New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-07-19
HER ART IN RAG-SORTING.
"OLD MOTHER HUBBARD" IS USEFUL TO
THE CITY OF NETWORK.
woMANs PART IN THE EXPERIMENT AT sCow-
TRIMMING WITHOUT THE MEDIATION OF
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES WAR


lNG's EXPERIMENT.
All the rags and cord in the new yard Of the
Street Cleaning Department are handled by
woman and so skilful has she become that she
sorts them into their six divsions-black. white
and mixed rags. carpet. twine and bagsing-with
scarcely apparent glance at them In the yard
she is called. for short. "Od Mother Hubbard" her
real name according TO Inspector A. W. Foote,
being Several feet long
Day after day during the hottest weather. when
even airy balconies and broad. shady verandas
cease TO be comfortable. Old Mother Hubbard
works. under the sloping roof. in the back corner
of a shed-rags 10 the front of her. rags TO the
rear Of her, bales Of rags all around her-in light
which is dim II not religious and in an atmos-
phere that would bake saiamander she mas
been in this business eighteen years. and has not
learned to like the smell yet.
HISTORY OF THE YARD.
Disposition Yard No was opened In May by the
Street Cleaning Department at No s26 East Eish-
tcenth-st. under the charge OF Acting Inspector A.
w. Foote. Before very long Colonel Warning in
tends TO have at least ten such yards In operation
in 1898 the city received the equivalent of $4,000
for scov-trimminc 5000 in free labor and $4,000
in cash. The Department. by its new system, does
the work that the contractors formerly did turn
ing over the profits therefrom to the city
All rubbish land this comprises everything winch
falls into the hands of the Street Cleaning Depart
rnent except ashes and food waste from the por-
ton Of the city bounded on the east by the East
River, on the west by the Bowery and Flfth ana
Sixth ayes. on the south by Sixth-st. and on the
north by Twenty -eighth-st is brought TO DISPOSE
ton Yard No. / and dumped into the pit. A belt
four feet wide extending 10 the engine and fur
mace sixty feet away. slowly ascends from this
hole bearing upward and onward the nondescript
mass Along the sides of the belt sit from twenty
10 thirty men and women selecting and throwing
into barrels before II passes them the sort assigned
them 10 gather .,, 49,, A.. ,ssos r,,xoa
manila. newspaper, strawboard ana ledger inc
latter including all fine papers. such as are used
implied into one me- Of the four paper and
issues forth again square SOLO Daie OF Seae new w
career. ,,.o
Old Mother Hubbard's corner. and the various
once more marketable.
WASTE THAT is NOT WASTED.
Tho bottles. separated into three divisons-"beer
nnd soda" milk and siphon" and "ordinary'-are
riled I'd waiting 10 be sold by the barrel.
Shoes have two Observation-Disclosures " In bulk
and those "in pairs" The former are the worst
ones and are sold by the load. The latter can be
into service as footwear The heap OF old iron n
sve r KING of TfaP0n hS or uenS
The gems Of the collection are KEPT nnee IF p6e
reporrefs visit there wer@ three hundred pounds
OF zinc sx hundred pounds of brass. nine hundred
twenty three pounds Of curled hair besides mot
ley and pathetic array OF cast-a"ay mats
After ali the 5esirab BILE portion has been picked
from the belt; the rejected part not even yet use
less rolls along climbs with the belt into the open
nisbes fuel for the huge engine which runs the
belt and for the blower which fans the hre ana
blows away It's ashes Thus there there is no expense
for fuel in the working of the yard 49,.
About forty-flve loads Of rubbish are taken INTO
the yard daily and from that amount twenty-five
twenty-six bales o. rags are turneo out r.s.o
and has 10 be car.ed to the scows This Is made up
Of fragments Of glass. crockery and pottery for
which there Is no use
The yard is provided with hose in case OF FIRE
and Is sprinkled three times a day. oisiniectahts
being used on the sheds.
LIVE KITTENS FOUND.
every Imaginable thing" says Inspector Foote.
.comes IN OF the belt. Upon unrolling paper
parcel one day three live kittens. with their eyes
1ust open were found. The engineer who has
heart for cats fed them for several days, and then
found homes for them"
A dilapidated stuffed peacock rolled up one DAY.
and now by way of decoration, with bedraggisd
fal and a "how come ou-so'' air perches on the
doorway OF a she'd the most conspicuous object IN
yard There have been f9nnd B9 fnd scs of
about eighteen cents in coppers and dime-shce
20 On June d dried and wlthered human arm hove
IL was turned over TO policeman, who bore H.
wrapped in newspapers to the station house; fol
lowed Mr. F0oie s assured cIoGd the reporter
a very elaborate and peasant-smelling seen,
bottle one day turned up and was eagsrlg se ~
by cart driver. who, after RECALLING hmSei MIN
the perfume proceeded to dab Il on his blue shii
II proved to be mixed with some knd OF acia' anu
left brilliant spots Of yellow all over the shl M
Mr. FoOte has made little garden out OF phnts
from the plt--a lettuce plant. petunla a REQ e.
fanum and three small azaleas. These he reports
tects these waits Of the vegetable world during
the scorching hours Of the summer Gay