BERLIN 



a cost of about $293,000 for carting and $62,500 for 

 extra labor. 



The streets are sprinkled before they are swept at 

 illicit in order to lay the dust in the daytime and at 

 certain seasons of year to help remove the 



Sprinkling 



slimy mud which the French call butter. 



This greasy mud is everywhere a matter of serious 



concern in Europe. 



The city owns the sprinkling-carts and lets a con- 

 tract after public bidding for the necessary horses 

 and men to operate them. Horse contractors 

 in 1907 received $2.00 per cart per day. 

 The contractor's men must be well and uniformly 

 clothed and must obey the instructions of the city 

 employees on pain of immediate dismissal. Once a 

 year the carts must be painted at the expense of the 

 contractor and they must be kept and sheltered by 

 him at all seasons. In 1906 the number of carts in 

 regular use was 301 and their operation cost $128,000. 

 There were, in addition, 67 sprinkling-carts in use 

 most of the year to aid in cleaning the streets. This 

 cleaning was usually done at night, but in places where 

 the traffic was very heavy, it was sometimes performed 

 by day. The idea is to flush the finer street dirt into 

 the sewers. 



In washing a street during the day a water-cart 

 first passed down the middle of the street sprinkling a 

 large amount of water. This was followed Dayw.h- 

 at once by revolving rubber squeegees operated Jjfphlu 

 by horses ; these scraped the mud to one side. stre * ts 

 The cart passed again and again, each time promptly 

 followed by the squeegees until six to eight trips had 

 been made and the whole breadth of the street covered. 



115 



