 8 9¼ |
+----------------+--------------+-------+--------+--------------+
He adds that the full benefit of the impervious pavements as
regards the cost of scavenging has not yet been felt, for almost
all the lines of streets so paved are intersected at short
distances by streets of ordinary jointed granite setts or macadam,
whence a quantity of mud and refuse is dragged by the traffic on
to the asphalted jointed roadways, which are consequently debited
with the cost of removal of some effete material not intrinsically
belonging to them. He further adds that the credit reductions
to be made in respect of the value of manure obtained from each
description of carriageway is not readily ascertainable. In dry
weather the value of manure collected from granite setts, with or
without impervious joints, is about equal, but when the sweepings
are wet, and consequently of little value for sale, the quantity
yielded by the ordinary pervious jointed pavement is greater than
from the impervious, and therefore the total value is relatively
favourable to the latter class, whilst to get rid of the sweepings
from macadamised streets is a source of additional expense. He
concludes this portion of his valuable report by observing that the
advantages of the new impervious pavements over the old kinds are
especially shown after frost and snowfall, the results of which
cause the setts of ordinarily jointed roadways to become loose,
and allow a vast amount of mud to ooze up between the softened
joints. The comparison is still more apparent in regard to macadam,
which, unless a heavy rainfall succeeds the thaw, cannot be swept
for some days without great destruction being caused to the
metalling of the roadway.
The ultimate disposal of the material removed from the surface of
a macadamised roadway, being principally composed of silicate, and
consequently valueless as a manure, is a difficult matter.
In small towns, except during abnormally muddy weather, it may
be mixed with the house refuse and sold to farmers, or the
road scrapings themselves may be used as an excellent sand, if
thoroughly washed, to mix with lime or cement to form mortar for
public works; excessive accumulations of mud, however, must be
got rid of in the most economical and speedy manner, and this is
effected either by filling up old disused quarries with it, or
depositing it upon waste lands, or forming embankments for new
roads, but in no case should it be used, as I have before stated,
upon building sites; it is difficult and expensive to destroy it or
partially convert it into other matters by fire, so that if these
methods which I have enumerated are impracticable, the only other
method left for the disposal of the sweepings or scrapings from
the streets is to take them out to sea in hopper barges and sink
them in deep water.
In the City of Paris an area of about 13,000,000 square yards of
streets are cleansed between three and six a.m. in the summer
months and four and seven in the winter. This work in connection
with the collection of the house refuse employs 2,200 men, 950
women, and 30 boys, besides 190 mechanical sweepers.
The Paris mud is said to no longer possess the manurial strength
of former times, and in consequence the receipts derived by the
municipality from this source have greatly diminished. At the
present time it is disposed of by public tender to responsible
contractors, who manage to take between them some 2,500 cubic yards
daily.
The following additional particulars of the manner in which this
work is carried out in Paris will, I think, prove of interest,
especially with regard to the use of disinfectants, which are
largely used in that city in connection with the cleansing of the
streets, a practice which might be followed with advantage by the
Sanitary Authorities of this country.
The cleansing of the public thoroughfares in Paris, which was
formerly undertaken by the Prefect of Police, is now a function
of the Prefect of the Seine. The staff consists of two chief
engineers, one for each group of arrondissements, one group
being sub-divided into three sections, each under the charge
of an executive engineer, and the other into five sections
similarly supervised. These sectional engineers have under them
51 superintendents and 61 overseers, whose employment costs
annually £10,400. The scavenging plant is kept in a central depôt,
where materials of every description are stored and classified
for ordinary and extraordinary service, when snow and ice render
additional assistants necessary.
The depôts contain supplies of chloride of lime, sulphate of
zinc, sulphate of iron, and carbolic acid, as disinfectants; and
hydrochloric acid and nitrobenzide, as cleansing agents. The
chloride of lime, of a strength of 100° to 105°, is successfully
employed for the disinfecting of places tainted with urine or
faecal matter, also for cleansing gutters carrying any sewage
water. Sulphate of iron and sulphate of zinc are both used under
the same conditions. Sulphate of iron has the disadvantage of
rusting objects to which it is applied, sulphate of zinc is
stronger in its action, but it costs a little more; it produces no
smell, nor does it leave any stain; it is much employed in summer
for washing and watering the basements of the "Halles Centrales,"
which are used for fish, poultry, and offal. At a strength of
one-eighth, and mixed with three per cent. of sulphate of copper,
sulphate of zinc makes a good disinfecting liquor, which preserves
its qualities a long time, and is of great use in private houses.
Carbolic acid is not, strictly speaking, a disinfectant; it does
not act like chloride on putrid matter, but it arrests and prevents
fermentation, doubtless by destroying the spores, it is, therefore,
always employed when it is desired to destroy the germs of putrid
fermentation. It is used at a strength of about one-fortieth,
say a gallon of acid to 40 gallons of water. At strengths of
one-one hundredth and one-two hundredth it gives good results for
watering once or twice a week in summer those parts of the "Halles
Centrales" liable to infection; it is even used as low as one-one
thousandth for watering streets and gutters. Hydrochloric acid is
applied to urinals and slaughter-houses, in places much encrusted
with tartar; it is used at a strength of one-sixth, lowered to
one-tenth, it cleans smooth walls and flags efficiently, in
ordinary rinsings a strength of one-fifteenth suffices; it leaves a
disagreeable odour behind, which is, however, quickly dissipated.
Nitrobenzide is more energetic than the foregoing, but it produces
a disagreeable smell of bitter almonds and leaves a white film,
which has to be washed off; it is used at the same strengths as
hydrochloric acid. The annual cost for plant and disinfecting
materials of all descriptions is £8,800.
CHAPTER VIII.
"SNOW."
The unthinking ratepayer frequently exclaims, "Why cannot the
authorities order this abominable snow to be immediately carted
away?" when the footpath and roadway in front of his domicile lie
hidden under a thick coating of snow crystals.
Signor E. Bignami Sormani, assisted by Professor Clericetti, have
made several most interesting investigations and observations
upon the density of fresh fallen snow in Milan by means of a
simple balance and compressing box. The range of weight of the
snow was found to vary as much as eleven times the minimum. A
cubic yard from one snowstorm, weighing as much as 814 pounds,
while an equal bulk from another fall only weighed 71 pounds. The
weight consequently of a cubic foot of the densest snow is 30.14
pounds, whilst a cubic foot of water weighs 62.5 pounds, or only
about double the weight of this dense snow, but which was in all
probability little different from ice.
For my purposes, however, I will take a mean between these extreme
weights, and assume that the weight of a cubic foot of snow is
16.38 pounds, and that a fall of three inches of snow during the
night has caused the ejaculation with which I commenced this
chapter to proceed from the aforesaid ratepayer.
The ordinary width of an English street may be taken at thirty-six
feet, including the footpaths, so that on every one hundred yards
in length of every street of that width 2,700 cubic feet of snow
have fallen, the total weight of which amounts to 44,226 pounds, or
very nearly 20 tons, which in actual bulk would represent 100 cubic
yards. But as the snow would soon become compressed after falling,
I assume that this bulk would be diminished by one-half, and that
consequently (without reckoning the snow which has fallen upon
roofs and into courts, passages, and alleys, and which has been
quickly shovelled therefrom to the street by the occupiers) about
40 ordinary cartloads, weighing half a ton each, would have to be
removed from this length of street. Assuming that there are 30
miles of street in a town from which the snow must be _immediately_
removed, 21,144 loads must be carted somewhere, at a cost of at
least £1,500, assuming that each cart could make ten trips a day,
and even then it would take 352 carts a whole week to effect it.
It may be contended that I have taken an extreme case, and that, of
course, the snow does not lie for very long upon the ground in the
condition in which it fell, and that hourly it is reducing in bulk
and weight by being ground up by the traffic, and finding its way
in the form of water into the sewers, but I have simply advanced
the few facts which I have stated in order to give some idea of the
labour and cost of snow clearing in a city or town, and I think
I cannot do better than at once describe how this important work
is carried out in the city of Milan, where the organization and
arrangements by which it is accomplished with marvellous despatch,
and efficiency, could with advantage be copied by the authorities
of any of our towns which are occasionally visited by excessive
falls of snow.
In Milan the snow carts are emptied into the navigable canals
and numerous watercourses by which the city is intersected; and
latterly also into the new sewers in the central portion of the
city, which are promptly flushed whenever it snows. During the
winter of 1879-80 the cost of clearing the 1,656,200 square yards
total area of squares, streets, and lanes within the city walls,
averaged £200 per inch depth of snow fallen, and for the 502,800
square yards outside the walls the average cost was £62 per
inch depth, equivalent in each case to about 1.05d. per cubic
yard. Ordinarily the clearing of the more frequented streets is
completed within eight or ten hours after it has stopped snowing;
and of the rest within 24 hours, not reckoning night. The city
is parcelled out into small districts, numbering 112 for last
winter, of varying extent according to the importance of the work
in each. An average rate of pay per inch depth of snow fallen is
settled for the whole area of each separate district, according
to its extent and the particular conditions affecting the several
streets and squares comprised within it. Each district is allotted
to a contractor, who usually associates with himself six to ten
partners, besides the labourers whom he employs. He has to find
carts, horses, and carters; the necessary implements--spades,
shovels, brooms, scrapers, mattocks, barrows, &c.--are furnished by
the city, under suitable stipulations for ensuring proper care in
their use. The contracts are made annually, and the same persons
almost always apply for them again year after year. The contractors
come principally from the trades that are interrupted by winter,
viz.:--Paviors, bricklayers and masons, and gravel quarrymen. For
the direction and supervision of the work the whole city is divided
into four sections, over each of which is appointed an engineer,
with an assistant, who are aided in the general arrangements by
the police surveillance. Payment is made only for work effectually
done. In each snowstorm the depth of snow falling, which is the
basis of pay, is ascertained by means of a number of stone posts,
fixed in suitable open spaces, clear of shelter from buildings,
and each capped with a flat horizontal slab of stone. As soon as
it stops snowing, or two or three times during a storm of several
hours, the depth of snow caught on the slabs is measured by the
engineer in the presence of two of the contractors in his section.
The number of men ordinarily engaged in snow clearing on a winter's
day is not less than two thousand, and has sometimes risen to three
thousand. The stock of implements found by the city, representing
a capital of about £1,600, is housed in two stores in opposite
quarters of the city. In the winter of 1874-75 the total fall of
snow amounted to 40¾ inches, and the whole expenditure for clearing
it within the city walls exceeded £8,400; while in 1877-78 the fall
was only 5¼ inches, involving an expenditure of less than £1,040
for a slightly larger area.
The small cost at which this work is carried out in Milan is
accounted for by the low rate of wages and cart hire, and the
perfect organization of the system.
When a fall of snow occurs in Paris, attention is first directed to
clearing the footpaths and crossings, so as to ensure uninterrupted
foot passenger traffic. The town scavengers sand the roads whenever
it is necessary for the carriage traffic, at the same time numerous
auxiliaries are organised to remove the snow from the principal
thoroughfares in the order of their relative importance. To assist
in removing the snow the General Omnibus Company are bound by
their concession to furnish 50 waggons, and carts are specially
arranged for with the providers of sand and gravel at the beginning
of winter, the contractors for maintaining the public roads being
also bound to hold their carts at the disposition of the sectional
engineers. In certain cases the half-melted snow is swept into
the sewers, especially into those carrying warm water. Melting by
steam has been tried, when a continuous jet was turned on to a
mass of banked snow, but it melted very slowly at first, and the
melting ceased after the cavity had increased to a certain size.
Two descriptions of snow ploughs are kept in store, one for manual,
the other for horse power, but they have never been used, as the
coating of snow seldom attains sufficient thickness, and it is too
quickly compressed and hardened by the traffic. As a rule, the sum
allowed in the budget, about £7,000, suffices for the extra labour
incurred, but occasionally severe winters cause this to be greatly
exceeded, as in 1875-76, when the increase amounted to £8,000, and
no doubt in the winter that has just passed, 1880-81, the estimate
must also have been largely exceeded.
In England one of the greatest difficulties we have to contend
against is the disposal of the snow after it has been placed in the
cart.
If there is a river close by, it can be taken there and tipped, but
this is objectionable if it is a navigable river where dredging has
to be done, as it is surprising what a quantity of road scrapings
and other matters are always removed with the snow, and these
materials naturally sink to the bottom, and add considerably to the
cost of dredging.
If there are public parks the snow may be heaped in them, provided
no damage is done to the grass or paths, as the snow thus heaped
takes a considerable time to melt, the first effect of a thaw being
to consolidate it, but a better plan is to deposit it upon any
waste spots, if these are not too far from the streets which have
to be cleared.
Tipping the snow down the manholes into the sewers has been tried
in London and other cities, but has failed through the snow
consolidating, and although lighted gas jets have been turned on
to the snow, it has still melted too slowly to be of any practical
utility.
It has been suggested that a steam jet should be turned on the snow
as it lies in the streets, or after it has been heaped, but I very
much doubt the efficacy of this plan, although Messrs. Merryweather
& Co., of London, have, I understand, melted a cartload of snow
in seven minutes. It might, however, be possible to melt the snow
by the heat generated in the furnaces that are destroying the
house refuse by fire, and this could be effected without any large
expense beyond the cost of cartage of the snow to the depôts, which
would, of course, be necessary.
Failing an organization such as that of Milan, the following
suggestions may be of use to those who have sometimes to grapple
with this unproductive work:--
Do not attempt to cart away the snow while it is yet falling, but
try to make clear crossings for the foot passengers and to keep the
traffic open. If there should be a high wind at the time, and the
snow drifts in consequence, cut through the drifts so as to allow
the vehicular traffic to continue.
Directly the snow ceases to fall put on all available hands to
clear the channel gutters and street gratings, in preparation for
a sudden thaw, when, if these precautions were not taken, serious
flooding and great damage to property might ensue; for the same
reason cart away all the snow you can at the bottom of gradients
and in the valleys, and also from very narrow streets and passages,
&c.
In the wider streets use the snow plough, or with gangs of men (in
the snow season there is generally plenty of labour obtainable),
shovel the snow into a long narrow heap on each side of the street,
taking care to leave the channel gutters and gratings quite clear,
and a sufficient space between the heaps for at least two lines of
traffic. Passages must also be cut at frequent intervals through
the heaps, in order to allow foot passengers to cross the street,
and also to let the water reach the channel gutters as soon as the
snow begins to melt.
With regard to the question of clearing the snow from the footpaths
irrespective of the larger duty of clearing it from the streets,
it is often a disputed point in a town as to whether this should
be done by the Urban Authority at the expense of the rates, or by
the householders themselves, and this can only be settled where the
town has a private improvement act, in which a clause or clauses
may be inserted throwing the onus of such cleansing and sweeping
of the footpaths upon the several and respective occupiers of
houses and buildings. But on whoever the duty rests there is no
doubt that the easiest and quickest method of effecting a thorough
cleansing of a footpath from snow is by an application of salt,
and then to sweep off the slush that is engendered with a broom.
Medical men and others, however, assert that the practice of
putting salt with the snow is to make a freezing mixture, which is
detrimental to the health of persons walking on such a mixture,
and there can be no doubt that excessive cold is caused by this
practice, often sufficiently severe to crack the flagstones of the
foot pavement.
In the City of London the footways are swept once daily by men in
the employment of the Commissioners of Sewers, and in wet weather
those in the main streets are cleansed repeatedly during the day,
and this has been done, I believe, since the year 1872, although
the occupiers are legally liable for the execution of this work.
In Liverpool, also, this is done after a fall of snow, as will
appear from the following interesting remarks on the subject,
contained in a report by the Superintendent of the Scavenging
Department in that borough:--
"The only way to compass the removal of snow from the footwalks of
the principal thoroughfares within a comparatively short time is by
sprinkling them with salt such as is commonly used for agricultural
purposes. It is certain that, unaided by the salt, a sufficient
number of men cannot be procured for the emergency of clearing snow
from the footways of the most important thoroughfares. It has been
stated by medical authorities that the application of salt to snow
is detrimental to the health of people who have to walk through the
'slush' produced by the mixture, and that the excessive cooling of
the air surrounding the places where the application has been made
is injurious to delicate persons. It, therefore, seems that the
application of salt to snow should not be undertaken during the day
time, but should be commenced not before 11 p.m., nor continued
after 6 a.m., and that only such an area of footwalks should be so
treated on any one night as the available staff of men can clear by
an early hour the following morning.
"To sweep snow from the footwalks whilst the fall of snow
continues, and especially during business hours, appears to be
wasteful and futile, and to apply salt during the same periods may
be held to be injurious to health.
"That the snow of an ordinary fall can be removed from the
footwalks by an application of salt an hour or so before they are
scraped is an ascertained fact, except at least when a moderately
severe frost has preceded, accompanied, or followed the snow fall,
or when the snow has drifted into extensive accumulations. Were
it not for the danger to health by excessive cooling of the air,
and for the expense attending the operation, all the impervious
pavements could be cleared of snow (unless the fall was a heavy
one) in a comparatively short time by a liberal application of salt
and the employment of the horse sweeping machines as soon as the
snow had become sufficiently softened to admit of their use."
To these remarks I have nothing to add, except to suggest that in
addition to clearing the snow from the footpaths care should also
be taken to scrape out and thoroughly clear the roof water trunks,
which are frequently found crossing the footpavements; if these
remain choked damage may ensue to the adjoining property when a
thaw commences.
CHAPTER IX.
"STREET WATERING."
The effective watering of streets and roads in any town during the
summer months is an important matter, not only on sanitary grounds,
but also from the fact that considerable damage may be caused in
the neighbouring shops, warehouses, and dwellings, if something is
not done to prevent the clouds of detritus and decaying refuse,
of which the dust is composed, from being blown about. In the
metropolis of London alone, the watering of the streets and roads
employs, in addition to a staff of surveyors, inspectors, and
foremen, about 1,500 men, and an equal number of horses and carts;
and in order to lay the dust effectually, about 30,000 tons of
water must be spread upon the streets every dry day, the cost of
this gigantic work being nearly £200,000 per annum upon an average
of 120 days, when watering becomes necessary.
The most commonly known method in this country for watering the
streets and roads of our towns is that of carrying the water in
wheeled barrels, carts, or vans, and distributing it therefrom
through a perforated pipe upon the surface of the road as the
vehicle is drawn along by a horse attached to the shafts.
The points of importance to be considered under this system are as
follows:--
(1.) The number and position of the stand posts or hydrants, from
which the water carts are to be filled, and whether they shall be
"swan neck" stand posts or "valve" hydrants.
(2.) The size and form of the body of the water carts, as regards
its cubical capacity, its weight, strength, lightness of draught,
durability, width of spread, and shape of jet, so as to ensure
evenness of supply without leaving pools of water or dry patches
after it has passed, or causing that unpleasant cloud of dust which
so often follows the cart.
A wonderful improvement in all these respects has been lately
effected by the introduction of Mr. E. H. Bayley's Patent
Hydrostatic Van, of which I shall speak more in detail hereafter.
(3.) Another point of some importance is the material of which the
hose shall be constructed, if valve hydrants and not swan necks
are existing. My opinion is that it should be of leather, as being
roughly handled and little cared for; canvass hose, although the
cheapest, is not sufficiently durable, and is consequently the
dearest in the end; and (4), lastly, the driver and horse should
both be of some intelligence. A check should also, if possible,
be kept upon the former to see that he performs his allotted
task, and does his proper number of rounds. Mr. Bayley has also
introduced for this purpose a "Tell Tale Indicator," which records
automatically the quantity of water used; it cannot be tampered
with, and registers on a dial outside the van each load of water
delivered, so that the surveyor or other officer can see at a
glance whether the driver is attending to his work, or whether the
hot weather has made him find his throat drier than the roads,
and he has been spending some of his time in moistening it. In
the year 1856, Mr. Scott, C.E., the chief surveyor of the parish
of St. Pancras, kept an account of the daily round of an ordinary
water cart, when he found that through an average working day of
10¼ hours, exclusive of the breakfast and dinner hours, the cart
took one hour and twenty minutes filling, fifty minutes only in
distributing the water on the roads, and eight hours and seven
minutes in travelling to spread the water and back to the stand
posts. It was obvious that these were placed too far apart, and by
the subsequent introduction of additional standposts Mr. Scott
found, in the year 1867, that the filling occupied two hours, the
distribution one hour and thirty minutes, and the travelling to and
fro six hours and thirty minutes, so that it may be assumed, with
an ordinary two-wheeled water cart, that two-thirds of the day is
spent in travelling, one-fifth in filling, and about one-seventh in
the actual spreading.
To many of my readers Bayley's Van is probably as familiar as it is
to me, but it may notwithstanding be well to describe it. It is a
handsome vehicle in appearance, the body being made of wrought iron
plates, and measures 8 ft. in length by 4 ft. 8 in. in breadth,
and 2 ft. in depth, holding 450 gallons. It is mounted on springs
upon four wheels hung upon Bayley's patent axles, and has a pair of
light shafts; it can easily be fitted with a break for hilly roads,
and there being no weight at any time upon the horse's back, he is
relieved from any severe strains.
By means of an adjustable valve the flow of water can be regulated
according to the state of the roads, and, if necessary, a double
valve can be inserted, so that either side of the distributor can
be at work when only half the width is required, or when passing a
carriage or narrow spaces.
The branch pipe is of uniform size, except close to the spreader,
where it enlarges in order to avoid friction, and this is assisted
by the branch pipe being shaped into a cycloidal curve on each side.
In order to obtain as great a pressure as possible upon the jets
of the distributing pipe, and thus to give the side jets a greater
trajectory than they otherwise would have, the tank is elevated as
high as is consistent with the conditions of draught. At the same
time, the distributing pipes are placed as near to the ground as
convenient, so that the maximum extent of distribution is obtained,
and that with less dust and splashing than in the ordinary system.
The holes in the distributing pipe instead of being drilled in
straight lines, are on a curved line, which rises along the length
of the pipe from the centre towards the ends. This has been found
necessary, in order that the distributing pipe may be placed
low, and at the same time advantage be taken of the width of the
trajectory of the jets.
Comparing the work of one of these vans with that reported upon
by Mr. Scott, it is found that the van occupies nine minutes in
filling, six minutes in spreading the water, and only three hours
and fifteen minutes in travelling to and fro, so that in seven
hours it accomplishes as much work as the ordinary water cart
effects in ten hours.
In Edinburgh, where a trial of one of these vans took place
against one of the old carts, it was found that the van spread the
water a width of 20 feet, while the old cart only covered 14 feet;
the van conveyed the water 1,731 feet, and the cart only 951 feet.
The superficial area watered by one load of the van was 34,620
feet, and by the old system only 13,314 feet. When we consider the
time that is lost in travelling to and from the stand pipe, what a
large saving this represents in the cost of this work.
Mr. Tomkins, C.E., the surveyor of the important Metropolitan
parish of St. George, Hanover Square, has made the following
comparative experiments with one of Bayley's vans as against an
ordinary cart:--
+-----------+--------+--------+---------+----------+-----------+------+
| |Contents| No. of | Total | | | Gain |
| | in |Loads to|quantity | Time. |Difference.| per |
| |Gallons.| cover |of Water.| | | Cent.|
| | | beat. | | | | |
+-----------+--------+--------+---------+----------+-----------+------+
| | | | |Hrs. Mnts.| Hrs. Mnts.| |
|Van | 450 | 5½ | 2475 | 1 23 | -- | -- |
|No. 4 Cart | 225 | 11 | 2475 | 1 50 | 0 27 | 24½ |
| | | | | | | |
|Van | 450 | 5½ | 2475 | 1 38 | -- | -- |
|No. 9 Cart | 237 | 11 | 2607 | 2 10 | 0 32 | 25 |
| | | | | | | |
|Van | 450 | 6 | 2700 | 1 45 | -- | -- |
|No. 15 Cart| 290 | 11 | 3190 | 2 10 | 0 25 | 19¼ |
| | | | | | | |
|Van | 450 | 8 | 3600 | 2 15 | -- | -- |
|No. 19 Cart| 260 | 17 | 4420 | 3 30 | 1 15 | 36 |
+-----------+--------+--------+---------+----------+-----------+------+
This shows a mean gain of 26 per cent. in favour of the van, and
the following tables made by an inspector in 1873, showing the
actual occupation of the ordinary carts and Bayley's vans during
a day's work, are extremely interesting, as showing that while
the van is engaged in spreading the water the time of the cart is
wasted in travelling to and from the stand posts, and when it is
borne in mind also that the van spreads water more widely than
the cart, there can be no doubt that a saving of at least 30 per
cent. can be effected by the substitution of these vans for the
old-fashioned cart.
CARTS.
+--------------+--------+----------+----------+------------+----------+
| | |Travelling|Travelling| | |
| |Filling.| Full. | Empty. |Waiting, &c.|SPREADING.|
+--------------+--------+----------+----------+------------+----------+
| | H. M. | H. M. | H. M. | H. M. | H. M. |
| Paddington | 1 45 | 2 9 | 1 58 | 0 20 | 1 30 |
| St. Saviour's| 1 29 | 2 16 | 2 4 | 0 26 | 1 29 |
| Strand | 1 11 | 2 30 | 2 18 | 0 17 | 1 3 |
| Kensington | 4 40 | 2 2 | 1 57 | 0 0 | 1 54 |
| Chelsea | 2 44 | 1 15 | 2 14 | 0 35 | 1 6 |
+--------------+--------+----------+----------+------------+----------+
VANS.
+--------------+--------+----------+----------+------------+----------+
| Paddington | 3 33 | 1 9 | 1 3 | 0 0 | 3 0 |
| St. Saviour's| 2 20 | 1 4 | 1 21 | 0 23 | 2 58 |
| Strand | 2 30 | 1 25 | 1 14 | 0 20 | 2 23 |
+--------------+--------+----------+----------+------------+----------+
One of the earliest methods for watering streets, but one which
has, I think, almost entirely died out on account principally
of the large quantity of water used in the process, was that of
allowing the water to run down the channel gutters, ponding it back
by means of canvass or leather aprons placed across the gutter,
and then spreading the water on to the surface of the street by
throwing it with wooden shovels.
This method, although at first sight may appear clumsy, is an
exceedingly good one upon sanitary grounds. It not only lays
the dust, but it washes the surface of the streets, and it most
effectually scours out the gutters and at the same time flushes
the sewers, which at the season that watering is necessary is also
of great importance to any town. By this process a delightful
freshness is given to the air, and the appearance of the cool
and limpid water rushing along on each side of the street acts
favorably upon the inhabitants. The great objections to this system
are the enormous quantity of water that is used in the process,
and the difficulty of doing the work after the traffic of the day
has commenced. Somewhat of a modification of this process is what
is known as "Brown's System of Street Watering," which may be
described as follows:--A lead pipe is laid in the footpath at the
back of the kerb on each side of the street to be watered, small
gratings or shields being fixed in the pipe at intervals of twelve
inches, and the remaining space filled with asphalte; small holes
are then bored in the pipe through the openings in the shields.
The pipe is connected with the water main in the street, and is
provided with the necessary stopcocks, &c.
On the water being turned on, fine jets are thrown in different
directions upon the surface of the street.
The width of roadway that can be watered by this process depends
upon the pressure of the water, but it may be fairly assumed that
in most towns streets of fifty feet width could be effectually
watered in a few minutes by a pipe on each side of the street.
This process has not gained much favour hitherto, principally on
account of the large first cost involved, which would amount to
upwards of £800 per mile of street, but the expense afterwards
should not much exceed the wages of one man at about 3s. 6d. per
day to manipulate the necessary work, and the interest on the
outlay and depreciation of the pipes, &c.
The other objections to this system are:--
(1.) The liability of the pipes and perforations to get out of
order, especially when allowed to lie idle for so many months in
each year.
(2.) The unpleasantness to pedestrians which must be caused whilst
the watering is proceeding.
(3.) The inconvenience to the traffic during the process.
(4.) The effect upon the water by high winds, when in all
probability it would be blown back across the foot pavements.
(5.) In very broad streets it would be inoperative.
In Paris and other continental cities, and also in several towns
in this country, the watering is effected by hose and reels, or by
portable iron tubes.
Mr. Parry, C.E., the borough surveyor of Reading, has given the
following particulars of the system of hand watering adopted in
that borough, in which he gives the cost, and describes the utility
of that method as compared with the use of water carts:--
A water cart (he states) will water twice a day a superficial area
of 23,849 yards, and for a length watered one width that means
5,962 lineal yards, or for a double width 2,981 yards, the cost per
day of laying on being as follows:--Horse, cart, and man, 8s.; cost
of maintenance of cart, harness, shoeing, &c., 1s. 5d., making 9s.
5d. per day.
With respect to the hand machines he states that he has one of
Headley's drum machines, and three of special make, somewhat
similar to those used in Paris. They are equal in point of work;
and one machine will water 23,740 square yards twice a day, which,
it will be observed, is very close to the amount of work performed
by a cart.
"Headley's machine cost us (he continues), five years ago when
new, £31 7s. 3d., and the repairs and maintenance since that date
have been £22, or an average of £4 8s. per annum, and is just now
almost past repair. The other description of hand machine cost each
when new £20, and the repairs and maintenance have amounted to an
average of £3 18s. each year. They were in use sometime before
Headley's was obtained, and they will be of use for a long time
yet. The cost of labour per day by the hand machines is for two
men at 2s. 10d. each--5s. 8d.--as it requires two men to work the
machine properly, one to distribute the water, and the other to
move the machine and to attach and detach the apparatus to and from
the hydrants; add to this 7d. per day for maintenance and repairs,
will make 6s. 3d. per day. The quantity of water delivered by the
water carts is 0.51 gallon per square yard, and by the hand machine
1.30 gallons."
It will thus be seen that in the case of the cart 24,324 gallons of
water are used per diem, and 61,724 gallons by the hand machines,
the surface watered being very nearly the same in both cases.
Assuming that the water has a commercial value of 6d. per 1,000
gallons, and adding this to the cost per diem in each case, the
total cost stands thus:--
Hand machines £1 10s. 10d.
Carts £1 1s. 7d.
the advantage in point of cost being in favour of the carts, but
the hand machine may water better, especially in broad streets,
although in narrow streets or where there is much traffic, this
method would be impracticable.
In Paris both hose and carts are used for watering the
thoroughfares, the former for the boulevards, the avenues, and
a certain number of first-class streets. The watering plant
belongs to the municipality, and they have various forms of
carts, containing 220, 242 and 286 gallons respectively, and will
water from 2,400 to 3,350 square yards. The watering by hose is
attended to by the ordinary street cleaners, who can easily water
24,000 square yards in about thirty-five minutes, deducting the
time necessary to connect the apparatus with the mains, but this
requires a gymnastic performance, which, if once seen, is not
easily forgotten.
Watering the streets with sea water should be adopted whenever it
is feasible, as it not only gives a delightful freshness to the air
and dispels iodine, but it also causes the surface of the street to
maintain its humidity for a longer period than when fresh water is
used, as it impregnates the soil with hygrometric matter.
This has been often attempted artificially, not only by adding
common salt to the water used for watering, but also by adding
chloride of calcium, notably in Rouen, where this material is
obtained from the manufactories of pyroligenous acid in the
neighbourhood. It is stated that on a mile of road, 16 feet in
width, 5,630 gallons of water were necessary daily, but that the
same result was attained with 1,480 gallons of chloride solution,
marking 30° Beaumé, and costing about ½d. per gallon, the
humectation remaining good for five or six days with the solution
of chloride. With water only in 1,093 yards, in four rounds daily,
3,520 gallons were used, the cost being 48s.; with chloride of
calcium the cost was 32s. per day.
Watering the roads with a largely diluted disinfectant, such as
"Sanitas" in the liquid form, is frequently of great benefit,
and where it can be afforded, it should be occasionally done,
especially in the narrower streets and more crowded districts of a
city or town.
CHAPTER X.
CONTRACTS _V._ ADMINISTRATION BY LOCAL AUTHORITY.
Amongst the questions which I addressed to the surveyors of the
principal towns of England was the following:--"Is the house refuse
collected by the Sanitary Authority or by a Contractor?" and out of
the ninety towns from which I received replies, only thirty were
found to employ contractors for this purpose, and of these the
authorities of two of them proposed to dispense with the services
of the contractor, and to administrate the work with their own
staff, as they found the existing state of things was thoroughly
unsatisfactory.
This is hardly to be wondered at when the nature of such contracts
comes to be considered. The "dust" or "slopping" contractor, or
whatever he may be designated, can hardly be expected to be a
philanthropist, whose principal object in carrying out his contract
is that of benefiting his fellow creatures and not himself; on the
contrary, it may fairly be assumed that the contractor's object is
to serve his own interests, and to make his contract pay. It is
but natural, although the result may not be eminently satisfactory
either to the ratepayers, who require a careful and systematic
cleansing of their dustbins and streets, or to the Sanitary
Authority and their officers who have to look after him. The
officers, if they do their strict duty, will probably be engaged
in constant disputes and litigation with the contractor as to the
due and proper observance of the terms of his contract, and the
consequence of their time being thus occupied instead of in other
more important matters, is naturally detrimental to the interests
of the ratepayers.
If we turn to the articles of agreement or contract usually drawn
up between a Sanitary Authority and a contractor for scavenging, we
find that they are generally very binding in their phraseology, and
enter fully into the details of the work; they should state very
clearly the number of times in every week that the contractor shall
cause all the ashpits in the districts enumerated to be emptied and
cleansed, the manner in which this work shall be performed, and how
the materials thus removed shall be disposed of and the place of
their ultimate destination. The conditions should further specify
what amount of manual, team labour, and carts, are necessary for
the work, and also what plant the contractor must keep in the way
of ladders, baskets, shovels, and brooms, &c. The conditions should
also contain a carefully prepared list of the streets to be swept,
and the manner and number of times this work must be executed, and
arrange for the disposal of the materials thus removed.
In many such contracts it is found necessary to insert clauses
binding the contractor under all sorts of fearful penalties, to
be always at the disposal and under the commands of the inspector
of nuisances, or such other officer or officers as the Sanitary
Authority may appoint. The contractor's men also are forbidden
to refuse gratuities (an order which they no doubt fully carry
out?) and are directed on no account to remove either trade or
garden refuse, and they are also enjoined to be "careful to
consult the convenience of the householders in their visits, and
to thoroughly clean up all dirt and litter that they may cause in
the discharge of their duties." If they fail in any or either of
these injunctions and commands, or for any other dereliction of
duty, the inspector of nuisances, or such other officer as the
Sanitary Authority shall appoint, may summarily dismiss them,
without any reference being made on the subject to their employer
the contractor, and in fact the conditions have necessarily to be
made so stringent and binding as to be either totally inoperative
or open to grave abuses, or, on the other hand, the work can be
carelessly and improperly executed by the contractor.
I am, therefore, strongly of opinion that the work of the
collection of house refuse and cleansing the streets should be
carried out by the Local Authority with their own officers and
staff, and that executing this work by contract is a mistake and
a false economy. It is, perhaps, true that it may be done in the
latter manner at less actual cost to the ratepayers, but all public
work should be done in the best manner possible, irrespective of
cost, thoroughly, but without extravagance, and the result of
such work, especially where it affects the cleanliness and the
appearance of a town, soon fully repays any moderate extra cost
that may thus have been incurred, irrespective of the enormous
benefit that is conferred upon any community by the reduction of
disease and the death-rate by a proper attention to such necessary
sanitary work.
CHAPTER XI.
"_£ s. d._"
A question of the greatest importance to the ratepayers, and one
in which they often take the most lively interest, is that of the
cost of maintaining the necessary staff for the purpose of carrying
out the scavenging of the town, or for paying the contracts for a
similar work.
It is, of course, not possible to lay down any hard and fast line
as to the cost of scavenging in any city or town, as it must
necessarily vary considerably according to circumstances; much
depends upon whether the district to be scavenged is an urban one,
consisting of houses closely packed together, or whether it is
suburban, with scattered villas and mansions standing in their own
grounds; the question, also, of the distance of the depôts to which
the material has to be carted, considerably affects the result of
any estimate, as also does the cost of horse hire, the rate of
wages, and whether the district is of a hilly or flat nature, and,
as I have before shown, the manner in which the streets are formed
and paved, the habits of the people, and last, but not least, the
manner of the eventual disposal of the rubbish after removal; all
these points must bear with great weight upon any question of cost,
and make the results widely different.
On referring to the returns to which I have more than once alluded,
it is found that the cost of removing the house refuse and
cleansing and sweeping the streets combined, varies considerably
in different localities, in one case the sum amounts only to the
rate of one half-penny per annum per head of the population of the
town, whereas in another case the amount is at the rate of three
shillings and sixpence per head. On calculating the average cost
per head of population per annum of the ninety towns from which I
received replies on this point, I find that it amounts to about
tenpence half-penny, after giving credit for any sum of money
realised by the sale of the refuse to farmers and others; so that
if this work is costing the ratepayers of a town or city anything
under a shilling per head of the whole population every year they
have no cause to grumble, as they are so frequently found to do
that their rates are higher, and what they have to show for them
less than any other town in England.
I have discussed the question of "contracts" or "administration"
in a former chapter, but there is still another question which is
also closely connected and intermingled with the question of cost,
and that is when the Sanitary Authority carry out the collection
and removal of the house refuse and cleanse the streets with their
own staff, whether it is better and more economical for them to
keep their own stud of horses or to hire them.
To do thorough justice to the work I am of opinion that both the
horses and carts should be the property of the Sanitary Authority
for the following reasons:--
(1.) The horses and their drivers should be under the control of
the town surveyor or superintendent, in the same manner as the
scavengers who accompany the cart. This is not the case if the
horses are hired.
(2.) The carts can be started on their rounds and leave work at
such time as may be found most convenient, and all the horses being
kept in one stable greatly facilitates this arrangement.
(3.) The horses hired for this kind of service are frequently quite
unfit to draw the bulky loads in the lofty carts behind them, and
opprobrium is thrown upon the Sanitary Authority and the officials
in consequence.
(4.) Economy in working is secured, for not only will good horses
properly kept do a much better day's work than bad ones ill kept,
but there is no one making a profit out of them as is the case when
the horses are hired.
With regard to the question as to the comparative cost of
scavenging where a stud of horses is kept and where they are hired,
the figures that I am about to give can only be speculative, as the
conditions of each town are so widely different, but the figures
may serve as a guide for forming an estimate of the kind, and they
may be altered to suit the requirements of any city or town.
I will, therefore, assume that a town with a population of about
35,000 inhabitants will require at least seven scavengers' carts
constantly at work, without reckoning those which will be required
after a fall of snow or in exceptionally muddy weather, and for
which purposes auxiliary horses and carts must be hired, as also
those which are engaged in hauling stones and other materials used
for roads or public works.
I have already stated that the value of an ordinary dust cart is
about £18, so I will retain that figure for my estimate.
The value of a new set of cart harness, including a loin cloth,
should not exceed £7.
To work seven carts properly, eight horses will be required, which
may be estimated to cost about £50 each.
The first cost of the necessary stabling for eight horses,
including purchase of land, erection of buildings with a foreman's
house, corn and hay lofts and machinery and tools, may be reckoned
at about £1,500.
With regard to the wages to be paid to the scavengers and the
carters, it may be reasonably assumed that their rate of wages may
be much lower than that paid to navvies, or what are known as "pick
and shovel" men, for the following reasons:--
In all house refuse there is always present a quantity of such
materials as rags, bones, pieces of iron, and other articles, which
have a commercial value, and behind each scavenger's cart hangs a
sack, into which all such articles are placed by the men engaged
in the removal of the house refuse, and are subsequently sold, and
the spoil divided between them as perquisites. I have been credibly
informed that in some localities the amount thus realised averages
more than four shillings a week throughout the year.
It is also a notable fact that although the householders are most
particularly requested not to give gratuities to the men employed
by the Sanitary Authority in this work, yet a considerable number
of them constantly give the men a gratuity or bribe to ensure
the dustbin being regularly and properly cleared, although the
less generous, or poorer members of the community probably suffer
in consequence; again at Christmas the scavenger feels himself
entitled to demand and receive a handsome present in the form of
a Christmas-box, which, in a rich neighbourhood, amounts in the
aggregate to no inconsiderable sum.
For these reasons I put the wages both of the scavenger and the
carter at 16s. each per week, and adding a guinea a week for the
foreman, who has in addition to this a house to live in rent free,
and a stableman at 18s. a week, the total expenses are accounted
for except those of the keep of the horses, shoeing, veterinary
attendance, lighting the stable, &c.
This also is a sum very difficult to estimate, as fodder, bedding,
&c., varies so widely in different districts, but for the purposes
of this calculation it may be estimated that 17s. per horse per
week should be sufficient to cover all expenses under these heads.
For the purposes of this calculation it will be necessary to assume
that the £1,500 has been borrowed at 4½ per cent. in perpetuity,
although as a matter of fact any monies borrowed for such a
purpose as this would probably carry a sinking fund, so as to
liberate the debt at the end of thirty or perhaps fifty years, but
if I were to reckon the interest in this way in my estimate, it
would complicate it unnecessarily.
I have assumed that to meet the depreciation of horse flesh it will
be necessary to put aside the value of one horse each year, without
reckoning anything per contra for the sale of those worn out or
injured in the work, as I think this will be found to be what would
be necessary.
I have allowed £50 per annum for repairs and depreciation of
the buildings and machinery, as I consider this should be quite
sufficient for a well-managed and cared-for property.
I have allowed 15 per cent. per annum for repairs and depreciation
of the harness, and 12 per cent. for the carts.
The estimate will consequently stand thus:--
SPECIMEN ESTIMATE of the cost per annum involved by any Urban
Sanitary Authority of a town of 35,000 inhabitants, in executing
the work of collection of house refuse and the cleansing of
streets, with their own staff of men and horses and carts.
Annual Cost.
£ s. d.
Capital borrowed £1,500, yearly interest at 4½ per cent 67 10 0
Do. do. for 8 horses at £50 £400
Do. do. for 7 carts at £18 £126
Do. do. for 7 sets of harness
at £7 £49
----
£575 at 4½ per cent. 25 17 6
Repairs to buildings, machinery, &c. 50 0 0
Depreciation of horse flesh, say 50 0 0
Do. of 7 carts, costing £126, at 12 per cent. 15 2 2
Do. of 7 sets of harness, costing £49, at 15
per cent. 7 7 0
Wages of 7 carters at 16s. each per week 291 4 0
Do. of 7 scavengers at do. do. 291 4 0
Do. of 7 sweepers of roads at do. do. 291 4 0
Do. of 1 foreman at 21s. per week 54 12 0
Do. of 1 stablekeeper at 18s. do. 46 16 0
Keep, &c., of 8 horses at 17s. per week each 353 12 0
--------------
Total estimated cost £1,544 8 11
==============
If the foregoing estimate is compared with the standard of one
shilling per head of the population per annum, which I have fixed
as a fair average cost of such work, it is found to be less by
£205 than that of a town of 35,000 inhabitants, for this latter
case amounts to £1,750, and nothing has been allowed for the
possible sale of the house refuse thus collected, but, on the other
hand, I have allowed nothing for any emergency, such as a very
rainy season or a deep fall of snow.
If the horses and drivers had been hired the estimate might stand
thus:--
Annual Cost.
£ s. d.
Hire of 7 horses and drivers at 8s. per diem for six
days a week 873 12 0
Hire of 4 horses and drivers on Sunday, half-a-day
each 41 12 0
Foreman to superintend (no free house rent as in
former case) 65 0 0
Wages of scavengers as before 291 4 0
Do. of sweepers do. 291 4 0
--------------
£1,562 12 0
==============
This shows that the cost of hiring would be slightly in excess
of that of keeping a stud of horses, and when we consider the
unquestionable benefit to be derived by adopting this method, I
think most Urban Authorities who are now hiring their team labour
would do well to consider the question of purchasing and keeping
their own stud.
Great care, however, would have to be exercised in the
supervision, or the expenditure would speedily increase, as in all
stable establishments without such supervision, grave abuses, and
even fraud, may go undetected for a considerable period.
The figures that I have given in my estimates must not be
criticised, for they are not intended to fix the value of such
work, but simply to act as a guide to anyone interested in making
an estimate of the kind, in which case prices more in accordance
with the district could be inserted.
The following table, however, gives the actual cost of collecting
house refuse and cleansing and watering streets in fourteen large
English towns:--
+-------------+----------------------+----------------------------+
| | Annual cost of col- | This amounts to the |
| | lecting house refuse | following:-- |
|Name of Town.| and cleansing and +--------------+-------------+
| | watering streets and | Per 1,000 of | Per mile of |
| | courts. | population. | streets. |
+-------------+----------------------+--------------+-------------+
| | £ | £ | £ |
| Bedford | 900 | 45.0 | 45.9 |
| Bristol | 13,005 | 63.1 | 108.3 |
| Cambridge | 2,350 | 67.1 | 83.9 |
| Cardiff | 5,545 | 65.2 | 95.6 |
| Carlisle | 2,261 | 64.6 | 113.0 |
| Exeter | 2,100 | 52.5 | 60.0 |
| Gloucester | 1,478 | 36.9 | 49.3 |
| Liverpool | 82,284 | 151.2 | 316.2 |
| Northampton | 2,820 | 51.3 | 104.4 |
| Oxford | 2,750 | 63.9 | 85.9 |
| Portsmouth | 5,276 | 39.0 | 101.4 |
| Southampton | 1,999 | 33.3 | 45.4 |
| Southport | 4,077 | 119.9 | 97.0 |
| Swansea | 4,200 | 60.0 | 76.3 |
+-------------+----------------------+--------------+-------------+
_These figures are taken from a return prepared by Mr. Williams, C.E.,
Engineer to the Borough of Cardiff._
I have frequently referred to some returns which I have obtained
on the subject of the collection of house refuse and cleansing of
streets, and it may be interesting and of use to others who wish
to obtain information on these subjects if before closing this
book I give a list of the questions that were asked. They were as
follows:--
(1.) Name of city or town.
(2.) Number of inhabitants.
(3.) Area of district scavenged.
(4.) Is the house refuse collected by the Urban Authority.
(5.) Or by a contractor.
(6.) How often is the house refuse removed.
(7.) Do the scavengers make a house to house call.
(8.) Or do they give notice of their approach by ringing a bell
or otherwise, and require the householder to bring out the refuse
to the cart.
(9.) Do the scavengers remove garden or trade refuse, and, if so,
under what conditions.
(10.) Are the house dustbins, as a rule, fixed or movable.
(11.) Have you any public dustbins, and, if so, are they merely
isolated instances, or have you a regular system.
(12.) Number of depôts for the refuse collected, and the distance
they are from the town.
(13.) How is the refuse disposed of.
(14.) Approximate mileage of streets cleansed.
(15.) Are all the streets swept daily, or only the principal ones.
(16.) Have you any provision for sweeping streets oftener than
once a day, or for the frequent removal of horse dung, &c.
(17.) Are private courts and alleys swept and cleansed by the
Urban Authority, and, if so, how frequently.
(18.) What number of men, horses, and carts respectively, do you
employ.
(19.) Net cost of your system after giving credit for any money
realised by sale of refuse.
In concluding this little book on "Dirty Dustbins and Sloppy
Streets," I hope that what has been said may be of some use to my
readers, and that they will themselves supply any omissions that
they have found, and kindly correct all the errors, which are only
too ready to creep into a work of this description.
FINIS.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE
Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
the text and consultation of external sources.
The Table on page 54 entitled 'GROSS COST FOR ...' was large in width,
and has been split into two parts. The first column (Street.) is
repeated in the second part.
Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,
and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. For example,
brick makers, brick-makers; pervious; potatoe; unhung; rinsings.
Pg 7, 'ash pit attached' replaced by 'ashpit attached'.
Pg 11, 'distance of ' replaced by 'distance of __.
Pg 30, 'a specialite' replaced by 'a speciality'.
Pg 56, 'of sillicate' replaced by 'of silicate'.
Pg 66, 'clearing the foothpaths' replaced by 'clearing the footpaths'.