 Section 54 of London Labour and the London Poor, volume 2, by Henry Mayhew. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain, recording by Gillian Henry. Street traffic. Table showing totals of every description of vehicle passing per hour and per day of 12 hours through certain streets within the City of London in July and August 1850. 8th of July. Temple Bar Gate. Ending 9am, 311. Our ending 10am, 526. Our ending 11am, 704. Our ending 12 noon, 757. Our ending 1pm, 691. Our ending 2pm, 664. Our ending 3pm, 791. Our ending 4pm, 737. Our ending 5pm, 738. Our ending 6pm, 671. Our ending 7pm, 537. Our ending 8pm, 614. Total of 12 hours, 7,741. Average per hour, 645. July 9th, Hoburn Hill, Bicent Andrews Church. Our ending 9am, 327. Our ending 10am, 552. Our ending 11am, 670. Our ending 12 noon, 698. Our ending 1pm, 623. Our ending 2pm, 606. Our ending 3pm, 535. Our ending 4pm, 377. Our ending 5pm, 915. Our ending 6pm, 445. Our ending 7pm, 841. Our ending 8pm, 317. Total of 12 hours, 6906. Average per hour, 575. July 10th, Ludgate Hill, Bipilgrim Street. Our ending 9am, 361. Our ending 10am, 476. Our ending 11am, 728. Our ending 12 noon, 636. Our ending 1pm, 789. Our ending 2pm, 514. Our ending 3pm, 628. Our ending 4pm, 531. Our ending 5pm, 619. Our ending 6pm, 584. Our ending 7pm, 543. Our ending 8pm, 420. Total of 12 hours, 6,829. Average per hour, 569. July 11th, Newgate Street by Old Bailey. Our ending 9am, 320. Our ending 10am, 528. Our ending 11am, 628. Our ending 12 noon, 509. Our ending 1pm, 555. Our ending 2pm, 537. Our ending 3pm, 564. Our ending 4pm, 738. Our ending 5pm, 572. Our ending 6pm, 563. Our ending 7pm, 467. Our ending 8pm, 394. Total of 12 hours, 6,375. Average per hour, 531. July 12th, Aldersgate Street by Fan Street. Our ending 9am, 168. Our ending 10am, 261. Our ending 11am, 208. Our ending 12 noon, 196. Our ending 1pm, 214. Our ending 2pm, 235. Our ending 3pm, 194. Our ending 4pm, 219. Our ending 5pm, 235. Our ending 6pm, 233. Our ending 7pm, 229. Our ending 8pm, 198. Total of 12 hours, 2,590. Average per hour, 215. July 13th, Cheapside by Foster Lane. Our ending 9am, 473. Our ending 10am, 805. Our ending 11am, 1124. Our ending 12 noon, 1169. Our ending 1pm, 1020. Our ending 2pm, 109. Our ending 3pm, 107. Our ending 4pm, 1076. Our ending 5pm, 11106. Our ending 6pm, 964. Our ending 7pm, 808. Our ending 8pm, 492. Total of 12 hours, 11,053. Average per hour, 921. July 15th, Poultry by Mansion House. Our ending 9am, 414. Our ending 10am, 762. Our ending 11am, 1071. Our ending 12 noon, 1080. Our ending 1pm, 1043. Our ending 2pm, 941. Our ending 3pm, 875. Our ending 4pm, 910. Our ending 5pm, 956. Our ending 6pm, 825. Our ending 7pm, 802. Our ending 8pm, 595. Total of 12 hours, 10274. Average per hour, 856. July 16th, Finsbury Pavement by South Place. Our ending 9am, 262. Our ending 10am, 385. Our ending 11am, 475. Our ending 12 noon, 387. Our ending 1pm, 364. Our ending 2pm, 345. Our ending 3pm, 293. Our ending 4pm, 347. Our ending 5pm, 483. Our ending 6pm, 475. Our ending 7pm, 400. Our ending 8pm, 244. Total of 12 hours, 4,460. Average per hour, 371. July 17th, Cornhill by Royal Exchange. Our ending 9am, 161. Our ending 10am, 364. Our ending 11am, 479. Our ending 12 noon, 461. Our ending 1pm, 487. Our ending 2pm, 441. Our ending 3pm, 493. Our ending 4pm, 451. Our ending 5pm, 468. Our ending 6pm, 430. Our ending 7pm, 354. Our ending 8pm, 327. Total of 12 hours, 4,916. Average per hour, 409. July 18th, Thread Needle Street. Our ending 9am, 98. Our ending 10am, 145. Our ending 11am, 262. Our ending 12 noon, 214. Our ending 1pm, 211. Our ending 2pm, 154. Our ending 3pm, 212. Our ending 4pm, 195. Our ending 5pm, 198. Our ending 6pm, 205. Our ending 7pm, 148. Our ending 8pm, 108. Total of 12 hours, 2150. Average per hour, 179. July 19th, Grace Church Street. By St Peter's Alley. 11am, 258. Our ending 10am, 322. Our ending 11am, 439. Our ending 12 noon, 507. Our ending 1pm, 392. Our ending 2pm, 423. Our ending 3pm, 464. Our ending 4pm, 516. Our ending 5pm, 461. Our ending 6pm, 436. Our ending 7pm, 338. Our ending 8pm, 331. Total of 12 hours, 4887. Average per hour, 407. July 20th, Lombard Street. By Bertrand Lane. Our ending 9am, 137. Our ending 10am, 117. Our ending 11am, 156. Our ending 12 noon, 188. Our ending 1pm, 169. Our ending 2pm, 232. Our ending 3pm, 237. Our ending 4pm, 304. Our ending 5pm, 243. Our ending 6pm, 209. Our ending 7pm, 130. Our ending 8pm, 106. Total of 12 hours, 2228. Average per hour, 185. July 22nd, Bishopsgate Street. By Great St. Helens. Our ending 9am, 259. Our ending 10am, 408. Our ending 11am, 500. Our ending 12 noon, 430. Our ending 1pm, 396. Our ending 2pm, 238. Our ending 3pm, 439. Our ending 4pm, 432. Our ending 5pm, 541. Our ending 6pm, 450. Our ending 7pm, 404. Our ending 8pm, 345. Total of 12 hours, 4,842. Average per hour, 403. July 23rd, London Bridge. Our ending 9am, 680. Our ending 10am, 1128. Our ending 11am, 1332. Our ending 12 noon, 1124. Our ending 1pm, 1094. Our ending 2pm, 1048. Our ending 3pm, 1101. Our ending 4pm, 1180. Our ending 5pm, 1344. Our ending 6pm, 1308. Our ending 7pm, 962. Our ending 8pm, 798. Total of 12 hours, 13,099. Average per hour, 1091. July 24th, Bishopsgate Street, Outer, by City Boundary. Our ending 9am, 203. Our ending 10am, 329. Our ending 11am, 447. Our ending 12 noon, 286. Our ending 1pm, 307. Our ending 2pm, 342. Our ending 3pm, 390. Our ending 4pm, 335. Our ending 430. Our ending 6pm, 439. Our ending 7pm, 323. Our ending 8pm, 279. Total of 12 hours, 4110. Average per hour, 342. July 25th, Altgate High Street, by City Boundary. Our ending 9am, 425. Our ending 10am, 422. Our ending 11am, 417. Our ending 12 noon, 442. Our ending 1pm, 445. Our ending 2pm, 379. Our ending 3pm, 389. Our ending 4pm, 409. Our ending 5pm, 405. Our ending 6pm, 401. Our ending 8pm, 289. Total of 12 hours, 4754. Average per hour, 396. July 26th, Leaden Hall Street, East India House. Our ending 9am, 251. Our ending 10am, 429. Our ending 11am, 595. Our ending 12 noon, 495. Our ending 1pm, 594. Our ending 2pm, 563. Our ending 3pm, 525. Our ending 4pm, 569. Our ending 5pm, 466. Our ending 6pm, 588. Our ending 7pm, 437. Our ending 8pm, 418. Total of 12 hours, 5930. Average per hour, 494. July 27th, East Cheap, by Philpot Lane. Our ending 9am, 335. Our ending 10am, 346. Our ending 11am, 398. Our ending 12 noon, 372. Our ending 1pm, 378. Our ending 2pm, 343. Our ending 3pm, 368. Our ending 4pm, 393. Our ending 5pm, 398. Our ending 6pm, 349. Our ending 7pm, 294. Our ending 8pm, 128. Total of 12 hours, 4102. Average per hour, 341. July 29th, East Cheap, by Mark Lane. Our ending 9am, 169. Our ending 10am, 222. Our ending 11am, 262. Our ending 12 noon, 271. Our ending 1pm, 292. Our ending 2pm, 324. Our ending 3pm, 290. Our ending 4pm, 262. Our ending 5pm, 282. Our ending 6pm, 238. Our ending 7pm, 164. Our ending 8pm, 114. Total of 12 hours, 2,890. Average per hour, 240. July 30th, Lower Thames Street, by Bottle's Lane. Our ending 9am, 88. Our ending 10am, 130. Our ending 11am, 175. Our ending 12 noon, 105. Our ending 1pm, 105. Our ending 2pm, 108. Our ending 3pm, 118. Our ending 4pm, 147. Our ending 5pm, 168. Our ending 6pm, 121. Our ending 8pm, 69. Our ending 8pm, 46. Total of 12 hours, 1,380. Average per hour, 115. July 31st, Black Friars Bridge. Our ending 9am, 327. Our ending 10am, 381. Our ending 11am, 518. Our ending 12 noon, 516. Our ending 2pm, 336. Our ending 3pm, 385. Our ending 4pm, 416. Our ending 5pm, 570. Our ending 6pm, 548. Our ending 7pm, 463. Our ending 8pm, 337. Total of 12 hours, 5262. Average per hour, 438. August 1st, Upper Thames Street. Rear of Queen Street. Our ending 9am, 140. Our ending 10am, 227. Our ending 11am, 165. Our ending 12 noon, 223. Our ending 1pm, 205. Our ending 2pm, 160. Our ending 3pm, 164. Our ending 11am, 213. Our ending 5pm, 253. Our ending 6pm, 312. Our ending 7pm, 176. Our ending 8pm, 93. Total of 12 hours, 2331. Average per hour, 194. August 2nd, Smithfield Bars. Our ending 9am, 203. Our ending 10am, 230. Our ending 11am, 202. Our ending 12 noon, 277. Our ending 1pm, 276. Our ending 2pm, 255. Our ending 3pm, 334. Our ending 4pm, 267. Our ending 5pm, 328. Our ending 6pm, 289. Total of 12 hours, 3108. Average per hour, 259. August 3rd, Fenturch Street. Our ending 9am, 206. Our ending 10am, 262. Our ending 11am, 253. Our ending 12 noon, 343. Our ending 1pm, 293. Our ending 2pm, 269. Our ending 3pm, 272. Our ending 4pm, 327. Our ending 5pm, 364. Our ending 6pm, 259. Our ending 7pm, 249. Our ending 8pm, 545. Total of 12 hours, 3642. Average per hour, 303. Total for the our ending 9am, 6576. Total for our ending 10am, 9757. Total for our ending 11am, 12208. Total for our ending 12 noon, 11686. Total for our ending 1pm, 11408. Total for our ending 2pm, 10466. Total for our ending 3pm, 11068. Total for our ending 4pm, 11351. Total for our ending 5pm, 12543. Total for our ending 6pm, 11342. Total for our ending 7pm, 9757. Total for our ending 8pm, 7697. Total for all streets for 12 hours, 125,859. Average per hour, 10488. Table showing the total number of each description of vehicle passing through certain streets within the city of London between the hours of 8am and 8pm, 12 hours. 8th of July, 1850, Temple Bargate. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations 5035 by two horses, 2498. By three horses or more, 208. Total of the whole, 7,741. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 419. Two horses, 208. Three horses or more, 17. Average of the whole, 645. 9th of July, 1850, Hoburn Hill by St Andrews Church. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 4974. By two horses, 1,797. By three horses or more, 135. Total of the whole, 6906. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 414. Two horses, 149. Three horses or more, 11. Average of the whole, 575. 10th of July, 1850, Ludgate Hill by Pilgrim Street. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 4259. By two horses, 2483. By three horses or more, 87. Total of the whole, 6,829. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 354. Two horses, 207. Three horses or more, 7. Average of the whole, 569. 11th of July, 1850, Newgate Street by Old Bailey. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 4484. By two horses, 1,795. By three horses or more, 96. Total of the whole, 6,375. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 373. Two horses, 149. Three horses or more, 8. Average of the whole, 531. 12th of July, 1850, Aldersgate Street by Fan Street. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 1,990. By two horses, 479. By three horses or more, 121. Total of the whole, 2,590. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 165. Two horses, 40. Three horses or more, 10. Average of the whole, 215. 13th of July, 1850. Cheapside by Foster Lane. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 7107. By two horses, 3,794. By three horses or more, 152. Total of the whole, 11053. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 592. Two horses, 316. Three horses or more, 12. Average of the whole, 921. 15th of July, 1850. Pultree by Mansion House. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 6283. By two horses, 3869. By three horses or more, 122. Total of the whole, 10,274. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 523. Two horses, 332. Three horses or more, 10. Average of the whole, 856. 16th of July, 1850. Finsbury Pavement by South Place. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 2904. By two horses, 1458. By three horses or more, 98. Total of the whole, 4,460. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 242. Two horses, 121. Three horses or more, 8. Average of the whole, 371. 17th of July, 1850. Corn Hill by Royal Exchange. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 2,761. By two horses, 2,074. By three horses or more, 81. Total of the whole, 4,916. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 230. Two horses, 172. Three horses or more, 7. Average of the whole, 409. 18th of July, 1850. Thread Needle Street. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 1,536. By two horses, 587. By three horses or more, 27. Total of the whole, 2,150. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 128. Two horses, 49. Three horses or more, 2. Average of the whole, 179. 19th of July, 1850. Grace Church Street by St. Peter's Alley. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 3,505. By two horses, 1,223. By three horses or more, 159. Total of the whole, 4,887. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 292. Two horses, 102. Three horses or more, 13. Average of the whole, 407. 20th of July, 1850. Lombard Street by Bertchen Lane. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 2,019. By two horses, 195. By three horses or more, 14. Total of the whole, 2,228. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 168. Two horses, 16. Three horses or more, 1. Average of the whole, 185. 22nd of July, 1850. Bishop's Gate Street by Great St. Helens. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 3,270. By two horses, 1,477. By three horses or more, 95. Total of the whole, 4,842. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 272. Two horses, 123. Three horses or more, 8. Average of the whole, 403. 23rd of July, 1850. London Bridge. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 9351. By two horses, 3389. By three horses or more, 359. Total of the whole, 13,099. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 779. Two horses, 282. Three horses or more, 30. Average of the whole, 1091. 24th of July, 1850. Bishop's Gate Street, Outer by City Boundary. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 2,769. By two horses, 1,273. By three horses or more, 68. Total of the whole, 4,110. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 230. Two horses, 106. Three horses or more, 5. Average of the whole, 342. 25th of July, 1850. All Gate High Street by City Boundary. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 3,222. By two horses, 1,378. By three horses or more, 154. Total of the whole, 4,754. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 268. Two horses, 114. Three horses or more, 12. Average of the whole, 396. 26th of July, 1850. Leadon Hall Street, East India House. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 3,970. By two horses, 1,841. By three horses or more, 119. Total of the whole, 5,930. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 330. Two horses, 153. Three horses or more, 10. Average of the whole, 494. 27th of July, 1850. East Cheap by Philpot Lane. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 3,481. By two horses, 464. By three horses or more, 157. Total of the whole, 4,102. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 290. Two horses, 38. Three horses or more, 13. Average of the whole, 341. 29th of July, 1850. Tower Street by Mark Lane. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 2,416. By two horses, 369. By three horses or more, 105. Total of the whole, 2,890. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 201. Two horses, 30. Three horses or more, 8. Average of the whole, 240. 30th of July, 1850. Lower Thames Street by Botolf Lane. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 1,187. By two horses, 152. By three horses or more, 41. Total of the whole, 1,380. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 98. Two horses, 12. Three horses or more, 3. Average of the whole, 115. 31st of July, 1850. Black Friars Bridge. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 4132. By two horses, 935. By three horses or more, 195. Total of the whole, 5262. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 344. Two horses, 78. Three horses or more, 16. Average of the whole, 438. 1st of August, 1850. Upper Thames Street, Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 1,756. By two horses, 428. By three horses or more, 147. Total of the whole, 2,331. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 146. Two horses, 35. Three horses or more, 12. Average of the whole, 194. 2nd of August, 1850. Smithfield Bars. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 2,843. By two horses, 193. By three horses or more, 72. Total of the whole, 3108. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 237. Two horses, 16. Three horses or more, 6. Average of the whole, 259. 3rd of August, 1850. Fenturch Street. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 3,050. By two horses, 518. By three horses or more, 74. Total of the whole, 3,642. Average number per hour, one horse and equations, 254. Two horses, 43. Three horses or more, 6. Average of the whole, 303. For all listed streets. Total number of vehicles drawn by one horse and equations, 88,304. By two horses, 34,669. By three horses or more, 2,886. Total of the whole, 125,859. Average number per hour for one horse and equations, 7358. 2,891. For three horses or more, 240. Average of the whole, 10,488. End of Section 54. Section 55. Of London Labour and the London Poor, Volume 2, by Henry Mayhew. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Julian Henry. Of the rubbish carters. The public cleansing trade I have before said consists of as many divisions as there are distinct species of refuse to be removed. And these appear to be four. There is the house refuse, consisting of two different kinds as one, the wet house refuse or slops and night soil. And two, the dry house refuse or dust and soot. And there is the street refuse, also consisting of two distinct kinds as three, the wet street refuse or mud and dirt. And four, the dry street refuse or rubbish. I now propose dealing with the labourers engaged in the collection and removal of the last mentioned kind of refuse. Technologically, there are several varieties of rubbish or rather dirt. For such appears to be the generic term of which rubbish is strictly a species. Dirt according to the understanding among the rubbish carters would seem to consist of any solid earthy matter which is of a useless or refuse character. This dirt the trade divides into two distinct kinds, namely one soft dirt or refuse clay of which dry dirt or refuse soil or mould is a variety. Two hard dirt or hard core consisting of the refuse bricks, chimney pots, slates and so on when a house is pulled down as well as the broken bottles, pans, pots or crocs and oyster shells and so on which form part of the contents of the dustman's cart. The phrase hard core note the core in this term may be a corruption of the Saxon car or rock rather than that which would at first suggest itself as its origin namely the Latin core, the heart. Hard core would therefore mean hard rock like rubbish instead of lumps of rubbish having a hard nucleus or heart. End note. The phrase hard core then seems strictly to mean all such refuse matter as will admit of being used as the foundation of roads, buildings and so on. Rubbish on the other hand appears to be limited by the trade to dry dirt. Out of the trade however and etymologically speaking it signifies all such dry and hard refuse matter as is rendered useless by where and tear. Note the term rubbish is a polite corruption of the original word rubbish which is still used by uneducated people. Ish is an adjectival termination as quiteish, slavish, brutish and so on and is used only in connection with such substantives as are derived from adjectives as English, Scottish and so on whereas the affix age is strictly substantival as sewage, garbage, wharfage and so on and is found applied only to adjectives derived from substantives as savage. A like polite corruption is found in the word pudding which should be strictly puddin, p-u-d-d-e-n. The addition of the g is as gross a mistake as saying guarding for garden. There is no such verb as to pud whence should come the substantival participle pudding and the French word from which we derive our term is pudin without the g like gerdia, the root of our garden end note. The term dirt on the other hand is generally applied to soft refuse matter and dust to dry refuse matter in a state of minute division while slops is a generic term for all wet or liquid refuse matter. I shall here restrict the term rubbish to all that dry and hard refuse matter which is the residium of certain worn out or used up earthen commodities as well as a surplus earth which is removed whenever excavations are made either for the building of houses, the cutting of railways, the levelling of roads, the laying down of pipes or drains and the sinking of wells. The commodities whose residium goes to swell the annual supply of rubbish are generally of an earthy nature. Such commodities as are made of fibrous or textile materials go when used up chiefly to form a newer if of an animal nature and to be converted into paper if of a vegetable origin. The refuse materials of our woolen clothes our old coats and trousers are either torn to pieces and remanufactured into shoddy or become the invigorators of our hop and other plants whereas those of our linen or cotton garments our old shirts and petticoats form the materials of our books and letters while our old ropes and so on are converted into either brown paper or oakum. Those commodities on the other hand which are made of leather materials become when worn out the ingredients of the prosciate of potash and other nitrogenised products manufactured by our chemists. Our old wooden commodities again are used principally to kindle our fires while the refuse of our fires themselves whether the suit which is deposited in the chimney above or the ashes which fall below are employed mainly to increase the fertility of our land. Our worn out metal commodities on the other hand are newly melted and go to form fresh commodities when the metals are off the skircher kind as gold, silver, copper, brass, lead and even iron and when of the more common kind as is the case with old tin and occasionally iron vessels they either become the ingredients in some of our chemical manufacturers or else when formed of tin are cut up into smaller and inferior commodities. Even the detritus of our streets is used as the soil of our market gardens. All this we have already seen and we have now to deal more particularly with the refuse of the sole remaining materials namely those of an earthy kind and out of which are made our bricks our earthenware and porcelain as well as our glass, plaster and stone commodities. What becomes of all these materials when the articles made of them are no longer fit for use the old glass is like the old metal remelted and made into new commodities some broken bottles are used for the tops of walls as a protection against trespassers and the old bricks when sound are employed again for inferior brickwork but what becomes of the rest of the earthen materials the unsound bricks or bats the old plaster and mortar the refuse slates and tiles and chimney pots the broken pans and dishes and other crocs in a word the pot shards and pan shards as the rubbish carters call them what is done with these? Note this is the Saxon scared which means a shard, remnant or fragment and is from the verb scheran signifying both to shear and to share or divide the low Dutch shard is a piece of pot a fragment end note but rubbish as we have seen consists not only of refuse earthen commodities but of refuse earth itself such as the soil removed during excavations for the foundations of houses for the cuttings of railways the levelling of roads the formation of parks the laying down of pipes or drains the sinking of wells for each and all of these operations there is necessarily a certain quantity of soil removed and the question that naturally occurs to the mind is what is done with it there is moreover a third kind of rubbish which though having an animal origin consists chiefly of earthy matter and that is the shells of oysters and other shellfish when sco they since these shells are of a comparatively natural nature and thousands of such fish are consumed annually in the metropolis what the enquirer asks becomes of the refuse bony coverings of such fish let us first however endeavour to estimate what quantity of each of these three kinds of rubbish is annually produced in London beginning with the refuse earthen commodities there is no published account of the quantity of crockery where annually manufactured in this country Mr McCulloch tells us it is estimated that the value of the various sorts of earthenware produced at the potteries may amount to about £1,700,000 or £1,800,000 sterling a year and that the earthenware produced at Worcester, Derby and other parts of the country may amount to about £850,000 or more making the whole value of the manufacture £2,550,000 or £2,650,000 a year what proportion of this quantity may fall to the share of the metropolis and what proportion of the whole may be annually destroyed I know of no means of judging we must therefore go some other way to work in order to arrive at the required information now it has been before shown that the quantity of dust or dry refuse from houses annually collected amounts to 900,000 tonnes or children's yearly and I find on enquiry at the principal yards that the average quantity of pot sherds and broken crockery is at the rate of about half a bushel to every load of dust or say 1% out of the entire quantity collected at other yards I find the proportion of sherds to be about the same so that we may fairly assume that the gross quantity of broken earthenware produced in London is in round numbers 9,000 loads or tonnes per annum the sherds run about 250 pieces to the bushel and assuming every 5 of such pieces to be the remains of an entire article there would be in each bushel the fragments of 50 earthenware vessels and thus the total quantity of crockery where destroyed yearly in the metropolis will amount to 18 million vessels as to the quantity of refuse bricks the number annually produced which is between 1500 million and 2000 million will give us no knowledge of the quantity yearly converted into rubbish in order to arrive at this we must ascertain the number of houses pulled down in the course of the 12 month and I find by the returns of the registrar general that the buildings removed between 1841 and 1851 have been as follows decrease in the number of houses throughout London between 1841 and 1851 St. Martins total decrease in 10 years 116 annual average decrease 11.6 St. James's Westminster total decrease 130 annual average decrease 13.0 St. Giles's total decrease 181 annual average decrease 18.1 Strand total decrease 389 annual average decrease 38.9 Hoburn total decrease 86 annual average decrease 8.6 East London total decrease 11 annual average decrease 1.1 annual average decrease 26.5 City of London total decrease 592 annual average decrease 59.2 Whitechapel total decrease 2 annual average decrease 0.2 St. Saviour's Sutherk total decrease 46 annual average decrease 4.6 158 annual average decrease 15.8 total decrease of all areas in 10 years 1,976 total average decrease 197.6 Thus, then, we perceive that there have been, upon an average very nearly 200 houses annually pulled down in London within the last 10 years and I find, on enquiry among those who are likely to be the best informed on such matters that each house so pulled down will yield from 40 to 50 loads of rubbish so that, altogether, the quantity of refuse, bricks, slates, tiles, chimney pots and so on annually produced in London must be no less than 8,000 loads. But the above estimate refers only to those houses which have been pulled down and never rebuilt so that, in order to arrive at the gross quantity of this kind of rubbish yearly produced in the metropolis we must add to the preceding amount the quantity accruing from such houses as are pulled down and built up again or newly fronted and repaired which are by far the greater number These, I find, may be estimated at between 5 and 10% of the gross number of houses in the metropolis In some quarters the older parts of London, for instance the proportion is much higher while in the suburbs or newer districts it is scarcely half percent Each of the houses so new fronted or repaired may be said to yield on an average 10 loads of rubbish and at this rate the yearly quantity of refuse, bricks, mortar and so on preceding from such a source will be 150,000 loads per annum so that the total amount of rubbish produced in London by the demolition and reparation of houses would appear to be about 160,000 loads yearly The quantity of refuse oyster shells may easily be found by the number of oysters annually sold in Billingsgate Market These, from the returns which I obtained from the Market Salesman and printed at page 63 of the first volume of this work appear to be in round numbers 500,000,000 and calculating that one third of this quantity is sent into the country the total number of shells remaining in the metropolis may be estimated at about 650,000,000 Reckoning then that 500 shells go to the bushel the actual number was found experimentally to be between 525 and 550 and consequently that 20,000 are contained in every load We may conclude that the gross quantity of refuse oyster shells annually produced in London averaged somewhere about 30,000 loads that this is an approximation to the true quantity there can be little doubt for on enquiry at one of the largest dust yards I was informed by the Hillman that the quantity of oyster shells collected with the refuse dust from houses in the vicinity of Shore Ditch and Great Chapel and other localities at the east end of the metropolis averages 6 bushels to the load of dust about the west end however half a bushel or a bushel to each load is the average ratio while from the city there is none the house dust there being free of oyster shells in taking one district however with another I am assured that the average may be safely computed at 2 bushels of oyster shells to every 3 loads of dust hence as the gross amount of house dust is equal to 900,000 tons or loads per annum the quantity of refuse oyster shells collected yearly by the dustmen may be taken at 15,000 loads but besides these there is the quantity got rid of by the costar mungers which seldom or never appear in the dustbins the costars sell about 124 million oysters per annum and thus the extra quantity of shells resulting from these means would be about 12,400 loads so that the gross quantity of refuse oyster shells actually produced in London may be said to average between 25,000 and 30,000 loads per annum there still remains the quantity of refuse earth to be calculated this may be estimated as follows foundations of houses each house that is built requires the ground to be excavated from 2 to 3 yards deep the average area of each being about 9 yards square this gives between 160 and 200 cubic yards of earth removed from the foundation of each house a cubic yard of earth is a load so that there are between 160 and 200 loads of earth displaced in the building of every new house the following statement shows the number of houses built throughout London between 1841 and 1851 west districts total number of houses built in 10 years 9,624 average number of houses built per year 962.4 north districts total number 28 average number 1377.8 central districts total number 349 average number 34.9 east districts total number 8343 average number 834.3 south districts total number 1480.7 total number of houses built in London in 10 years 46901 average number of houses built per year 4690.1 hence estimating the number of new houses built yearly in the metropolis at 4500 the total quantity of earth removed for the foundations of the buildings throughout London would be 800,000 loads per annum 2. the cuttings of railways the railways formed within the area of the metropolis during the last 10 years have been the Great Northern, the Canton Town and Bowl the West India Docks and Bowl and the North Kent Lines the extension of the Southampton Railway from Vauxhall to Waterloo Bridge as well as the Richmond Line has also been formed within the same period but for these no cuttings have been made the railway cuttings made within the area of the metropolis proper during the last 10 years have been to the following extent Great Northern Railway length of cutting 1.5 miles width of cutting at top 12 yards but bottom 10 yards depth of cutting 10 yards quantity of earth removed 290,400 loads Camden Town and Bowl Railway length of cutting 1.5 miles width of cutting at top 12 yards but bottom 10 yards depth of cutting 10 yards quantity of earth removed 290,400 loads West India Docks and Bowl Railway length of cutting 2 miles width of cutting at top 15 yards at bottom 10 yards depth of cutting 12 yards quantity of earth removed 528,000 loads North Kent Railway length of cutting 2 miles width of cutting at top 15 yards at bottom 10 yards depth of cutting 12 yards quantity of earth removed 528,000 loads hence the gross quantity of earth removed from railway cuttings within the last 10 years has been 1,636,800 loads or say in round numbers 160,000 loads per annum 3. The cutting of roads and streets According to a return presented to parliament there were 200 miles of new streets formed within the Metropolitan Police District between the years 1839 to 1849 but in the formation of these no earth has been taken away on the contrary a considerable quantity has been required for their construction in the case of the lowering of Hoburn Hill that which was removed from the top was used to fill up the hollow 4. The formation of parks the only park that has been constructed during the last 10 years is Victoria Park at the east end of the town but I am informed that in the course of the works there no earth was carted away the soil which was removed from one part being used for the levelling of another 5. Pipe and sewer works The earth displaced in the course of these operations is usually put back into the ground when it was taken accepting in the formation of some new sewer and then proportion has to be carted away upon enquiry among those who are likely to be best informed I am assured that 1,000 loads may be taken as the quantity carted away in the course of the last year 6. Well-sinking in this there has been but little done those who are best informed assure me that within the last 10 years no such works of any magnitude have been executed the account as to the quantity of rubbish removed in London then stands thus 6. Refuse earthen materials pot sherds and pan sherds 9,000 loads per annum old bricks tiles, slates, mortars and so on 160,000 loads per annum oyster shells 25,000 loads per annum Refuse earth foundations of houses 800,000 loads per annum railway cuttings 160,000 loads per annum pipe and sewer laying 1,000 loads per annum total 1,155,000 loads per annum thus then we perceive that the gross quantity of rubbish that has to be annually removed throughout the metropolis is upwards of 1,000,000 loads per annum now what is done with the vast amount of refuse matter whether is it carried or disposed of the rubbish from the house building or removing is of no value to the master carter and is shot gratuitously wherever there is the privilege of shooting it this privilege however is very often usurped great quantities used to be shot in what were until these last 8 years Bishop Bonner's fields but now Victoria Park at the present time this sort of rubbish is often slyly deposited in localities generally known as the ruins being places from which houses and indeed streets have been removed and the sites left bare and vacant but the main localities for the deposition of this kind of refuse are in the fields round about the metropolis each particular district appears to have its own special shoot as it is called for rubbish of which the following are the principle rubbish shoots the rubbish of Kensington and Chelsea is shot in the pottery grounds and Kensington fields the rubbish of St George's Hanover Square Marlebone and Paddington is shot in the fields about Notting Hill and Kilburn the rubbish of Westminster Strand Hoburn, St Bartons, St Gileses St James's Westminster West London and Southwark is shot in Kubits Fields at Millbank and Westminster Improvements the rubbish of Hampstead is shot in the fields at back of Haverstock Hill the rubbish of St Pancras is shot in the Copenhagen Fields the rubbish of Islington, Clarkinwell and St Luke's is shot in the Eagle Wharf Road and Shepherdess Fields the rubbish of East London and City is shot in the Hagerstone Fields the rubbish of Whitechapel St George's in the East and Stepney is shot in Stepney Fields the rubbish of Hackney, Bethnal Green and Shore Ditch is shot in the Bunkers Pond Hackney Road the rubbish of Poplar is shot in the fields at back of Newtown Poplar the rubbish of Bermondsey is shot in the Bermondsey Fields the rubbish of Newington, Camberwell and Lambeth is shot in Walworth Common and Kensington Fields the rubbish of Wandsworth is shot in Puttershole, Wandsworth Common the rubbish of Greenwich and Lusham is shot in Russia Common near Lusham the rubbish of Rutherith is used for Ballast the quantity of rubbish annually shot in each of the above mentioned localities appears to range from 5,000 up to as high as 30,000 and 40,000 loads of the earth removed in forming the foundation of new houses between one fourth and one sixth of the whole is used to make the gardens at the back and the bed of the roads in front of them while the entire quantity of the soil displaced in the execution of the cuttings of railways is carted away in the trucks of the company to form embankments in other places hence there would appear to be about from 160,000 to 200,000 loads of refuse bricks, pot sherds pan sherds and oyster shells and about 600,000 loads of refuse earth deposited every year in the fields or shoots in the vicinity of the metropolis the refuse earth displaced in forming the foundations of houses is generally carted away by the builders men so that it is principally the refuse bricks and so on that the rubbish carters are engaged in removing these they usually carry to the shoots already indicated or to such other localities where the hard core may be needed for forming the foundation of the roads or the rubbish be required for certain other purposes the principal use to which the rubbish is put is for levelling when the hollow part of any newly made road has to be filled up or garden or lawn ground has to be levelled for a new mansion rubbish at one time was in demand for the ballasting of small coasting vessels for such ballasting tap and satan has to be paid to the corporation of the trinity house this rubbish has been used but sometimes surreptitiously for ballast unmixed with other things it is however light and inferior ballast and occupies more space than the gravel ballast from the bed of the Thames suppose that a collier requires ballast to the extent of 60 tons if house rubbish be used it will occupy the hold to a greater height by about 10 inches than would the ballast derived from the bed of the Thames the Thames ballast is supplied at one shelling a ton the rubbish ballast however was only thruppings to sixpence a ton but now it is seldom used unless to mix with manure which might be considered too wet and soft and likely to ferment on the voyage to a degree unpleasant even to the mariners used to such rates the rubbish I am told checks the fermentation and gives consistency to the manure I am assured by a tradesman who ships a considerable quantity of stable manure collected from the different mues of the metropolis that comparatively little rubbish is now used for ballast unless in the way I have stated even for mixing but a few tons a week are required up and down the river and perhaps a small quantity from the wharfs on the several canals nothing was ever paid for the use of this rubbish as ballast the carters being well satisfied to have the privilege of shooting it two of the principal shoots by the riverside where at Bell Wharf Shadwell and off Wapping Street the rubbish of Rutherith it will be seen is mainly shot as ballast the hard core is readily got rid of sometimes it is shot gratuitously or merely with a small gratuity for beer to the men but if it have to be carted three or four miles six pints to three shillings a load this is used for the foundations of houses the groundwork of roads and other purposes where a hard substratum is required the hard core on a new road is usually about nine inches deep there are on an average 20 miles of streets 15 yards wide formed annually in London hence there would be upwards of 100,000 loads of hard core required for this purpose alone where the soil is off a gravelly nature but little hard rubbish is needed oyster shells did form a much greater portion than they do now of the hard substratum of roads eight or nine years ago the costar mungers could sell their oyster shells for six pints a bushel now they cannot or do not sell them at all and the law not only forbids their deposit in any place whatever but forbids their being scattered in the streets under a penalty of five pounds but as the same law provides no place where these shells may be deposited the costar mungers are in what one of them described to me as a quandary one man who with his wife kept two stalls in Tottenham Court Road one for fish, fresh and dried and for shellfish and the other for fruit and vegetables told me that he gave one of those poor long legged fellows who were neither men nor boys all was starving and hanging about for a tuppany job tuppans to carry away a hamper full of shells and get rid of them as he best could oh where he put them sir said the man I don't know, I wouldn't know and I shouldn't have mentioned it to you only I saw you last winter and know you're inquiring for an honest purpose another costar munger who has a large barrow of oysters and mussels and sometimes of wet fish and a leather lane with back hill Hatten Garden was more communicative if you'll walk on with me sir he said I'll show you where they're shot you may mention my name if you like sir I don't care a damn for the crushers not a blessed damn he accordingly conducted me to a place which seemed adapted for the special purpose at the foot of Saffron Hill and the adjacent streets runs the Fleet Ditch now a branch of the common sewers covered over as in other parts but open, noisome and as the dark water flows on throwing up a sickening stench the ditch is indifferently fenced so that anyone with a little precaution may throw what he pleases into it there sir said my companion there's the place where more oyster shells is thrown than anywhere in London they're thrown in in the dark assuredly the great share of blame is not to those who avail themselves of such places for illegal purposes but to those who leave such filthy receptacles available the scattered oyster shells along all the approaches on both sides to this part of the open Fleet Ditch evinced the use that is made of it in violation of the law many of the costars however keep the shells by them till the amount to several bushels and then give the rubbish carters a few pence to dispose of them for them some of the costar mongers again obtain leave to deposit their oyster shells in the dustman's yards where quantities may be seen whitening the dingy dust heaps and a large quantity are collected with the house dust and ashes together with the broken crockery from the dustbins of the several houses the oyster shells are carted away with the pan shirts and so on for the purposes I have mentioned End of section 55