The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1843-10-02
Pr,cs Two Cents.
Cleaning the ssre1ts.

Mr.. EDITOR
In the Compiroler's account Tor cleaning the
streets, 1901 loads ef ashes and rubbish snoear tn
have been coil ct-d IN II teen DAYS 1 ia th.ye
stated 10 b. useies- rubbish, which are led 10
believe Lroduced no revenue whatever, Public re-
venue II has produced nOne-pTvate revenue I
should imagine il has produced, aad d pretty hand
some amount too, Il the parties IN the secret are
aware of its rra value, which Is not very isey IL
they are, howevtr, ig0orant on this point. the Cor
portiion will not be So hereafter, and thus a few
months, ,hr city msy bsnoid large sum Ia It's
dlt on ihs head, which II mas a Yer enjoyed be-
tore
I shall now show what this "useless rubbish" L.
trace ia value, AID ieave the Common Council to
.rq ire now " mas nj h-rto be-n disposed of, and
b " II sht' be dispos' " tor future
Oor poruon %! The JUSTICES rubbish" 10 composed
I'll wood aud coat ashes, bones, frtnse gpfables,
and the Ike Nh 8, sr- placed i, boxes aud barrels,
aud l' "p tn pavement IN ltoni oi every dwelling,
To be e6p'led aud carted away ~ coGvenier CO.
Another portion ct me - Useless rubbish" IL formed
Il the mortar anu 10 combinations, or materials
loui old bui
Now, both th.se portions ot useless rubbish"
happen 10 be very active and ertllising sources of
vegetation. Dough- Up with aviotty aud al much ex-
pt Use IN Fnrpt, aud ot course they oi equal
I'm or'ance 10 country like lhis, which IS new,
ind 80 excessively fgrlcGlIurHl
The " God aches Gnu. fly carbonate OF potash,
and are sold he other side oi the Atsnnc AT ten
80 twenty c-ntS per b I.h5,, even wnen leathed.
The anthracite coal a,hts are carbonate and sui
ghate ct potash, and suphate ot alumlne, and they
the vicinity of Wales, and contain no bones nor
fuse vegetabes-nO animal and vegetable matter
to enrich them. This is one portion of the Comp
troller's" use less rubbish"
The materials OF old buildings-and from so many
accidental fires In this city, they unfortunately SUI
perabound-are composed OF carbonate OF lime and
potash, as well OF nltrates and murates OF pot
ash and soda. Their effects as an amendment are
very durable, even when uncombined with COM
ost
These articles alone are not only nrinsoally
rich manures, but when mixed with new night
soil, they absorb that portion Of ammonia which, in
in drying would be lost and thus become the me-
dunn OF retaining and gradually giving up to vege-
tation an abundance OF nutriment, which would
otherwise evaporate and escape into the air. uncom
bined. The ammonia originating in the decompo.
sition OF the refuse vegetables Is also absorbed by
the ashes, and they are thus rendered much more
fertlsing. The bones may be either ground to
dust, or he decomposed in close vessel, the am
mona Of which will be readily absorbed by the
ashes, whilst the copious resduum Is animal char
coal, also an active lertlllser.
Now 10 show that this immense quantlty-theso
many thousand loads OF fertlsing materials are not
lost sight OF. poudrette manufacturer confessed to
me no longer ago than yesterday, that he has tor
Years been in the habit OF sending carts round to
collect il. If he had paid dollar CARLOAD to the
Comptroller, for the many hundred thousand loads
which have thus disappeared, he would have OBJ
tanned dirt cheap; but he has been permitted to
take it for nothing, why OF course he has obtained
II cheaper.
The revenue loses perhaps hundred thousand
dollars annually in this way, but then 1t is public
property, and he who bract the most OF 1t Is,
believe, considered smart man. In England,
the contractor for each parish pays many thousands
yearly for he exclusive right OF fetching 1t away.
Here il ~ useless rubbish, it seems, and there
fore sny one may puroln It, Yours respec fully,
w. A. KgNrsH.