Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-09-21
WHAT BECOMES OF A HORSE.
The Period Of His Greatest Usefulness
Begins After He 10 Dead

II was very meiancnoiy-loOklng olo morse,
with consumptivs aspect presumably en-
gendered by long periods of semi-starvation,
and when 1t fell dead suddenly in the shafts Of
an ash wagon opposite the patent Office early
yesterday morning, the colored man who drove
the cart did not evince any marked surprise.
A policeman who was passing stopped for q
moment to inspect the corpse, and then went
into shop ON the corner to ring up tele-
phone. Ten minutes dew by, and man with
businsss-like air and q large wart on his nose
made his way through the little crowd that sur
rounded the dead animal The ash man he ad-
dressed briefly in Q whisper and presently
handed him i've silver dollars. After cycling
the money for q few seconds with the air of one
consoled for misfortune the ash man put it
in his pocket and walked of. probably to bor-
row another horse for the purpose Of dragging
his wagon home. As the crowd broke up a
philanthropic pedestrian remarked, with sigh,
to the person with a wart on his nose that the
poor beast was to be congratulated upon hay
ing finished his career of usefulness in this
world. The man with the wart grinned, and
replied that the unfortunate creatures useful
ness, far from being finished, had only begun.
TAKEN AWAY IN DnAY.
The philanthropio aitizen did not UNDER
stand the meaning Of this response; but he
would have comprehended it better if he had
waited q minute or 80 more, at the end of
which heavy dray was driven up alongside
the pavement and two men with an inclined
plane OF boards and rope tackle pulled the
dead morse upon the vehicle and drove away
with it. The bystanders noticed that the dray
was marked in big letters with the name Of
such-and-such firm, manufacturers of supe-
rior fertilizers"
This, then, was to be the destiny of the de-
ceased quadruped. Unlike the egg that chirps
at braa ba1 Of fha rariOd n
its usefulness. 1t would live again in the
fruits and flowers and waving grain, to which
1t might contribute the elements of growth.
PUT THROUGH THE MILL
After awhile the dray came to a stop in
front Of an ugly-looking building on the Poto-
mac bank at the other end of Georgetown.
The men did not hold their noses, but that
was because they were used TO the very un-
pleasant smells which thicken the atmosphere
Of the locality. The carcas was unloaded and
having been conveyed into the building was
expert operator set to work upon
it with keen knife and quickly
removed the entire skin, the portion covering
the head and tail included. The fayed ami
NAL was then cut up into ak parts, which were
thrown into a big iron kettle with steam
jacket and boiled four hours. At the end of
this time the big bones, loosened from the flesh
by cooking, were separated from the mass Of
meat with rakes for subsequent grinding up
into bone fertilizer. which is very expensive,
but contains elements that restore the nutri-
tive power to the soil in a wonderful manner.
For whereas fertilizers made of flesh produce
a good effect that is merely temporary the
ground bone supplies the appetite Of the
hungry loan in way that really lasts. Nitro
gen, carbon and lime, which it so largely con-
tains. are marvellous growth producers.
USING UP THE REMNANTS.
But, as was about to be said, the flesh and
little bones, after the big bones had been taken
out, were put under powerful press, big
enough to accommodate half q ton, and
squeezed until nearly every particle of water
and grease has been forced out of the tissue
with two, jackets, between which steam was
continually flowing around, and after a while
it came out dry as a chip. Not bit Of grease
or moisture, in which the elements of decom-
position are propagated, remained and the
residue, after being ground up fine in a sort of
mill, resembled Lone Jack tobacco more than
anything else. 1t had no offensive smell, and
TIE STAR reporter was informed that it would
last indefinitely without exhibiting a sign of
decay or change. In this form, put up in bags,
it was ready for the farmer-an excellent fer
tilizsr, though by no means equal to ground
bone. 1t Ii much cheaper, however.
THE SKINS AND HOOPS.
preston that you know all about the post-mor-
tenn history Of a horse. By no means. You
have not yet been told that his skin goes to
or New York, and is made into
base ball covers Nothing 80 tough az horse
hide, and, therefore, SO well adapted to that
purpose, has yet been discovered. The hair of
the name and tail 10 the best possible material
for a curlsd-hair mattress. The hoofs are
ground up into the finest gardeners fertilizer
known, and the most costly Of
Guilty ': Of grinding o"a them The the RESULT s
is called .'hoof meal" and its value from the
gardeners point Of view is largely owing to
the presence in it of great percentage of
ammonia. Very likely, however, the hoofs
may be utilized in the manufacture of an ex-
cellent quality of glue, or it may be that the
chemist will adapt them to the various uses OF
his own, among others to the making Of that
exquisite color of Persian blue. Besides. the
hair may be used for hair cloth and fish lines
and the bones for animal charcoal and buttons.
MULIs AND OTHER BEASTS.
The mule is useful after death for very much
the same purposes as the horse. The fertilizer
maker finds him equally available. Nor does
the manufacturer of fertilizers disdain the hogs
and cows that die a natural death Offal from
the slaughter houses he depends upon largely
for his supplies of material, which is all pre-
pared in the same way. Heads and feet and
other waste portions Of animals killed in the
slaughter houses are serviceable to him, as are
also the trimmings that come in bags from the
chipped-beef factories. Much damaged meat,
too, comes from the butchers, who send for the
fertilizer man when they have any on hand.
As for the besves, their horns are made into
ladies' combs and their shin bones, which are
of extra hard and fine material-into knife
and razor handles.
That's a very pretty cat Of yours" re-
marked The STAR reporter to the fertilizer
man who gave him some Of the above informa-
ton.
''Yes, indeed, that's my especial pet" was
1T is very sad to think that some day poor
pussy must be turned into fertilizer. too
Everything goes in this business into the pot
could boil up all my wife's relations without
qualm, II they would make good fertilizing
material"