“The average charge per cubic mètre for extraction and transport of the cesspoolage is nine francs, giving a gross annual charge of 2,070,000 francs (82,800l. sterling), which sum, it would appear, is paid every year by the house-proprietors of Paris for the extraction of the matter from their cesspools, and its transport to the Voirie.”
Mr. Rammell says that, were a tubular system of house-drainage, such as has been described under the proper head, adopted in Paris, in lieu of the present mode, it would cost less than one-tenth of the expense now incurred.
The principal place of deposit for the general refuse of Paris has long been at Montfaucon. A French writer, M. Jules Garnier, in a recent work, “A Visit to Montfaucon,” says:—“For more than nine hundred years Montfaucon has been devoted to this purpose. There the citizens of Paris deposited their filth before the walls of the capital extended beyond what is now the central quarter. The distance between Paris and Montfaucon was then more than a mile and a half.” Thus it appears that Montfaucon was devoted to its present purposes, of course in a much more limited degree, as early as the reign of King Charles the Simple.
This deposit of cesspool matter is the property of the commune (as in the city of London it would be said to belong to the “corporation”), and it is farmed out, for terms of nine years, to the highest bidders. The amount received by the commune has greatly increased, as the following returns, which are official, will show:—
| A.D. | Francs | £ | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1808 | the cesspoolage fetched | 97,000, | abt. | 3,880 |
| 1817 | „ | 75,000, | „ | 3,000 |
| 1834 | „ | 165,000, | „ | 7,000 |
| 1843 | „ | 525,000, | „ | 21,000 |
It is here that the “poudrette,”[74] of which I have spoken elsewhere, is prepared. Besides this branch of commerce, Montfaucon has establishments for the extracting of ammonia from the cesspool matter, and the right of doing so is now farmed out for 80,000 francs a-year (3200l).
Montfaucon is on the north side of Paris, and the place of refuse deposit is known as the Voirie. The following account of it, and of the manufacture of poudrette, is curious in many respects:—
“The area, which is about 40 acres in extent, is divided into three irregular compartments:—
“1. The system of basins.