a ee
BULLETIN No. 55.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY.

THE FERTILIZING VALUE OF STREET SWEEPINGS

AN INVESTIGATION MADE UNDER THE DIRECTION OF

Phe WV WV A: ¥,

CuinF CHEMIST,
BY

ERVIN E. EwWELL,

First ASSISTANT CHEMIST.

WASHINGTON:

j GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
es 1898,

BULLETIN No. 55.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

és DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY.

TTR FERTILIZING VALUE GF STREET SWEEPING,

AN INVESTIGATION MADE UNDER THE DIRECTION OF

A Pe ohare VN 1 a Oe ae

CHIEF CIIEMIST,
BY

min y LN ns hee Ps,

‘
Finst ASSISTANT CILEMIST.

WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1898.

D’ 99,

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
DIvISsION OF CHEMISTRY,
Washington, D. 0., June 21, 1897.
Sir: I have the honor to submit for your inspection and approval
the accompanying manuscript of the report of the investigation of the
fertilizing value of street sweepings, which you authorized to be under-
taken by this division on May 26,1897. It is believed that the informa-
tion resulting from this investigation will be of assistance to city
officials who are seeking to extend the use of street sweepings in agri-
culture, and also be of benefit to farmers and gardeners to whom such
materials may be available. I recommend that this report be published
as a bulletin of this division, and that it be circulated as an aid in
improving the methods employed for the collection of street sweepings
and in extending their use for the maintenance of the productiveness
of American farms and gardens.
Respectfully, ERviIn E. EWELL,
Acting Chief of Division.
Hon. JAMES WILSON,
Secretary.

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CONTENTS.

Data in regard to the quantity and methods of disposition of street sweepings
AIMUEEH UU Ce Ce LAU OSES cine tonsaicta saben eete ci ste ele ersleee cel cal a njsciew ote cers ocie
Circumstances which determine the fertilizing value of street sweepings-....
ATIAY SES Ol: SHrOOt and alley, IS WEOPINGSie ssc ecciciawo ers \seelsic as cle aw <rcieiciee eismi
Field tests of the fertilizing value of street sweepings.........--..----------
Extracts from letters from farmers and gardeners who have used street
sweepings for the fertilization of field and garden crops --.....--.-----
Further cooperation with the division in the study of the fertilizing value of
SUMED ISS ESPN OS MMVALOC cen. satiscieyerare ate este Sa cemtae ease laclscteewcce:elcisic ee eiciwis
Money value ofastreet:sweeplirst =. - cis ania sisiee laces Sele wie cieicint seme wie efeicke erate wcle
Miscellancous waste products - ... 2.000.000. socsce esse isle bitiete, Sessa Lesteaie ests

ares Or

aA Geant” i oats Nate bila maar hoe etalang: suena taney age
Lbs. ieeon
eee Pre TEE: Me ft in horeitarts. Lo asian

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rissh Or M rRuate a NG BARON Gale wiietee alana ptoenbacs 3
ee Ne 5K sliettok Hatin etait ie dill Chto} ake "ek Aer efarten gal

Be HEE ST ie gale Te pane ae itt raed eet i Ne BOLL atan bee 1 ab biteh
< ae 5 Prateces RRaER SS ek oti

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Cee res ie

Wie EPERTILIZING VALUE OF STREET. SWEEPINGS.

DATA IN REGARD TO TUE QUANTITY AND METHODS OF DISPOSITION
OF STREET SWEEPINGS IN THE UNITED STATES.

In accordance with an authorization of the Secretary of Agriculture,
dated May 26, 1897, the Division of Chemistry sent circular letters of
inquiry to the officials in charge of street-cleaning departments in the
354 cities and towns of the United States having 10,000 or more inhab-
itants. More or less complete data in regard to the disposal of the
street sweepings of 204 cities and towns were thus obtained. Lsti-
mates of the number of tons of sweepings collected annually in 81
of these cities were received. In compiling the data in regard to dis-
position, the methods of disposal have been divided into three classes:
Utilization for fertilization, utilization for filling low land, and dumping
wherever most convenient without any regard to the possible value of '
the materials.

In the first class are included all cities which succeed in disposing of
some portion of their street sweepings for agricultural purposes, includ-
ing many eases in which only a very small percentage of the total
amount of sweepings is so used. The second class includes all cases
in which no attempt is made to turn to account the fertilizing value
of the material, but in which some part of the material is used for fill-
ing in low land, for reclaiming marsh land, ete. The third class includes
those cities where the material is dumped in streams or other bodies uf
water, or on land, without any systematic attempt at utilization.

rs
‘

8

A summary of the data obtained is presented in the following table,
in which the figures for population are taken from the reports of the
Eleventh Census:

Data in regard to the amount of street sweepings collected in the cities of the United States,
and the methods in use for their disposition.

Cities reporting—
=== = Total for
Use of TEs A Cities all cities
street noe No sys- which fur-| to which
sweep- arias _ | tem of Total nished no | inquir-
ings for | jos for utiliza- es report. | ies were
fertiliza- filline tion. sent.
tion. eh
Data in regard to methods of dispo-
sition.
Number of cities having—
10,000 to 14,999 inhabitants.-.....- 15 24 32 71 67 138
15,000 to 24,999 inhabitants. ...-.-- 17 20 19 56 36 92
25,000 to 49,999 inhabitants-.-.....- 13 16 5 34 32 66
50,000 to 99,999 inhabitants....--- 10 4 8 22 8 30
HOD OUD Tonimore = spre sso eee ee 5 10 5 21 7 28
Totalnumber of cities.-..-.- 60 74 70 204 150 354
Per cent of total number of cities to
which inquiries were sent.....----- 16. 95 20.90 19. 77 57. 62 42,38 100
Urban population represented:
Number of inhabitants -......----! 2,949, 569 |5, 157, 764 |3, 887, 182 |11, 994,515 | 5, 442, 882 |17, 437, 397
Percent of total population of the
BotCHlOs <<< msminnetele Semone 16. 92 29, 58 22. 29 68. 79 31.21 100
Average population of the cities of
the different groups ......-........-- 49, 160 69, 700 Da, Sol: 58, 796 36, 285 49, 258
Data in regard to the quantity of street
sweepings collected annually.
|
Number of cities reporting tonnage,
divided according to method of dis-
position:
Number of cities having—
10,000 to 14,999 inhabitants. . . 7 6 8 21] 117 138
15,000 to 24,999 inhabitants. - - 11 7 4 22 70 92
25,000 to 49,999 inhabitants. -- 6 9 1 16 | 50 66
50,000 to 99,999 inhabitants... 4 3 2 9 21 3
100,000 or more ...... Saeee eee 3 6 | 4 3 15 23
Totalnumber of cities... ... 31 31 19 | 81 273 354
Per cent of the total number of cities |
to which inquiries were sent......-. 8.76 8. 76 5. 36 | 22. 88 | 77.12 100
Urban population represented: }
Number of inhabitants..........- |1, 672, 750 |3, 459, 028 |1,173, 542 | 6, 305, 320 11, 182, 077 |17, 437, 397
Per cent of the total population
of the dot cities -_ 2.2. osscee 9.59 | 19. 84 6.73 36.16 | 63. 84 100
Average population of the cities of |
the different groups..--..-=...-:-... 53,960 | 111,581 61, 765 77, 843 | 40, 777 49, 258
Total number of tons collected annu- | |
MV saetcmnseeees pene eee se ones 174 $9815). 673-7914 216235 hd OG Tel saeee ent eee meee
Number of tons collected annually,
perl 000sanhabitants.-osseaseee. oe 104.6 194.8 184.3 168.9 ioe gees bait ra

From an examination of these data it appears that 68.79 per cent of
the people in the United States living in urban communities having
10,000 or more inhabitants were represented in the reports in regard to
the disposal of street sweepings, while no reports were received from
cities representing 31.21 per cent of our urban population. Of the 354
cities to whom inquiries were sent 57.62 per cent reported methods of
disposition, showing that among the cities reporting there was a pre-
ponderance of those above the average size. This is also apparent

LL

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9

from the figures given in the table for the average population of the
cities in the different groups.

By the reports received it is shown that the cities containing 16,92
per cent of our urban population make more or less effort to utilize the
fertilizing value of their sweepings. If the same proportion prevails in
the case of the cities from which no reports were received this figure
should be increased to 24.6 percent. In general terms it may be stated
that the cities representing one-fourth of the urban population of the
country make an effort to utilize the fertilizing value of some portion
of their street sweepings.

The data reported in regard to the quantity of street sweepings col-
lected annually were still less complete than the data in regard to
methods of disposition; only 36.16 per cent of our urban population was
represented in the reports in regard to the quantity of street sweepings
collected annually. For the cities reporting, the average quantity col-
lected annually is 168.9 tons per 1,000 inhabitants. Assuming this to
be a true average for all of the cities of the United States, the total
quantity of street sweepings annually collected may be estimated at
not far from 3,000,000 tons.

The data contained in the reports relating to the cost of street clean-
ing in the various cities of the country were not sufficiently complete
and satisfactory to justify their tabulation. In many cities the amount
of money used for this purpose can not be separated from amounts
used for other purposes. In other cases mere estimates were given for
the cost per ton. The dearth of records of this sort in many cities
renders the compiling of data impossible, and in many other cases it is
extremely difficult to obtain complete statistical data without sending
an agent to each city. While this would be very expensive in connec-
tion with an investigation of this kind, it might be very economically
and satisfactorily done in connection with our regular census enumera-
tion. It was necessary to send a second request to many of the cities
before some of the data which we have presented were obtained. As
appears from the table nearly one third of the cities did not respond
to either inquiry.

CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH D#iERMINE THE FERTILIZING VALUE OF
STREET SWEEPINGS.

The fertilizing value of street sweepings varies greatly with the
nature of the pavements, being practically nothing in the case of
material taken from macadamized roads, and approaching that of good
stable manure in the case of that collected on the hand-swept and well-
paved streets of crowded citics. The regulations in different cities
governing the nature of substances which may be thrown into the
alleys and streets, and thus find their way into the material collected
by the sweepers, vary so greatly that there is consequently a corre-
sponding difference in the cost of sorting and preparing the material

10

for spreading on the land. It is believed that the rapidly increasing
sentiment in favor of the careful separation and systematic utilization
of all forms of city wastes will tend to remove this difficulty and thus
increase the value of sweepings, particularly of those collected in
alleys, where the percentage of miscellaneous rubbish is now often
very great.

In autumn the quantity and, in many eases, the quality of the street
cleaner’s product is greatly increased by the falling leaves.

ANALYSES GCF STREET AND ALLEY SWEEPINGS.

The range of composition of the sweepings collected by various
methods on well-paved streets and alleys at different seasons of the
year is quite well exhibited in the following table of analyses of typical
samples of sweepings collected on the streets of Washington, D. C.
The analyses were made in the laboratory of this Division; the nitrogen
determinations, by Mr. T. C. Trescot; the potash determinations, by Mr.
George E. Patrick; and the determinations of moisture, ash, and phos-
phoric acid, by Mr. C. C. Moore. The determination of the phosphoric
acid and potash contained in the organic part of street sweepings,
without including that contained in the soil which is mixed with them,
is not a simple problem. For the determination of phosphoric acid
the method of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists was
used, the solution being prepared according to method A, (see p. 12 of
Bulletin 46 of this Division); for the potash determinations the official
method was followed, with the exception of the omission of the sul-
phuric acid used in burning off the organic matter; the official
Kjeldahl method was used for the determination of nitrogen.

Analyses of street and alley sweepings, etc., collected in Washington, D. C.

(Analytical data are stated in percentages of the original material in its moist condition.)

Dates on é ay leg = -| 4
| which 2) ae |) oe "esa ees
Beri) samples Description of samples. = . | Ss o feaSl 3S
. were 3S ao lool (sce oe
taken. =| 4 (o) A is Ay
1898. JER EN 2a | ENC al PEC Teagion| JPA (ole
17014 | Feb. 8 | Sweepings collected by hand on Peunsyl-
vania avenue (asphalt pavement) and
sold to a Virginia farmer for 25 cents per

a pile which had lain on the dump at
Twenty-first and B streets SW. for not
more tliany2 Gays) ose aisinte le) eel Kemembio joboesallodssor (Ret adage |socatn
17015 | Feb. 8 | Machine-collected sweepings, which were
practically all leaves, taken from the
streets in various parts of the city in the
autumn of 1897. The sample was taken
from the undecayed, dry leaves on the sur- !}
face of a pile on the dump at Twenty-first |

2-horse load. The sample was taken from |

and BstreetsSW. Theanalysis was maae
of the/air-diry, materiale ooo = seme =e ole ine eel oe MS Ss oaasc}erss0 *
17016 | Feb. 8 | Thesameas No. 17015, except that the sample
was taken from the wet, interior, decayed
TONANOLE THOS) FoR) Eb = Sonoda csooesesesoa sss 205) wetos ood Salosasac | 8b) Teobeaallesooe °
17019 | Feb. 11 | Street sweepings taken from stone-block
pavement on Fourteenth street, between
Band Cstreets SW. Tirst cleaning after
the melting of the snow. Street was very
(eR segs oosuoaSosenASe Sate eae reese ieieererereie omCeS [soosterclisiceecie Orth Is aeiser|acCOOD

1

Analyses of street and alley sweepings, etc., collected in Washington, D. C.—Continued.

Dates oe 3 Seal sa 2 Ae
..)| whic Ss AS | & |aua| 25
Serial samples Description of samples. a - S = = B50] 82
No. fee a toa ra n a] 4
were 3 = HB = g oS a 5 a
taken. A (al A ly a
1898. P..ct.| P.ct:| P.ct.| P.et.| PB. ct.| P. et.

17020 | Feb. 11 | Street sweepings taken from asphalt pave-
ment on B street SW., between Thirteen-
and-a-half and Fourteenth streets SW.
First cleaning after the melting of the
SUOWs = Stvedy WAS VELY Glee = 5. 0s6s -satse| secs tc} sons fess ee Be | etal eres

17034 | Feb. 23 | Taken from stone-block pavement on B
street NW., between Fourteenth and
Fifteenth streets NW., where snow, taken
from other parts of the city, had been
duniped and allowed to melt......-.-......]....--|...+0.].-cee- yt) conse eee

17214 | May 13 | Street sweepings from the dump at Fif-
teenth and C streets SW. The sample
was a composite one, made from several
piles, which were 6 to 8 months old....--.. 45.7 | 38.0 | 16.3] .39)| 0.08) 0.09

17215 | May 73 | Street sweepings from the dump at Tif-
teenth and C streets SW. Tho sample
was taken from a pile which was largely
composed of leaves, which had lain on the
dump for 6 to 8 months .......-.-...-.----- 37.5 | 49.3 | 13.2] .25} .01 .09

17216 | May 13 Street sweepings from the dump at Fif-
teenth and C streets SW. The sample
was taken from a pile which was mostly
manure, and which had lain on the dump
TOY Gito/S MOWERS paca a. BS s se oe Selena 28.7 | 56.8 | 14.5] .32] .08 ll

17218 | May 14 | Machine-collected sweepings, taken from
the dump at Twenty-first and B streets
SW. The material had Jain on the dump
but afewdays. It contained a very large
Proportion Of SAHC) ~~ acc. -5 5 ton aneeereaen = 6.

17219 | May 14 |} The same as No. 17218, except that the ma-
terial appeared to consist principally of
WAIL es eas sce aalsin sma doles aaa ca des eoeen xe 16.4 | 48.1 | 35.5] .73] .16 -3l

17220 | May 14 | Fresh, hand-swept sweepings (from asphalt
pavement) taken from the dump at
‘Twenty-first and B streets SW. The ma-
terial was largely composed of manure ....| 39.

17221 | May 14 | Material from ‘‘sewer drops,” taken from
the dump at Twenty-first and BstreetsSW.| 40.5 | 36.2 | 23.3 | .56] .08 .16

17222 | May 14 | Of the same origin as No. 17221, but the ma-
terial had a decidedly different appear-
atice (nearly all sand)o.- faccc- maces acces 29.

17223 | May 14 | Alley sweepings, 3 to 4 weeks old, taken at
the dump at Half street SE., between N
and O streets. A large percentage of
eoarse rubbish was separated from the
sample before it was prepared for analysis-..| 16.4 | 66.6 | 17.0 | .47] .02 -12

17224 | May 14 } Decayed street sweepings, taken from the
face of the blusf at the dump at Twenty-
fourth and N streets NW. A composite
sample made up of portions taken from
several parts of the dump ..-...-.---...-.- 36.6 | 49.6 | 13.8 | .41} .08 13

17225 | May 14 | The same as No. 17224, except that the sam-
ple was taken from a single place, which
appeared to be especially rich ....--....... 30.0 | 59.7 | 10.

17226 | May 14 | The sameas No. 17220, except that the ma-
terial had lain on the dump for 2 to 4
Wie Cue sine = etaie a.cisce winlagelieteiee cinema eee 52.3 | 18.0} 29.7) .65}) -10 50

17227 | May 14 | A sample of fish refuse, taken from thedump
at Half streetSE., between Nand Ostreets..} 28.1 | 18.6 | 53.3 | 9.15 } 6.79 . 05

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There seems to be a dearth of recent literature on the subject of the
fertilizing value of street sweepings. J. H. Vogel published two short
papers! on this subject, in which he included an analysis of sweepings

1Mitteilungen der deutschen Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft, 1892, 7, 89-90, and
Deutsche landwirtschaftliche Presse, 1892, 19, 1056; Experiment Station Record, 4,
222 and 518.

12

taken from the asphalt-paved streets of Berlin. This material had the
following composition:

Per cent.
IW GIG a Bee ES eID ee OCIS On CoS B00 Enos OSH 57156 Se0O00 DhGes JobbSasoo0n9 csce 39. 89
Git 22 se enn Eee Seer te asi jon5 cob obo dag Vode coop Sace IC SCO boSeoE 37. 67
Organic matter ....-------- +--+ 2-22 eee eee eee ee eee ee eee eee eee eee 22, 44
Ro fallen broe elias oe aie eine Sacwee Rose soo dbosaees soc ose soSubooseS -479
Ammimontacal mito ge. 2 eS = arate melee waa ele teeealee ee ae milli . 004
Total phosphoric acid (P2Os) -..--.----- 0-2-2 o-oo eee eee nee ee eee cee ene eee . 452
12a SH (CGO) ceeedecaa aoeena> poSSeocoEa souetis coculdatsa de sabencusooccavooaace . 370
Mame (CaO) ..< 25 2-5 -)s con coeeela ee eee ee ae ee eee eile 1.891
Macnesia .. 2. 2.2020 enn on ccs cons cone esas snes eens ennn ten enn asien sans receae . 347

A sample representing the accumulation for four weeks of the
sweepings from one of the streets of Trenton, N. J., was analyzed in
the laboratory of the Agricultural Experiment Station of that State,
with the following results:!

Per cent.
NGGTOPEN =. sess Joost tees at ee aor ee Pele ee pe eee eo 0.18
Phosphoric acid (P20). eecaee eee eee ee ee eee eee ae ee . 30
LEME (kG 0) ieee asoasecenas psconncao coq atone 23 5es00Os6ED eas Cosasg dee SOR Sat 19

The station valued this material at 90 cents per ton.
FIELD TESTS OF THE FERTILIZING VALUE OF STREET SWEEPINGS.

We have endeavored to supplement the analytical data just pre-
sented with the results of practical tests made by farmers to determine
the value of street sweepings as a source of plant food for field and
garden crops, and as a source of the humus which is so necessary to a
good mechanical condition of many soils.. Inquiries sent to farmers and
gardeners, whose addresses were furnished by the officials in charge of
the street-cleaning departments in various parts of the country, brought
a number of letters containing much information on the subject, and,
as the following quotations will show, convincing evidence that well-
selected and judiciously used street sweepings possess considerable
manurial value. The letters describe some of the more successful
methods in use for the treatment of street sweepings and for applying
them to the soil. It will be noted that of sixtecn letters only four report
unfavorable results.

EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS FROM FARMERS AND GARDENERS WHO HAVE USED STREET
SWEEPINGS FOR THE FERTILIZATION OF FIELD AND GARDEN CROPS.

ATLANTA, GA., September 7, 1897.

I have used street sweepings from Atlanta on my little farm with very good results.
I find a ton of these sweepings equal to about half ton of housed stable manure of
about two-thirds cow and one-third horse manure, provided the sweepings are gath-
ered in the spring, fall, and winter months from clean pavements. The sweepings
gathered in the hot summer months, taken from hot pavements with a hot sun, lose
their fertile qualities in a great degree. As to garbage and sewage, I never used any
as fertilizer, except when small quantities of garbage would get mixed with the

1 Report of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station for 1895, page 92;
Experiment Station Record, 8, 877.

13

sweepings. I have used the sweepings for three years, for corn, oats, wheat, rye,
and potatoes, broadcasting about twenty tons to the acre on semiclay and sandy
lands. My lands have been greatly improved, more than doubling their yield. On
a large proportion of my land I follow the wheat, rye, and oats with a second crop
(of corn) the same season, without additional fertilizer, * * *

The cost will approximate about 75 cents per ton. I have no trouble with tin

cans, and not much with paper or other rubbish.
J. L. McCoritum.

NEW HAVEN, Conn., September 7, 1897.
Ilave used street sweepings, with fair results, as a fertilizer.
A. N. FARNnAM.

ATLANTA, GA., September 8, 1897.

Thave had experience only with street sweepings which comprise almost exclu-
sively the droppings of horses on the streets of Atlanta paved with asphalt and
Belgian blocks. I first used a half carload, or, in other words, twelve 2-horse wagon
loads of street sweepings, on about an acre and a third (nine loads per acre), at my
place near Marietta, 20 miles above this city. The remainder of the 5-acre tract,
with this acre and a third, was planted in corn. In October I gathered four and a
half 2-horse loads of corn—in other words, about 45 bushels on the acre and a
third; and the other three and two-thirds acres only produced three and a half
wagon loads—in other words, the very small yield of 35 bushels. It is fair to state,
however, that the acre and a third had been planted in pease the year before,
whereas the three and two-thirds acres had been left in Bermuda grass, which had
been its condition for some years. There was nothing more than a general lesson
taught by that experience.

Last fall, however, I broadcast the street sweepings at the rate of about thirty or
more 2-horse wagon loads to the acre and planted the land in winter grazing oats.
On a portion of the same tract immediately adjoining this I placed no street sweep-
ings at all, although I had pease planted on the land last year. When I thrashed my
oats, early in June, the tract upon which the street sweepings had been broadcast
produced within a slight fraction of 50 bushels per acre, whereas on that which had
no street sweepings I produced only 7 bushels per acre—an overwhelming proof of
the value of street sweepings as a fertilizer.

ITalso have a lot of corn this year, fertilized w ith street sweepings, which has
been described by a number of competent witnesses as the finest upland corn they
have ever seen. It is proper, however, to say that, in addition to broadcasting 50 or
more loads of street sweepings per acre on this corn land, I also last December
plowed the jand with a turning plow, which went down about 11 inches, and fol-
lowed this with a scooter 6 inches broad as a subsoil plow, which went an average
of 7 inches deeper, thus making the average depth of the plowing 18 inches. I
believe that this very deep plowing helped the corn as much as any other factor by
reason of the storing up of moisture during the winter, upon which the corn plant
fed during the spring drought of forty-three days, within which period the corn of
every neighbor I have turned yellow, while mine maintained a dark, green, healthy
color. :

I also fertilized a piece of ground liberally with street sweepings and planted it
in sorghum millet, and have what is estimated a phenomenal yield.

Furthermore, I broadcast the street sweepings heavily, and after plowing in I
broadcast pease, and have the statement of the State commissioner of agriculture,
Col. R. T. Nesbitt, that it is the finest crop of pease he has ever seen in Georgia. They
are very thick, and will average 30 inches or more in height.

The fairest test, however, was that of the oats shown in the early part of this letter.

These materials cost me no more than 40 cents per ton.

14

T have had but little trouble with tin cans and other rubbish mixed with the mate-
rial. Paper I regard as an advantage, because, like oak leaves, it serves to retain
the moisture in the ground. I have never used garbage ashes or garbage tankage.

Jos. M. Brown.

Muncin, Inn, September 10, 1897.

IT have used the street scrapings from the paved streets of Muncie for two years.
There are 47 squares, or about 15,000 feet (linear), of paved (sheet asphalt) streets,
and we collected from 1} to 2 tons per day of scrapings. About one-half of the
scrapings was scattered direct upon the land; the other dumped off in a large pile—it
does not heat or fire-fang. Most of that scattered direct was upon an old timothy
sod, thin clay land, and shows no decided results on the present crop of corn, owing
to the extremely dry season. That portion that was dumped into a heap I found
rotted much quicker and more thoroughly than stable manure with bedding in it.
I have used the rotted sweepings upon clay ground for late cabbage and sweet corn,
and upon black loam (no sand) for onions and melons.

We put on a heavy coat (3 to 6 inches) before plowing, then thoroughly worked it
through with a spring-tooth harrow.

The result was arank growth of both cabbage and corn. Many a head of cab-
bage was as large as a half-bushel measure, but soft. None of the cabbage hardened
up as it should. The corn did not ear well. For onions and melons it did better
than for the other crops.

I used no other fertilizer.

The cost of the manure was the expense of keeping the team and wagons. The
city paid for driver. Paper and anything that would rot we put on the ground.

Tin cans, stones, brickbats, wire, and barrel staves were our worst nuisances, and
were separated as loaded and unloaded.

STANLEY HATHAWAY.

SEDALIA, Mo., September 9, 1897.

I have had some experience in regard to the value of the various kinds of offal
that accumulate and have to be taken from cities. I have been in the business for
about fourteen years, and own a small piece of ground about 4 miles from the city.
Street sweepings I regard as worth nothing, from the fact that it is tramped and
ground until it is lifeless before it is put upon the ground where it can be plowed
under. It will do to fill holes or ditches, the same as straw, and that is all. The
garbage from alleys is worth a great deal more, such as falls behind restaurants,
hotels, saloons, stables; all are good fertilizers. Tin cans or old bone are good for
orchards or grapevines or other fruits, such as berries. Dead animals, no matter
what kind, should be buried just a few inches deep, so they do not dry up too
quickly and give the earth a chance to absorb the fertilizing substances of the car-
cass. Horses, mules, cows, or any large animal should be cut in pieces and not
placed in one pit. These are good for land that is not yet worn out. But if I
wanted to redeem a piece of ground that is considered worn entirely out and make
a garden of it, give me that which comes from cleaning privies. Cover the ground
with the material and then subsoil it; then repeat the same next year. By the
third year your ground will raise potatoes, onions, beets, radishes, beans of any kind,
tomatoes, corn, and such, as any huckster or farmer would wish to raise. It should
be remembered that subsoiling is one of the main things in all cases where fertilizers
of this kind are used. The offal from chicken houses where chickens are dressed or
from slaughterhouses is excellent, but the ground must be subsoiled.

W. L. MITCHELL.

15

BIDDEFORD, Mr., September 29, 1897.
As to the fertilizing value of street sweepings, I have to say that I have used such
materials but one season on old ground, with small results. Cost of material, that
of hauling and applying, as the city has furnished same free to all who wish.
JEREMIAI G. Suaw.

ARNOLDS MILLs, R. L, September 16, 1897.

Tam at the Diamond Hill Reservoir farm of the Pawtucket Waterworks, consist-
ing of about 500 acres of land. I have used street sweepings for four years and find
them better than stable or horse manure, for the reason that they contain no straw
and are ready for use at any time. The sweepings I get cost nothing except cartage
from Pawtucket. When the city sells any the price is $2 per cord. I have used
sweepings for corn and raised 90 bushels per acre. The first year I put on 8 cords
to the aere, scattered broadcast and plowed in. The yield was 60 bushels per acre.
The season was not a good one for corn. I have used sweepings for oats for fodder
and obtained 4 tons per acre.

I use 20 cords a year for grass. The material should be plowed in, as it dries when
spread on the surface. The yield of grass was 2 to 3 tons per acre. This manure is
swept up with a hand broom, so there are no tin cans or rubbish init. I do not use
any other fertilizer besides the sweepings, and have no trouble in raising any crop
I wish.

SAMUEL DARLING.

620 N STREET, SACRAMENTO, CAL., October 1, 1897.

I am now putting on my land the sweepings of the asphalt streets of Sacramento,
which gives me about three large 2-horse loads per day. The contractor dumps
it in a certain place, and I give him $5 per month for it. There is no straw in if,
very little paper, and no tin cans or rubbish, as another contractor picks up the rub-
bish, ashes, cans, straw, weeds, bottles, shoes, ete., and deposits them in another
place. I have a good deal of faith in sweepings, as they seem to be in a proper con-
dition for the roots to take hold of. I put the sweepings direct on the hop hills,
without further pulverizing or working over. Some tell me I should compost them
by working over and wetting them, as we have no summer showers in this section,
our rainy season beginning in October. As we have, off and on, four or five months
of rainy weather, and in January and February I begin to plow the hops, I thought
it would get in good condition for plant use without working and wetting.

Our white labor costs about $1 a day and board. Japanese or Chinese, 80 or 90
cents, without board. I put 4 and 5 large shovelfuls to each hill, and after going
over all the hills, if there is a surplus, I shall put some between the hills.

As this is my first year with the sweepings, I can not report any results.

DANIEL FLINT.

FINDLAY, Onto, October 23, 1897.
Street sweepings cost me 15 cents per load. Iuse them without preliminary treat-
ment for garden crops, and consider them very valuable.
M. M. Lowy, M. D.

SAVANNAH, GaA., November 9, 1897.
Street sweepings, if put together and allowed to ferment and ripen, form a capital

top dressing for truck gardens, etc.
J.C. Le Harpy.

16

HIGHLAND PARK, PITTSBURG, Pa., November 23, 1897.

IT have been using street sweepings in the ake for a ater of three years and I
find it an excellent fertilizer. It has given good satisfaction so far as we have tried
it. The soil in the park is of a clayey nature, and I get the best results from apply-
ing about 4 to 6 inches, owing to the quality of the soil, then cultivating, rolling,
etc., before sowing the lawn seed. With the above treatment our lawns stand the
drought, give a rich, green color, and are very pretty. I have not used the street
dirt in connection with any crop other than the making of lawns. As to the cost,
the hauling from the freight station is the only expense we have. It costs us about
50 cents per cubic yard.

As to the rubbish, there are some tin cans and other materials mixed through it,

but it is a small percentage.
Gro. W. BURKE.

Box 463, PULLMAN, ILL., November 29, 1897.

I had some experience thirty-five years since in using street sweepings for a ferti-
lizer from the city of New York, 35 miles distant, brought to the farm by sailboat,
but found the material too bulky for the amount of fertilizing matter contained to
pay for transportation and handling for use in growing vegetables and the ordinary

farm crops and nursery stock.
Rt. B. HANCE.

MARSHALSEA, Pa., December 6, 1897.
We have used street sweepings for four years and find it a fine fertilizer. In fact,
we use no other kind. We have one 22-acre field, high ground; this field was only
a briar patch; would raise nothing. After giving it a coat of street sweepings it
produced a fine crop of oats, 45 bushels per acre, and a very heavy crop of English
clover. A part of this field was not fertilized with street sweepings. The part not
fertilized produced two-thirds less than that part of the field fertilized. Cost of
street sweepings, $6 per car freight, the street department of the city loading car
and the insane labor at the farm unloading. We find some tin cans and otherrubbish,

but this is taken out when unloading car, at a trifling cost.
GEO. LINDERMAN.

LYNCHBURG, VA., December 13, 1897.

I have used street sweepings, and I think they are worth to a farmer about two-
thirds as much as any stable or cow-pen manure where straw bedding is used. The
cost of the same depends on how far they are to be hauled. I never investigated
the cost, and used them in top dressing for grapes, which I think gave fine results.

L. F. Lucapo.

Nonrrouk, VA., December 18, 1897.

T have been using street sweepings for several years with much satisfaction and
profit on spinach, cabbage [compare with letter from Mr. Hathaway, of Muncie,
Ind., given above.—E. E. E.], kale and potatoes. I haul the material on my farm
near where I purpose using it, putting 300 or 400 loads in a heap. I then fork or
shovel it over, separating the bricks, tin cans, paper, and other rubbish as thor-
oughly as I can (a coarse screen would be better). For spinach, I use it broadcast
at the rate of 700 bushels per acre; for cabbage, I drill it at the rate of 500 bushels
per acre, and ridge the land; for potatoes, I think it better to broadcast, as for
spinach and kale. I use from 2,500 to 3,500 carloads of 25 bushels each, and have

17

been using it for the last ten or twelve years. I use,in addition, about 1,000 car-
loads of stable manure, and as a rule 300 tons of commercial fertilizer. The street
sweepings cost me 20 cents a carload at the dump. The effect on the land where
street sweepings are used is much more lasting than where stable manure is used.
On ‘‘gally” places, that will not grow y crops, such a dressing as I have named makes

them produce good crops. *
Toos. R. BALLENTINE.

PITTSBURG, PA., December 18, 1897.

We use street sweepings very largely in our paiks and ale excellent results.
We get the sweepings and dump them ina pile, like amanure heap, 3 to 5 feet deep,
driving over it with the wagons, then squaring it up, leaving it sagging a little on
top to catch water. It is left in this way for at least a year, or maybe two years,
turned once if we have time, and then used as atop dressing on lawns, say one-fourth
inch thick, or to mix in with soil in breaking up land, when we use it 1 to 2} inches
deep. It is powerful and qnick in its action, and gives a capital growth of grass,
and its effect is more lasting than that of artificial manures.

To use it fresh is dangerous, that is, if a heavy dressing is given, and a thin
dressing is of little use. To beof any practical benefit, it should be well rotted and
well wetted, either by rain or artificial watering from the first; if stacked dry, it
“burns.” When well rotted, it forms a black mass of humus.

We have 195 carloads of street sweepings in one pile now, all unloaded there this
summer; while we were getting them we got in two to threo carloads a day. They
were emptied and the dumpings piled close by the railroad in a big heap, too big
for their good, but we had no time then to take care of them; we left that job till
frosty weather, when we could haul them to amore convenient place. In unloading
them we throw all big sticks, stones, tin cans, leather straps, iron scrap, etc., aside.

WM. FALCONER.

FURTHER COOPERATION WITH THE DIVISION IN THE STUDY OF THE
FERTILIZING VALUE OF STREET SWEEPINGS INVITED.

It is hoped that the information contained in the quotations from
letters given above will serve as an inducement for the extension of
the use of street sweepings for fertilization, and also aid in developing
the best methods for collecting, preparing, and applying the material
to the soil. Correspondence is invited with persons interested in the
subject, or with farmers or gardeners who have made careful experi-
ments in the use of street sweepings or other forms of city wastes for
purposes of fertilization. A knowledge of their methods and results
will be of value to others, whether their experiments are successful or
unsuccessful. Reports of experiments of this kind possess their maxi-
mum value only when the purchase price and cost of hauling, preparing,
and applying the fertilizer to the land are stated; when a part of the
land is left unfertilized and the crops on fertilized and unfertilized
portions of the field are harvested and measured separately; and when
the net profit per acre in each case is accurately stated.

MONEY VALUE OF STREET SWEEPINGS.

Without a knowledge of the results of a large number of carefully
conducted experiments, it would be hard to determine from the resultg
4655—No. 55 2

18

of an analysis just what price per ton farmers can afford to pay for street
sweepings in addition to the cost of hauling and spreading them on
the land. Using the very conservative estimate of 10 cents per pound
for the nitrogen, and disregarding the phosphoric acid and potash, the
poorest sample analyzed, Serial No. 17034, would be worth 34 cents per
ton; while the richest sample, Serial No. 17219, would be worth $1.46
per ton. The material has considerable value for many soils in addi-
tion to the value of the plant food it contains. Gardeners declare that
it is very useful for improving the mechanical condition of stiff and
badly aerated soils. It would also improve the condition of very light
soils which are deficient in moisture-holding capacity because of the
low percentage of organic matter which they contain.

The nitrogen of street sweepings is not as readily available as the
nitrogen of ordinary stable manure, because of the smaller proportion
of urine contained in the sweepings. It is a well established fact that
the nitrogen in the urine of animals is much more readily available
than that contained in their solid excrement. It is, therefore, very
difficult to make an estimate of the money value of street sweepings
because of the great variation in their composition, which is dependent
upon the nature of the pavements, the season of the year during which
they are collected, the manner of collection, etc., and because many
accurate field tests must be made before we can determine their exact
value as a source of plant food. Sixteen cities reported the prices at
which street sweepings are sold to farmers by their street-cleaning
departments or contractors. These prices vary from 15 cents to $2
per ton. The city of Atlanta reports a contract for the sale of the
sweepings of their streets for $60 per year and an arrangement which
gives the street-cleaning department the advantage of a short haul.
This seems to be an excellent arrangement for both parties con-
cerned, as the average quality of the entire product of a city for a
whole year ought not to vary greatly from year to year. Moreover, the
price can be adjusted equitably from year to year as the true value of
the material becomes apparent. -

The expense of hauling can be reduced in a measure by spreading
the sweepings in thin layers on the dumping grounds and allowing
them to dry out for a day or two before hauling them tothefarm. The
nitrogen of the material is not of such a form that serious loss would
result from this treatment unless it be continued for several days.
Long exposure in thin layers during a rainy season would be certain
to cause a considerable loss of the most valuable plant food, because
that which is most easily leached out is the most readily available.

MISCELLANEOUS WASTE PRODUCTS.

It may often happen that the “dumps” whence the farmer must take
his supply of street sweepings, also contain other materials possessing
considerable fertilizing value. Any waste animal or vegetable matter,

19

not contaminated with the germs of diseases of men or animals, may
very properly be tested in regard to their value for this purpose.
Several hundred pounds of fish refuse, of which the composition is
shown in the table of analyses on page 11, were found on one of the
“dumps” in Washington, D. ©. Its source cou'd not be ascertained.
Its fertilizing value, based on data used by the experiment stations for
the valuation of fertilizers, would vary from $9 to $32 per ton, according
to the degree of fineness of the ground material.

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