Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-08-03

We print to-day on another page
an article on street cleaning in Berlin,
in which the writer explained how the
, highways of the German capital were
cared for and gave the cost of keeping
them in such good condition. And they
are certainly kept marvelously clean.
How clean is hard to realize by those
, who have not seen them; their condi-
ton is revelation of the possibilities of
! street cleaning to the American tourist
who visits that city for the first time.
! Indeed, if he has cigar stump or
I chew Of tobacco to dispose of surrep-
titiously, he is apt to find the streets
I painfully clean. He is impressed, or
| rather oppressed, with the feeling that
1t would be sacrilege to mar their
immaculateness, not to speak of incur
ring the displeasure of the police, by
disposing of his quid as he would in an
American city, and he probably holds
on to 1t until he finds some other means
of Kidding himself of it.
Another thing that strikes the Ameri-
can tourist with surprise is the use
of dogs as draft animals in Berlin.
Everywhere he sees these animals doing
work he has been accustomed to see
4 performed by horses in his own country.
J The multifarious purveyors of house
hold necessities make their rounds with
vehicles, some of them of surprising
size, drawn by dogs. Sometimes the
motive power is a span of big dogs;
sometimes there is only one dog in the
shafts; sometimes there is dog on one
side of the wagon tongue and man or
boy on the other. The butcher,
the baker, the milkman, the grocer, the
peddlers of fruit and vegetables, make
their rounds with wagons drawn by
dogs and very considerable proportion
of the lighter traffic of the streets is
conducted through the medium of these
canine teams.
In the July number of the United
States Consular Reports, Consul Mich
olas Smith of Liege, Belgium, has an
interesting article on the use of dogs as
draft animals in that city. Consul
Smith says that 800 pounds is the usual
draft Of an ordinary Liege dog, though
mastiff is often taxed with as much
again; an indication that the streets of
Liege must compare favorably with
those of Berlin. The dogs are driven
single, double, and sometimes three aud
four abreast, and are hitched, indiffer-
emily, in front of, beneath or behind the
cart or wagon. When the vehicle is
loaded, the driver walks, directing its
course and in emergencies laying his
shoulder to tue wheel; but when the
load has been discharged he often
mounts the box and rushes like
Jehu through the streets. The ex.
pense Of feeding these draft dogs, re.
ports Consul Smith, "where a number
of them are kept, or when placed, like
horses, at livery, is from five to six cents
per day, horseflesh and black bread
forming the staple of their food; though
here, as elsewhere, the maintenance OIL
one or two in a family is practically
without cost. The expense of shoeing
no small item to the keeper of horses
is also saved. All the experiments o.
breeding which have from time to tim,
been tried for the improvement of horse
are now being made to produce dol
of special fitness for harness. Markets
are established where they are bough
and sold, and it is no unusual thing fo
compactly built and well broken dol
to sell for $50 or 25."
Consul Smith is led to by his observa
tons in Liege to call attention to tn
dog-power going to waste in the Unite,
States. Assuming canine population
in this country of 100000, and esti
mating the tractive strength of each do
at 500 pounds, he figures that we hav
here an idle force of 100000, 90
pounds in the aggregate, which coul
be protitably employed in the pei
Torrance of multitude of minor task
"There is not an article of merchau
disc, from ton of coal to
loaf of bread, sold in any of on
cities, which might not be more az
vantageously delivered by dogs tina
horses" he concludes. "The nois
made by hucksters, particularly in earl
morning, in our residence streets, is
source of great annoyance to the sic
and nervous, and the substitution of Il
gentler ways of women and the silel
tread of dogs would be hailed by the
with Joy. Nor would their employmel
be without certain municipal adval
tage, for the litter made by horses is Il
most fruitful source of dirt in our cite
to say nothing of the saving in we
and tear Of pavements."
But Consul Smith evidently forge
that we have not the streets of Lie
and Berlin. Our dog teams would g
mired as soon as they left the princip
thoroughfares in muddy weather. Il
American dog, for this reason, is like
TO continue to enjey his holiday idlens
for long time to come.
There is Gold Enough.
very preyalent fallacV which