(1.) The horses and their drivers should be under the control of the town surveyor or superintendent, in the same manner as the scavengers who accompany the cart. This is not the case if the horses are hired.
(2.) The carts can be started on their rounds and leave work at such time as may be found most convenient, and all the horses being kept in one stable greatly facilitates this arrangement.
(3.) The horses hired for this kind of service are frequently quite unfit to draw the bulky loads in the lofty carts behind them, and opprobrium is thrown upon the Sanitary Authority and the officials in consequence.
(4.) Economy in working is secured, for not only will good horses properly kept do a much better day's work than bad ones ill kept, but there is no one making a profit out of them as is the case when the horses are hired.
With regard to the question as to the comparative cost of scavenging where a stud of horses is kept and where they are hired, the figures that I am about to give can only be speculative, as the conditions of each town are so widely different, but the figures may serve as a guide for forming an estimate of the kind, and they may be altered to suit the requirements of any city or town.
I will, therefore, assume that a town with a population of about 35,000 inhabitants will require at least seven scavengers' carts constantly at work, without reckoning those which will be required after a fall of snow or in exceptionally muddy weather, and for which purposes auxiliary horses and carts must be hired, as also those which are engaged in hauling stones and other materials used for roads or public works.
I have already stated that the value of an ordinary dust cart is about £18, so I will retain that figure for my estimate.
The value of a new set of cart harness, including a loin cloth, should not exceed £7.
To work seven carts properly, eight horses will be required, which may be estimated to cost about £50 each.