Do you happen to know what is the expense of cleansing a street of a given length?—I once contracted to remove the stuff from Bond-street away; each cleansing took four teams and two stands, as it is called; or two teams and one stand, that is, two two horse carts, and one single horse cart standing to be loaded two days in the winter time. The cost of cartage in the winter season for cleansing that street was about 5l. for each cleansing. It was cleansed less frequently than weekly: that street is Macadamised. In the summer-time the expense would be less than one-half. The expense of cleansing the whole of Marylebone, that is, the expense of cartage, is about 2,200l. per annum, the parish finding the sweepers.
4.—Extract from the Report of Fourcroy and others, showing the Calculation of the Extent of Pollution of the Seine from the Discharge of the Refuse of the Streets of Paris.
“Not to neglect the details into which the Ministry desire us to enter, we observe that the maximum of daily street-sweepings is, in winter, 684 cubic metres; the minimum is 410; the average is 547.
“On the other hand, the velocity of the waters of the Seine, measured at their lowest level, being 6 decimetres 5 centimetres a second, and the profile of the Seine, measured also at low water, at the bridge of the Revolution, being 118 metres, we observe that there results, supposing an uniform velocity in the whole mass, a flow of water of 76 cubic metres a second; and in one day a flow of water 9,600 times greater at low water than the most considerable volume of the street-sweepings of Paris for the same space of time. This volume of water would be 16,015 times greater than that of the street-sweepings, if compared with the minimum of these last; that is to say, with the sweepings in summer, or the time at which the waters of the Seine are lowest. Any error in the calculation, arising from the inequality of the velocity in the different parts of the column formed by the current, is too amply compensated by other circumstances to need our consideration.
“To this is to be added, that the season when the street-sweepings are greatest, necessarily accords, all other things being equal, with the period when the water is highest and most rapid, as the period of low water answers to that when the refuse is least; and admitting the preceding calculations, the volume of water would be more than 16,000 times greater than the street-sweepings; and this proportion would increase considerably when the water is highest, by reason of the double proportion of height and velocity.
“It is to be further considered, that a great portion of these sweepings being insoluble in the water, would become precipitated, and unite with the mud; that a larger portion still, deposited unequally on the two banks, would never reach the bleaching-grounds, or the places where the water is drawn, and that consequently their possible relation to the water used in the city, reduces itself to a quantity excessively small, and absolutely inappreciable.”
5.—Communication from Captain Vetch, of the Royal Engineers, on the Structural Arrangements of New Buildings, and Protection of the Public Health.
Dear Sir,—Agreeable to promise, I forward the following observations on the improvement of large towns, as affecting the health, economy, and comfort of the inhabitants, and so far as these depend on structural arrangement.
The points requiring the attention of the engineer and architect may be stated as follows:—complete ventilation, complete drainage, ample sewerage, ample supply of water, and lastly, a ready and good communication between the various portions of the town.
I should have commenced my observations with the subject of drainage as the first in point of order were a new district or town to be built, but as both drainage, and ventilation, and communication, &c., depend so much on the arrangement of the streets, it may not be superfluous to premise something on that head. It will be sufficiently obvious that where towns are constructed on a regular plan with straight streets, the communication, ventilation, and drainage is comparatively easy, and far more effectual than under contrary circumstances; but it unfortunately happens that our large towns contain many narrow, crooked streets, with little or no arrangement, and though it may not be practicable materially to mend what we now find so bad, we cannot fail to perceive that a little timeous system and arrangement would have avoided many evils we now complain of, with a less structural expense and a much improved value of property to the owners.