To obviate this evil I must refer my readers to a small book on the subject of scavenging, entitled ‘Dirty Dustbins and Sloppy Streets,’ published by Messrs. Spon & Co., written by myself, in which I have suggested moveable iron cylinders being placed in the streets for the reception of the house refuse.
The “house to house” call system in the suburbs of a town may be greatly assisted by a very simple remedy, which has already been tried in some towns with considerable success. It consists in the householder placing a card bearing the letter D, or some other distinguishing mark, in a conspicuous place in a window, when the services of the scavengers are required; these cards should be printed and circulated by the Sanitary Authority of the district, who should state on the back of the card the days on which the scavengers would visit each neighbourhood, with the approximate hour of the day in which they would appear, in order that the householder may not be unnecessarily inconvenienced by being obliged to keep the card for any length of time in his window.
The scavengers in passing observe the signal, and call at the house; otherwise they pass on, unless specially called in by the occupants, thus avoiding any unnecessary delay in their rounds.
A visit from the scavengers either before seven or after ten in the morning is generally very inconvenient for households of a superior class, and should be, if possible, carefully avoided by the sanitary authority.
The cart usually employed for scavenging is that known as the ordinary “tip cart,” strongly, if not clumsily, constructed of an oak frame, with elm or deal sides of considerable height; it holds about a couple of cubic yards of material, and costs from sixteen to twenty pounds.
These carts are not only clumsy and heavy, but they give an overweighted diminutive appearance to the horse between the shafts, especially as the quality of horses employed for work of this character is frequently none of the best. The height, too, of the cart is often so great as to necessitate the use of a short ladder, up which the scavenger has to climb, the result being a shower of dust when it is being loaded with house refuse, and spatterings of mud, when it is being used as a slop cart.
It is difficult also to effectually cover a cart of this description. The imperfect mode at present adopted is to cover it with a tarpaulin, which is tied down as tightly as the circumstances of the case will admit, but which as a rule does not effectually answer the purpose for which it is intended. In towns where the house refuse is not collected separately from the road scrapings, a judicious mixture of the two in the cart considerably assists in preventing any mud from splashing over or the dust from blowing about.
The employment of wooden carts for this work is bad economy, their rough usage, and the mode adopted for emptying them by “tipping,” renders their life a short one; a cart in constant work frequently costs from 4l. to 5l. per annum in repairs, and having but little of the original material of which it was constructed left in it at the end of six years. They are also difficult to cleanse or disinfect.
With a view to obviate these and other objections, several improved carts and waggons have been introduced by different makers, who have styled them by a variety of names. Amongst others they are called dust carts, general purpose carts, sanitary carts, slush carts, tumbler carts, mud waggons, tip waggons, slop waggons, &c. These are constructed with iron bodies fixed upon wooden frames and wheels; they are of various forms and designs, the principal objects aimed at being lightness of construction combined with strength, so balanced as to bear with a minimum of weight upon the horse; economy in their cost has not been lost sight of, and they are usually provided with some special means for emptying, either by being tipped by a chain and windlass, or by some mechanical arrangement of the tailboard; they are built very low upon their axles, so as to be easily filled, are either completely covered over with a moveable lid, or are fitted with hinged side boards, so as to prevent any splashing over of their contents, and as they are nearly all constructed with iron; they are easily cleansed and disinfected whenever it is thought necessary to do so.
With reference to the important question of the ultimate disposal of house refuse, street sweepings &c., no rules can be laid down, as so much depends upon the position of every town and the character of the district in which it is situated, as the following replies to some questions which I addressed to several English towns will show.