The Road Taken by Henry Petroski

Author:Henry Petroski [Petroski, Henry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781632863614
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2015-01-07T00:00:00+00:00

Curbs and gutters had long to deal with more than just water, litter, and dog doo. In 1900, city streets and horses went together, but not well. For example, in New York City at the time there were 130,000 horses, each of which produced an average of about twenty-five pounds of manure and a quart of urine daily, much of which was deposited on the streets and found its way into the gutters. During the winter, licensed gatherers and haulers of manure dumped it onto piles beside the river, which was frozen and so could not receive it. Sometimes these piles stayed in place into the spring, attracting flies and breeding disease. Estimates suggest that in New York alone as many as twenty thousand people died each year from the resulting health hazards.

The streets posed other problems as well. Cobblestones set on end in sand or gravel and bound together with mortar had provided early street pavements that were neither overly muddy in wet weather nor very dusty in dry, but the smooth round surface of each individual river- or stream-polished cobble did not make for the most comfortable of rides. Additionally, cobblestone streets, especially when wet, were slippery underfoot. This was a hazard for pedestrians and horses alike, and the sound of horses’ hoofs, shod or not, and iron-rimmed wagon wheels passing from one stone to the next made for quite a racket. Veterinarians recommended, but few teamsters followed the advice, that horses working on cobbled urban streets be fitted with rubber-covered shoes, not only to provide for the comfort and safety of the animals but also to make for a quieter and more peaceful street.

To improve on the prevailing conditions, granite cut into prismatic blocks began increasingly to be used as stone pavers, especially after advances in quarrying lowered their price. Granite streets were also less expensive to install and maintain. Some urban horses were even fitted with iron horseshoes that featured a pointed extension or cleat (known as a calk) capable of gaining some purchase in the narrow grooves between the paving blocks. This gave the animal the ability to push back on the blocks without slipping and thereby be able to pull heavier wagon loads. However, horses always begat horse manure. Not only did the dung possess a foul odor and attract flies, but the continual action of iron horseshoes and iron-rimmed wheels on a hard granite surface was like the operation of a pestle in a mortar with regard to turning dry horse manure into a fine powder known euphemistically as “organic dust.” Once pulverized, it was blown by the wind to the side of the road and through open doors and windows, thereby presenting an immediate health hazard, to say the least.

The installation of sidewalks, curbs, and gutters kept the road at bay, but only marginally addressed the problem of pulverized horse manure. Using asphalt to pave over cobblestones or pavers made for a smoother surface that, without depressions or crevices, was also easier to clean.

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