Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1893-09-24
A L FROM REFUSE.
A Singular Industry OF tho Great
City OF Paris
Dead Animals Fishe!l from tho Rivers
and Sewers Treated wlSi Chemicals
and Converted Into Useful Articles
OF Commerce.

OF
Tho following account Is given by
Charles CASTOR, who has for years
been connected with the famous frni
of SoufTrice ct Gle, who have been wiE'
ming wealth from the sewers OF Paris,
says the San Fraacisco Examiner.
Mr.. CASTOR has not come to San
Francisco with the idea OF suggesting
the adoption of tho Paris system i'll
connection with the sewers here, butt
Us oil expert in his line, he has discov-
cred il Il day that San Francisco's sys+
ten Of sewerage is ut least several de-
grces short OF the Partisan ideal.
"Thc work lone by the Muison Souf-
fricc in Paris" said Mr.. Castor, could
not be carried on SO well in San Fran
cisco or in Chicago rs III New York. or
Philadelphia or Washington. 1t needs
4 stream, and Paris has the advantage
OF the Seine, where there IS 40 tide.
With the help Of the Seine NM. Souf-
fricc have made III immense fortune,
and they have won il all from the waste
OF n great city. All the ccwcrs of Paris,
you must know, center in one great
sewer which cnptic3 into the Seine
Just below the bridge Of Asnicrcs. AL
the refuse, the greasy and dirty water,
Tic unclcan waste of the shops and
streets. pass into this and out upon the
river AGAIN in one form or another,
and it is from this we reap orr har-
vest"
Mr. CASTOR said the firm had never
asked = 5ou for s~cavcnging the city and
| found themselves fully repaid by
what they collected in the streets
and in the waters of the Seine. The
founder of the 1irIa, as carly as 1885,
began the study Of how all waste na-
tcrial might BE- utilized. lie aftcrward
associated his sons and then his grand
sons with him, and early in the COS
they took the job OF keeping Paris
clean. Thcy built n big factory at
Bourgct and had the chiffonicrS bring
there tho rags and refuse Of the city
and they turned it into gold.
The next step was Inc development
OF Il speciality in the utilization OF the
waste of the butcher shops and sham.
blcs. This was all boiled in great watts
Ind the scum was made into oil and
candles and other ~mcrchantable OH
,noditics. Ono set of men collected the
rags and waste that engineers and Iaa-
chinists used around the factories and
machine shops. The grease wa ex.
tratcl from these and purified, the rags
were sorted, the wooden stuff reduced
to powder for fertilization purposes,
! and the cotton turned into paper stock.
Mr.. G~aston's personal superintendent,
when n: Paris. has beer directly in con-
ncction with the collection of things
found floating on the water. The firm
mot rnrn,igginn IN construct ghnrt nSntc
out into the Seine bclow the point
where the great cnptics, and on
these men stanu with huge FORKS or
spoons, lifting out everything that
Eoats nlong. II Is nll cartcd to Eour-
get and boiled and squeezed and sorted.
The grease il treated with lime, and is
transformed into soap md Flyccrinc,
Thc wood, hay, stubblc, coriss and pc.
per, when dry, are used to feed the
factory furnace.
You would probably be surprised"
said Mr.. CASTOR, ito know how many
animals arc picked up in the Seine in
the course OF q year. l can give You
some figures that will astoniah you,
but I can assure you they arc less than
the actual records. | have known
more than eight thousand dogs t o be
fishcd out OF the Seine in n single year.
Calves, sheep. goats and pigs co:nc
nlouS every day or two. Scarcely q
day passes without n goose, or II duck,
or n chicken being found, and rats arc
very plentiful.
Next to the dogs, however. como
the rabbits. The poor people of pnris
oil have dogs, and most of them raise
rabbits in n back yard or on the roof.
The latter breed so fast that many OF
them arc thrown into the sewer, and
then they arc part of the fish that
come to the Soufrricc net. Cats como
under tho same category. All these
bodies arc treated with chemicals, and
the different parts are utilized TO the
best advantage"
An incidental industry developed In
this connection was referred to by Mr..
Castor n asticots. Tho eggs of the
myriadS OF flies that congrcEatc on
uccaycd matter at tho Iiourgct factory
produce so many grdbs that il was
found possible to supply them rs bait
for the entire FISHING contingent of
Paris, and IL is not unusual for tho firm
to sell five thousand dollars worth ot
these Grubs during a single fishing
season.
"Thosc connected with tho Sounfricc
establishment hrc often told" scid ho
in conclusion, THAT the original idea
OF tho great business wus suggested
by Victor llugo's remark in Les Mis-.
cradles that Paris throws into tho
water every year twenty-five million
francs"
a Chinese Dili of Fare.