There is no unpleasant smell about the place, and the remaining solid matter is employed as a fertilizer, without any of the disagreeable concomitants of poudrette.
The building is an elegant stone structure, and the operations are conducted by steam, under the immediate control of the English contractors, who are known as the city improvement company.
The gentleman in charge stated that this was an entirely new process, and that it has not been introduced elsewhere.
[6]. A sack of coffee weighing one hundred and sixty pounds is carried in this way without any apparent inconvenience, and most of the loading of vessels from the warehouses near the wharf is performed after this manner. The negroes usually move under such a burden in a brisk walk, or more frequently in a trot; and a number being employed, the work progresses very rapidly in putting a cargo of coffee aboard a ship.
[7]. I am indebted to Captain E. A. Lie, the intelligent master of the vessel in which my return passage was made, for some interesting particulars in regard to Pompeii, which he visited in 1857. His statement is as follows:
“The mass of volcanic matter which overlies the site of the former city of Pompeii is principally ashes, and on the borders has undergone such changes, that fields are in cultivation upon the spot.
“The explorations are entirely under the directions of the Imperial Government, and a guard is kept constantly over the place, so as to prevent any one from appropriating articles that may be discovered by those engaged in the work.
“The streets are so contracted that even the narrow vehicles of that period were unable to pass each other, and hence some of the thoroughfares are supposed to have afforded passage in one direction, while others were passed in the opposite direction. The deep cuts in the stone paving of the streets indicate that there was much passing of carriages or carts for a long period.
“Connecting with the side-walks there are stones elevated above the general level of the streets, upon which persons might step and avoid water that was flowing in the street. There are no signs of drains or sewers to be seen, nor of aqueducts.
“Those bodies remaining in the houses at the time of this wholesale burial are completely petrified, and black as ebony, a number of which are preserved in all their perfection of form. There are also petrified specimens of fruits, of bread, even with the baker’s name imprinted on it; of beef, of pork, and of various viands that were ready for eating.