New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-10-23
CHANCES HERE AND THERE.

Let not the srancrr who boards south bound train
on the Sixth Avenue Elevated Road about p IN.
suppose for moment that he Is on dltehng train
There no ditchng trains on the elevated roads OF
this city. Those lines prlnked undiscovered rancid
sons Of Italy who fill the seats with their strong
smelling bodies and the asles with picks aud shoves
and rusty dinner pals not employees oil the Man
haitian Elevated Railroad. The company 4 simply
transporting them at cents a head from Harlem
sewer to the squaLd precincts Of Muloerry-st
Twice within the last week an enormous black cat
has been strong about the corridors OF the
City Hall with a campaign chestnut bearing the image
of Sheriff Grant tied to its tall The query, Whose
cat your is responded to by a majestic waving
Of the animals brush In Vienna four cats en-
poyed by the magistrates to catch mice on the
premises OF the municipality. A regular allowance
Is voted for their keep and after limited period OF
active service they placed on the retired list with
comfortable pension. But nobody In all Austria
properly estimated the value Of cats in political
campaign America still leads the world.
The long suffering residents OF West Endave. would
like to know how many more months Will be required
for the completion of the asphalt pavement that was
begun in that street year ago. The surveyors have
done their work something more than dozen times
but not square yard OF paving has been laid south
OF seventy-second-st. Each successive complaint on
the part Of the property owners Is followed by the
temperance Of the surveying corps as q sort OF
guarantee Of good faith the part OF the Department
Of Public Works. At distant day West End-ave
viii be OF the fashionable streets of tho city, and
being far away from the turmoil and hustle Of tbs
business district and beyond tho reach OF the heavy
traffic Of Broadway the residents who look TO its
future have wisely declared against the ordinary
Belgian pavement that has been the and at the
same time the blessing OF many American cities.
Speaking Of pavements, Rudolph Herring president
OF the Engineers Club OF Philadelphia, who con-
cludsd recently interesting series OF experiments
touching economy in horse power, says that II one
horse can draw certain load a level road on
iron rails It will take and two-third horses to
draw the same load asphalt, three and 0ne-third
horses to draw It the bost Belgian block, five OH
the ordinary Belgian pavement good cobble-
stones, thirteen bad cobblestones, twenty
ordinary earth road and forty on sandy road. New
York has the reputation Of being the worst paved city
In the world, consequently horses used and
a larger number destroyed here than elsewhere. The
wretched condition Of streets invariably excites
the apprehension Of Europeans who Jolt them for
the first time. More than one enterpnsng English
has undertaken enlIghten the subject OF
roads, but all have failed Two years ago rudy
"tyke" Of the Of Helyn brought from York
shire samples Of keystone pavement that had been
used with IN Paris and London. IL q
combination OF hard wood and concrete laid in such
way to lock itself securely together. The wood
wood. Mr. Helyn negotiated long time with the
trustees for the privilege of paving section Of the
roadway OF the Brooklyn Bridge with his keystone
blocks. He wanted no compensation beyond the adj
versement that his patent would gain but his terms
were rejected Eventually at his own
expense he paved section Of Fifth
ave., containing about 1000 square yards, near
the Windsor Hotel guaranteeing its perfect condition
for number Of years. In Commissioner NewtonS gen
Of asst
stones had go, and IL is unlikely that they Will
ever be adopted by the city. There be no doubt
that genuine asphalt makes the best Of pavements.
The Swiss first discovered its value a road making
material In l649. In 1854 the Rue Bergcre, In Paris,
was paved with It on trial. Another trial was made
4 larger scale In 1853 in the Rue ST. Honore In
front OF the Pala!s Royal, where there daily
traffic of $4,000 onehorse vehicles. The result was
eminently satisfactory. In 1850 there 500 900
square yards, nineteen neal miles, OF COM
pressed asphalt pavements and over 100000 square
yards Of asphalt mastic Sidewalks in that city.
Deeves, with broken and bleeding horns, bruised
eyes, swollen tongues and lacerated hides daily
Arrivals at tho Jersey City stock yards, from which
New-York gets its fresh meat supply Their long
Journey from the Southwest has made them wholly
unfit for food, but they 90 to the butcher without
delay, put out of misery in an incredibly short
time, and eaten at breakfast next morning. One Of
the mysteries Of human existence is the blind faith
Of people in what they eat. New-Yorlers seldom
complain. The population Of the city IS graded
that food which IS rejected by one class Is seized
with avidty by another. The mlddlemen-deaiers
who stand between supply and demand-waste nothing
II case OF hams or a carcass % beef be too rank
for the palate Of the Portuguese quarter-a rare
circumstance is shipped to the West Indies and
sold at fair pr e to the natives, some Of whom
DO not class alol, the carrion In tho matter
u voracity la the transportation OF longhorned
Texas cattle, shippers have been unable TO find any
way OF keeping them from goring each other and
breaking bones in closely crowded cars To this may
be attributed IN large degree the success Of the
dressed beef business. But the practice OF dehorn
Ing calves IS becoming common throughout all the
cattle growing regions Of the West and Southwest,
lu0 in a few years shall have to record the dis
appearance OF tLe antcred monarchs Of the plains.
This dchornng process begins With the sucking calf
and consists simply in tho destruction Of the horn
after as soon as II forms itself into small knobs
AZ the extrcmlties OF tho skull nehorned cattle,
being dlsarned, never fight, and may be shipped
without injury to themselves or each other