AMSTERDAM 



fiituiv settlement id' tin- city beyond (lie older distri< 



The care of the sewerage system and the utilization 

 of the wastes is carried on under the management of 

 the street-cleaning department. 



There is an extensive depot situated near the north- 

 west limits of the city where refuse of all kinds is 

 carried. The product of the Liernur system Fertilizer 

 and excrement collected by other means is Works 

 converted into sulphate of ammonia by means of a 

 chemical process which has been perfected at this estab- 

 lishment. Other refuse from the houses, streets, and 

 to some extent from the canals, is brought to this depot 

 to be made, after a careful overhauling for the recovery 

 of salable products, into compost. 



The sulphate of ammonia, a white and inoffensive 

 salt, has a ready sale at about $50 per ton. This partly 

 compensates for the cost of operating the Liernur system 

 of sewerage. The system is not regarded as satisfactory; 

 it is objectionable from many standpoints. 



The refuse which is collected from houses is brought 

 to the depot for overhauling in boats and 



House Refuse 



carts. The products are taken away in boats 

 and by railway. 



The method of collecting refuse at the houses is 

 picturesque and suggestive of customs which have in 

 most great cities long been superseded by more modern 

 customs. The refuse cart, a large, cumbersome affair, 

 is accompanied by two men who empty the receptacles 

 placed outside of the houses as the scavengers pass. 

 On the approach of one of these carts it is the 

 duty of one of the attendants to go ahead a little dis- 

 tance and operate a noisy watchman's rattle, ringing 

 at the same time doorbells on each side of the street. 



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