OLD BOOTS AND SHOES. 287 



A daily paper some time since gave curious statistics 

 on the subject of old boots and shoes, which had been 

 brought to light in the course of inquiries instituted in 

 New York by the superintendent of the census. In 

 New York and Brooklyn about three million pairs of 

 old shoes are thrown away every year, and used to be 

 plentiful in the gutters in some parts. They have now 

 become scarce, however, as they are diligently picked up, 

 and used for three purposes. Those which are not too far 

 gone are patched and greased, and sold to the people who 

 deal in such goods. Many folk wear one shoe much more 

 than the other, and the dealers find pairs for the odd ones. 

 The shoes not worth patching are cut up, and the good bits 

 are used for patching other shoes, while all the worthless 

 parts are converted into " Jamaica rum," by a process known 

 only to the manufacturers. It is said they are boiled in pure 

 spirits, and allowed to stand for a few weeks, and that the 

 product far surpasses rum made in the ordinary way ! 



Broken glass of all kinds always finds a ready market, 

 and may re-appear on our tables over and over again, for 

 in making glass it is usual to melt the materials together 

 with a quarter or half their weight of " cullet," or broken 

 glass, of the same kind, so that many hundred tons are 

 wanted in the course of the year. Of late, moreover, the 

 coarsest kinds of broken glass have had another destiny 

 opened up to them, being bought by a manufacturer Mr. 

 Rust who melts them down, colours the paste any tint 

 he chooses by a secret process of his own, and when it 

 is cold breaks it into irregular fragments of various sizes, 

 with which he produces very effective mosaics for the 



