Evening star., 1898-09-17
USING STREET SWeEPINGS
Data Recently Gathered by the Agricultural
Department..
FertiIiring Value of the Refuse OF
From Avenues of Washington.

| in the cities OF the United States is the
subject of a bulletin soon TO be issued by
the Agricultural Department. 1t is Of par
ticular interest to the people of Washing
ton. as II was here that all experiments
were made and the sweepings used came
| from the different streets of the city.
The investigation was conducted under
the direction Of Chief Chemist II. w Wiley
and his first assistant Erwin E. Ewell. The
report says:
The fertilizing value OF street sweepings
| varies greatly with the nature Of the pave
nents, being practically nothing in the case
OF material taken from macadamized roads,
end approaching that of good stable ma
nure In the case Of that collected on the
hand-swept and well-paved streets of
crowded cities The regulations in different
cities goveSning the nature of substances
which may be thrown into the alleys and
| streets, and thus find their way into the
| material collected by the sweepers vary SO
greatly that there is consequently a corre-
spending difference in the cost OF sorting
ana preparing the material for spreading
on the land. 1t is believed that the rapid
ly increasing sentiment in favor OF the
careful separation and systematic utIlza-
ton of all forms OF city wastes will tend
10 remove this difficulty and thus increase
the value OF sweepings particularly Of
those collected in alleys, where the percent
age of miscellaneous rubbish is now often
very great.
In autumn the quantity. and. in many
cases, the quality, Of the street cleaners
product is greatly increased by the falling
leaves.
The Analyses Made.
The analyses were made by Mr. T c.
Trescot. by Mr. George T. Patrick and by
Mr.. c. c. Moore
After presenting the analyses OF many
different samples of sweepings taken from
the local streets, the report says:
I'VE have endeavored to supplement the
analytical data just presented with the re-
suits of practical tests made by farmers to
determine the value of street sweepings as
source Of plant food for field and garden
crops and as a source Of the humus which
Is so necessary to the mechanical condition
of many coils. Inquiries sent to farmers
and gardeners whose addresses were fur
nished by the officials in charge OF the
street-clea1ing departments in various
parts of the country brought a number Of
letters containing much information on the
subject, and convincing evidence that we'll
selected and jUdciously used street sweep
ings possess considerable manurial value.
Value to the Farmer.
without a knowledge Of the results of
large number of carefully conducted ex-
periments. 1t would be hard to determine
from the results Of an analysis just what
price per ton farmers can afford to pay for
street sweepings In addition to the cost Of
hauling and spreading them on the land
Using the very conservative estimate OF 10
cents per pound for the nitrogen, and disre-
garding the phosphoric acid and potash
the poorest sample analyzed would be
worth 81 cents per ton while the richest
sample would be worth 81 .46 per ton The
material has considerable value for many
soils in addition to the value of the plant
food IT contains. Gardeners declare that It
is very useful for improving the meohani-
cal condition of stiff and badly aeratei
soils. 1t would also improve the condition
of very light soils. which are deficient in
moisture-holding capacity because Of the
low percentage of organic matter which
they contain.
1T is very difficult to make an estimate
of the money value of street swecpings
because OF the great variation in their
composition, which 10 dependent upon the
nature of the pavcmcnts the season Of the
year during which they are collected the
manner of collection, etc. and because
n any accurate field tests must be made
before we can determine their exact value
as source of plant food. Sixteen cities
reported the prices at which street sweep
ings are sold to farmers by their street.
cleaning departments or contractors These
prices vary from Is cents TO 81 per ton.
The city of Atlanta reports contract for
the sale of the sweepings of its streets
for $50 per year, and an arrangement which
gives the STRENGTHENING department the
advantage of a short haul. This seems to
be an excellent arrangement for both par
ties concerned. as the average quality of
the entira product of a city for a whole
year ought not to vary greatly from year
to year. Moreover, the price cen be ad-
justed equitably from year to year the
true value OF the material becomes ippar-
ent.
The Dumping Grounds.
THE expense of hauling can be reduced
in measure by spreading the sweepings in
thin layers on the dumping grounds and
allowing them to dry out for day or two
before hauling them to the farm. The nj
trogen of the material is not of such a
form that serious loss would result from
this treatment unless It be continued for
several days. Long exposure In thin layers
during q rainy season would be certain to
cause a considerable loss of the most val
liable plant food, because that which is
most easily leached out is the most readily
available.
1T may often happen that the dumps
whence the farmer must take his supply Of
street sweepings also contain other ma
terials possessing considerable fertilizing
value. Any waste animal or vegetable mat
ter not contaminated with the germs of
diseases Of men or animals may very prop
erly be tested in regard TO Its value Tor
this purpose. Several hundred pounds Of
fish refuse were found on one Of the
dumps in Washington. Its source could
not be ascertained. Its fertillzing value,
based on data used by the experiment sta
tions for the valuation of fertilizers would
vary from 50 to $50 per ton, according to
the degree Of fneness of the ground ma
terial"
Statistics From Cities.
The department also collected data in re-
gard to the amount of street sweepngs COL
lected in the cities of the United States
and the methods in use for their disposition.
The report says:
From an examination of these data It
appears that 6S.79 per cent of the people in
the United States living in urban communi-
ties having 1900 or more Inhabitants were
represented in the reports in regard to the
disposal of street sweepings, while no re-
ports were received from cities represent
ing 31-21 per cent of our urban population"
OF the 354 cities to whom Inquiries were
sent 57.62 per cent reported methods of
disposition, showing that among the cities
reporting there was a preponderance of
those above the average size.
by the reports received it is shown that
the cities containing 1892 per cent of our
urban population make more or less effort
to utilize the fertilizing value of their
sweepings II the same proportion prevails
in the case OF the cities from which no re-
ports were received this figure should be
increased to 24.6 per cent. In general terms
1t may be stated that cities representing
one-fourth of the urban population Of the