Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-07-05
WHAT IS DONE WITH THEM.

yourself under the same circumstances.
Maggie Browne. IN Little Folks.
WHAT Is DONE WITH THEM.
Useful and Beautiful Things Made from
tho Contents of the Ash Barrel.
What does the rag-picker want from
the ash-barrelp Have you never won
dered why ragged, miserable-lo looking
creature should go about sticking .
long hook into ash-barrels and drag
ing out horrid rags?
Youth be surprised to know what
comes out of that dreadful-looking
place. Let me tell you few Of the
things the picker finds, and you'll see
that the fairies Of the story-books
never performed any greater marvels
than every day come from the hands of
common workmen. Beautiful cloth
worth several dollars q yard, comes
out of the sh-barrel, the most exquis-
tie of papers, balls and buttons Of
ivory, the daintiest of toilet-soap and
the incest of jelly, the phosphorus that
we want for our matches, coal to burn
and furs to keep warm, solder, bone
black and leather, and-dear me! I
couldn't tell you in an hour all the
strange things the ashman carries of
in that dismal-looking bag of his.
But you needn't peep into and expect
to see all these objects. You would
find only dirty rubbish-bits of rag that
you wouldn't touch, worn-out gloves,
discarded shoes, tin cans, dead cats,
broken dishes, and bones. They all
have to go through the hands of the
different workmen I spoke of before
they come out in their new forms.
The old kid gloves, for instance.
The choice part of these is the thumb,
made of skin that grew on the back of
a rat, as perhaps you have heard.
Now, I don't know why rat skin is bet
ter than any other, but it is true that,
after washing and soaking in lye, and
purifying with sulphur, and boiling
and steaming, and so forth and so forth,
these despised thumbs come out white
and delicate gelatine, ready to make
into delicious jelly.
Old shoes, again, are prizes to the
rag-picker. If not good enough to be
cobbled up and sold again, they are
made-rm sure you'll be glad you dom
drink it-into Jamaica rum of so su
perior quality that it is kept only by
druggists which pride themselves on
dealing in the purest articles for medi-
cine.
Bones thrown out by the cook or dis
carded by the dogs go to the ivory
worker, who turns them into a thou
sand and one pretty things we like to
buy. Or. If not good enough for his
use, they are burned into boneblack,
to help make your candy.
An unfortunate dead pussy is another
treasure. The skin-if good enough
is used for fur, her flesh for soap, her
intestines for violin and guitar strings,
and her bones also go to the ivory
man.
Wooden rags are washed and secured
and ground up to make felt, or mixed
with fresh wool to make heavy beaver
cloth. Bits of metal, brass and cop
per, go to the metal workers, who
melt them to use again. Tin cans,
after being induced by hot fire to
part with the solder that holds them
together, go to the iron-workers, and
are made into new things. Broken
dishes, oyster shells and glass are
pounded fine and used in several ways.
Bits of coal and cinders are carefully
sorted and sold to burn.
In fact, there is not one thing that
goes into the ash-barrel but goes
through changes SO wonderful that we
are glad to pay great price to get it
back into the house in it's new shape.
In London ash-barrels are not put
out in hideous row on the sidewalks;
they are called dust-binds, and kept
out of sight in the house. No rag
picker goes about pulling them over,
but when taken away they are emptied
into vacant lot out of the city, and
there men, women and children spend
their lives sitting the ashes and sort
ing refuse. You will see how valua-
BILE these are when tell you that one
large dust heap has been sold for two
hundred thousand dollars.
Sometimes the rag-picker finds a
silver spoon that was carelessly thrown
away, or bit of money or jewellery
that went out in the sweepings, but
usually he makes his living by selling
the things you see him drag out on his
hook, and he probably doesn't know
now any better than he did yesterday
what becomes Of things he carries of
and sells.-Olive Thorsse Miller, IN
Christian Union.
How many legs have
insectsp" Candidate sSixty-fiye per
cent. OF insects have emo legs ct all.
eleven per cent. have one. fourteen per
cent. two or three, ten per cent. four
or Eve, but none six" Professor
'tHow in the world did you get this
answer?'' Candidate carefully
examining the collection belonging %