France in Focus

Once all the electric cars have claimed all the available power generated, this system will be the envy of the world.

That's what they thought in latterday London until the streets were so full of horse muck nothing could move.

Ah but this time the 'no-dig' zealots will be clearing up behind to fill their ever-hungry raised beds

L Austin France wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 12:53 pm That's what they thought in latterday London until the streets were so full of horse muck nothing could move.

I watched a lovely documentary once about Thames Barges in the 19th Century. A huge number of them, day in, day out, brought hay and straw into Central London and carried the horse muck out. With so many horses in the capital these were vital services.

And Horse manure was not the only problem.

A group of workers were sent out to the back yard privies to collect the "night soil" which was then gathered to gather and sent by rail in special rail wagons to places like Biggleswade. Here the contents were emptied onto the fields and used as fertiliser to grow the market garden products transported back to London to feed the populace so that they could produce more night soil. A true circular economy!

exile wrote: ↑Wed May 31, 2023 12:23 pm And Horse manure was not the only problem.

A group of workers were sent out to the back yard privies to collect the "night soil" which was then gathered to gather and sent by rail in special rail wagons to places like Biggleswade. Here the contents were emptied onto the fields and used as fertiliser to grow the market garden products transported back to London to feed the populace so that they could produce more night soil. A true circular economy!

Although I lived in a suburb of a large town a nearby lane incorporated into residential housing had a row of cottages from which night soil was collected by horse and cart.

Another street, close to the town centre, had all the 1920s houses, by some legal quirk, had cess pits into the 90s and, perhaps, still has although collection was by modern tank vehicles. Vauxhall HQ was in the same street.

Edit: Sewage farms still sell the by-product for agricultural use.

beejay wrote: ↑Wed May 31, 2023 3:57 pm Edit: Sewage farms still sell the by-product for agricultural use.

Yeah, they spray it on the fields around us & boy don't it pen & ink.

Edit: Sewage farms still sell the by-product for agricultural use.
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Yes and if Iam not mistaken its called "Growmore" its in pellet form and doesn't have a "Poo" smell, remember it been mentioned at collage, it could have started at Mirfield as that was a very large treatment plant, but again its a very long time ago, the stuff sprayed on fields is raw sewage from animals and in Scotland once while caravanning the local farmer came and pumped out the very large septic tank, trundled behind the campsite up into some fields and started spraying it would still be warm

So make sure, everyone, that you wash your salad vegetables well