PARIS 



pnrarily damming the gutter by means of coarse 

 cloths. 



Tin- progress of the stream is, under the best circum- 

 stanres slow often less than 100 feet per minute. As 

 the water advances, it spreads out over the dry surface 

 picking up and carrying at the forefront of the stream 

 a surprisingly large amount of dust and solid matter, 

 such as animal excrement, cigar ends, fruit refuse, and 

 paper. The stream is very broad and dirty at the 

 head but further back becomes narrower and cleaner 

 until eventually it looks as clear as a mountain brook. 



The cleansing effect of the water is much increased 

 by the operations of an attendant who, armed with a 

 long-handled, stiff broom, sweeps into the gutter such 

 dirt as is visible from the sidewalk and from the street 

 for a distance of 8 or 10 feet from the curb. This sweep- 

 ing is done with long, easy strokes. The broom is 

 continually dipped into the flowing water which both 

 cleans the broom and prevents the raising of dust. 

 The clean water is often purposely swept out upon the 

 broad carriageway so that when the gutter flushing is 

 finished the street has been rather well cleaned for a 

 space of 10 feet or so, to say nothing of the side- 

 walks. 



Anyone who has watched the operations of gutter 

 i\\\ '.ling in Paris on a hot summer day is likely to be 

 impressed with the idea that, under the conditions 

 which exist in Paris, it is an excellent procedure. It 

 transports immense quantities of filth to the sewers at 

 times and under circumstances which are under thorough 

 control. The kind of dirt which is thus carried off is 

 at once the most difficult for a street-cleaning authority 

 to deal with and the most dangerous to health. The 



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