THE USE AND ABUSE OF CITY STREETS 



gases frniu below the surface of the pavement. Sewer 

 manholes emit clouds of steam and unpleasant-smelling 

 vapors; grated openings provide for the escape of hot, 

 vitiated air from workshops, stables, and boiler rooms. 

 Of all the sources of street dirt, the greatest amount 

 which becomes scattered upon the pavements originates 

 from vehicular traffic. The ceaseless move- The Main 



. i i i -i Sources of 



ment of vehicles, with their horses, contributes street Dirt 

 materially to the soiling of city streets. The horse 

 dung itself is a substantial and annoying item. One 

 thousand horses will, in every working day of eight 

 hours, deposit about 500 gallons, of urine and 10 tons 

 of dung upon the pavements. Inasmuch as over 2000 

 vehicles have been counted passing a given point on 

 the street of a city during a single hour, the quantity 

 of horse dung which may be deposited on a mile of city 

 streets is evidently very large. The residue of this 

 horse dung, that is, the undigested external coatings of 

 hay and oats, form a conspicuous ingredient of city 

 dirt, 



The transportation of sand, coal, hay, manure, and 

 other loose material in poorly constructed wagons 

 adds to the quantity of refuse in the streets. It 

 seems to make little difference how large is the wagon 

 body, the contents are generally heaped or piled above 

 the sides. Ordinances should exist prohibiting the 

 dirtying of streets in this way. 



In the average city the street-cleaning departmenti tself 

 adds materially to the work which it has to do. The 

 carts are generally unsuitable for the conveyance of the 

 kind and quantity of refuse which they have to carry. In 

 consequence, dry refuse is blown from the carts and wet 

 refuse drips from them. In loading refuse over the too- 



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